How do you get ready for a job that’s like no other?

Preparing next generation leaders is a unique challenge. Organizations struggle because they often feel a need to do most of the succession work in the shadows, so they don’t demotivate those who aren’t at the top of the list. Many companies find it hard to commit the necessary time to the process, and often their pool of candidates is not diverse enough.

The fact that it happens behind the scenes often makes it hard for top candidates to know how to put their best foot forward – especially those from under-represented groups. It’s hard for anyone to key into a process for which they don’t know the norms and rules.

And when senior executives are promoted into top roles, they often find the transition more challenging than expected. In spite of concentrating on getting the job, it’s common to find there are aspects of top jobs that are difficult to appreciate without a trusted advisor (or advisors). With the stakes so high, ensuring your candidates for senior leadership roles onboard smoothly to their next job is a worthy investment.

But what is the Leadership Collective?

The Leadership Collective has one clear goal: to prepare your highest high potentials for the C-Suite.

Over the course of nine months, participants are immersed in a learning environment where they receive intensive feedback and coaching, and a six-session leadership course that provides guidance from those who have walked the road they are now on. We create a high impact learning cohort that acts as the place where it’s OK for participants to not know, to not be the expert. Joining a close-knit group other highest-of-the-high-potentials who can help make them better is central to the power of the Leadership Collective. In short, we’ve created the place where future leaders learn to build their personal Board of Directors.

For companies that just need to check a box on leadership development, there are plenty of programs that rely on passive learning, pre-programmed seminars, and other tools of the traditional leadership development playbook.

The Leadership Collective is not one of those. This is highly interactive, undiluted access to world-class peers, advisors, and experts you won’t find anywhere else. It’s sleeves-up planning, preparation, and mentorship built on the collective wisdom and experience of people who intimately know what it takes to lead a successful company.

 

 The Leadership Collective Includes:

 

Former CEOs and Board members with an honest perspective on leading a company

Network-building and peer mentoring with their senior executive

Intimate, high-impact meetings with space for participants to focus on learning

Access to coaching from a world-class team: a successful CEO and leadership + assessment expert

Time to think, build, and plan - shaping a strategy and vision for their leadership role

Additional learning and coaching opportunities

 New Leadership Collective Starting April 2023

Why sponsor someone in The Leadership Collective?

Our experience working with those who lead companies and those they are getting ready for top jobs has taught us that the succession recipe comes down to some combination of these factors:

  • Time

  • Honest input from executives about the role

  • A place for succession candidates to be honest about what they don’t know

  • Tools to bolster their on-the-job experience and skill building opportunities

  • Jobs that challenge and grow personal and professional skills

Most companies overdo the last bullet, piling on high pressure, high impact, and high visibility assignments as a way to both test and grow their future leaders. We find the companies that do the best job in preparing future leaders find a way to balance all of these ingredients, rather than relying on the deep end of the pool to teach a leader what they need to know.

The Leadership Collective is just the right complement to the development work done inside the company. The group meetings bring participating executives around the table with board members from sophisticated, well-run companies for intimate discussions about the realities of leading companies. Equipped with these insights, the participants create their vision and plan with the support and advice from their fellow participants.

Why participate in The Leadership Collective?

Each group to go through this program is carefully selected for maximum impact. During the time they work together, members will support each other’s development and growth. Members build a close-knit network that they can turn to in their years as senior executives.

Each learning session hinges on a critical leadership topic supported by visiting leaders (CEOs, CFOs, Board members, etc.) who have a point of view on what it means to lead a company. Our visiting leaders share their stories and lessons learned about what it really means to lead a complex organization so you get the inside track.

Testimonials
Brian Stahulak, Lurie Children’s Hospital

"As a leader I know that I am ready for the next steps in my career. I usually don’t have much time to build a network with other leaders like the one I now have with the Leadership Collective. Being in a program that encourages more self-reflection has been very powerful. The 360 really helped me see some gaps and blind spots that I have. I was definitely ready for the feedback and to get working on the next steps. I’ve been able to do detailed action planning that helps me focus on my goals. This is just what I needed."

Adam Godderz, Chief Legal Officer, Kansas City Southern

“The Leadership Collective was an incredible experience, and has already proven to be valuable to me in my career. I feel so much more prepared to face the challenges that executives are asked to resolve.”

Manika Turnbull, CHRO, Health Care Services Corporation

“What is so different and makes the Leadership Collective experience stand out for me is the opportunity to join a group of people in the same general place on their career journey… The fact that we are facing the same things makes the bond more real. All egos are checked at the door… This is powerful because we can show up as who we are as individuals, which creates the space for rich open and honest dialogue. It makes this an environment that just can’t be replicated.”

 Learn more about The Leadership Collective