Women's Leadership Identity Program: Program Management Guide

1. Program Introduction & Benefits

This 6-month program is designed to help women in leadership roles or on the leadership track form an authentic leadership identity and discover their unique style. Grounded in research on gender dynamics and identity work, the program moves beyond generic skill-building to address the specific challenges women face in constructing and claiming their leadership presence. It integrates the Identity Work Framework and the Dual-Capability Development Approach to foster both business acumen and the behavioral confidence required for sustained impact.

Strategic Benefits for Participants:

• Clarity of Identity: Develop a strong, authentic personal leadership philosophy that aligns with your values and strengths, moving beyond imitating traditional models.
• Navigational Acumen: Gain the tools to recognize and strategically navigate second-generation bias and organizational culture barriers that uniquely impact women leaders.
• Integrated Capability Growth: Master core leadership skills (e.g., negotiation, strategic communication) while simultaneously building the confidence, decisiveness, and emotional intelligence to apply them effectively.
• Expanded Influence & Community: Build a powerful professional network and coalitions, creating a sustainable support system and increasing your capacity for organizational influence.
• Career Acceleration Intention: Translate development into concrete action, building the readiness and intention to pursue advancement opportunities such as promotions, board positions, and expanded leadership roles.

2. Program Expansion Strategy

Analysis: The primary program goal is "Form a leadership identity and find your own style." While the core curriculum includes group coaching and peer circles, the deeply personal nature of identity work and the need for tailored, real-time feedback on navigating specific organizational contexts strongly suggests that a supplemental one-on-one Coaching layer would significantly enhance outcomes.

Value Addition & Implementation: A structured coaching component provides a confidential, personalized space for participants to delve deeper into their identity exploration, practice new behaviors in a safe environment, and develop concrete strategies for applying learnings to their specific career challenges. Coaches act as thought partners to accelerate the integration of program concepts, directly supporting the transition from learning to behavioral intention and application.

Implementation Note: Integrate professional external or certified internal coaches. Each participant receives six 60-minute coaching sessions, scheduled bi-monthly to align with program milestones. Coaching agreements will focus on goals derived from the program modules, such as refining personal leadership narratives or developing strategies for specific influence challenges.

3. Implementation Roadmap

Launch Phase Checklist

1. Stakeholder Alignment: Secure executive sponsorship and communicate program value to people managers.
2. Participant Selection: Define and communicate clear criteria. Open applications and conduct selection interviews focusing on readiness for identity work.
3. Cohort Onboarding: Host a kick-off session to set expectations, build psychological safety, and introduce the identity work framework.
4. Tool Deployment: Configure and launch the selected LMS and Internal Social Network (see Section 4) with the first module pre-loaded.
5. Coach Matching: Finalize matches between participants and coaches and schedule initial sessions.

Tracking & Operations (6-Month Lifecycle)

• Program Manager: Owns overall timeline, facilitator coordination, and KPI tracking.
• Monthly Cadence: Deliver core module via the LMS (content, assessments). Host a live virtual workshop for application and discussion. Facilitate peer circle meetings.
• Bi-Monthly Checkpoints: Monitor coaching session completion. Pulse-check participant sentiment via short surveys.
• Communication: Use the Internal Social Network for announcements, resource sharing, and fostering community dialogue between live sessions.

Success Measurement

KPIs:

• Quantitative:
  • 90%+ Program Completion Rate.
  • 25%+ Increase in average scores on post-program leadership capability assessments.
  • 40% of participants apply for a promotion, stretch assignment, or new leadership role within 12 months post-program.
  • Measurable growth in network maps (pre/post program).
• Qualitative & Feedback Mechanisms:
  • Pre/Post Reflective Essays: Analyzed for clarity and strength of personal leadership philosophy.
  • Mid-Point (Month 3) Focus Group: Gathers in-depth feedback on relevance and psychological safety.
  • 360-Degree Feedback: Optional participant-led survey at program start and 6 months after completion.
  • Final Program Retrospective: Collects structured feedback on all components (content, coaching, community).

4. Approved Tools List

• LMS (Learning Management System): Primary Tool. Required for structured delivery of the 4 core modules, hosting video content, assessments, and tracking completion. Justification: Centralizes the blended learning curriculum and provides scalable content management.
• Internal Social Network: Primary Tool. Critical for building the community pillar. Justification: Facilitates ongoing peer support, discussion, and knowledge sharing between live sessions, essential for network and coalition building.
• Coaching Software: Secondary Tool. Justified due to the added coaching layer. Used for scheduling sessions, managing coach-participant agreements, and collecting session notes (with confidentiality).
• Personality Test: Secondary Tool. A validated assessment (e.g., focusing on strengths or communication styles) will be integrated into Module 1 to catalyze self-awareness and identity exploration discussions.

5. Resource & Content Library

General Program Content (Core Curriculum)

• Video Library: "Deconstructing Leadership Archetypes," "Case Studies in Second-Generation Bias," "The Art of Strategic Negotiation for Women Leaders," "Building Your Board of Advisors."
• Guides & Workbooks: "My Leadership Identity Blueprint" (guided journal), "Navigating Organizational Culture: A Playbook," "Influence Without Authority Toolkit."
• Articles & Research Summaries: Curated readings on identity work theory, gender dynamics in leadership, and network science.
• Templates: Strategic conversation planners, stakeholder mapping canvases, personal board of directors templates.

Supplemental Mentoring Content Table

(Designed to support peer circles or informal mentoring relationships fostered by the program)

Skill Area	Content Title	Format	Purpose
Active Listening	"Listening to Empower: Going Beyond Hearing"	Micro-learning Video (10 min)	Builds skills for creating psychologically safe spaces in peer circles.
Giving Feedback	"The SBI Model for Supportive Peer Feedback"	Guide & Worksheet	Provides a clear framework for constructive, growth-oriented feedback among participants.
Goal Setting	"From Identity to Action: Setting Leadership Intentions"	Interactive Workshop Activity	Helps translate leadership identity insights into specific, actionable development goals.
Sponsorship & Advocacy	"How to Be a Sponsor and Find One"	Article & Discussion Guide	Educates on the difference between mentors and sponsors, supporting the network-building pillar.
Building Trust	"Creating Authentic Connections in Your Cohort"	Facilitated Discussion Guide	Provides prompts for peer circle leads to deepen trust and vulnerability within the group.