Leading with Conviction™
LEADING WITH CONVICTION™
Leading with Conviction™ (LwC) is a cohort-based, 12-month-long, advanced training opportunity for mid- to senior-level leaders who have a track record in advocacy, activism, and community organizing including those working in the social, economic, or justice reform areas. LwC takes place both in-person and virtually.
Training components include four weekend-long forums, six networking webinars, executive coaching, peer coaching, and regular networking and communication. Leaders are introduced to other people and practices closely linked to successful local, state, and federal efforts to dismantle oppressive systems and institutions in directly-impacted communities nationwide.
The Leading with Conviction program includes the following elements:
Grounded in the Leadership Challenge® curriculum, leaders will develop and sharpen their leadership skills based on their 360 degree assessment and learn tools to practice leadership.
The training covers five “Practices of Exemplary Leadership”:
- Model the Way
- Inspire a Shared Vision
- Challenge the Process
- Enable Others to Act
- Encourage the Heart
Paired with a coach to analyze and understand pre- and post-360 degree assessments, leaders will create a one-year work plan outlining learning goals throughout the program.
Acknowledging the need for individual skills and development and understanding oneself, leaders are encouraged to take time for themselves. Leaders will be provided with training on trauma and will be able to practice mindfulness and to implement strategies for selfcare. Our leaders have powerful stories, and it is imperative that their stories are given the platform they deserve. They will be provided with elements of effective storytelling and given opportunities to practice storytelling with their peers.
Building community is vital to ensuring that a team shares the same vision, and team members must be able to rely upon one another. Within their own organizations, leaders will identify skills each person brings to the process of achieving a common goal. Ensuring equity must permeate everything a leader does, and the training emphasizes the importance of not marginalizing anyone. Leaders will be able to identify structural and organizational barriers to equity and will develop tools and strategies to minimize inequalities in all that they do. Board development and conflict management will also be covered.
Policy advocacy relies on both storytelling and inspiring a vision in the listener. And building a coalition is not the same as building a team. Knowing your coalition partner’s values, communication style, and stories are prerequisites for creating solid campaigns organized around shared strategic goals. External development will cover fundraising, grant writing, and communication skills with both traditional and social media.
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