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How can companies sign up?If interested in partnership opportunities, please contact us below. Partners may nominate their employees to attend the leadership challenge; engage our team to prepare new case studies on their company's leadership challenges; and, suggest candidates for our leadership podcast.
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How is the Leadership Challenge different than executive education programs at top business schools?There are several key differences. Participants receive long-term access to a team of experts. Most exec-ed programs last only one or two weeks, and do not offer continued, long-term support. Our primary team consists of professionals (not academics) who regularly advise companies on key leadership decisions. We help participants create a leadership development plan. Our case discussion content is based on newly created case studies reflecting actual issues that have impacted our participants. Most business school case studies are stale – many were written over a decade ago. Our program is holistic and our team of professionals takes an integrative approach to helping program participants. We cherry-pick guest speakers from a variety of top schools.
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What type of companies should consider sending participants to our program?The sweet spot consists of professionals in high pressure careers, like law, investment banking, consulting, and private equity or VC-backed portfolio companies.
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Why is our assessment and feedback process the gold standard?The best way to assess leadership style and potential is through multiple, complementary techniques. Our approach is to gather inputs from multiple sources – case based assessments; competency based interviews; 360 referencing; group sessions, and feedback from peers.
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Do participants receive executive coaching?Yes.
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How do group discussions work?Each group meets virtually several times during the program to join live, professionally moderated group discussions. Group discussions consist of 5-10 individuals. A key aspect of each group discussion is psychological safety. The instructor facilitates a lively debate in which all participants can simultaneously listen and share their thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. The group discussion format promotes a sense of community and universality. In other words, if one person is having a challenge, then many others are likely having the exact same problem, even though they don't have to openly admit it.
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Do companies receive any feedback on participants at the end of the program?Yes, companies receive a formal development plan for each individual they send to the program. The plan is created by the participant under the guidance of our team of executive coaches and psychologists. However, we will not share personal or confidential information that were gleaned during confidential coaching sessions.
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Can individuals attend this program without their company participating?Usually not, but contact us.
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Can companies invite individuals to join if they do not yet work for their company?Yes, companies may invite current employees - or future recruits - to this program, e.g., college and graduate students, for example. This program is a novel way to develop deeper relationships with prospects or future hires. For example, law firms can nominate existing law students into our program. Or technology companies can invite top job prospects who are currently still attending university.
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Why should companies consider partnering with our Institute?We partner with companies in several ways to help them solve their key talent-related challenges: Leadership Challenge; Preparation of original case studies on leadership issues affecting their talent; Private case discussions moderated by experts; and Analysis of their leadership bench strength.
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Is there a partnership fee?Yes - there is a yearly fee. Partners are automatically first in line to enroll their talent in the leadership challenge, new case study development, and leadership lab initiatives.
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Who is on our core team?Our core team. Jeff Cohn was a case writer and group facilitator at the Harvard Business School and at INSEAD business school. Among many others, he helped prepare the very first case study on Apple Computer, as the company was called at the time. Jeff was also a Partner at top leadership advisory firms. Jeff is a frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review. Professor Srini Rangan has been a case facilitator and executive educator for three decades at top business schools including Harvard; IMD; and Babson College, where he has won numerous teaching awards. Dr. Carrie Muchow is a cognitive behavioral therapist, a group therapist, and an executive coach who received her PhD in psychology, with Honors, from Columbia University. Dr. Janna Koretz is a psychologist focused on the unique mental health needs of entrepreneurs and other 'rising star' leaders in high pressure careers.
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Does mental readiness matter for increasing leadership responsibility?According to a recent Harvard Business Review article, a recent survey of 3,625 HR leaders, nearly 70% reported an increase in burnout at their organization in the past year. "With stress levels at their highest in a decade and the leading cause of sickness absence at work, the problem of burnout should be top of every business agenda in 2024," according to the authors. Mental and physical health are inexorably connected. We invite global experts in both domains to help our organizations develop new techniques to optimize talent and performance. Prolonged exposure to stress can cause changes in the body's physiology, including elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which can lead to inflammation, high blood pressure, and weakened immune function. Chronic stress has also been linked to a range of health problems, including anxiety, depression, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Stress prompts a hormonal response in the body that affects glucose levels. When you're feeling frazzled or panicked, your body readies itself to fight off a threat by leaving ample glucose in your bloodstream for your muscles to use. To increase blood glucose, your body pumps out more adrenaline and glucagon, and consequently, your cells become insulin-resistant so that glucose stays in your blood. The result is elevated glucose, as illustrated in research that shows a link between perceived work-related stress and increased circulating glucose levels. Despite good intentions, most mental health solutions offered by companies have historically not been well received: employee assistance programs; short term counseling; phone access to a help-line; or preventative tech solutions like a new wellness app. According to numerous studies, low-touch solutions have minimal engagement, 5-10% since they were developed in the early 1980s.
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