Leadership Development Programs

Our leadership programs empower professionals at all career trajectories and include participants from a wide range of industries and sectors, including the arts, education, energy, finance, healthcare, IT, legal, life sciences, manufacturing, philanthropy, retail, transportation and many more. Programs are offered once-annually. The Next Generation Executive Program Class of 2025 is open for applications now through September 30, and all other 2025 leadership development programs will open for registration in Fall 2024.

Associates

Developed for professionals at the start of their journey, this program focuses on career growth and building leadership capabilities.

Designed for professionals with three to five years of workforce experience, the Associates Program helps you develop the insight to make you more effective in an organizational culture with multi-generational leadership. As you develop a critical framework around your emotional intelligence, you will learn the importance of efficacy, how to build your brand within a social environment, and how to successfully communicate across a global and diverse marketplace.

Program features:

A full year of monthly all-day sessions aimed at developing leadership and professional awareness, led by a dynamic and esteemed faculty.
Work with smaller cohorts that provides support and ongoing feedback on key development opportunities.
Access to a national, cross-industry network of peers and opinion leaders.

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Fellows

Created for mid-level career professionals, this program helps you expand your leadership capabilities and establish greater executive presence.

Aimed at managers with more than five years of experience, the Fellows Program focuses on three core competencies: leadership, relationship, and organizational skills. We place a key emphasis on refining and expanding the negotiation skills you need to influence your organization more effectively. Myers Briggs and 360 evaluations allow you to understand perceptions, competencies, and opportunities in order to achieve consistent high quality outcomes.

Program features:

A full year of monthly all-day sessions that focus on pertinent leadership topics, led by a dynamic and esteemed faculty.
Myers Briggs assessment interpreted into actionable career strategies.
360 evaluation and guidance to align personal strengths and opportunities.
Work with smaller cohorts as well as external business mentors for ongoing support and feedback.
Access to a national, cross-industry network of peers and opinion leaders.

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BioDiversity Fellows

The BioDiversity Fellows Program – specific to the life sciences industry – that has been developed for Director, Associate Director and Senior Manager level professionals who are on a leadership career track.

The BioDiversity Fellows Program will help professionals expand their leadership capabilities and establish greater executive presence. Similar to The Partnership’s Mid-Career Fellows Program, BioDiversity also focuses on three core competencies: leadership, relationship building and organizational skills. Myers Briggs and emotional intelligence evaluations will allow participants to understand perceptions, competencies, and opportunities in order to achieve consistent high quality outcomes.

Program features:

Unique to this program, participants will each be assigned an executive coach.
The program is rigorously focused on leadership skills that will advance careers in the life science industry. Participants meet monthly January – December.
Monthly program topics include: Empowering Your Development, Transforming from a Technical to a Strategic Leader, Effectively Building Your Professional and Organizational Network, Defining Your Leadership and Professional Brand and Leading with Fluency: Leveraging Cultural Capital to Unleash Innovation and Growth.
Participants will also have an opportunity to work in cohorts on a community project that they will design and implement.

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Minnesota Black Fellows

The Minnesota Black Fellows are a regional cohort within the national Fellows class that provides specialized networking, workshops, and program offerings to support the retention and promotion of high potential black leaders in the State of Minnesota.

In partnership with the Minnesota Business Coalition for Racial Equity, the Minnesota Black Fellows Cohort was developed to provide high quality leadership development training to mid-career black professionals that are ready to transition from management to strategic leadership roles.

Program features:

A full year of monthly all-day sessions that focus on pertinent leadership topics, led by a dynamic and esteemed faculty.
Personalized assessments, including Myers Briggs and Emotional Intelligence (EQI), to determine personal strengths and opportunities and develop actionable career strategies.
Access to a regional and national, cross-industry network of peers and thought leaders.
Executive coaching concentrated on analysis and real-world problem solving.
Quarterly in-person networking opportunities to deepen relationships with Minnesota Industry leaders.

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North Carolina Leadership Accelerator Program

The North Carolina Leadership Accelerator (NCLA) Program trains professionals on how to strengthen and expand their leadership capacity. The program is designed to develop underrepresented leaders in the industries driving the economy of the Research Triangle and Charlotte Region. Those selected for the program will be chosen for demonstrated talent, desire and potential to lead. Applicants must have the support from senior management to participate in the 9-month training program.

The NCLA Program will provide skill development, high-level executive coaching, national networking experiences for 40 high-potential multicultural professionals.

Program features:

The virtual training will take place from March to December.
The North Carolina Leadership Accelerator Program is for high potential professionals. The program has been designed as advanced training, to hone and upgrade skills so that participants can move into leadership positions.
Participants are introduced to executive coaches and cohort groups to further explore Emotional Intelligence theory and findings of their individual EQi and Myers Briggs assessments.
Participants will identify developmental goals at the individual, team and organizational level on which to focus during the program year.
Together with their cohort groups, Executive Coaches and participants will design a cohort coaching schedule and determine a methodology that works for their group’s bonding and learning.

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Next Generation Executive

Designed for multicultural talent ready for the next step in their careers, this program prepares you to act and think like a senior executive.

Our experiential, peer-supported curriculum – taught by academics and industry leaders, including some of the world’s top strategists on culture, identity, race, and innovation – provides you with the strategic and interpersonal tools needed to accelerate your executive career. Balancing theory with practical know-how in areas such as innovation, global markets, and organizational change, this program will help you develop a new multicultural framework for leadership.

Program features:

Four-day immersion experience.
Five-month leadership incubator with executive coaches and peer supporters.
Capstone leadership retreat where leaders create a unique playbook to lead in their organizations.
Access to a national, cross-industry network of peers and opinion leaders.

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C-Suite

Open to individuals at the C-Suite levels of their organizations, this program is your link to a powerful network of top multicultural leaders.

The C-Suite Program is your link to top multicultural leaders. Designed for individuals at the highest levels of their organizations, it brings together corporate CEOs, Presidents, and C-Suite management committee executives, as well as leaders from government, academia, and the civic sector. The program is centered around quarterly convenings that foster personal and professional relationships, and encourage dialogue and action on the critical issues impacting the urban community. It’s a unique opportunity to learn from your peers and some of the region’s most noteworthy thought leaders, make a difference in your community, as well as mentor the next generation of multicultural leaders.

Program features:

Quarterly convenings featuring nationally-recognized guests such as Ann Fudge, former Chairman and CEO of Young and Rubicam Brands, former White House Advisor David Axelrod, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, Harvard Business School Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter, and former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and First Lady Diane Patrick.
Networking with both seasoned multicultural leaders as well as executives new to the region.
Sharing best practices and new strategies with exceptional multicultural leaders.
Addressing civic issues impacting the urban community.