WILempower: The story of my women in leadership program

WILempower: The story of my women in leadership program

WILempower, my new women in leadership program, is launching soon! Today, I want to share with you what WILempower is, how it came about and why I’m so passionate about helping women get the skills and confidence they need to be their authentic selves in leadership roles. 

WILempower: The origins story 

Let me back up a few decades. I spent 30+ years as a senior executive, including roles as VP at Holt Renfrew, SVP at Marks and Spencer, President at the Bombay Furniture Company and board member of the Retail Council of Canada. During that time, I mentored a lot of people—men and women—generally focused on becoming better leaders. I always asked myself, “Why don’t they know this stuff?” But my growth experience was the same. My leadership experience—often as the lone woman in the board room—was best described as trial by fire, though I also had excellent mentors. 

Fast forward to recent times. After three decades in leadership roles, I got sick, literally. It was a sign to slow down and reevaluate how I wanted to spend my time and best use the skills I gained in the C-Suite and the boardroom. That question, “Why don’t they know this stuff?” resurfaced. I knew then I wanted to help other people—women especially—develop the confidence and skills they need to succeed in leadership roles—without letting the stress get them to where I got to be. I do this through executive coaching, and I love it! 

My executive coaching programs led me to work with Red Hat, the world's leading provider of enterprise open source solutions. They wanted to support their leadership pipeline through a coaching program for women in leadership roles and for women pursuing those roles. It was a great success at Red Hat and when I talked about my work with these women, people kept telling me they wished they had the support of a program like that. 

And so, WILempower was born. Because women should have a place where they can learn the skills to be successful in leadership roles while being surrounded by a community that supports their goals and aspirations. As I’ve seen so many times throughout my career: women in leadership empower other women. That’s what WILempower is about (and how the name came to be). 

But I knew I didn’t want to do it alone, so I co-lead this program with my friend and fellow coach, Robyn Holloway. She’s amazing! 

Who is the WILempower program for? 

This program, with a supportive built-in community, is for women already in leadership roles and women pursuing leadership roles. It’s for women who don’t want to go it alone but instead want to build supportive relationships in a psychologically safe space while improving their own skills and confidence. 

Are you ready to:

·      Master the tools and soft skills you need to achieve lasting results?

·      Build better and more meaningful relationships professionally and personally?

·      Communicate more effectively at work and home?

·      Believe in the power of choice and discover your core belief system?

·      Become the amazing leader you’re destined to be?

·      Present yourself so that you’re heard the first time?

·      Have the confidence to pull the meeting back to your initial idea?

·      Exude confidence as your authentic self?

·      Remove the internal barriers to your success? 

If you didn’t wake up this morning to be mediocre, you’re not alone. And you’re just who we built the WILempower program for! 

The WILempower program 

WILempower is a year-long program and community designed to help women learn, grow and connect without judgment. Our mission is to help women develop the skills, motivation and accountability required to succeed in their business and personal lives. 

The women in our program will learn how to communicate effectively while showing up authentically, resolve conflict appropriately and shift their mindset to support their own success and the success of their teams. 

But, how will we do all that together? 

Here’s what you’ll experience in the WILempower program and membership:

·      A year of mind-blowing leadership development you’ve never had the opportunity to learn.

·      Live monthly question and answer calls where we talk about the nitty gritty of your core concerns.

·      A fabulous, thriving community of women from various backgrounds who will share their knowledge and experience and count on you to share yours.

·      Supplementary resources to deepen your knowledge around these core soft skills.

·      Monthly fieldwork where you practice and master what you’re learning.

·      10 core learning modules: The Seven Levels of Leadership, Trust, Setting Expectations for Yourself and Others, Verbal Communications, Non-verbal Communications, Personal Branding and Self Talk, Setting Healthy Boundaries, Emotional Intelligence, The Abundance and Scarcity Mindsets and Finance 101 for Women.

·      Bonus sessions: Networking, Building Habits and Understanding Fear.

With our VIP program, you also get:

·      The Energy Leadership Index Assessment and a one-hour debrief with one of our certified coaches. The Energy Leadership Assessment is ranked #3 on a Forbes list of assessments every executive should take. (And I wrote about why I love the Energy Leadership Assessment here.)

·      Two one-on-one 60-minute coaching sessions with one of our certified professional coaches. 

Our premium membership includes everything above and:

·      A monthly 2-hour Mastermind group (limited to 6-8 people per group). A mastermind class focuses on peer-to-peer feedback, helping you to stretch your abilities and thinking. A facilitated Mastermind allows you to share your goals and use the group as your own personal advisory board to guide you and hold you accountable to those goals.

·      Three one-on-one, 30-minute laser coaching sessions to be used as needed. 

Learn more about the WILempower program and how to sign up here.  

What’s next for WILempower? 

In October, we’re opening registration for the program that officially starts in January 2020. And between October and December, we’re also hosting three pre-launch sessions: Fear, Networking and Habits. 

I’m so excited about bringing smart, ambitious and wonderful women together for a year of learning, growing and community building with WILempower. Because, as I learned in three decades of executive leadership, women in leadership empower other women! 

If you think WILempower might be for you, I encourage you to read more about it here or take our five minute leadership quiz to discover where your leadership skills are now and where you’d like them to be this time next year. And if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to send Robyn or I a message here on LinkedIn.