A leadership curriculum for up-and-coming women leaders: pipeline talent and fast-track high-potentials being prepared for their next big leadership step. One Friday a month at Achieve in Tempe, Arizona, plus a virtual orientation in December and graduation on June 11, 2027. Applications close November 1, 2026.
Begin with self-reflection, values, and strengths. Use AI tools to surface blind spots and personality insights, and leave with a personal leadership statement that anchors the rest of the program. DEC domain: Discover.
Strengthen storytelling, feedback, and presence. Practice AI-assisted message refinement and rehearsal, and deliver a 3-minute leader pitch. DEC domain: Discover.
Learn frameworks, prioritization, and data-informed decision-making. Use AI for scenario modeling and data synthesis, and produce a strategic case write-up. DEC domain: Engage.
Build skills in coaching, delegation, and psychological safety. Use AI as a coaching assistant with bias awareness, and design a coaching plan for one direct report. DEC domain: Engage.
Master stakeholder mapping, negotiation, and advocacy. Use AI to prep for negotiations with ethical guardrails, and complete a negotiation roleplay and reflection. DEC domain: Create.
Define long-term vision, legacy, and mentorship. Use AI to build a career roadmap and 5-year vision, and deliver a capstone vision deck. DEC domain: Create.
Session 2 builds communication skills and executive presence through storytelling, feedback drills, and AI-assisted message refinement, ending with a 3-minute leader pitch each cohort member delivers in the room.
Cohort breakout work during a 2025 session at Achieve.Session 1 starts with a personalized strengths inventory and identity work, because the fastest leadership growth comes from doubling down on what you do well, not from chasing every weakness. The cohort then maps strengths to the AI-augmented work ahead.
Building strengths vs. fixing weaknesses. A core 2025 curriculum theme.
Each cohort includes a live executive career panel and monthly one-to-one mentorship hours with women who are already in the rooms you're trying to enter.
2025 Executive Speakers: Kathleen Duffy (Duffy Group), Missy Luna, Barbara McKnight, and Henri Dawes.Most participants have tuition sponsored by their employer. Employer ROI sheet available on the For Employers page.
Each participant raises a minimum of $1,000, which the cohort then grants to women-serving Arizona nonprofits at graduation. Training and a toolkit are provided.
Need-based scholarships are available. Email jessica@careerconnectors.org for details.
A short reading list we draw from. These are the conversations shaping the Inspired LeadHER 2027 AI-literacy track.
Herminia Ibarra and Michael Jacobides on the five capabilities senior leaders need to lead through AI transformation.
Read →The four-stage maturity model for leaders moving from AI-curious to AI-confident. Includes the Karim Lakhani framing we draw from in Session 5.
Read →The European Commission and OECD's AI Literacy Framework: the foundation for what every leader should know in 2026.
Read →Why AI literacy among women is essential to full participation in an AI-driven workforce, and what employers can do about it.
Read →