Developing Leaders Program for Nonprofit Professionals

The program offers formal training in fundamental elements of strategic management and covers such critical skills as the planning and implementing of organizational change, negotiating effectively, and increasing one’s self-awareness.

Through dynamic lectures, hands-on exercises, small-group work, one-on-one executive coaching, 360-degree leadership feedback, and peer discussions, participants integrate management fundamentals with real-world applications.

The peer network created during the Developing Leaders Program becomes an invaluable source of continued support in the nonprofit sector.

By the time participants have completed the program, they will have a greater awareness of their leadership and management style, as well as additional skills that all rising talent need to succeed.

During the program, participants will learn how to:

• Balance leader and manager roles and responsibilities
• Use mission and vision to set strategic program and departmental priorities and make change actually happen
• Develop skills and methods for effective delegation and performance management
• Understand and recognize leadership and communication styles of oneself and others
• Manage the mission under fiscal constraints
• Build effective marketing programs for generating public awareness and support
• Acquire essential skills for negotiating and conflict resolution
• Become more self-aware of one's managerial style, en route to becoming a more effective leader

Upon completion of this program, you will earn six credits towards a certificate with select alumni and tuition benefits. Learn more.

Participants in the Developing Leaders Program are exposed to the fundamentals of strategic management that they can immediately put into practice. Learning is reinforced through lectures, discussions, and small-group work.

Sample sessions include:

• Making Change Happen
• Self-Management and Leadership
• Groups and Diversity
• Leading Teams

These sessions are complemented by integral assessments and tools such as individual executive coaching sessions, a change implementation survey, and 360-degree leadership feedback.

360 Degree Feedback
One source of learning during the program is the multi-rater assessment, also known as 360-degree feedback. Before the program, participants, as well as their peers, direct reports, and managers, will assess the participant's leadership style.

This process enables participants to develop a rich picture of how they are seen, and provides them with the opportunity to enhance their managerial effectiveness. Participants will be coached during the program to develop a plan that is responsive to the feedback.

For a complete program schedule, download the sample agenda. Hear more about the 360-degree leadership feedback:

"Participating in the Developing Leaders Program was an incredibly enriching professional learning experience. The program provided me with invaluable knowledge, practical skills, and mentorship opportunities, empowering me to excel in my role and unlock my true leadership potential."

"The Developing Leaders Program allowed me to enhance my 10 years of nonprofit management experience with tangible tools created and taught by experts in the field. This program helped me level up my leadership across different sectors through personalized feedback, tested frameworks, and dynamic coaching. I left feeling a new sense of inspiration, gained an incredible community, and had a lot of fun through it all. Attending the program was truly a gift, and I continue using what I learned to this day.”

"The Developing Leaders Program exceeded my expectations. This program gave me the space and opportunity to elevate my thinking about our organizational practices and norms. I have no doubt that the training that I received will be instrumental in bringing our nonprofit to the next level in leadership training and management effectiveness."

Participants of the program have come from the following organizations:

Bottom Line | Brooklyn Navy Yard | Center for Employment Opportunities | Children's Aid Society | City Harvest | DREAM | East Side House | Goddard Riverside Community Center | Good Shepherd Services | Graham Windham | Lenox Hill Neighborhood House | New Visions for Public School | Sunnyside Community Services | Uncommon Schools | Year Up | Youth Represent

Joel Brockner, Faculty Director
Phillip Hettleman Professor of Business

Joel Brockner is a leading authority on a variety of psychological issues in the workplace, including change management, leadership, decision-making, the role of the self, and cross-cultural differences in work behavior. He has consulted about the planning and implementation of significant organizational change, leadership development, and decision making with such organizations as the Association of Art Museum Curators, Canadian Health Services Research Foundation, Citigroup, ConocoPhillips, Eastman Kodak, IXIS Capital Markets, MBNA, Pfizer, State Farm Insurance, Southern New England Telephone, and Stratus Technologies.

Brockner's book publications cover decision making in "sunk cost" situations, causes and consequences of employees? self esteem, and the role of justice in the workplace. He has published more than 100 articles and book chapters in a variety of prestigious outlets, including Harvard Business Review and the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. He has served on the editorial board of numerous management and psychology journals including the Academy of Management Journal, the Academy of Management Review, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, and the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Brockner is a fellow of the Academy of Management and of the American Psychological Association (Division of Industrial and Organizational Psychology). He served as the chairman of the management division from 2005 to 2011 at Columbia Business School.

Additional Columbia Business School faculty may include:

Mabel Abraham
Assistant Professor

Modupe Akinola
Professor of Business; Faculty Director of the Sanford C. Bernstein Center for Leadership and Ethics

Caryn Block
Professor of Psychology and Education

Sarah J. Brazaitis
Associate Professor of Practice, Teachers College, Columbia University

Ashli Carter
Lecturer in the Discipline of Management in the Faculty of Business

Dan Wang
Lambert Family Associate Professor of Social Enterprise in the Faculty of Business; Co-Director of the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise

1. What is the timing of the admission process?
   Applications are reviewed the week following the application due date. Admission and scholarship decisions will be made to curate this year’s cohort, and decision notifications will be sent to all participants via email.
2. What is the program schedule?
   The program runs in a one week in-person format. In addition, there will be a one-on-coaching session for each participant. View a full sample schedule.
3. Is financial assistance available?
   As part of our commitment to the nonprofit sector, the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise Executive Education offers three types of tuition assistance. Though tuition assistance is not guaranteed, we do our best to provide financial support whenever possible. Applicants can only receive one form of tuition assistance; they cannot be combined. Upon acceptance to the program, applicants will be notified of the amount of tuition assistance they are being awarded.
   
   In addition to the full criteria listed on the tuition assistance guidelines download, please note the following:
   - Applicants must be full-time employees of a nonprofit or social enterprise
   - ​​​​Applicants must apply and be accepted into the program before tuition assistance is determined
   - Scholarships are allocated on a sliding scale, based on the need of the organization
   - Full scholarships are not available
   - Applicants can only receive one form of tuition assistance; they cannot be combined
   
   Please review the complete tuition assistance guidelines before requesting tuition assistance.
4. Who typically attends the program?
   The program is designed for high-potential nonprofit leaders who, with additional training and experience, will assume greater responsibility and more senior roles.
5. How many people attend the program?
   The program typically has between 50 and 70 participants.
6. Do you accept non-US applicants?
   We welcome applicants from around the world. Applicants should be sufficiently proficient in English both verbally and in writing at a graduate-school level.
7. Do I receive a certificate at the end of the program?
   Everyone who successfully completes the program receives a certificate of completion. They will also gain six days toward their Certificate in Business Excellence, granting various Columbia Business School alumni benefits.
8. I still have questions. How can I find help?
   Contact Gwen Shufro ’06, at [email protected].