Training opportunities for CEOs are plentiful, but only one university-based program is designed exclusively for the CEOs of ESOP companies. The ESOP CEO Leadership Program cosponsored by the Employee Ownership Foundation and the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice is scheduled to take place in person in Philadelphia:
Part 1: Sunday, July 18 (4 pm) to Friday, July 23 (2 pm)
Part 2: Sunday, December 5 (4 pm) to Thursday, December 9 (2 pm)
Participants will cover topics ranging from enhancing leadership skills related to emotional intelligence to the role of the CEO in developing a high performance ownership culture, and the program is built on the idea that participants benefit uniquely from interaction with both national experts and their peers.
One participant in the 2017 program, Daniel Goldstein of Folience, credits the program for establishing the basis for his company’s management model, centered around distributed leadership, and for seeding the elements of his employee-owner engagement model, embodied in Folience's Employee Owner License to Act. Daniel cites the hands-on interactive format of the program, which includes academic theory but relies on each participant addressing actual issues in their workplace such that they leave the program with action plans in hand. He also values the peer network of program alumni, and later decided to send two of his portfolio companies’ presidents to attend the program.
In mid-March, those who have registered for the 2021 program will begin the program pre-work, including readings, a 360 executive assessment, a set of leadership-related online self-assessments, and a company survey.
For more information, contact Ginny Vanderslice (virginiv@sas.upenn.edu, 215-292-4865). Registration for the program is available online.
In another approach to CEO networking, the NCEO has hosted small-group roundtables of CEOs who meet repeatedly over the course of a year. We may set up a new cohort when we have sufficient interest. If you would like to learn more or be on a notification list for future groups, please email Loren Rodgers.