Women’s Leadership Academy

Babson’s Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership

FOR HIGH SCHOOL SOPHOMORES & JUNIORSJuly 13 - August 4, Mondays & Tuesdays

Babson’s Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial LeadershipAt Babson’s Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership we are closing the gender gap in business, one female leader at a time. We educate and empower women to create impact while enlightening the global community about the importance of female leadership.

As the first center ever focused on women entrepreneurial leaders at a business school, Babson’s Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (CWEL) is one of the most visible and important ways Babson supports women. We work diligently to create opportunities for our students and stakeholders, while creating award-winning programs for the broader ecosystem.

In 2017, the college was named the number 1 school for women entrepreneurs who want to change the world thanks to CWEL’s diverse programming, exclusive events, access to cutting-edge experts, and hands-on coaching that impacts a diverse set of stakeholders from around the world.

The ProgramBabson College’s Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership is pleased to offer the Babson Women’s Leadership Academy (BWLA), giving high school sophomores and juniors the opportunity to develop your personal leadership strengths and build a plan to reach your goals, while learning foundational leadership and communica-tion skills.

Whether you’re interested in running for student council, preparing to get into college, looking for an internship, or want to start a business, the BWLA will give you a framework to map out what you want to achieve and how you can use the skills and network you already have in order to get there. Keep reading for more details on the program.

What You’ll Walk Away With

An expanded network of peers, experts, friends, and role models.

A plan to reach your own personal goals. That plan will be built on a repeatable process to overcome challenges and take small steps forward, which can be used no matter what you try and achieve next!

At the completion of this program, you will walk away with a plan and new set of tools and knowledge that will move you towards accomplishing the goals you have right now. Those include:

A new understanding of the unique strengths that YOU bring to the table and how to develop them to become a more impactful and authentic leader at your school, on your team, and in your community.

A self-reflection statement communicating your strengths and interests, which can be developed and adapted for the common college application.

A map of your network and plan on how you can leverage it to reach your next goal!

A greater understanding of how gender can impact team dynamics and leadership opportunities.

New communication tools to increase your influence and self-advocacy, while making you more comfortable presenting to groups.

Learning from near-peer and experienced role models who have been there and done that.

Understanding how to lead and collaborate with peers while managing conflict in teams.

The ScheduleThis is a virtual offering for summer 2020. The Babson Women’s Leadership Academy runs two days each week (Mondays and Tuesdays) over the course of four weeks, offering eight total days of programming. Each day begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 1 p.m., providing two short breaks throughout.

The schedule will vary each day and feature virtual group work and discussions, special guest speakers, time with peer-mentors to think through your goals, small group presentations to practice public speaking skills, and access to some of Babson’s cutting edge thought leadership.

Monday Tuesday Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4

July 13

July 20

July 27

August 3

July 14

July 21

July 28

August 4

Day 1: Monday, July 13Working with TeamsToday is all about learning how to work with new teams and problem solving as a group. After moving through the basics of peer-coaching, expectation setting, and feedback, we’ll dive into a new challenge that small groups will solve collectively.

Day 2: Tuesday, July 14Moving Towards Your GoalsBabson’s methodology of Entrepreneurial Thought & Action can be applied in just about any setting. Today we learn how to use its simple steps to help you achieve the goals you’re interested in reaching right away. Next, we take a look at risk and failure because understanding our relationship with them allows us to understand how we can take the next step forward.

Day 3: Monday, July 20Igniting Your StrengthsToday is all about leadership. What traits make a good leader? And what does gender have to do with it? We’re going to take a closer look at what unique leadership strengths you bring to the table through a unique tool called the Reflective Best Self Exercise (RBSE) and then dig into how you can focus and develop those strengths to achieve your goals. After that discussion ends, we’ll wrap up with your first look at how to present with presence. Note: More information about RBSE can be found in our FAQs section.

Day 4: Tuesday, July 21Harnessing Your StrengthsToday kicks off with a leadership strengths lab. How will you take what you learned about yourself yester-day and harness it to reach your goals tomorrow? We’ll hear from a guest speaker on that very topic and wrap up with our first round of quick presentations in our small groups.

Day 5: Monday, July 27Communicating Your VisionReaching your goals becomes much easier when you can communicate what you’re looking to achieve. Today is all about communicating in a more influential, confident, and effective way. We’ll uncover how gender comes into play and how you can navigate self-talk to authentically and confidently convey your message.

The Schedule

Day 6: Tuesday, July 28Overcoming ObstaclesNegative self-talk and working with difficult people can quickly sideline your goals. Today, we start with a workshop on mastering your inner critic and then address how to manage difficult people by setting expectations up front and dealing with disappointment. The day will end with our second round of small presentations.

Day 7: Monday, August 3Building Your Team of Personal AdvisorsWhether asking for advice, getting feedback, or looking for an introduction, who you know can be a vital ingredient in reaching your goals. Today we start with a workshop where you’ll map out your network and leave with a greater sense of whom you can tap into to take small steps forward. From there, we start digging into our final presentations and learn how to give the gift of feedback and knowledge to our peers.

Day 8: Tuesday, August 4Presenting with PresenceYou made it! Today you present your plan to reach your goals, tapping into all of the tools, skills, and in-formation you’ve been given since the beginning of the Academy. You will share your plan with your small teams and coaches, who will give you their input on what else you can do to achieve what you want. We’ll wrap up with a short talk from someone who has gone through similar leadership training to let you know how she continues to leverage what she learned in order to be successful.

Two Sample Days

60min

15min

Content Session: Understanding Your Secret SauceThrough the Reflective Best Self Exercise (RBSE), learn how to use your unique strengths and focus in on them to make yourself an even more impactful leader.

Day 1 - Igniting Your Strengths

Take a Break! Hop offline, grab a snack, do some stretching, and get ready for the next session.

15min

Take a Break! Hop offline, grab a snack, do some stretching, and get ready for the next session.

30min

Small-Group Discussion: Your Unique StrengthsAfter reading your RBSE submissions, reflect and discuss with the group and your peer mentor. Did anything surprise you? Are you owning those strengths?

45min

Content Session: Presenting with PresencePresenting, whether in small groups or to a big audience, gives you the chance to convey your message. In this ses-sion, learn how to present with greater presence in order to keep your audience engaged.

15min

That’s a Wrap! We’ll take 15 minutes to wrap up the day, discuss what’s coming up next, and what assignments are due!

Two Sample Days

75min

15min

Workshop: Strengths-Based LabHow will the unique strengths that you learned about yes-terday help you achieve your goal? In this content + work-shop session, you will discuss how to think about harness-ing your strengths and begin to lay out a plan.

Day 2 - Harnessing Your Strengths

Take a Break! Hop offline, grab a snack, do some stretching, and get ready for the next session.

15min

Take a Break! Hop offline, grab a snack, do some stretching, and get ready for the next session.

30min

Guest Speaker! Harnessing Your StrengthsHear from a young woman who has identified and lever-aged her unique strengths in order to achieve what she wanted, while overcoming some challenges along the way.

30min

Present in Small Groups:Using content from yesterday’s “Presenting with Presence” session, give a short presentation to your group on how you will use your unique leadership strengths to accom-plish your goal. This presentation was created by you as a part of last night’s homework assignment.

15min

That’s a Wrap! We’ll take 15 minutes to wrap up the day, discuss what’s coming up next, and what assignments are due!

What does the program cost?Tuition is $500 for 8 days of programming.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are there any discounts available?Babson, Olin, and Wellesley College Alumni: 10% off.

Babson, Olin, and Wellesley College Staff: 20% off.

Who can register?The Babson Women’s Leadership Academy is open to women-identifying sophomores and juniors who are at least 13 years of age at the time of registration. International students are encouraged to apply but should note instructions and group work will be conducted in English and the timing of the program is in Eastern Standard Time.

How do I regsiter?Head to our website by clicking here and look for the registration button at the top of the page!

Who will be teaching?Babson’s faculty and staff, who have decades of combined experience teaching women’s leadership, business, and entrepreneurship, will be guiding all participants through workshops, content sessions, and group discussions. These individuals have dedicated countless hours to studying and speaking on the intersection of gender and leadership, have developed and run women’s accelerator programs, are former CEOs for publicly traded corporations, and have led diverse teams.

Who else will be speaking?The importance of near-peer mentor role modeling cannot be overstated. Research tells us time and time again that role models and champions have the ability to build confidence in emerging leaders and increase the likelihood that they will succeed! Because of this, CWEL has invited in near-peer mentors to work with participants and act as guest speakers and discussion leaders in order to demonstrate that if they can do it, you can do it too!

Programming

Why is the program two days each week?We spent hours talking to high school students and their parents, while running focus groups, to uncover their thoughts on the optimal virtual learning environment. As the warm weather emerges and outdoor activities are on people’s minds, we wanted to ensure participants had the opportunity to learn AND enjoy the summer months! With two days of programming each week, students can learn, take a break, and have additional time to complete their at-home assignments.

Is there a registration deadline?Registration closes two weeks in advance - June 29. If that date has passed and you’re eager to sign up, please reach out to the program director, Ashley Lucas, at alucas@babson.edu

Frequently Asked QuestionsWhat are some unique elements of the program?Understanding and uncovering your unique leadership strengths comes from a tested method that we have used in multiple programs. This exercise - the Reflected Best Self Exercise™ (RBSE) - is a feed-back-seeking exercise that helps you identify and understand your unique strengths and talents. You will be asked to gather feedback from significant people in your life (with some help from us), and then be guided through the process of creating a portrait of your best self and an action plan for leveraging your strengths.

Babson is globally recognized for our one-of-a-kind Entrepreneurial Thought and Action® (ET&A™) methodology that teaches you how to balance action, experimentation, creativity, and risk-taking to tackle challenges and reach your goals. We ask you to start with you have, take the first step, enroll others along the way, look at what you’ve learned, and then continue moving in the right direction.

Real-world goal setting is the core component of this program. You will be asked to think about one thing that you want to accomplish this year and use the program’s teaching and tools to help you reach that goal. Whether you’re looking to solve a problem in your community, take on a new leadership role in your school, or get into college - this program is designed to help you create a plan to do just that.

Will there be assignments outside of the virtual classroom?Yes! You will be asked to complete at least one assignment after each day, to be completed by the follow-ing session. Creating presentations, reading, and writing reflections will all be a part of the assignments you’ll be tasked with. The entire program will culminate with a final presentation that outlines your big goal and how you’re going to take steps to achieve it.

Will there be pre-work?Yes! In order to participate in the Reflective Best Self Exercise above, you will need to coordinate with people in your life who will submit stories. (More information about that will be sent after you sign up.) We will also ask you to familiarize yourself with Zoom (if you haven’t already) and start thinking about the specific goal that you’re going to focus on throughout the 8-day program.

Babson Park, MA 02457781.235.1200

babson.edu/cwel

Have questions? Get in touch with Program Director, Ashley Lucas

alucas@babson.edu