Leadership Development Programs
Villa Leadership Programs come in a variety of sizes and shapes to fit your organization’s needs and budget. Our development programs and curricula have grown out of our experience delivering Chocolate Villa® Women’s Leadership and Career Development programs to hundreds of women globally over the past six years.
Villa Integrated Leadership
A year-long development model conducted within a company for high-potential female leaders. Objectives of this program include inspiring professional women to:
- Expand their aspirational thinking to consider positions in senior leadership
- Develop an authentic style of female leadership that complements the strengths of their male counterparts
- Identify and remove potential barriers to their success
- Increase confidence to achieve their goals
- Map a career path to balance their work/life priorities
- Improve their agility on the leadership playing field
- Build strong internal and external networks of support
This model includes:
- Strategic planning, education and engagement with key leaders and stakeholders
- Leadership assessment and development planning with program candidates
- 2.5-day Chocolate Villa offsite program for participants
- Ongoing learning sessions delivered via teleconference or video-conference for participants
- Small-group coaching circles facilitated by professional consultants/coaches
- 1:1 coaching for participants, with progress tracking and measurement
- Access to ongoing support and resources via the Chocolate Villa® Online Forum and Community
Chocolate Villa® Multi-day Offsite Programs
A 2.5- or 5-day offsite program, designed to provide aspiring female leaders with an opportunity to step away from their work for an intensive, reflective exploration of their “next”—position, promotion, project or pursuit. Objectives for this program are consistent with those outlined in the Villa Integrated Program, but delivered in a condensed time frame.
Chocolate Villa offsite programs are holistic and all-inclusive. Groups are typically small (8-16 participants), and held at a self-contained, often home-like venue. Meals and accommodations are provided on-site, and moderate outdoor activities may be included in the curriculum. Learning is achieved through experiential activities, discussions, group exploration and reflection. Participants leave with a “Business of Life Plan” and coaching support to help them achieve their goals.
Follow-up programs such as ongoing learning sessions delivered via video- or teleconference, small-group coaching circles, or 1:1 professional coaching can be paired with Chocolate Villa offsite programs, according to your company’s needs.
Chocolate Villa multi-day offsite programs are offered in two formats:
- Private company Villas: Attendees are from the same company, but may be in cross-functional teams
- Open Enrollment Villas: Attendees are from different companies or industries. 5-Day Open Enrollment Villas are held yearly in September in Park City, Utah, or by special request. Advanced registration is required.
Villa Academy
This model is designed to help companies get a foot in the door toward developing high-potential female leaders, but can also be designed to engage the organization in understanding the business case for gender-balanced leadership and building a culture of inclusion and balance.
Objectives for this model align with those of the other Villa Leadership programs, but also provide potential for collaborative conversations with male and female leaders.
Villa Academy can be tailored to a small target group of participants and paired with individual development services (assessments, development planning & coaching), or offered more broadly to a general audience of both female and male leaders.
This model includes 4-8 Group Learning Sessions, delivered on-site or via video-conference. A menu of sessions is available, and may include such topics as:
- The Business Case for Gender-Balanced Leadership
- Gender Intelligence: Men’s and Women’s Styles and Strengths
- Owning Your Future: Career Management and Mapping
- The Chemistry of Confidence
- The Emotional Intelligence Toolkit
- The Law of Trades: Balancing Work/Life Priorities
- The Big Dot/Little Dot Model for Change
- Leadership for the Next Generation
- Building an Inclusive Leadership Culture
The Villa Academy can be structured to suit your company’s schedule and budget.
Team and Culture Building
Gender-balance and women’s career development isn’t a “women’s issue.” It’s a leadership issue.
Developing your top female talent for leadership is more than checking the box or hitting the numbers. Building inclusive cultures and teams where everyone can thrive requires broadening awareness, changing attitudes and learning new behaviors. We all have unconscious bias that will get in the way of our success—if we don’t know and can’t see it.
Team Development
We work with teams of all sizes to develop strategies and skills for building cultures of inclusion, balance and sustainability. Behavior change—and, ultimately, culture change—begins with intentional planning and influencing approaches. Leadership teams learn ways to:
- Identify and uncover unconscious bias
- Leverage diverse styles of leadership and communication
- Model practices of work/life balance for employee well-being
- Promote career ownership and self-development
- Communicate key messages to enhance understanding and engagement
- Plan projects or initiatives to promote a culture of diversity and inclusion in leadership