Women’s Business Leadership Certificate
September 10-June 11, 5:00 pm-3:30 pm
$5750Women offer unique skills and values in the workplace that create success in any organization. Having diverse organizational leadership increases innovation, creative thinking, and well-rounded decision-making.
To help organizations and individuals capitalize on developing women leaders, the certificate focuses on:
- Personal Authentic Leadership
- Business Acumen; Finance, Strategic Thinking, Negotiation Skills
- Communication
This program provides an opportunity for mid-level managers to develop the necessary business acumen and leadership skills necessary for further advancement in organizations. Participants benefit from the cohort model by developing long-lasting personal and professional relationships. Sessions are facilitated by Xavier Leadership Center’s nationally recognized and experienced practitioners. These subject-matter experts integrate knowledge with experience to focus on real issues and create opportunities to apply the concepts immediately. The program is multi-layered and highly interactive.
Program Layers:
- Immersive Experience: A fun, informal environment that fosters team building among the participants; a shared experience is important for developing the cohort.
- Business Skills: Offering skills and concepts drawn from Xavier Leadership Center’s experienced professionals and subject-matter experts to increase knowledge in areas critical to the mission of businesses.
- Personal and Authentic Leadership Development: Expanding organizational and personal leadership capabilities with a focus on bringing unique strengths and styles to work.
- Assessment: The program includes an assessment to discover personal management styles; insight into directing, delegating, and motivating; and strategies to support long-term development.
Program Dates: Participants are expected to attend each session in order to complete the certificate. If participants have known scheduling conflicts, they are encouraged to let XLC know and an alternative can be planned, if necessary.
- Sep 10, 2025 (5pm-8:30pm)
- Sep 11, 2025 (8:30am-3:30pm)
- Oct 9, 2025 (8:30am-3:30pm)
- Nov 13, 2025 (8:30am-3:30pm)
- Dec 11, 2025 (8:30am-2:30pm)
- Jan 15, 2026 (8:30am-3:30pm)
- Feb 12, 2026 (8:30am-3:30pm)
- Mar 12, 2026 (8:30am-3:30pm)
- Apr 9, 2026 (8:30am-3:30pm)
- May 14, 2026 (8:30am-3:30pm)
- Jun 11, 2026 (8:30am-3:30pm)
Description
Certificate Topics:
This certificate program will feature a different topic for each of the 10 program sessions. Topics are chosen using attendees' feedback, workplace trends, and various opportunities. Topics from previous cohorts include:
Kick-Off Event
The Women's Business Leadership Certificate program begins with an informal dinner event where participants can learn more about the program and their fellow cohort members. This kick-off event lays the foundation for relationship-building and networking throughout the program.
Personal Authentic Leadership
This program begins with a personal assessment of your innate combination of thinking and behavioral preferences that make you unique. This knowledge will allow you to understand the leadership styles that fit with who you are and how you are most valuable to your team and the organization. You will also develop an understanding of the key considerations that determine which leadership approaches will be most effective to accomplish your goals. Upon completion, you will create your own plan for applying insights from this transformative journey to becoming a more effective leader in your organization.
Finance for Leaders
As a leader, no matter what area of the organization in which you work, decisions need to be made with an understanding of the financial impact on the company. You'll develop an understanding of all of the key financial documents, how to interpret them, and why they are important. Financial terms and calculations will be explained in a way that makes sense for both financial and non-financial business professionals. Finally, you will also be challenged to apply what you learn in class by analyzing how your work and your decisions are related to the overall performance of the company.
Mastering the Unwritten Rules at Work
American business was designed centuries ago. Women are now fully participating in the workplace, yet only 10% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women. By mastering the unwritten rules and learning to negotiate, you will have new tools to help you be your successful best. This program discusses topics not covered during orientation including how decisions get made and how work really gets done in the office. You will leave with a number of concrete actions you can use immediately.
Leveraging Strengths
This fourth session of the Women’s Business Leadership Certificate program will use the CliftonStrengths Full 34 profile to guide participants to understand their strengths and how to use them effectively to lead others. Participants will also understand how they can identify other people’s strengths and collaborate with them effectively.
Critical Conversations
When we are stuck because we are avoiding a needed conversation, or having the same conversation more often than we want, it is a sign that we are talking but not really conversing. Learning the proven skills that help frame how, when, and what we say can yield amazing results. These tools improve relationships, reduce stress, minimize conflict, improve productivity, and best of all, increase our ability to be effective. This discussion-based program will feature interactive exercises that allow you to gain critical conversation tools such as: identifying roadblocks to managing relationships and conflict, learning to practice and apply specific skills geared toward effectiveness, recognizing and addressing individuals displaying disruptive behavior, focusing on interactions common to the corporate environment.
Coaching and Mentoring Others
The workplace has evolved drastically in many industries since the pandemic and the Great Resignation. Now, it is even more important for managers and team leaders to create a positive work environment where people want to belong. Clear communication, strong mentoring, and accurate expectations are needed to develop effective teams both virtually and in person. This session will discuss transparent expectations while addressing each employee’s personal needs. Effective communication will follow, focusing on delivering feedback in healthy and positive ways. Finally, participants will explore aligning individual and team performances to create a cohesive work environment.
Effective Decision Making
An organization’s success depends on its ability to make timely and informed decisions. And yet, according to a global McKinsey study from 2019, only 20% of respondents say their organizations excel at decision-making. Participants will explore various ways and methods to make decisions as both an individual and as a leader. Then, the program will focus on how to build a culture of effective decision-making within an organization. Real-world examples and interactive activities will guide discussions and showcase examples of great and not-so-great decision-making skills.
Managing Change
There are few guarantees in the workplace today. However, change is one of them. More than ever, organizations and their environments are in a state of flux as processes are streamlined, technologies are upgraded, new products are introduced, and organizations increasingly compete in a global market. In some cases, these changes are planned. In others, they are not. Sometimes the forces for change are internal to the organization, and sometimes they are caused by external conditions. Regardless of why change occurs, employees and organizations need to be competent in dealing with and managing change. Participants will walkway with tools and methodologies of leading through and managing change.
Strategic Thinking and Planning
While strategic thinking and planning are the roadmaps to success, implementation is the vehicle that gets you there. Leaders must decide the most important things that need to get done, execute the key to-dos, and know when to say “no” to achieve your organization’s strategic goals. Participants will leave energized and ready to be more strategic thinkers and implement their strategic plans. They will also discover ways to effectively communicate their strategies to colleagues at different levels of the organization.
Moving Forward as a Leader
This interactive, engaging, and thought-provoking session will help you understand yourself and others in order to build strong, productive relationships as a leader. Not every team member can be managed and developed in the same way, so leaders must understand how to be effective in many different situations, such as meetings and brainstorming sessions. You will learn how to connect better with colleagues and employees whose priorities and preferences differ from yours – saving you time, energy, and money.
Audience
Women in mid-level manager positions looking to develop the necessary business acumen and leadership skills to advance to organizational leadership positions.
Outcomes
Participants will walk away with these skills:
- Utilizing a leadership style that is valuable to themselves, their teams, and their organization
- Mastering the unwritten rules of work
- Thinking and behaving strategically
- Creating conditions for innovators to thrive
- Communicating with clarity and confidence to achieve leadership goals
- Practicing in a variety of communication styles that may be used in specific situations
- Understanding key financial documents, how to interpret them, and knowing why they are important
- Using the language of finance
- Effectively negotiate with others
- Demonstrating how to test for alignment through listening and responding
- Leveraging the best decision-making tool for maximum impact
- Mentor team members and direct reports on an individual level
- Projecting a strong executive presence that builds trust and value in the minds of othe
Venue
- Cintas Center
-
1624 Musketeer Drive
Cincinnati, 45207 United States + Google Map - Phone
- 513-745-1094
Program Details
- Start:
- September 10, 2025 @ 5:00 pm
- End:
- June 11, 2026 @ 3:30 pm
- Cost:
- $5750
- Program Categories:
- Business Acumen, Certificate Programs, Communications, For Individuals, Innovation, Management Development
- Program Tags:
- Acumen, Business Acumen, Communication, leadership, Women, Women Business Leaders, Women Leaders, Women Leadership
- Website:
- Register
September 10, 2025
September 11, 2025
October 9, 2025
November 13, 2025
December 11, 2025
January 15, 2026
February 12, 2026
March 12, 2026
April 9, 2026
May 14, 2026
June 11, 2026
Participants are expected to attend each session in order to complete the certificate. If participants have known scheduling conflicts, they are encouraged to let XLC know and an alternative can be planned, if necessary.
Dates for the 2025-2026 cohort are subject to change.
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