Smith College Leadership Consortium
Experience the synergy!
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So, what exactly is a "consortium"? Here is how the Merriam-Webster defines it.
Con-sor-tium
noun\ken-'sor-sh(e-)em, -'sor-te-em\
An agreement, combination, or group (as of companies) formed to undertake an enterprise beyond the resources of any one member.
The Smith Consortium is the most powerful program available today, designed in collaboration with Fortune 500 companies, to quickly move high-potential women executives and managers up the leadership pipeline. We work with talent management and diversity and inclusion professionals from companies like Accenture, Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase, and The Chubb Group of Insurance Companies who come together as partners in the development of their high-potential women.
The consortium model delivers an exponential return on women's leadership that you won't find anywhere else:
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A carefully selected cohort of female peers from across industries and functions that enables high-value, high-impact learning experiences
- A true collaboration between Smith's curriculum team and leading talent management executives that drives just-in-time relevant content around current leadership needs, trends, and issues
What is different about Smith’s Leadership Consortium?
Because we have the longest proven experience, expertise, and success in women’s leadership in the executive education industry, there are many ways Smith’s open consortium program addresses the most pressing needs of corporations looking to build their female leadership pipeline.
Our member companies tell us that the following three benefits are most evident:
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Advance more women leaders at senior executive levels
The Smith Consortium is the only director-level executive education consortium that is 100% focused on women leaders. It addresses head on one of the most critical issues facing the world's best companies: how to develop and retain high-potential female executives and managers to quickly and effectively move up the leadership pipeline. -
Provide a cost-effective sustainable coaching model for women executives
The Smith Consortium includes an innovative and effective peer coaching component to proactively guide participants as they connect their group learning experiences to their own individual development plan and company-specific issues. The goal: to achieve maximum benefit and applicability for the member company. -
Prepare women executives to take risks and lead with confidence
Smith’s unique all-female learning experience affords women the chance to network with and learn from their true peers – high-achieving women from different companies, countries and industries. Why is this important? Smith's all-female learning model systematically creates an environment of shared experiences, common issues, personal connection, candor and trust – which research shows leads to increased confidence and risk-taking, resulting in breakthrough leadership development.
“Smith has really an elite brand within our company. Chubb has been a long supporter of the Smith program and we have a pretty competitive selection process internally at Chubb to be one of the participants. We want them to be truly open to…developing the depth of knowledge that they’re going to need for their next opportunity and that they can draw upon.”
– Michelle Middleton, Senior Vice President
The Chubb Group of Insurance Companies
Next Program Date: July 21 – August 2, 2013
Tuition: $15,800
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Program Highlights
Since member companies are equal partners, each has input on curriculum design as well as the program’s underlying “strategic thinking” theme, making the Smith Consortium very much like a custom program experience without the associated high costs…
View curriculum > -

WHAT DO PARTICIPANTS SAY?
“This is a deep-dive immersion into highly relevant [leadership] topics…you are surrounded by top female talent who can really challenge your thinking to an even higher level."
Wendy Turner
Read more >
Director, Regulatory Affairs, Ethicon Endo-Surgery, a Johnson & Johnson company -

EXPERIENCED INDUSTRY GUIDES
Since Smith College is not a business school, we have the flexibility to bring together the right mix of “best-in-class” professors, consultants and coaches for our Consortium member companies – trusted guides such as Dartmouth’s Professor Vijay Govindarajan, who is also chief innovation consultant to General Electric’s CEO Jeffrey Immelt…
Smith faculty >



