The purpose of the ELAM Fellowship is to build a community of exceptional women academic leaders who have broad organizational perspectives and deep personal capacity to address emerging issues in their schools and universities, and the society they serve. These leadership skills and relationships are essential to achieve ELAM's overall mission to advance and sustain academic women leaders. The curriculum of this program is designed to address four fundamental competencies:

Strategic Finance and Resource Management

Fellows will use strategic approaches to financial and resource management that enhance the missions of their organizations. They will be able to:

• Analyze organizational financial information to support and enhance core missions
• Develop comprehensive proposals for new institutional programs, aligning resources and organizational strategy to show value and feasibility
• Leverage resources to support operations and strategic initiatives of their own departments and centers

Personal and Professional Leadership Effectiveness

Fellows will adapt their leadership behaviors to effectively address strategic, operational, and relational challenges. They will be able to:

• Use personal awareness of leadership strengths to enhance professional effectiveness
• Develop strategic approaches to the pursuit, acceptance, and transition into new leadership positions
• Maintain practices of self-care that sustain personal and professional energy
• Develop and communicate persuasive messages for a variety of audiences
• Include the perspectives and experiences of diverse members into organizational discussions
• Resolve differences in perspective and positions to create shared expectations that support effective working relationships and allocation of resources

Organizational Dynamics

Fellows will lead and manage change initiatives within complex and dynamic academic organizations. They will be able to:

• Collaborate with diverse team members to advance organizational goals
• Partner with senior leaders and managers to sustain and advance the missions of the organization
• Negotiate the politics, culture, and hierarchy of their organizations to advance strategic initiatives
• Manage the transitions, communications, and open evaluation processes needed to effect change and maintain quality in their organizations

Communities of Leadership Practice

Fellows will develop and participate in a variety of communities of practice that support academic organizational leadership. They will be able to:

• Forge relationships across disciplines, professions, and organizations to expand professional networks
• Sustain leadership learning through formal professional development, leadership coaching, and reflection on outcomes of leadership activities
• Support the development of academic and leadership career development of others through mentoring and peer consultation
• Identify and access a circle of trusted advisors who can support ongoing leadership advancement and transitions