Building a New Leadership Ladder: A Program for Women in Senior Leadership Roles
This highly engaging program is designed for strategic leaders who are currently in or transitioning to the most senior levels of business or public sector organizations and want to making a significant impact on the workplace and society.

Course Information

Course Dates:

  • March 2, 2025 (Reception)
  • March 3 to 6, 2025 (Program)

Registration Deadline: February 21, 2025

Format: On Campus

Times: 08:30 am to 05:00 pm

Cost: $9,500

This highly engaging program is designed for strategic leaders who are currently in or transitioning to the most senior levels of business or public sector organizations and want to make a significant impact on the workplace and society. In this immersive, on campus program, you will collaborate with women from diverse backgrounds while learning from world-class USC faculty and thought leaders from multidisciplinary backgrounds.

A broad network of peers and instructors will support your learning journey through highly interactive exercises, conversations and examination of complex challenges facing your organization and the future of work. You will be exposed to a wide array of perspectives, practices and evidence-based material.

To personalize the learning experience, you will be partnered with an executive coach who will challenge some longstanding beliefs and help you think about application of concepts and tools to your unique context. This individual coaching relationship offers you dedicated time to delve deeper into your personalized Leadership Assessment, thoroughly exploring your strengths and setting clear development goals.

A further benefit of this four-day learning journey will be the lasting relationships and network that can serve as vital resources for years to come.

How Will You Benefit?

The course is designed to optimize the time spent in the formal classroom and during evening gatherings in which you’ll interact with USC faculty and practitioners. Through a wide range of experiences, you will:

  • Deepen self-awareness and emotional intelligence as a cornerstone of your transformational leadership journey.
  • Be exposed to research, practices and tools that will enhance your leadership impact.
  • Learn from world-class USC faculty, practitioners and peers while examining evidence-based material and cases.
  • Develop an understanding of the organizational changes that need to occur to help advance women and diverse leaders.
What Will You Learn?
  • Leading Self – A Foundation for Effective Leadership
  • Building an Inclusive Culture for Women’s Success
  • A Coaching Approach to Leading Others
  • Mindset and Skills Needed for Executive Leadership Presence

For more, check out our Programs for Individuals page.

Who Should Attend

This program is designed for senior-level women leaders who have strategic responsibility, lead teams of subject matter experts, collaborate with diverse stakeholders, lead organizational or departmental change, and may work closely or report to a board of directors.

Digital Badge and Certificate

Upon completing the program, you will earn a digital badge recognizing your new proficiency. Share and showcase your achievements by posting your digital badge on online resumes and social networks such as LinkedIn.
TIME REQUIREMENTS
4 days; totaling 32 hours
Additional Dates
To Be Announced
COURSE DISCLAIMER
Every reasonable effort will be made to ensure this course runs as described on this web page. Please note that course dates and professors are subject to change. You will be notified by email in advance if there is a date or professor change. Additionally, this course also requires a minimum number of registrants to take place. You will be notified by email if the course does not meet this minimum.

Teaching Methods

This program is run in a focused classroom setting that gives you frequent one-on-one access to USC Marshall faculty. Using case studies, current business articles, in-class exercises, and small group projects, our faculty will lead you to focus on the key knowledge and skills you need to create new market opportunities.

Program Faculty

Carol Geffner

President, CB Vision, LLC | Professor of Practice, Governance & Management, USC Sol Price School of Public Policy (RET)

Dr. Carol J. Geffner is a renowned expert in governance, management, and policy processes, and a retired Professor of Practice at the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California. With decades of experience, she helps organizations navigate change, foster inclusive cultures, and empower women leaders. Her latest book, Building a New Leadership Ladder, provides practical strategies for transforming male-dominated organizations.

Gita Govahi

Assistant Dean of Experiential Learning & Research

Gita Govahi is the Assistant Dean of USC Marshall’s Experiential Learning Center (ELC) that promotes learning through active and engaging exercises. At this unique facility, students become drivers of their own learning, participating in “business-like” scenarios on topics that include group decision-making, problem solving, making presentations, and taking part in business negotiations.

Jay Conger

CEO Affiliated Research Scientist, Henry Cravis Chaired Professor of Leadership Studies

Jay Conger is one of the world’s experts on leadership. You will see him quoted in the Wall Street Journal and other business periodicals analyzing people and trends in the executive suite and in the boardroom. He is a senior research scientist at the USC Center for Effective Organizations as well as the Henry Kravis Chaired Professor of Leadership Studies at Claremont McKenna College in Los Angeles. As an executive educator, coach, and program designer, Dr. Conger has coached thousands of leaders and worked with over six hundred organizations in his career. He is the author of fifteen books on topics of leadership. His most recent book published by the Harvard Business Press is the High Potentials Advantage.

Marco Aponte-Moreno

Professor of Clinical Management and Organization

Professor Aponte-Moreno specializes in leadership development, strategic management, and cross-cultural negotiations. He brings a unique approach to executive education by integrating principles from the arts, particularly theater, to cultivate leadership skills in business settings. His book, Leadership as Performance: Developing Leadership Skills through Acting, explores how acting techniques can enhance key leadership skills such as self-awareness, presence, authenticity, communication, and emotional intelligence.

Annalise Jennings

Founder and Principal of Dynamic Exchange

Annalise Jennings is a business and community strategist with a background in risk management and 25 years’ experience in Corporate Banking. Over her career she has specialized in projects that focus on transformation and maximizing human potential. She is the founder and principal of Dynamic Exchange, an organisation committed to supporting individuals, teams, communities and organisations to reach their fullest potential.