Event Category: Workshop

Five Paths to Leadership℠ Self-Assessment Facilitation Certification Training 

Become a certified practitioner of the Five Paths to Leadership℠ Self-Assessment and bring your expertise to your institution to both support individual learners and facilitate workshops with your campus.  The Five Paths to Leadership℠ Self-Assessment is being used by thousands of faculty and staff in higher education across North America. The magic of the Five Paths is not just deeper self-awareness but its ability to enable more effective interpersonal and team dynamics. The assessment is unique and valuable because:  To preserve an intimate and productive experience, this conference is capped at 30 attendees. 

Five Paths to Leadership℠ Self-Assessment Facilitation Certification Training

Become a certified practitioner of the Five Paths to Leadership℠ Self-Assessment and bring your expertise to your institution to both support individual learners and facilitate workshops with your campus.  The Five Paths to Leadership℠ Self-Assessment is being used by thousands of faculty and staff in higher education across North America. The magic of the Five Paths is not just deeper self-awareness but its ability to enable more effective interpersonal and team dynamics. The assessment is unique and valuable because: 

Building an In-House Leadership Development Program in Higher Education

Leadership development has emerged as one of the most important priorities for institutions today. It’s becoming harder and harder to lead through the myriad of challenges facing our institutions and the strain on leaders has arguably never been so great. Worse, the constantly revolving door of key leadership positions has starkly revealed the depth or shallowness of an institution’s leadership bench. In response, most institutions are now investing heavily in building leadership programs, but each of those approaches it differently.  Academic Impressions has helped more institutions to develop in-house leadership programs than any other organization in higher education, and in this unique two-day event, we’ll share what we’ve learned over 15 years of developing leaders and supporting in-house programs. Whether you are simply dipping your toe in the leadership space for the first time, or you’ve run a successful cohort-based program for years, we’ll share a wealth of resources, methods, and approaches that you can implement right away to develop the next generation of leaders at your institution.  Our Approach   We have intentionally designed our program to explore multiple ways to develop leaders. Whether this is accomplished via one-off programs, cohort programs, or something in between, we’ll show you how […]

Building an In-House Leadership Development Program in Higher Education

Academic Impressions has helped more institutions to develop in-house leadership programs than any other organization in higher education, and in this flagship two-day event, we’ll share what we’ve learned over 15 years of developing leaders and supporting in-house programs. Whether you are simply dipping your toe into the leadership space for the first time, or you’ve run a successful cohort-based program for years, we’ll share a wealth of resources, methods, and approaches that you can implement right away to develop the next generation of leaders at your institution. Our Approach   Adaptable: We have intentionally designed our program to explore multiple ways to develop leaders. Whether this is accomplished via one-off programs, cohort programs, or something in between, we’ll show you how our frameworks, models, and content can be adapted to fit your needs. Human-centered: In addition to sharing proven leadership resources, special attention will be paid to ensuring that your programs center inclusivity and develop innovative and forward-thinking leaders. Hands-on and Experiential: To help guide you in making critical decisions, we’ll share a workbook we’ve built through 15 years of working with institutions to develop their leadership programs. You’ll also experience firsthand a variety of tools and activities you can integrate into […]

Alumni Boards: Strengthen Your Strategy and Grow Engagement 

Alumni boards can assist an institution to achieve strategic priorities, strengthen affinity, and motivate giving. Supporting your board in serving the institution and offering a meaningful volunteer experience starts with having a clear direction regarding your board’s structure, culture, and purpose.  Join us for this two-day conference, where you will obtain a comprehensive A-to-Z approach on how to design, recruit for, and drive engagement with your alumni boards. You will learn how to increase the effectiveness of your alumni board and its member involvement as our expert instructors share practical tips and advice, to include:   You are encouraged to come to the conference with copies of your board’s bylaws, policies, membership rosters and/or other governance documents, which we will use for some of our small group discussions and exercises throughout the conference. Come prepared to discuss current areas of focus and/or specific challenges that you are hoping to address within your board.  

Faculty Affairs Summit: Creating the Conditions for Faculty Belonging and Growth

Four years after the pandemic rocked the foundation of higher education, many faculty affairs leaders continue to struggle to retain faculty. Academic Impressions’ Faculty Retention Survey points to three main factors that contribute to retention, higher job satisfaction, and lower levels of burnout among faculty: a sense of belonging, growth and workload, and support for professional development. Creating the conditions for these factors requires faculty affairs leaders to examine:  Join us for our semiannual Faculty Affairs Summit to explore a variety of proven approaches to support faculty retention. We’ll look at strategies you can use to move the needle on faculty climate and create the conditions necessary to retain faculty and help them to thrive and grow at your institution.   

Leading Teams Through Complexity and Change 

Shifts in higher education are happening faster and in increasingly unpredictable ways. Each day as leaders, we are challenged by highly politicized environments, the need to manage across silos, and the need to work more efficiently with fewer resources. These complex conditions cannot be managed away; they require instead that we lead through them.   Join us for this two-day conference to learn how to increase your effectiveness as a leader and build resilience by focusing on three key themes:  During the conference, you will gain tangible tools and develop a common language of leadership to use within multi-functional teams. We will also introduce a four-step framework to help you to recognize when and how various leadership tensions show up, how they work together, and how to adjust your mindset to lead through them effectively.  

Re-imagining Annual Giving: Optimizing Technology to Acquire Donors and Increase Donor Loyalty

Fact #1: It’s becoming more competitive to get the attention of your donors.  Fact #2: Technology is changing faster than ever before and (Fact #3) it’s getting harder to keep track of the hottest trends that can help you in your shop.  If you’re wondering how to solve all three of these problems, this conference is for you.  As the founder of the fastest-growing professional association in philanthropy, our expert speaker Louis Diez will share the tried-and-true practices that he’s developed by interacting with hundreds of nonprofit professionals committed to improving donor participation. This, along with his extensive research experience, gives him the unique perspective to see what is working right now, understand why it works, and help annual fund shops quickly and efficiently implement these strategies. At this event, Louis will also share relevant donor psychology trends that must be incorporated to better inform the way we communicate with donors.   Not only will you obtain the frameworks for explaining your work to others, but you will also have the unique opportunity to try on these donor communication tactics for your own shop in real-time. If implementing up-to-date digital communication strategies feels intimidating, rest assured that Louis will address your […]

Mastering the Art and Science of Discovery Visits

Authentically navigating the discovery and qualification process is an essential skillset that gift officers need to sustain their donor base. Knowing how to ask questions, listen with curiosity, and unlock meaningful conversations with prospective donors can be the starting point for a principal or transformational gift in the future.  Join us for this in-person conference where you will build your unique discovery work toolkit. Whether you’re new to fundraising work, want to refresh your perspective on discovery visits, or looking to strengthen the way your team engages with new donors, you’ll benefit from this conference as you: 

Mastering the Art and Science of Discovery Visits

Skillfully navigating the discovery and qualification process is an essential skillset that gift officers need for success. Without knowing how to ask the right types of insightful questions that unlock conversations with prospects, major gift officers and advancement shops may struggle to increase their donor base. This can impact future fundraising goals, potentially hindering the long-term viability of your institution from making the case for principal or transformational gifts.  Join us at this conference to build your unique discovery work toolkit by exploring different strategies for starting the relationship with and engaging with prospective donors. Not only will you walk away with concrete examples of how to secure meetings with your best prospects, what questions to ask, and how to map out next steps, but you will also be able to test your approach with your peers and receive valuable feedback and insights from our expert speaker.