Fostering Collaboration and Building Strong Teams in Advancement
October 27-28, 2026 | Denver, CO SEE PRICINGEmpower leaders at all levels and inspire a culture of team development throughout your advancement shop.
What You'll Gain
- Leverage different leadership models so that you can strengthen individual development and team dynamics.
- Build psychological safety and team cohesion through strategies to develop high-performing teams.
- Create a shared language around leadership with the Five Paths to Leadership® Self-Assessment to enhance team culture.
- Focus on future leadership and career growth to support employee retention and succession planning.
Overview
As the demands of advancement work evolve, the need to intentionally develop your staff has never been greater—not just as individual contributors, but as active, connected partners across your shop. The most effective advancement teams are ones where communication flows across functions, mid-level leaders take initiative and think strategically, and every staff member understands how their work connects to the institution’s larger mission. Working as a unified advancement shop requires more than good intentions or skills-based training; it requires a deliberate investment in leadership development at every level. That’s where Academic Impressions can help.
Join us for Fostering Collaboration and Building Strong Teams in Advancement to explore how individual leadership growth and intentional collaboration go hand in hand. We’ll dig into facilitating meaningful career development conversations, investing in leadership training that serves your shop’s current and future needs, and fostering a culture where leaders at every level see themselves as strategic partners, not just managers of their own corner of the shop. Using Academic Impressions’ expertise in advancement leadership and our Five Paths to Leadership® Self-Assessment, you’ll leave with an expanded network of peers, and a toolbox of proven practices to build a more connected, high-performing team.
To help preserve a practical and interactive environment, attendance for this program is capped at 30 participants.
Session Descriptions
More details about the event schedule can be found by clicking Learn More and Register, but session descriptions of the two days are below:
Why Leadership Matters in Advancement
How well do you understand the root causes of performance or retention issues in your shop? How often do you assess the costs of not investing in leadership development for your team? These are complex questions to answer, so we’ll begin by tapping into the collective knowledge of the room to discuss them, and you’ll begin thinking about how your shop approaches leadership development.
Exploring Multiple Models and Approaches to Leadership Development
Leaders and managers play a critical role in establishing trustworthy and transparent learning environments so that your talent can thrive, even in times of change. There are multiple ways to build the capacity of leaders in your shop, and your approach will vary depending on whether you’re just starting out or building on an established, cohort-based program. In this session, we’ll walk you through various decision points, including:
- Whom the program is meant to serve (aspiring supervisors, gift officers, other leaders).
- The level of the program (for new and aspiring leaders, mid-level, or advanced).
- The outcomes you hope to achieve.
- Where the program should live on campus.
- Whose support and sponsorship you will need (and how to get it).
Roadmaps
Throughout the two days, you’ll use a roadmap to synthesize your most important takeaways, so you can capture and document your next steps. We’ll provide time for you to reflect and get feedback as you begin to develop strategies specific to your campus.
Case Studies: Best Practices
Using real-life cases from Academic Impressions’ partner institutions, you’ll examine successful leadership development programs and explore how they originated, how program goals were established, and how you can adopt elements of the program that fit within your unit. These case studies will help you see how to actualize your roadmap at your institution.
The Five Paths to Leadership®
It can be difficult to develop or grow leadership programs for others in your unit if you don’t first understand your own leadership tendencies and styles. In this session, you’ll better understand your leadership strengths and natural preferences related to solving problems, communicating, and collaborating when we debrief your Five Paths to Leadership® Self-Assessment results. This self-assessment helps you to better leverage your strengths, mitigate potential weaknesses, and learn how to build strong interpersonal and team relationships—critical skills for leading effectively both formally and informally in teams.
Future Leadership Visioning
Through multiple activities, we’ll help you discuss and identify essential leadership skills. This eye to the future will help you build your roadmap and create the most impact in your shop.
Career Conversations: A Proven 4-Step Model
Supervisors and leaders often avoid having career conversations for many reasons, including a lack of opportunities for upward mobility, fear of raising expectations that can’t be met, or just not knowing how to have the discussions. Academic Impressions has developed a “4-Step Career Conversations Model” that you can easily share with leaders back on campus. We’ll cover both what the discussion should entail and how to have an effective career conversation with an employee.
Developing High-Performing Teams
We’ll spend time learning about the characteristics of high-performing teams and then take a deep dive into learning and applying strategies to support the development of these teams at your shop. We’ll explore various concepts that influence team culture such as psychological safety, trust, collaboration, and team cohesion.
Who Should Attend
This summit is designed for senior advancement leaders and those with broad oversight of operations, culture, and staff retention who are ready to move beyond reactive management and build a truly collaborative, high-performing shop. If you set the tone for how your team works together and shows up in service of the institution’s mission, this program is for you.
How You’ll Use This to Move Work Forward
- Advancement Talent Development Professionals – Apply specific leadership development strategies to build future leaders in your shop.
- VP and AVP of Advancement – Strengthen your team culture and staff retention with a focus on building strong interpersonal and team relationships.
- Divisional Advancement Leadership – Establish a trustworthy and transparent learning environment where your talent can think strategically and thrive.
Bring a team! Register 3 or more people and save more than $1,000! Discounts will be automatically applied at checkout.
What makes our events different?
Academic Impressions workshops provide the opportunity for quality conversations and relationship-building through both formal and informal networking opportunities in an intimate setting. Our in-depth and hands-on approach to learning provides you with actionable takeaways.
Learn More About the Academic Impressions Workshop Experience ➞
Location
Academic Impressions’ Denver-based office
5299 DTC Blvd, Suite 1400
Greenwood Village, CO 80111
Grow Leadership.
Maximize Your Budget.
Empower your team with leadership development that pays off. Our Workshop Flex Packs help you build leadership capacity while saving money. For a limited time, save up to $795 a seat when you purchase 3 or more seats.
What Our Attendees Are Saying
Pricing
October 27-28, 2026
Denver, CO
Starting at:
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Non-Member Price: $2,495
/person
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Member Price: $2,245
/person
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Teams: Save $1,000+
for teams of 3 or more
Additional optional add-ons are available during checkout.
Questions About the Event?
Jenn Duffield
Senior Learning & Development Manager, Academic Impressions
Learn More about Jenn Duffield