• Senior leaders of nonprofit organizations
• Senior public sector leaders, government leaders, educational institution leaders, leaders of faith-based organizations and NGO leaders
• All forward-thinking senior leaders

• Learn new ways to think strategically about organizational issues and challenges
• Uncover your true leadership style by discovering strengths, motivations and the conditions necessary for authentic and powerful leadership
• Harness the power of story to develop your own leadership narrative and vision to motivate others
• Create an environment for moving your organization and constituents to meaningful and lasting action
• Learn to communicate your vision and ideas, effectively, through visualization
• Equip yourself with key tools for leading organizational changes in the future

Leading with Vision & Purpose: What’s Your Story

• Learn how to maximize your performance and engage and inspire others by communicating a sense of purpose, values and vision
• Understand the daily behaviors that differentiate leaders with extraordinary impact
• Focus on how leaders identify and develop their own “Story,” or personal narrative
• Explore how to create a collective identity “Story” that communicates a compelling and inspiring vision
• Build strong followership, create value and generate significant impact through leadership
• Distinguish “Story” from “story” and learn how to communicate your identity Story, vision and values through the practice of storytelling

Cultivating Your Executive Presence

• Articulate the key dimensions of executive presence and examine how these manifest uniquely within the values-driven environment of nonprofit leadership
• Develop strategies for building trust, authority, and authentic leadership presence in interactions with your organization’s stakeholders
• Apply tools for maintaining calm and clarity when addressing critical conversations, crisis moments, or high-visibility opportunities

Effective Decision-Making

• Learn to approach issues with a strategic mindset, and assess the long-term implications of leadership decisions
• Identify common cognitive biases that impair decision quality, and apply strategies to neutralize their effects in both individual and group decision-making contexts
• Investigate the influence of team dynamics on the decision-making process

Influence without Authority

• Explore the ethical implications of influence as means of advancing your change initiatives
• Develop new approaches to influencing others
• Consider how to apply concepts to your current change initiatives

Design Thinking for Nonprofits

• Explore the foundational mindset and methodology of design thinking, including human-centered problem framing, iterative prototyping, and experimentation
• Gain practical experience prototyping and refining new ideas through continuous engagement and improvement, reducing risk and improving buy-in
• Practice techniques to uncover unmet needs and reframe challenges from the perspective of end users

Presenting Your Ideas: The Science of Whole Brain Persuasion

• Learn how to assure that your ideas for the future may be communicated effectively, through persuasive presentation
• Identify strategies for using compelling visuals, concrete stories and familiar metaphors to engage your stakeholders
• Learn how to make your message stick and inspire action as a leader

Michael Rice - Academic Director; Associate Director, Nonprofit Executive Programs

Michelle L. Buck - Clinical Professor of Executive Education

Steven Franconeri - Professor of Psychology, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences; Director, Northwestern Cognitive Science Program; Professor of Leadership, Kellogg School of Management (Courtesy)

Liz Gerber - Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence, McCormick School of Engineering

Joseph Patton - Executive & Career Coach; Assoc. Director, Career Advising & Education at Kellogg

Nicholas A. Pearce - Clinical Professor of Management & Organizations

Lauren Rivera - Peter G. Peterson Professor of Corporate Ethics, Professor of Management & Organizations; Professor of Sociology, Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences (Courtesy)

Location

Nonprofit Management Programs are held at Northwestern University's Chicago Campus.

Wieboldt Hall
340 East Superior Street
Chicago, IL 60611
Directions

Chicago Campus Parking Map - Please Note: the Erie Ontario Parking C & D lots are available to the public and should be used when attending programs at Wieboldt Hall.

Application Deadline

The deadline for registration is 10:00 am one business day prior to the program start date.

Scholarship Assistance

Up to 50% scholarships are available for all of our nonprofit executive education programs for those working in nonprofit organizations. All scholarship requests are reviewed by our Registrar and any scholarships granted will be reflected in the amount charged to your credit card.

Payment Deadline

• If you request a scholarship, your credit card is submitted upon registration and will be charged once your request is approved (allow 1-2 business days for review).
• If you do not request a scholarship, your credit card will be charged upon application submission.

Hospitality during the Program

We strive to provide healthy meal choices for our participants for breakfast, lunch and breaks. We typically provide a range of choices, including some vegetarian-friendly and gluten-avoidant selections. We cannot meet all dietary preferences, but we will do our best to accommodate health restrictions, religious restrictions and food allergies.

Accommodations

Participants are responsible for booking their hotel accommodations during their stay in Chicago.

Download Nearby Hotels List

Cancellation Policy:

Participants must notify the Program Manager five business days in advance of the program start date if they are unable to attend. Otherwise, participants will be charged 20% of the stated program fees.

When canceling a program registration, participants may choose to rollover their payment to a future program or receive a refund. Participants are allowed two rollovers, after the second rollover, participants forfeit the money paid to the Center for Nonprofit Management.

*Refund or rollover must be requested at the time of the program cancellation. Once a program payment has been rolled over, a monetary refund is no longer an option. The participant must continue with the rollover process. All rolled over payments (i.e. payment credits) must be utilized within two years of the initial cancellation. After that time, all payments will be forfeit and no longer applicable toward future program registrations.

Northwestern University reserves the right to cancel a program at any time for any reason. In the unlikely event of a course cancellation, paid program fees will be refunded, but the university is not responsible for any travel or other related expenses accrued by the program registrant.