About the Program

The WISE Emerging Leaders Program takes a comprehensive approach to training midlevel managers to thrive under pressure from both above and below. Through a practical, skills-based approach, develop the practices required to execute long-term strategy, build influence across the organization while also leading teams and manage complexity on a day-to-day basis.

Our training programs are focused on helping you uncover new opportunities today, prepare for future roles, and progress to the next stage of your career. This program's hybrid design includes one in-person training day and four virtual training sessions each followed by small group coaching for hands-on practice of the skill. Learn from certified coaches and get individual access to tools for sustained learning and prioritizing personal development.

Who Should Attend

Midcareer professionals and emerging leaders:

• Manages the complexities of managing up and down
• Frontline leaders leading individual contributors
• Routinely exposed to the "big picture"
• Manages a budget with some exposure to P+L management
• Interacts with multiple functions across the organization
• Oversees a major project and/or people
• Regularly interfaces with senior leadership
• Expected to build internal and external relationships with partners and industry peers
• Seven or more years in career

Schedule and Format

• In-person session on Oct. 19 in New York City, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
• Four virtual, interactive sessions — Oct. 28, Nov. 12, Dec. 3 and Dec. 16, 3-5:30 p.m. ET.
• Each virtual class (via Zoom) is approximately two-and-a-half hours long and delivers an interactive, skill-based learning experience designed for immediate workplace application. Sessions move from facilitator-led teaching and demonstration to learner-led practice — you'll see the skill in action, try it yourself, and get coaching and feedback from multiple perspectives before leaving with resources to sustain the habit. Be prepared to actively participate.
• You will be required to complete a multi-rater assessment in advance of the in-person session. The process takes several weeks and must be completed by Oct. 5.
• Prework assignment for each virtual session will be available a week prior to the session; estimated time to complete each assignment is 15-20 minutes.
• Sessions are facilitated by Proteus, a WISE professional development partner.

Curriculum and Key Outcomes

Each session includes a skill-based approach facilitated by certified coaches that empowers you to build relationships through practicing skills in small groups, giving support as a peer coach, and receiving practical and relevant feedback to address real challenges and opportunities. You'll also receive:

• Sustained learning practice through a Habit Builder tool with digital coaching to help establish new habits and measure progress.
• Workbooks to document your strengths, opportunities, goals, action plans and progress measures.

Monday, Oct. 19, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
In-person | Increasing Self-Awareness and Confidence

• Closing the Confidence Gap: Address the confidence gap most WISE members experience to better support career development.
• Managing Mindset: Unlock your potential by managing self-talk.
• Understanding Your Style: Uncover your preferred working style with a multi-rater assessment, then understand its implications, including how gender can influence the perception of your typical behavioral patterns.
• Increasing Versatility: Gain strategies for “flexing” your habitual working style to improve collaboration, influence and impact — with special attention to gender-based biases associated with each style.

Wednesday, Oct. 28, 3-5:30 p.m. ET
Virtual | Advanced Listening
Learn to listen in ways that draw people out and demonstrate you understand in any context, then practice the skills in realistic, challenging scenarios.

Thursday, Nov. 12, 3-5:30 p.m. ET
Virtual | Delegating to Create Capacity
Hone practical skills to build your own capacity for more strategic responsibilities, and to elevate your profile and accelerate your career.

Thursday, Dec. 3, 3-5:30 p.m. ET
Virtual | Managing Tough Conversations
Learn to communicate effectively so others can hear difficult messages, even when they're defensive or don't agree.

Wednesday, Dec. 16, 3-5:30 p.m. ET
Virtual | Building Support and Influence
Learn to navigate organizational dynamics and increase your capacity to drive change.

Tuition

Tuition is $2,800 per person. Cohort size is limited to 60 participants.
Travel, accommodations, meals and other expenses during your stay in New York City is on your own.

Professional development is a common employee benefit to which you may already be entitled. Speak to your manager or HR Department to ask if your organization will support you. Because in your career, you'll never get what you don't ask for.

No scholarships are offered for this program.

Updated June 1, 2026

TERMS

Eligibility

This is a member-exclusive program offered to WISE professional level members in good standing. Your membership must remain current for the duration of the program. If you are a student member and need to upgrade your membership, please contact us. Not a member? Join now.

There are no other eligibility requirements. However, we recommend reviewing the "Who Should Attend" section in the program overview to ensure the content aligns with your career level and learning goals.

NOTE: If you need to join or renew, please do so as soon as possible. The system takes about 30 minutes to update before you can then register for this program. If you are not able to add the program to your cart, please log out, close your browser and then try again.

Registration and Payment

You must have a WISE account and be logged in to register. You may only register for yourself; registrations are not transferable and program participation is limited to the registering WISE member only. Full payment of the program fee is required at the time of registration.

Registration deadline is Aug. 19, 2026 or when sold out, whichever comes first. You will receive a confirmation email upon registration.

If your company has prepaid for you to attend, please enter the discount code in your cart during checkout.

Travel, accommodations, meals and other expenses during your stay in New York City is on your own.

Cancellation

Seventy-five percent (75%) of the total program fee will be assessed for cancellations received no later than Aug. 19, 2026. All cancellation requests must be sent in writing to [email protected]. If a cancellation request is received after Aug. 19, 2026, the entire program fee will be forfeited. No substitutions or replacements of accepted registrants may be made at any time. No refunds will be granted for partial participation in the program. WISE reserves the right to postpone or cancel the program should the minimum number of registrants not be met. Under those circumstances, the registration fee will be fully refunded or can be transferred to a future session.

FAQ

Attendance

The program is intended for participants to attend all live sessions to maximize learning. If you're unable to attend, you'll miss out on live practice and personalized feedback from your coach and peers. We encourage you to attend all sessions whenever possible, as each session builds on the last. Only the presentation portion of each virtual class will be recorded and posted in the program portal.

Program Portal and Structure

All sessions and program materials will be accessed through the program portal in the WISE Learning Center. You will be sent email reminders before each class. You must have a Zoom account to participate; a free basic account is sufficient.

IMPORTANT: Please add the [email protected] and [email protected] email addresses, and the wiseworks.org and connectedcommunity.org domains to your safe senders list. If your company has stringent firewall settings, you may need to contact your IT department. You will need to be able to receive program emails and to access Zoom through the WISE Learning Center. If you do not receive an immediate confirmation email after you register, please check your SPAM or promotions folder, or contact your IT department.

• The WISE Emerging Leaders Program includes one full-day in-person session and four virtual sessions, each scheduled for two-and-a half hours, beginning at 3 p.m. ET.
• Be prepared to actively participate. Each session includes a skill-based approach facilitated by certified coaches that empowers you to build relationships through practicing skills in small groups, giving support as a peer coach, and receiving practical and relevant feedback to address real challenges and opportunities. You may also be called upon to share your experience.
• Prework assignment will be available a week prior to each session; estimated time to complete each assignment is 15-20 minutes.
• Recordings for virtual sessions are usually available the following day until the next session.

Learning Environment

To ensure a secure, focused, confidential and compliant learning environment, the use of third-party automated AI note-taking applications, transcription bots or unauthorized recording software (such as Otter.ai, Fireflies, Fathom, Read.ai or similar tools) is strictly prohibited during all sessions.

As our professional development programs frequently involve sensitive discussions, peer sharing and proprietary training materials, allowing unverified external bots to record, transcribe or store these sessions presents significant privacy and data security risks.

Safeguarding the trust built within our sessions is essential to maintaining a respectful environment for open dialogue and collaborative learning. Unauthorized bots detected will be immediately removed. Continued attempts may result in a review of program participation.

Questions? Contact us.