Leadership program directory

With support from the Bush Foundation, this directory provides a list of leadership development programs for Minnesota residents—particularly residents who are from communities that are underrepresented in leadership positions—who are interested in developing or supporting the development of individual, organizational, or community leadership abilities.

1. They are available for all Minnesota residents and/or centered on:

   • Indigenous communities and communities of color, women, immigrant and refugee communities, veterans, people with a disability, and rural residents
   • A specific focus, including poverty, diversity, equity and inclusion, leadership in ethnically diverse communities, health care (e.g., mental and physical health; drug abuse), immigration, civility
   • Specific sectors, including education, public/private education, non-profit, elected officials
   • Emerging, mid-career, and senior professionals

2. They are focused on long-term transformation

   They may contain some skills-based training or technical skills specific to a profession (e.g., fundraising, policymaking, budgeting), but are primarily focused on longer-term transformation to engage in leader roles or processes and not focused on professional development.

3. They meet over an extended period

   The program is conducted over a period of weeks or months (ideally months), and focus on a process of evolution, transformation, or development

4. They build capacity

   They focus on individual, organizational, or community leadership development, and build capacity of people to work more effectively as individuals, in their professions, or in their communities.

5. They incorporate both content and connection

   These programs provide knowledge and skills, as well as the chance for connection with others, building a network, and learning from others.

6. They involve a group of people working together

   Ideally, the group work and reflect together to build leadership capacity (e.g., cohort model, mentoring, working individually but reflecting on individual projects with a group), and are a diverse group (e.g., race/ethnicity, sector, gender).

7. They provide training to those who have not had a voice in leadership

   They are intentional about tapping into the voices that do not have resources for leadership development programs.

8. They tap into ways that leadership development looks different across identities and different places

   For example, leadership development may occur when not aligned with professional responsibilities. In addition, all programs included in the directory align with the following definition of leadership:

   • Leadership is a collective process of people working together towards building capacity to engage in effective leadership roles and processes by developing social capital through networked relationships that enhance cooperation and resource exchange.
   • Leadership is a process that does not require formal, positional authority or title, and that leadership can exist anywhere within a community or within any position in an organization.
   • Leadership can be defined differently depending on cultural lens, situation, or context.

What leadership development programs are not included in the directory?

14. Programs that promote discrimination of any kind based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, disability, age (age 40 or older), or genetic information are not included. It is our intention to include programs that have values consistent with diverse and inclusive leadership goals.
15. In general programs with the following characteristics are excluded from this directory:
    • Professional development and workforce development programs that provide technical skills specific to a profession
    • Internal leadership development programs specific to employees of organizations
    • Degree-granting programs in higher education, including alumni programming
    • Programs that provide credit via a professional association

Minnesota Compass and the Bush Foundation do not endorse the leadership development programs included in this directory. The goal of the directory is to provide a resource for individuals seeking to learn more about leadership development programs.

The language used to describe the ‘Leadership stage’ filter—emerging leader, mid-career, and senior—are reflective of the language primarily used by leadership development programs. We understand that this language may not be in alignment with the various ways in which leadership and leaders look across different identities, cultures, and places.

The language used to describe the race and ethnicity within the ‘Participant focus’ filter is reflective of the language primarily used by leadership development programs to describe their participant focus. We understand that this language may not be in alignment with the unique and diverse cultural communities that exist within these racial and ethnic categories or the ways in which language is currently evolving to describe race and ethnicity.

If you would like to add a leadership development program to this directory, please complete this form.