Open Enrollment Cohort-Based Learning Pathways

Open Enrollment Cohort

Innovative Leadership IT Leaders™ Development Program - Central Ohio Cohort & ILI Advanced Leadership Development Program

The Innovative Leadership IT Leaders™ Development Program — Central Ohio Cohort is an open-enrollment, structured leadership development program for technology leaders and managers preparing for broader responsibilities and future roles.

This program brings together a diverse group of technology managers and directors in a vendor‑free environment to build leadership capability, expand perspective, and learn with peers facing similar challenges.

Unlike peer networking events, ILI IT Leaders™ delivers a formal curriculum, structured assessments, and joint certification from the Innovative Leadership Institute® and the Mason Leadership Center at Franklin University.

Format: In‑person cohort with online learning support
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Audience: Technology managers, directors, and high‑potential leaders
Enrollment: Open enrollment (individual or company‑sponsored)

Who This Program Is For

This open enrollment cohort is designed for:

Technology managers and directors preparing for expanded leadership scope
High‑potential leaders seeking structured leadership development
Organizations sponsoring individual leaders without creating a private cohort
Professionals who value peer learning, facilitated dialogue, and application

Program Overview

Program Structure & Curriculum

Certification

Outcomes & Impact

Tuition & Enrollment

Tuition: $1,600 per participant
Payment Due: August 28, 2026
Format: In‑person, Columbus, Ohio

Enroll

Continuing Your Leadership Development

The ILI IT Leaders^TM - Central Ohio Cohort is designed to build a strong leadership foundation through cohort learning, application, and peer dialogue.

Some participants choose to extend their development beyond the core program through additional services that provide deeper personalization, sustained coaching, or advanced leadership preparation. These options are not required and are available based on individual goals and career stage.

Coaching Companion (Optional)

Alumni Coaching

ILI Advanced Leadership Development Program ALDP

Program summary

ALDP is an advanced leadership program designed for seasoned leaders with over 10 years of work experience. It accelerates leadership advancement by equipping participants with advanced leadership tools and a rigorous development process focused on enterprise readiness, measurable behavior change, and executive-level deliverables.

ALDP is a follow-on program to the Central Ohio Tech Leaders Program. Admission is contingent on graduation from the foundation Tech Leaders program or approval of applications from senior leaders who did not attend the foundation course.

Primary outcomes

- Succession-ready leaders with stronger judgment, maturity, and enterprise scope

- Faster, cleaner transformation adoption through alignment of people, process, and technology

- Stronger cross-functional execution through better alignment, decision quality, and fewer breakdowns

The problem ALDP solves

Most leadership programs improve insight. Your business needs improved outcomes.

When leaders are misaligned, organizations pay for it through:

- Slower decisions, unclear ownership, and stalled execution

- Transformation fatigue and uneven adoption

- Inconsistent leadership, bench strength gaps, and succession risk

ALDP addresses these challenges by treating leadership development as execution infrastructure. Leaders learn, then immediately apply learning to enterprise priorities with accountability and measurable evidence.

What ALDP is (and is not)

ALDP is a rigorous, applied executive development experience that uses an outcomes-based curriculum to prove enterprise readiness and impact through real-world application and executive-level deliverables.

ALDP is not:

- Generic leadership training

- A feel-good cohort experience

- A program where participation equals progress

Participants are assessed on the quality and defensibility of their leadership judgments, as well as evidence of behavior change and impact, not on activity alone.

Curriculum overview (9-session program flow)

ALDP runs for nine months and includes nine monthly sessions. Target cadence is the first Thursday of each month in the afternoon. Sessions are delivered virtually, enabling participation beyond Columbus.

Session 1: Program Kickoff, Peer Mentor Assignment, Introductory Discussions, and Leadership Developmental Framework Review

Session 2: Innovative Leadership Transformation Process and Developmental Basics

Session 3: Competing Commitments

Session 4: Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

Session 5: Mid-Point Calibration and Integration

Session 6: Political Savvy and Executive Presence

Session 7: Organizational Vibrancy Frameworks

Session 8: Navigating Polarities

Session 9: Leadership Readiness Simulation and Program Wrap-up

How it works (curriculum design and learning model)

- Cohort size of 10–15 participants to enable meaningful peer accountability and depth of discussion

- Average of eight hours of preparation work in advance of each session (approximately two hours per week), plus real-world application

- ILI Leadership Competency Assessments with pre- and post-program measurement of leadership behaviors

- Two one-on-one sessions with the program facilitator to apply concepts and models to participants’ industry context

- Ongoing collaboration with a peer mentor to enhance learning, mindset, and behavior change

- Individual journaling with reviews and feedback from ILI program leaders

- ILI Advanced Innovative Leadership Certification upon completion

Who it’s for

ALDP is ideal for:

- High-potential leaders and succession candidates

- Directors, VPs, and senior leaders preparing for expanded scope

- Cross-functional leaders building business acumen and enterprise perspective

- Leaders operating in complex, technology-disrupted environments with high execution pressure

What your organization gets

Succession readiness you can defend (CHRO priority)

- Leaders prepared for broader scope, ambiguity, and enterprise tradeoffs

- Observable improvements in leadership maturity, decision quality, and stakeholder influence

- Executive-ready artifacts that demonstrate readiness and development ROI

Transformation adoption that sticks (CIO priority)

- Leaders who translate technology change into operating reality through people, process, and system alignment

- Stronger adoption through clarity, trust, accountability, and disciplined execution

- Practical interventions that reduce friction, confusion, and resistance

Cross-functional execution that improves performance (shared priority)

- Cohort-wide shared language for effective leadership and what success looks like

- Faster coordination across boundaries, fewer dropped handoffs, fewer rework loops

- Measurable movement on high-priority issues through structured experiments and feedback loops

Program logistics and what’s included

The program cost is $5,250 per participant and includes individual assessments for baselining and measuring progress, full online access to the ILI learning platform (including proprietary and non-proprietary leadership content such as books, workbooks, videos, articles, and interviews), expert instruction, homework reviews and feedback, and monthly virtual meeting setup and operation.

ILI has taught this evolving approach in MBA programs for over 15 years.

Accelerate adoption and execution across your transformation agenda. Let’s anchor an ALDP cohort to your highest-value initiatives—improving leader alignment, decision quality, and the human side of change so adoption becomes an operational reality.

What to Expect from the Innovative Leadership IT Leaders ^TM - Central Ohio Cohort

Participants in the Central Ohio Tech Leaders Program can expect a structured, cohort‑based leadership development experience that balances learning, reflection, and practical application.

Throughout the program, participants will:

Engage in facilitated, in‑person leadership development sessions
Learn alongside a diverse peer cohort facing similar leadership challenges
Participate in peer discussions and roundtables grounded in real‑world experience
Apply leadership concepts between sessions through structured reflection and assignments
Build a trusted professional network that extends beyond the program

The program requires consistent participation and preparation to gain full value. While the cohort experience provides a strong leadership foundation, outcomes depend on each participant’s level of engagement and application.

Discuss your goals

This page provides access and enrollment information for an Innovative Leadership Institute online program.

Learn more about Innovative Leadership