The ILA program is built for those who believe that innovation is not just about launching new products and services. It’s about creating the trust and safe space for inspiration and performance, so we can lead our teams to solve the bigger challenges, together.
We created this program to move past one-off workshops and get people into the deep work of design-driven transformation.
The Program is built on four pillars of leadership.
Because innovation leadership is a cross-functional team sport, the ILA program thrives from its diversity of attendee experience and backgrounds.
Jay Melone is the founder of New Haircut, a product innovation firm and leader in design sprints. He helps organizations fall in love with the products they make and how they make them. His approach makes innovation trusting, real, and achievable.
Jay has 20 years of deep product expertise, helping organizations like Home Depot, Pearson, and Rosetta Stone build amazing products & cultures of work.
Daniel Stillman designs conversations for a living. An independent design facilitator and coach, he works with teams and organizations to frame and sustain productive and collaborative conversations. He’s worked with clients of all shapes and sizes on product, service and organizational innovation.
He hosts The Conversation Factory podcast and is the author of the upcoming book, “How Conversations Work” a handbook for changemakers and innovators.
Helge Hellberg coaches people in leadership positions or people who desire to get there – women and men who realize their self-responsibility to create exactly the professional and personal fulfillment they want.
Meeta Patel is the founder of Design Catalyst. She brings combined design thinking & business thinking expertise to deliver deeply impactful corporate innovation. Meeta was previously the Global VP of Design Thinking at SAP.
Jim Kalbach is a noted author, speaker, and instructor in user experience design, information architecture, and strategy. He is currently Head of Customer Experience at MURAL, the leading online whiteboard. Jim has worked with eBay, Audi, SONY, Elsevier Science, Lexis Nexis, and Citrix.
Bree Groff is a transformation expert and Principal at SYPartners. She’s on a mission to help companies and people not just embrace change, but get good at it. Bree holds an MS in Organizational Learning and Change from Northwestern University, and is a visiting lecturer at Northwestern and Parsons.
A program overview followed by a comprehensive syllabus
from on our inaugural cohort – Fall, 2019.
Click here to be notified about details & dates of our next cohort.
The arc of the program is anchored at the start and the end by two day in-person workshops in New York City. Over the course of the 12 week program, you’ll meet with the whole group remotely every other week for a deep-dive coaching check-in. On alternate weeks, we’ll host an expert mentor to deepen the group’s understanding. And every week you’ll meet with a peer coaching triad to stay connected and go deeper in your coaching, mindfulness and innovation skills.
Questions about the content and what’s coming next? Get answers at any time. You have 24-7 access to the shared slack channel where the whole cohort and the coaching leadership team will be on hand to help.
The Innovation Leadership Accelerator is a 12-week, part-time program. The kickoff and closing workshop intensives are during the week. Otherwise, you don’t need to take time off from work to participate — we designed the program to fit your current work and personal schedule while still having a lasting positive impact on your work and the teams to lead.
To get the most out of the program, expect to spend a minimum of 5 hours per week:
Our most successful participants typically spend about 8 hours per week total:
September 9: Kickoff Call
Review your innovation culture research and your innovation leadership goals.
Align on group norms and expectations.
September 19-20: 2 Day Kickoff workshop in NYC
September 23: Focus on Coaching
Group Coaching Call with Special Guest Helge Hellberg, Executive Coach
Meet with your Triad for the first time. Practice your coaching questions: How are we each living our Leadership Model?
Community: Share your own Jobs-to-be-done work on your innovation challenge.
Recommended reading: The Coaching Habit by Michel Bungay Stanier and the Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey
September 30: Building your Innovation Plan
One-on-One Coaching calls with Jay Melone or Daniel Stillman on your innovation plan.
Triad meeting: Practice Coaching and Feedback on our innovation challenge and/or leadership model
Community: share progress and blocks on your innovation challenge
Recommended reading: Gamestorming by Dave Gray, Sunni Brown and James Macanufo
October 7: Remote Facilitation and Visual Thinking
Remote Facilitation with Mark Tippen from Mural
Triad meeting: Practice Coaching and Feedback on our innovation challenge and/or leadership model
Community: Leverage Mural to enhance an in-person or remote collaboration
Recommended reading: Back of the Napkin by Dan Roam
October 14: Peer Coaching and Applied Design Thinking
Triad meeting: Practice Coaching and Feedback on our innovation challenge
Community: Share progress on your innovation challenge
Recommended reading: Read Sprint by Jake Knapp and Download Duco to plan your sprint
October 21: Focus on Facilitation
Group Coaching Call with Jay Melone and Daniel Stillman
Triad meeting: Practice Coaching and Feedback on your leadership model and behaviors
Community: Share progress on your leadership model and how you’re implementing it
Recommended reading: Refresh your Facilitation insights with the Conversation Factory Video Library
October 28: The Ten Types of Innovation
Prep for November 4th Group Learning Session with Meeta Patel – submit an innovation case study challenge
Triad meeting: Practice Coaching and Feedback on your leadership model and behaviors
Community: Share your innovation case studies to slack for group feedback
Recommended reading: The Ten Types of Innovation by Larry Keely and Helen Walters
November 4: Innovation Coaching
Group Learning Call with Meeta Patel of the Catalyst Group
Laser coaching on your innovation case studies
Triad meeting: Practice Coaching and Feedback
Community: Update your innovation plan on Slack and prep for your one-on-one coaching calls
November 11: Evolving your Innovation Plan
One-on-One Coaching calls with Jay Melone or Daniel Stillman on your innovation plan progress
Triad meeting: Practice Coaching and Feedback on your innovation challenge and/or leadership model
Community: share progress and blocks on your innovation challenge
November 18: Living your Leadership Model
Group Coaching Call with Jay Melone and Daniel Stillman
How are you applying your insights?
Triad meeting: Practice Coaching and Feedback on your innovation challenge and/or leadership model
Community: share progress and blocks on your innovation challenge
November 25: Looking towards 2020
Thanksgiving week
Triad meeting: What have you learned so far? What will 2020 look like when you double down on your insights?
Community: share your 2020 vision with the group
December 2: Changing is Hard
Group Learning session with Special Guest
Triad meeting: What have you learned so far? What will 2020 look like when you double down on your insights?
Community: Update and share your final innovation presentation slides
December 5-6: Closing Retreat
In-person extended Triad sessions – revise your leadership model and next steps
Innovation project presentations and feedback
Group-led activity to demonstrate your leadership facilitation
In order to ensure fit with the program and community, everyone interested in joining the program is asked to apply (below).
Applications for this cohort end on Sunday, Aug 18.
The cost to join the program is $6,475.
If your application is accepted, you will be invited to hold your spot with a $500 deposit. The deposit will be applied to your total investment in the program. The deposit is fully refundable within 5 days of payment or until Aug 18, 2019, whichever comes first.
Otherwise, your application may not be accepted for this cohort, or you can also choose to decline.
Each cohort welcomes 18 highly curated participants.
