Diversity in Leadership (DIL), a national nonprofit that seeks to increase the readiness of the next generation for executive level leadership, announced a $400,000 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.
DIL provides a unique leadership development curriculum to early- and mid-career professionals. It has partnered with more than 15 major universities across Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina during the last three years to enhance regional talent pools with a pipeline of highly qualified leaders representing a myriad of industries. DIL has worked with employers in Indiana and Ohio, and recently brought the program to Chicago, Detroit, and to communities across the South.
DIL participants develop increased knowledge and skills through graduate-level coursework that includes accounting and finance, business analytics, communication, organizational strategy and change management, among others. Courses are taught by faculty from the business schools at partner universities, and each participant works with an executive coach throughout the program and completes a capstone project. Program graduates receive a certificate in “Executive Mindset” upon completion of the program that recognizes business leadership skills, and they qualify for scholarships if accepted into graduate programs at participating business schools.
Dr. Leon Jackson, founder and CEO of DIL, expressed gratitude for the grant, noting that “Lilly Endowment seeks to help individuals reach their full potential, families to thrive, and communities to flourish, a goal that parallels our own.”
DIL’s considerable success has demonstrated the positive impact of combining academic and professional development in leadership training. Having successfully facilitated six cohorts of participants in Indiana and two cohorts in Ohio, DIL has seen the following results:
· 84% of program graduates have earned promotions (19 of those graduates were promoted to executive levels, including nine CEOs) and 48 percent of program graduates were promoted twice or more.
· Program graduates who were promoted earn an average annual salary increase of $37,000.
· 73% of program alumni have chosen to pursue graduate-level programs, collectively garnering more than $9.2 million in fellowships and scholarships.
· Program participants have established 23 new businesses since 2021.
“I’d reached a plateau as a mid-career professional in 2021 that led to feeling stagnant and nearing burn out. There was an unmet need to find the sense of purpose in my work that was central earlier in my career,” noted Christina Snorten, a member of the second Indiana cohort of the DIL program. “Engaging the DIL program submerged me into an ecosystem of like-minded leaders who were also seeking community progression through personal development. Through the DIL experience I went on to complete my MBA through the Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business in Indianapolis, which equipped me with the knowledge and skill sets to lead with confidence and reignite my flame. I took a new job at the Indy Chamber, and I love watching fellow DIL alumni earn graduate degrees, take on new executive roles, and grow their businesses. Together we all burn brighter and light the path for future torchbearers. DIL is cultivating change-makers, and the Central Indiana region is better off for it.”
Christina’s rise in community service is matched by other DIL graduates’ professional advancement at major employers, including Elevance Health, Rolls Royce, IU Health, Republic Airways, Roche Diagnostic, Eli Lilly and Company, Cummins, and The Heritage Group as well as community service organizations such as Flanner House.
DIL works to help businesses in the communities where program participants live and work address talent disparities as well as knowledge and skill gaps of “high-potential” talent, while also addressing individual and employer blind-spots that can inhibit participant advancement.
“The Diversity in Leadership program shows us what is truly possible when organizations, higher education, and communities work together,” according to Vop Osili, President of the Indianapolis City-County Council. “The program is uniquely transforming the careers of aspiring leaders and developing a vital talent pool for Indianapolis and the state of Indiana. That is why I have been involved since DIL’s inception, and why others around the nation are interested in leveraging the DIL experience to address their talent needs. To see these universities, which are typically competing, work together is a breath of fresh air, and our state is benefiting greatly.”
DIL’s partnerships create a diverse supply of well-trained, highly motivated professionals who enhance the success of their employers and strengthen the economic vitality and quality of life in their communities. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation estimates that “The gains [from increased female and ethnic minority engagement alone] would be equivalent to a continuous boost in GDP growth of 0.5 percent per year, increasing the competitiveness of the country for decades to come.[1]”
According to Jackson, “This grant from Lilly Endowment will help DIL change the way these individuals will be able to show up within their organizations but also as leaders in their families and communities.”