Leslie Grossman
Founder
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When the World Economic Forum released data showing it would take 135 years to close the global gender gap, Leslie Grossman knew she needed to add more velocity to her work as faculty director and senior fellow of Executive Women's Leadership at GWU's Center for Excellence in Public Leadership. First, she added a powerful new program for emerging women leaders - Women Leaders on the Rise - to the GWU-CEPL curriculum. Then in spring 2022 she launched Her Circle Leadership, a training program for coaches, consultants and HR/DE&I people, giving them the tools to propel women forward to reach their goals in spite of trends like The Great Resignation.
“With gender equity more than a century away, I was determined to find a way to speed up this process . I needed to multiply myself.” That’s how Her Circle Leadership, Grossman’s newest enterprise came into being.
Her Circle Leadership will train hundreds of executives coaches who are committed to moving more women up the proverbial ladder and growing bigger businesses. The program is based on Grossman’s tried and true curriculum, the latest research, coaching and expert facilitation. Her Circle Leadership works with executive coaches and consultants, amplifying their knowledge and techniques, to bring about shifts in the mindset and confidence of women executives and entrepreneurs. These shifts enable women to manage challenges, remove self-limiting beliefs, many the result of traditional gender norms in the workplace, and learn the latest leadership skills. Offered directly to women leaders are foundation and advanced courses, executive coaching, and confidential circles of support from a group of women leaders.
What lead Grossman down this path after a successful 20-year corporate and entrepreneurial career? Her first jobs were corporate until frustration led her to start a small public relations agency. Twice she was enticed back to the big agency world, always leaving again to create her own business. With more experience under her belt, she learned that growing an agency required more than business skill. It required building a powerful relationship network. Joining several high-profile organizations and taking on board positions opened the door to a network of influential women, who inspired and supported her. After the devastating 9/11 attack, which occurred 40 blocks from her office, she realized her true vision was to support women to become leaders at the highest levels. Her idea: a national leadership conference program for women. Launched in 2002, it was the first of its kind, and her client at that time became the presenting sponsor. During that 10 year period of conferences, Grossman became a sought-after speaker, speaking worldwide, including 3 trips to Japan. She wrote two books: Sellsation! How Companies Can Capture Today’s Hottest Market: Women Business Owners and Executives and Link Out: How to Turn Your Network into a Chain of Lasting Connections.Leslie and presented a TEDx talk on Why we each need our own entourage. Her work as a researcher for the Everest Report, inspired her to become an executive coach to women, getting trained by Vistage International.
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In 2016, The George Washington University invited her to present 3-day program for women executives, a program she had been presenting to corporations. The success of that program, now in its’ 10th cohort, lead to Grossman being named a Senior Fellow and Faculty Director of the Executive Women’s Leadership program at The George Washington University Center for Excellence in Public Leadership. Today, Leslie presents two programs: Executive Women’s Leadership and Women Leaders on the Rise at GWU-CEPL. Grossman says that Her Circle Leadership is the culmination of all that she has learned and trained for throughout her life. Her goal is to achieve gender equity for women in 20 years instead of the 135 years according to the 2022 report from the World Economic Forum.
TEDx Talk - The Value of Having an Entourage
Blogs Include:
How to Celebrate a Resilient Year (?)
Why Companies Must Win Back Women to their Management Teams
Podcast: Leslie Grossman & Christine Merser Talk the Strongest Women Leaders Of 2021
Why You Should Talk to Yourself
How Do You Rate as leader? Take the Accountability Quiz
What Coaches & HR Professionals Need to Know To Attract More Women Leaders Back to the Workplace
Make August Your Month of Resilience
Podcast: Cassidy Hutchinson and the 7 Tenets of Leadership
Halloween is Coming. What Scares You?
Podcast: Leslie Grossman & Christine Merser Talk the Strongest Women Leaders Of 2022
It’s International Women’s Day: What Happens Now for the Other 364 Days of the Year?
“When women become aware of the habits that hold them back, they can begin to learn new habits - the 7 tenets - that will transform every aspect of their lives.”
~ Leslie Grossman