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          2023 Pinnacle Awards

          The Pinnacle Awards is the premier event for women in business, and honors incredible leading women for their outstanding contributions to the workplace and commitment to enhancing the quality of life in the region.

          01/27/2023

          11:00am - 1:30pm

          Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport

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          City Awake: BIPOC Young Professionals Coffee Networking

          Stay connected with Boston's entrepreneur, business, and innovation community! This event is hosted in partnership with Innovation Studio.

          02/13/2023

          8:30am - 10:30am

          Roxbury Innovation Center

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          Cook & Bake with City Awake

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          02/27/2023

          4:45pm - 8:00pm

          Cambridge School of Culinary Arts

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          Our Boston’s Future Leaders (BFL) program provides emerging leaders with a socially conscious and civically engaged leadership toolkit, as well as the opportunity to apply their knowledge through experiential assignments.

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          Transformational DEI Certificate

          Join our Transformational DEI Certificate! Our comprehensive learning & development offerings are designed to connect and grow strong leaders who lead both inside and out of the office.

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          Economic Inclusion

          Our Economic Inclusion Committee provides strategic support around research, policies, and programs that are focused on building equal opportunity.

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          Economic Inclusion
          Pacesetters

          We are developing an ecosystem of corporations and partners with the influence and buying power to transform economic inclusion for minority business enterprises (MBEs).

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          Fierce Urgency of Now Festival
          2023 Fierce Urgency of Now Festival

          The Fierce Urgency of Now Festival brings Boston’s diverse young professionals together with business leaders, organizations and their peers to build connection, advance careers and ignite positive change.

          09/12/2023 -

          09/15/2023

          Greater Boston

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          City Awake empowers young professionals in a variety of ways that encourages these rising leaders to stay invested in the region’s future success.

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          BIMA

          BIMA (the Boston Interactive Media Association) serves a vibrant community of like-minded professionals from agencies, brands, publishers, and ad-tech companies with business interests in the New England market.

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          Women’s Network

          For more than 25 years, the Chamber’s Women’s Network has connected female professionals of all background and career levels. Today, our Women’s Network is the largest in New England, strengthening the professional networks of women each year.

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          MITX

          Through MITX (the Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange), we’re building valuable connections between the people and ideas behind technology and its impact on the future of customer experiences, all to create a community that’s finding tomorrow’s solutions together.

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          Pacesetters

          We are developing an ecosystem of corporations and partners with the influence and buying power to transform economic inclusion for minority business enterprises (MBEs).

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Bostonchamber
Boston Chamber
  • Events
        • Events

          • Overview
          • Events Calendar
          • Chamber Awards
        • ...
          Women's Network
          2023 Pinnacle Awards

          The Pinnacle Awards is the premier event for women in business, and honors incredible leading women for their outstanding contributions to the workplace and commitment to enhancing the quality of life in the region.

          01/27/2023

          11:00am - 1:30pm

          Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport

          arrow-go
          Read More
        • ...
          City Awake
          City Awake: BIPOC Young Professionals Coffee Networking

          Stay connected with Boston's entrepreneur, business, and innovation community! This event is hosted in partnership with Innovation Studio.

          02/13/2023

          8:30am - 10:30am

          Roxbury Innovation Center

          arrow-go
          Read More
        • ...
          City Awake
          Cook & Bake with City Awake

          Join City Awake for our first social experience event of 2023!

          02/27/2023

          4:45pm - 8:00pm

          Cambridge School of Culinary Arts

          arrow-go
          Read More
  • Learning & Development
        • Learning & Development

          • Overview
          • Call for Nominations
          • Resources
        • Boston’s Future Leaders

          Our Boston’s Future Leaders (BFL) program provides emerging leaders with a socially conscious and civically engaged leadership toolkit, as well as the opportunity to apply their knowledge through experiential assignments.

          Read More
          Transformational DEI Certificate

          Join our Transformational DEI Certificate! Our comprehensive learning & development offerings are designed to connect and grow strong leaders who lead both inside and out of the office.

          Read More
          Women’s Leadership Program

          Our Women’s Leadership Program enables you to take your leadership to the next level by arming you with the most in-demand leadership toolkit.

          Read More
  • Economic Inclusion
        • Economic Inclusion

          • Overview
          • Economic Inclusion Committee
          • Fierce Urgency of Now Festival
          • Pacesetters
          • Resources
        • ...
          Economic Inclusion
          Economic Inclusion

          Our Economic Inclusion Committee provides strategic support around research, policies, and programs that are focused on building equal opportunity.

          arrow-go
          Read More
        • ...
          Economic Inclusion
          Pacesetters

          We are developing an ecosystem of corporations and partners with the influence and buying power to transform economic inclusion for minority business enterprises (MBEs).

          arrow-go
          Read More
        • ...
          Fierce Urgency of Now Festival
          2023 Fierce Urgency of Now Festival

          The Fierce Urgency of Now Festival brings Boston’s diverse young professionals together with business leaders, organizations and their peers to build connection, advance careers and ignite positive change.

          09/12/2023 -

          09/15/2023

          Greater Boston

          arrow-go
          Read More
  • Policy & Impact
        • Policy & Impact

          • Overview
          • Leadership Councils
          • Amicus Advisory Board
        • GET INVOLVED IN OUR POLICY FOCUS AREAS

          Business Climate
          Read More
          Climate & Energy
          Read More
          Health Care
          Read More
          Housing & Development
          Read More
          Talent
          Read More
          Transportation
          Read More
  • Our Networks
        • GBCC’s Networks

          • Overview
        • OUR NETWORKS

          City Awake

          City Awake empowers young professionals in a variety of ways that encourages these rising leaders to stay invested in the region’s future success.

          Read More
          BIMA

          BIMA (the Boston Interactive Media Association) serves a vibrant community of like-minded professionals from agencies, brands, publishers, and ad-tech companies with business interests in the New England market.

          Read More
          Women’s Network

          For more than 25 years, the Chamber’s Women’s Network has connected female professionals of all background and career levels. Today, our Women’s Network is the largest in New England, strengthening the professional networks of women each year.

          Read More
          MITX

          Through MITX (the Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange), we’re building valuable connections between the people and ideas behind technology and its impact on the future of customer experiences, all to create a community that’s finding tomorrow’s solutions together.

          Read More
          Pacesetters

          We are developing an ecosystem of corporations and partners with the influence and buying power to transform economic inclusion for minority business enterprises (MBEs).

          Read More
          Small Business

          We support small business through public policy initiatives, events designed to connect small businesses in Greater Boston to their peers and established business leaders, professional development offerings, and free small business advising.

          Read More
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          Our Impact

          Explore our mission and values to better understand how we are leading the business community forward.

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Learning & Development

Boston’s Future Leaders Program

Enrollment open for BFL 2023

Nominate

Goals

  • Learn from world-renowned faculty at Harvard Business School through the case method.
  • Collaborate with other emerging leaders across industries through the Leadership Challenge and develop your social capital.
  • Participate in workshops focused on management, inclusive leadership, and effective communications.
  • Design an Individual Action Project for your own workplace.

Details

  • March 16, 2023 - December 12, 2023
  • 42 Weeks
  • 1 hours commitment /week
  • Online & In Person
  • $5500/person
  • Nomination/application deadline: January 27, 2023
Nominate

Jump to page section

  • Overview
  • Outcomes
  • Schedule
  • Testimonials
BFL

Program Overview:

Our Boston’s Future Leaders (BFL) program provides emerging and promising leaders with a socially conscious and civically engaged leadership toolkit blending academic content, practical application, and networking. Participants graduate with the skills, experiences, and connections needed to lead Boston and the region into an equitable, innovative future.

Characteristics of Successful Candidates:

  • Identified as an emerging or promising leader in your company or community
  • Employed at a Chamber member company
  • Committed to contributing to the long-term success of the region
  • Dedicated to full participation in the sessions

    The Chamber seeks a diverse pool of applicants regarding demographics and perspectives. We highly encourage professionals with unique backgrounds and experiences to apply.

    While self-nominations are accepted, we encourage you to solicit a nomination from your manager or another leader in your company to ensure you have organizational support to participate in this program.

  • 2023 Program Schedule

    March – Session 1:

    Orientation+ Harvard Business School, Module 1

    Chamber learning & development staff welcome the incoming class, facilitate introductions among the group, and outline program content and expectations for the year. Participants also begin their leadership journey at Harvard Business School in the first module focused on corporate social responsibility and leadership in crisis through business case studies.

    April – Session 2:

    Individual Action Project Kick-off+ Networking

    Chamber learning & development staff introduce the parameters for the Individual Action Project, an opportunity for participants to apply what they learn in the program to a specific problem or issue in their companies or communities. Afterwards, participants get to know each other in the cohort’s first networking reception. 

    May – Session 3:

    Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Frameworks

    With Diversity @ Workplace, the Chamber’s delivery partner, participants gain an understanding of key DEI concepts, how to advocate for the integration of DEI into their own offices, and identifying and interrupting conscious and unconscious biases in the workplace.

    June – Session 4:

    Adaptive Supervision

    TSNE Missionworks, the Chamber’s delivery partner, assists participants in finding their preferred supervisory styles that also consider their individual team members’ needs. Participants practice adapting their supervisory approach in several hands-on activities, then engage in a reflection discussion with the Chamber learning & development staff.

    July – Session 5:

    Effective Communications+ Networking Session #2

    This session introduces an innovative and impactful way to change how participants communicate within their own workplaces, run meetings, and establish equitable learning opportunities for their teams. Afterwards, participants continue to connect as a cohort in their second networking reception.

    August – Session 6:

    Leadership Challenge Kick-Off+ Civic Engagement P1

    Participants gain special access “behind-the-scenes” of one of Boston’s most interesting and influential places of business. Leaders of the organization discuss a challenge they face in the coming year, then prepare participants for their Leadership Challenge in their assigned groups. Afterwards, participants discuss the role of civic engagement and civic responsibility.

    September – Session 7:

    Government Affairs Forum (Optional)

    Participants attend one of the Chamber’s Government Affairs Forums, a series investigating the political and business landscapes in Boston and the state of Massachusetts. Speakers and topics vary year to year.

    October – Session 8:

    Harvard Business School, Module 2

    Participants return to Harvard Business School for a follow-up session to module 1 in the spring. Participants continue to dissect, analyze, and discuss case studies as a cohort and in small groups while engaging with returning and new Harvard faculty. This full day session includes breakfast and lunch with focused opportunities to work with Leadership Challenge groups.

    November – Session 9:

    Leadership Challenge Charrette

    In their assigned groups, participants develop and deliver a pitch that addresses the challenge set forth by the civic partner introduced in July. The partnering organization’s leaders attend the presentations, provide feedback, then select the top two teams based on the strength of their recommendations. 

    December – Session 10:

    Pacesetters Presentation+ Civic Engagement, Part 2

    This brand-new session includes a deep dive into understanding the Chamber’s Pacesetters program, examining the importance of procurement and spending with minority business enterprises. Participants connect the previous sessions in DEI, civic engagement, and Leadership Challenge to current efforts in best practices and fostering meaningful change within the business community.

    December - Sessions 11:

    Individual Project Presentations + Graduation

    In the final session, participants present their Individual Action Projects, debrief the experience, then celebrate each other and the cohort’s success in a small graduation ceremony. Immediately following, participants mingle with Chamber staff, board members, and select special guests in the closing networking reception. 

    Program Outcomes

    • 88% enhanced their preparedness for the next phase of leadership
    • 17% earned a promotion during their time in the program
    • 75% increased their knowledge of and involvement in the Greater Boston region
    • 66% made a positive impact within their organization through the program
    • 82% developed an impact vision for their organization, sector, or community
    • 14% expanded their job responsibilities after the program
    • Participants bring organizational, strategic, and team management skills back to your organization through premier professional development.
    • Participants’ Individual Action Projects directly impact your organization by providing solutions to a particular problem or issue using what they learned from the program.
    • Participants represent your business amongst a cohort of the city’s next generation of trusted leaders.
    • Participants collaborate across industries in a Leadership Challenge that deepens their connections to and across the city, strengthening their commitment to the future of the region.

    WHAT PARTICIPANTS ARE SAYING

    “BFL is centered around a curriculum that enables developing leaders to challenge what it means to be a leader and lead a team or company through their change over the evolution. My biggest takeaways are the power of leading authentically and the importance of truly understanding the cultural dynamics at work, before attempting to enact a change. ”

    Jasmine Browne-Lambert
    P&G – Gillette (BFL Class of 2022)

    WHAT PARTICIPANTS ARE SAYING

    “I am thankful to the Boston Future Leaders’ Program for the opportunity to learn from subject matter experts on leadership themes that are evermore important today. From understanding my why to learning to lead authentically, empathetically, and inclusively, BFL has allowed me to apply leadership concepts in real-time.”

    Isis Ortiz
    Eastern Bank and ALPFA Boston (BFL Class of 2021)

    WHAT PARTICIPANTS ARE SAYING

    “Boston’s Future Leaders has allowed me to take time to invest in my professional growth and my focus on my career goals even during uncertain times.”

    Katie Hawkes
    Boston Athletic Association (BFL Class of 2020) 

    WHAT PARTICIPANTS ARE SAYING

    “This was, by far, the most relevant and timely leadership training for me in my current career path.”

    Christopher Schroeder
    Josiah Quincy Youth Orchestra (BFL Class of 2019)

    Academic Partner

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    Sponsor

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