In Partnership with The Lunz Group, Lakeland Regional Health and Bank of Central Florida

In 2022, The Junior League of Greater Lakeland founded its first-ever leadership development program. The mission of the program was simple- to offer women within and outside our organization the opportunity to grow as a leader within the many roles they assume every day. Directly aligned with our mission, the Women of Excellence Leadership Development Program helps women find new depths of self understanding and recognition; and new levels of achievement and accomplishment.

Through our partnership with Athena International, the knowledge gained, the self-reflection explored, and the relationships built within the community of this program have caused profound personal and professional shifts in the lives of participants. Graduates have reported finding the confidence to negotiate for raises, promotions, and added responsibility. All while receiving what they have asked for, and added responsibility all while going through the program.

About Our Program

Our nine-week program provides personalized, transformational growth experiences that allow participants to discover and embody their own unique leadership style.

All our programs are based on the ATHENA Leadership Model (ALM) featuring the Eight Principles of Enlightened Leadership and the unique way women lead.

• LIVE AUTHENTICALLY and LEARN CONSTANTLY
  • ATHENA leaders continually seek to understand and develop themselves.

• BUILD RELATIONSHIPS and FOSTER COLLABORATION
  • ATHENA leaders embrace and encourage others.

• ACT COURAGEOUSLY and ADVOCATE FIERCELY
  • ATHENA leaders live out their convictions.

• GIVE BACK and CELEBRATE
  • ATHENA leaders contribute to their communities and memorialize shared experiences.

Each participant receives the Predictive Index behavior assessment, course materials, access to the online Athena Platform along with a one-year membership the Athena International, food and drink, networking opportunities and more. All proceeds from the program will sponsor our Women’s Leadership Initiative, allowing for women in our community to continue to benefit from these programs for years to come, as well as our community clothing and literacy initiatives benefiting women and children of Polk County.

Courses are offered in the Spring and Fall. For more information contact education@JLGL.org.

Special thank you to our presenting sponsors The Lunz Group, Lakeland Regional Health and Bank of Central Florida for helping make this program possible.

The Women in Excellence Mentorship Program

Our Women in Excellence Mentorship Program is designed to help participants adopt the mindset, strategy, and accountability habits of successful individuals. This personalized program that allows for growth and enhancing skill sets that you already possess, while adding to your toolbelt through connecting with distinguished community members serving as mentors. Through monthly 1-on-1’s that are set to meet your schedules, mentees will engage in discussions and exercises to develop job-specific skills and action plans with their mentor. Additional resources and accountability structures are available through materials which are provided as part of the program. All proceeds from the program will sponsor our Women’s Leadership Initiative, allowing for women in our community to continue to benefit from these programs for years to come, as well as our community clothing and literacy initiatives benefiting women and children of Polk County.

ABOUT ATHENA INTERNATIONAL:

“What is honored in a culture will be cultivated there”. With that Plato quote as a guiding principle, Martha Mayhood Mertz founded ATHENA International in 1982 to honor women leaders and bring balance to leadership voices worldwide  Almost a decade later, convinced that the women who had been honored with the ATHENA Leadership Award reflected attributes that were a different kind of leadership, Martha worked with Dr. Carole Leland of the Center for Creative Leadership and other leadership experts to survey 400 recipients. In 1998, that research funded by the WK Kellogg Foundation defined the ATHENA Leadership Model, with eight principles that expanded the traditional definition of leadership. Martha’s 2007 book Becoming ATHENA brought the model to a larger audience.

In today’s extraordinary times of pandemic, recession, and a global movement to address racial and economic justice, the ATHENA Leadership Model (ALM) offers the skills and attributes for building the successful leaders we need now and for the future.