2012 Program Application Instructions

Please review the information below to learn more about the application process:

Leader to Leader participants, known as L2L Fellows, partner with senior leaders and MIT faculty in a proactive and systematic effort to build MIT's internal leadership capability.

All MIT faculty and staff are eligible to apply to the program. (Faculty interested in being a Leader to Leader Fellow should contact the Provost. Non-faculty members, please use this application process.) L2L Fellows are selected for participation by a committee of Institute senior leaders. Leader to Leader is an MIT-supported program, which means neither L2L Fellows nor their departments bear any costs associated with your participation.

As a prospective applicant, we encourage you to review this L2L website to gain an understanding of the program. You may also want to review the tentative 2012 program overview for an idea of the program's schedule, topics, venues, and guest presenters.

The 2012 L2L program application for non-faculty includes five steps, listed below. Applications will be accepted beginning in late July 2011. An application is not considered complete until all of the following are completed:

• Talk with an Alumnus from L2L-2008 or L2L-12010 (Step 1)
• Discuss Goals & Time Investment with Manager (Step 2)
• Submit Applicant Form & Essay (Step 3)
• Submit Letter of Reference (Step 4)
• Submit Manager's Support Form (Step 5)

At any point in the application process, you can check the status of your application.

Please note: Once your three forms are submitted, you should receive an email confirmation that your application is complete. If you do not receive a confirmation email, contact L2L-help@mit.edu.

We have recently upgraded our application process to a new online database. If you experience any technical difficulties, please contact L2L-help@mit.edu.

Steps in the Application Process

Before you do anything, have a conversation with at least one L2L alumnus from either 2008 or 2010. The sole purpose of this conversation is to help you understand what the program is like and what will be required of you, including the time commitment and the project work. Use the L2L Alumni pages to identify a Fellow with whom you might like to speak and contact him/her.

Have a conversation with your manager about your leadership development goals and how you and s/he can communicate throughout the program to maximize your leadership development.

At first, many L2L Fellows are concerned about fulfilling the time commitment. However, they discover that their participation in all aspects of L2L is an excellent investment of their time. The time commitment for the L2L Fellows is as follows:

• Eight to nine two-day sessions spaced five to six weeks apart over one calendar year
• Time inside or outside the workshops to work with four to six other L2L Fellows on an MIT project outside the Fellows' own area of expertise
• Approximately one hour per month with his/her executive coach to help the Fellow implement what he/she is learning

You should also discuss with your manager how she/he can help you get the most from L2L. Fellows are most successful at applying what they learn in L2L to their work when their managers are actively engaged in their leadership development. To this end, managers of L2L Fellows are expected to:

• Give input in their Fellow's 360 assessment
• Participate in a lunchtime Manager's Orientation
• Meet with their Fellow and his/her executive coach at least once during L2L
• Provide input into short, work-based assignments throughout the year

If a Fellow's manager is unable to fulfill these expectations, the Fellow can choose a "designate" to do so in the manager's place. If an applicant and his/her manager prefer to choose a "designate", the applicant should contact Margaret Ann Gray at mag@mit.edu for guidance in identifying somone who can successfully play this role.

The Applicant Form can be filled out as soon as you are ready. You, your manager, and the MIT colleague submitting your letter of reference will each need a current MIT certificate or Kerberos username/password to access the system. (Get help with certificates.)

On your Applicant Form, enter the names of the people who will complete your Letter of Reference (Step 4) and Manager's Support Form (Step 5). The L2L database will generate emails to these individuals that include a link to their forms. They cannot submit their forms until you have entered their names on your Applicant Form. We encourage you to fill out and submit your Applicant Form as early as possible.

You can submit your essay at a later date, but it too must be submitted no later than September 28, 2011 for you to be considered for selection.

The applicant form includes a short essay (300-500 words total). In your essay, please describe:

• the qualities, skills and experiences you would bring to Leader to Leader
• opportunities for leading change that you anticipate facing in your role or organization
• the new skills and competencies you hope to gain from the program to help you mitigate and/or leverage challenges related to your role

Notes for preparing your essay:

• We recommend that you prepare your essay in a word processing program and then copy and paste it into the application.
• You do have the ability to save your work and return to it at a later time to complete and submit your essay.
• Once submitted, you will not be able to edit your essay.

• Submit Applicant Form and Essay or edit an existing application
• Check status of application

Please ask an MIT colleague (who is not your manager) to write a letter that describes your demonstrated leadership abilities, skills, and competencies. This letter is due no later than September 28, 2011.

• Check status of Letter of Reference

Please ask your manager to complete the Manager's Support Form no later than September 28, 2011.

• Check Status of Manager's Support Form

Deadline

The deadline for completed applications, including Steps 4 and 5 above, is September 28, 2011. Applicants will be notified about whether they have been selected for L2L-2012 in late October 2011.

Need Help?

If you have questions about the application, contact L2L-help@mit.edu. For questions about the program, contact Margaret Ann Gray at 3-0217 or mag@mit.edu.

Thank you for your interest in Leader to Leader.