Betsy Magness Leadership Institute

Strong Leadership in the
Midst of Constant Change

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

Recognized worldwide as the premier program for leadership development of senior-level women, the Betsy Magness Leadership Institute (BMLI) is a highly-sought after opportunity for women in media, entertainment and technology.

WICT’s BMLI program convenes many of the top ranked executive education institutions to provide key executives with a year-long, immersive experience focused on building strategic leadership skills and a B2B network.

Click here for a program overview.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

BMLI is designed to accelerate career success. The program’s learning objectives are to:

  • Increase self-awareness while deepening organizational and enterprise-wide perspective.
  • Cultivate leadership purpose and confidence.
  • Build a network to fortify participants’ careers and the industry.
  • Enhance capacity for creating more inclusive workplace cultures.
  • Strengthen executive leadership skills (including visionary and strategic mindset, teambuilding, driving results, effective communications).
  • Foster stamina and resilience.
  • Develop a leadership plan.

To support these objectives, the curriculum centers on the following five themes:

  • Leading Self
  • Workplace Dynamics and Personal Impact
  • Organizational Influence
  • Leading Teams Strategically
  • Leading with Purpose

The curriculum blends experiential and data-driven approaches to exploring competencies necessary for success at the executive level. BMLI participants are immersed in hands-on learning activities, structured introspection, classroom lectures, research, and peer mentoring.  As part of the learning experience, BMLI incorporates custom, assessment-based executive coaching, providing participants with interactive, guided explorations of strengths, development opportunities and how to leverage and manage both for exponential leadership impact.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

  • Woman at the VP or Senior Director level, and above, or equivalency thereof
  • Candidate has at least 8 years of executive management experience
  • A strong performer
  • Approved and supported by senior management for participation in BMLI
  • Current WICT member

The next BMLI application period opens in early November 2021, and will close early February 2022. Candidates must complete an online application and an approval form submitted to WICT on behalf of their HR leader.

REGISTRATION AND DETAILS

Tuition:

$19,500 for members

$19,800 for non-members (rate includes a WICT membership)


Tuition covers program costs including materials and daytime meals. Travel, hotel and dinners are the responsibility of participants.

Dates for current classes:

Session 1:

Class 44, September 12-17, 2021 (Sunday evening – Friday), Greensboro, NC
Class 45, September 20-24, 2021, (Monday – Friday), virtual

Session 2a:

November 17-18, 2021 (Wednesday – Thursday), Baltimore, MD

Session 2b:

December 2, 2021 (Thursday), virtual

Session 3:

January 20-21, 2022 (Thursday – Friday), Fort Myers, FL

Session 4:

March 22-24, 2022 (Tuesday – Thursday), San Diego, CA

Session 5:

May 16-19, 2022 (Monday – Thursday), Denver, CO

Dates for next cohort:

Session 1:

Class 46, September 11-16, 2022 (Sunday evening – Friday), Greensboro, NC
Class 47, September 18-23, 2022, (Sunday – Friday), Greensboro, NC

Session 2a:

November 2022, two days, location TBD

Session 2b:

December 2022 (Thursday), one day, virtual

Session 3:

January 2023, two days, location TBD

Session 4:

March 2023, two days, location TBD

Session 5:

May 2023, two days, location TBD

Who was Betsy Magness? Click here to learn more.

Betsy Magness photo courtesy The Cable Center.

Program Overview

Now over 25 years strong and with more than 1,000 alumnae, BMLI is a presented in thoughtful learning modules throughout the year. It begins with a competitive application process followed by five separate sessions focusing on leadership competencies.

While participants hail from diversified backgrounds, they each demonstrate common attributes, including a commitment to new ideas, an affinity for calculated risk taking, and support for the development of other women within their companies and the industry at large.

Named in honor of one of the industry’s most successful leaders, BMLI strengthens participants’ ability to lead and evolve in a constantly changing business environment. To date, over 1,000 women have completed this nationally recognized program and continue to be actively engaged in transforming  the media, entertainment and tech sectors of industry.

Through WICT’s access to the nation’s top ranking learning institutes, BMLI is presented in collaboration with the Center for Creative Leadership (one of the world’s top three providers of executive education by BusinessWeek and the Financial Times), Stone Lake Leadership Group, Speakeasy Inc., The Yarbrough Group, VitalSmarts and more—capsulizing their strengths into one powerful program.

Who was Betsy Magness?

Betsy Magness played an instrumental role in building TCI – which later became AT&T Broadband and Internet Services – into one of the most prominent and influential telecommunications companies in the industry.

Born into poverty on a farm in Oklahoma, she managed to put herself through college at a time when few women pursued advanced degrees.

Betsy and her husband, Bob, saw the potential the cable industry held and started their first efforts in 1956. She provided leadership and direction to their new business while raising two small children. By the late 1960s, their hard work was paying off, as systems operated by the Magnesses served 12,500 subscribers. They formed TCI in 1968 in Denver, CO.

Tough minded but fair, Betsy earned the respect of her peers in the male-dominated cable industry. She combined business savvy with a generous heart, and placed great value on what she called a company’s greatest asset: its employees.

Betsy passed away in 1985, but her legacy endures. WICT formed the Betsy Magness Leadership Institute in 1994, and today over 1,000 women have graduated from what has become one of the cable industry’s most prestigious professional development programs.