“Leadership is not magnetic personality—that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not ‘making friends and influencing people’—that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to higher sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of personality beyond its normal limitations.” —Peter F. Drucker
The Women’s Leadership Development Program (WLDP) provides opportunities for women in public service to improve and develop their leadership skills so they can become more effective in the various roles in which they are involved.
The program focuses on individual development and is based on the belief that individuals can expand their leadership capacities; they can learn, grow, and change.
The program is offered in three phases, each one building upon the other, each in increasing depth that provides greater opportunity for growth.
Phase I focuses on the conceptual foundation of leadership, the similarities and differences in male and female leadership, leadership and social capital, and, most important, the seed that causes leadership to flourish—creativity.
Phase II sheds light on individual personality, behavior, and character using tools such as Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI) and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality inventory. This phase focuses on skills and techniques that enable participants to interact cohesively in a social network.
Phase III provides time to work on practical leadership development needs in a small-group setting. The topics covered and the skill sets practiced help individuals enhance their leadership abilities. Participants are self-selected and funded by their agencies. An advisory group comprising women from various state government, local government, and nonprofit agencies assist with the distribution of program registration material. WLDP also works closely with the training divisions of various agency departments to make information available to their female personnel.
IPA’s women’s leadership program began in 1990 with the presentation of a four-part series entitled “How to Be a Powerful Voice in Decision-Making.” The response was overwhelming—167 women registered, and WLDP was launched. Together with its core-planning team that included representatives from the University of Delaware and nonprofit groups, IPA staff began planning a two-day retreat that was devoted entirely to leadership. This process has evolved into WLDP’s three-phase leadership training experience. Although its major focus is on women in public administration, WLDP has offered Phase I to women in nonprofits, as well as variations of the program to some state agencies and a number of male and female staff at the University.
WLDP has even entended its training outside the U.S. See article.
WLDP staff believe that leaders are more “made” than “born.” Current leadership research indicates that there are few genetic characteristics that influence one’s ability to become a leader. Their role in the program is not to teach one how to become a leader, but to help one learn how to become a more effective leader. From their perspective, leadership is a life-long journey. WLDP can help you acquire the knowledge, skills, feedback, and opportunities necessary for personal growth.
Wanting to lead and believing you can lead are only the departure points on the path to leadership. Leadership is an art, a performing art. And, in the art of leadership, the artist’s instrument is self. Ultimately, leadership development is a process of self-development.
—Kouzes & Posner, from The Leadership Challenge
WLDP adheres to the philosophy that “leadership should be more participative than directive, more enabling than performing.” —Mary D. Poole
From the beginning, the program has been for women only, not because the material is gender-specific but primarily because it is critical to provide women with a “safe” environment within which to discuss issues and share information.
Unless the environment is safe, little learning is likely to take place. If the environment does not feel safe, large amounts of personal energy will go into protecting the self and little will be left for inquiry, information processing and analysis.
—Milano & Ullius, from Designing Powerful Training
Completion of the training program does not guarantee instantaneous leadership skills. Like any other process, it is a life-long endeavor that requires individual effort, coupled with the desire to change and grow, in order to make a difference.
IPA’s women’s leadership program began in 1990 with the presentation of a four-part series entitled “How to Be a Powerful Voice in Decision-Making.” The response was overwhelming—167 women registered, and WLDP was launched. Together with its core-planning team that included representatives from the University of Delaware and nonprofit groups, IPA staff began planning a two-day retreat that was devoted entirely to leadership. This process has evolved into 
WLDP staff believe that leaders are more “made” than “born.” Current leadership research indicates that there are few genetic characteristics that influence one’s ability to become a leader. Their role in the program is not to teach one how to become a leader, but to help one learn how to become a more effective leader. From their perspective, leadership is a life-long journey. WLDP can help you acquire the knowledge, skills, feedback, and opportunities necessary for personal growth. 