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ACCELERATE Mentorship program is a reciprocal mentoring initiative fostering diverse and inclusive leadership in the tech and innovation space. Pairing current executives (coaches) with BIPOC senior leaders (coachees), the program accelerates leadership journeys, learning and coaching for a more inclusive future.
Get StartedThe ACCELERATE Mentorship program connects executives (‘coaches’) in the innovation economy with Black and Indigenous aspiring leaders (‘coachees’) to participate in a reciprocal co-mentorship experience. These relationships will provide aspiring leaders with the kind of intentional and meaningful support that does not always exist when pursuing advancement in their careers.
Access to Opportunity: This might include job openings, business deals, collaborations, or other avenues for personal or professional growth.
Unlocking Connections: These relationships can introduce you to a broader network of people and resources.
Learn from industry leaders from organizations such as; Dell Technologies, Visa Canada, Google, and Siemens Canada Ltd.
As an executive leader, you are more than welcome to participate in more than one cohort. Please make sure to indicate this in the Expression of Interest Form.
If a cohort is full, we will try our best to match you with another cohort that takes place after your requested spot.
Resources will remain available for access to learning once the ACCELERATE Mentorship program is over. You are invited to share these tools and insights with your organization.
Please share your participation at the discretion of your partner and organization. CILAR will provide a marketing toolkit upon your request.
As an executive leader, you'll learn about the challenges faced by Black and Indigenous leaders, who would like to advance in their careers, but have little opportunity to do so. This will give you a chance to better understand and recognize leadership changes that must be made
Please contact opportunities@cilar.ca for any accommodations and/or accessibility requests.
ACCELERATE Mentorship emphasizes career advancement by promoting self-advocacy, networking, and addressing barriers. It calls for accelerating diversity and inclusion in leadership, particularly focusing on Black, Indigenous, and Leaders of Color.
The ACCELERATE Mentorship program is a reciprocal mentorship initiative aimed at addressing the lack of diversity at leadership levels. As the innovation economy grows at a rapid pace, there is a significant opportunity to foster diversity in executive and senior leadership, drive economic prosperity, and enhance the country's competitiveness through increased innovation capacity. While the focus is on personal and professional growth which can foster greater understanding, behaviour change, and cultural transformation, ACCELERATE Mentorship provides a platform to learn from each other’s expertise, experiences and networks with the aim of supporting advancement of one another’s leadership and EDI journeys.
ACCELERATE Mentorship pairings will have a minimum of three mentoring sessions - at a minimum of 30 minutes a piece. CILAR will give options to both parties allowing for flexibility, as we know executive schedules can be very busy.
The ACCELERATE Mentorship pairing process meticulously combines subjective and quantitative analyses, evaluating aspirations, social compatibility, and management skills. It employs three types of analyses, including qualitative questions, to form pairs based on comprehensive understanding, fostering effective coach-coachee relationships.
The ACCELERATE Mentorship program’s engagement form allows coaches to express what they have experienced during their career journeys, what they would most like to learn/takeaway, and what best practices they would like to share throughout the ACCELERATE Mentorship program.
ACCELERATE Mentorship resources include:
Onboarding Sessions
Non-Disclosure Agreements
Mentorship Agreements
Conversation guides for both Senior Leaders and Executives
Learning Tools:
ACCELERATE Comfort in Uncomfortable Conversations
ACCELERATE Equitable and Inclusive Questioning
ACCELERATE Leadership Development
ACCELERATE C-Suite Practices
ACCELERATE Management Barriers
Program participants can contact cilar@oppotunities.ca for any concerns or questions they may have.
CILAR does suggest that pairings keep in contact outside of the mentoring program. We encourage sponsorship over mentorship as part of our program - A sponsor is someone who actively promotes growth, provides access to opportunities at work, and/or advocates for career advancement.
We measure participants' expectations, experiences, and self-perceived skills in the ACCELERATE Mentorship program, covering topics such as confidence, allyship, leadership barriers, understanding of diversity issues, and demographic information for program improvement and inclusivity. Through an extensive pre and post program survey.
To assess the effectiveness and impact of the ACCELERATE Mentorship program; Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) include measuring participation rates, diversity in mentoring pairs, participant satisfaction, skill enhancement, and organizational impact. The survey includes pre-test and post-test questions for senior leaders and executive members, covering expectations, experiences, confidence levels, connections made, program impact, and self-reflection on management skills. Demographic questions are also included to gather information on participants' ethnicity, gender, category identification, salary, current role, and employer details before and after the program.
These indicators and survey answers will be kept anonymous and used strictly for the data analytics
We will be sending out two different reflection surveys. The first survey will be in the form of program evaluation as a whole. The second will be in the form of a individuals reflection survey, trying to understand different understandings of what a mentor is and there possible effectiveness
We are not an anonymous program, due to the nature of our matching systems being administrative. However, our feedback surveys do not require names to be filled out and the feedback remains anonymous.
Everyone within the ACCELERATE Mentorship program is an adult and we strive for the conversations to surpass the surface level. We do understand that uncomfortable topics may arise, however, our goal is to make sure these conversations are taking place.
ACCELERATE Mentorship is a program with a BIPOC focus, specifically designed for senior leader participants who are BIPOC. The program aims to guide these leaders in navigating the leadership journey, providing insights and opportunities to advance in their careers. Executive participants, comprising both BIPOC and non-racialized individuals, are included to gain a better understanding of the senior leader BIPOC experience and implement changes for a more inclusive environment.
Yes, all participants are provided with the same processes, and opportunities within the ACCELERATE Mentorship program.
Throughout the cycles of ACCELERATE Mentorship, CILAR has a minimum of one networking event. In order for the participants within the program to be able to meet with individuals outside of their pairings.
ACCELERATE Mentorship participants will be given access to our community platform. The platform’s goal is to connect current and future participants, guide progress and impact, provide resources and support
The ACCELERATE Mentorship program yields long-term benefits for mentors and mentees alike. Executives serving as mentors gain enhanced leadership skills and a more inclusive perspective by understanding the challenges faced by Black and Indigenous aspiring leaders. This reciprocal learning process fosters accelerated professional development for mentees. Additionally, both mentors and mentees gain expanded networks and access to opportunities, paving the way for career growth and progression, especially for mentees aiming to transition from mid-level management to top executive roles in the C Suite.
"The ACCELERATE Mentorship program allows diversity in leadership and shows how we can embrace that together. And so the first thing is really, I imagine if I can be surrounded by people from different backgrounds, from different industries, I will be able to improve my cultural competence.” Tam Nguyen - Co-Founder, In-Heart Sight (IHS) Community
Program participants can contact cilar@oppotunities.ca for any concerns or questions they may have.
The ACCELERATE Mentorship live event on Linkedin happens at the end of each month to capstone on program progress, share current news about the program, and catch up with participating pairs. The event experience aims to build shared experience and insight amongst participants while delivering value of existence to inquiring minds.
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