Take a self-reflective assessment to find out if LSI could be an opportunity for your next chapter.
The Leadership and Society Initiative is a fellowship intended for people with many years of senior leadership experience. We encourage you to consider instead applying to the University’s Crafting Your Next Chapter program, designed for individuals in mid-to-late career who want to imagine the next chapter in their professional and personal lives.
LSI is a highly selective fellowship intended for people with extensive experience in a senior leadership position. You have spent less time in a top-level role than our traditional candidates, but we would be glad to review your résumé or personal biography to learn more about you. We also encourage you to consider the University’s Crafting Your Next Chapter program, designed for accomplished individuals in mid-to-late career who want to imagine the next chapter in their professional and personal lives.
Based on your answers, you are eligible for the Leadership and Society Initiative. We look forward to reviewing your résumé or personal biography to learn more about your background and to explore what you could bring to LSI’s cohort of fellows.
Candidates who have fully transitioned out of their careers are poised to get the most out of the Design Pathway where they can immerse themselves in the intellectual environment of UChicago’s Hyde Park Campus. The Design Pathway offers a transformative year-long experience where fellows have the opportunity to embed themselves in the process of designing and developing a purposeful next chapter alongside a deeply connected cohort of purpose-driven peers.
Candidates who have taken a step back from their job duties may find the Imagine Pathway or the Design Pathway the right fit, depending on current responsibilities and readiness to design their next chapters. The Imagine Pathway is best for leaders who are still actively working and interested in imagining a purposeful next chapter (it’s dipping your toes in the water and determining how deep the pool could go). Those who have transitioned into a more flexible, part-time role may wish to participate in the Design Pathway, which enables you to design your road map for the future (it’s jumping into the pool and swimming to the shore on the other side).
Candidates who are still in their longstanding career are best suited for the Imagine Pathway which will allow you to continue working full time while completing a flexible fellowship and envisioning a purposeful next chapter. The Imagine Pathway offers a year-long low residency experience with intentional and curated moments of strategic pause to begin reflecting on your next chapter before closing out your current one.
Candidates who are currently working full-time are best suited for the Imagine Pathway which will allow you to continue working while completing a flexible fellowship and envisioning a purposeful next chapter. The Imagine Pathway offers a year-long low residency experience with intentional and curated moments of strategic pause to begin reflecting on your next chapter before closing out your current one.
The Leadership and Society Initiative prepares you to embark on your next chapter with a clear sense of purpose and to cultivate lasting meaning in your life and for the world around you. LSI Fellows pursue meaningful reflection on what matters most, community-building with peers, and exploration of the science behind and promising practices for healthy aging for mind, body, and spirit.
The Leadership and Society Initiative activates the potential of experienced leaders to address critical social issues. Through engagement with impact-driven leaders around the world, Fellows learn about strategies and resources being deployed to confront urgent societal challenges, locally and globally. Each Fellow then works with Next Chapter Advisors to develop a Purpose Plan that builds on their unique experiences and that address an important societal need.
By becoming a Leadership and Society Initiative Fellow, you join one of the world’s most accomplished cohorts and access a valuable network of distinguished peers, faculty members, and alumni. Our Fellows share unique perspectives drawn from their extensive professional backgrounds, collaborating to explore new ideas and develop plans to build a better world. Fellows form bonds that will help to sustain, motivate, and guide them throughout their next chapters.