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IDEAL Leaders 2026-27 Mentorship Program.

A 90-day mentorship journey built to connect, empower, and advance female leaders in healthcare.

IDEAL pairs executive women in healthcare with rising leaders for a structured, high-impact mentorship experience built around real conversations, real accountability, and real growth.

Program Overview:

IDEAL built the Leaders Mentorship Program because most mentorship falls apart for one reason: no structure. Good intentions meet busy calendars, and the relationship fades by month two.

This program is different by design. Every match works from the same 90-day, week-by-week roadmap, built around 8 to 10 formal mentor/mentee sessions, supported by structured check-ins, reflection, and real workplace application in between. Mentors and mentees always know what the conversation is for and what to bring to it.

Focus areas: Leadership Growth · Executive Readiness · Wellbeing Practices · Team Effectiveness

Featuring Naomi James IDEAL Board Director of Leadership Development

Month 3 — Executive Presence & Sustainability

Weeks 9–12 | Integration & Future Focus

Strengthen executive identity, confidence, resilience, and wellbeing. The final month turns 90 days of growth into a long-term leadership roadmap — one the mentee owns well beyond the program.

The 90-Day Journey

Every mentor/mentee relationship in the program moves through the same three-month arc — each phase with its own purpose, so growth builds instead of drifting.

Mentee Application
Mentor Application

Month 1 — Foundation & Alignment

Weeks 1–4 | High Engagement

Build trust, establish psychological safety, create clarity, and identify the mentee's most important leadership and career priorities. This is where the relationship gets real — professional stories shared, strengths and blind spots named, and a development plan set.

Month 2 — Skill Building & Application

Weeks 5–8 | Application & Accountability

Translate insight into action. Mentor pairs work through communication, influence, team effectiveness, delegation, and decision-making — tested against real leadership challenges in between sessions, not hypothetical ones.

Who This Program Is For

Built for two kinds of leaders.

Mentees:

Female leaders in healthcare who are ready to accelerate their leadership growth, executive readiness, wellbeing practices, and team effectiveness through structured, high-impact mentorship.

Through the program, mentees have the opportunity to:

  • Gain clarity about their career direction

  • Develop targeted leadership capabilities

  • Learn from someone who has navigated complex leadership environments

  • Receive individualized perspective and feedback

  • Strengthen communication and influence

  • Increase leadership confidence

  • Develop executive presence

  • Build sustainable leadership practices

  • Expand professional perspective and relationships

  • Create a long-term leadership development roadmap

Greatest contribution: Come curious. Come prepared. Come willing to grow.

Apply to be mentored

Mentors:

Executive female leaders in healthcare who want to see transformational change in high-level leadership, and are ready to share their expertise with the next generation of women leaders.

Through the program, mentors have the opportunity to:

  • Expand their leadership legacy

  • Develop future healthcare leaders

  • Strengthen coaching and communication skills

  • Gain new perspectives from emerging leaders

  • Build meaningful professional relationships

  • Contribute to a stronger healthcare leadership pipeline

  • Reflect on and articulate their own leadership experience

  • Create impact beyond their immediate organization

Greatest contribution: Your experience can become someone else's blueprint.

Apply to mentor

HEALTHCARE SECTORS

HEALTHCARE SECTORS

A community for all kinds of healthcare-kinds.

IDEAL represents leaders across every corner of healthcare, from public health and private practice to senior care, consulting, technology, biotech, and health plans. By welcoming executives from these and many other sectors, we create a diverse community where perspectives, solutions, and innovations can be shared to drive the industry forward.

  • Public & Community Health Services

  • Private Practice Health Services

  • Senior Living Care & Services

  • Business & Consulting Services

  • Health Tech & IT

  • Medical Devices / Products & Biotech

  • Health Plans

Our Commitment

  • Deep Relationships

    Built on trust and connection.

  • Strategic Growth

    Structured milestones that move you forward.

  • Lasting Impact

    A community that continues beyond the program.

Mentorship Program FAQs

  • No. The program is free for mentees. There is no fee to apply or to participate.

  • No. Mentoring through IDEAL is a volunteer opportunity. Mentors are executive leaders who choose to give their time and experience to develop the next generation of healthcare leaders — it's a contribution to the field, not a paid role.

  • Female leaders in healthcare who want to accelerate their leadership growth, executive readiness, wellbeing practices, and team effectiveness.

  • Executive female leaders in healthcare who want to see transformational change in high-level leadership and are ready to share their expertise with the next generation of women leaders.

  • Roughly 8 to 10 formal sessions with your mentor or mentee over 90 days, plus lighter check-ins, reflection, and preparation between sessions.

  • The program-wide sessions — kickoff, midpoint check-in, and wrap-up — are held virtually.

  • Mentors commit to confidentiality and psychological safety as a condition of participating, so mentees can speak openly about real challenges.

  • Cohort 1 applications close October 1, 2026, with the cohort starting October 6. Cohort 2 applications open December 1, 2026, for anyone who wants to apply for the next round.

  • The program closes with a wrap-up session and follow-up calls in January to support continued momentum, and alumnae are invited to the IDEAL Summit in 2027 to stay connected to the broader community.

UPCOMING EVENTS

UPCOMING EVENTS

Stay Connected to What’s Next

Throughout the year, IDEAL hosts curated programming designed to connect, elevate, and equip healthcare leaders across the country.

From executive roundtables and virtual leadership sessions to in-person meet-ups at major industry conferences and our highly anticipated Annual Summit, each event is intentionally designed to foster meaningful conversation and measurable impact.

Subscribe to the IDEAL Event Calendar and stay connected to the conversations shaping the future of healthcare leadership.

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