HI-Way DEAL Fellows Program

HI-Way DEAL
Fellows Program

Director+ for Executive Advancement & Leadership

As part of the HI-Way (Human Intelligence) leadership series, DEAL Fellows Program features a unique cohort-based leadership certificate program—designed to elevate Human Intelligence (HI) among emerging leaders at the Director+ to Executive Director+ levels.

This program synergistically blends unique elements to develop executive-level talent, focusing on HI-centric leadership.

Program Overview

Human Intelligence Foundations

Built on the Elevate HI-Way (Human Intelligence) model, this program emphasizes leadership, decision-making, and strategic influence.

Cross-Industry Connectedness

Learn and grow from fellow leaders across industries. Cross-industry cross-pollination strengthens mutual growth.

Cohort-Based Experience

Participants learn alongside a consistent cohort of peers, fostering collaboration and collective continuous growth.

Senior-Executive Champions

Direct support from experienced leaders accelerates career and leadership development.

Experiential, Project-Based Learning

Hands-on modules that drive practical application and real-world impact–delivered interactively.

Capstone Project & Personalized Career Plan

Integrated with a structured path to leadership and career advancement.

Innovative Modules & Elevate’s Signature TrailBlaze™ Tools

Exclusive frameworks designed to help executives stand out.

Executive Ecosystem for Lifelong Learning

DEAL Fellows Program participants will graduate into a dynamic network of executives that support continuous leadership growth.

Target Audience

Emerging executives who are Director to Executive-Director level.

By Invitation- and

Nomination-Only!

The 2026 DEAL Fellows Cohort

Cohort 5

In-Person Leadership Launch

Date:
Thursday & Friday,
January 29 & 30, 2026

Time:
Breakfast: 8:00 AM–9:00 AM PT
Class: 9:00 AM–5:00 PM PT

Location:
In-person, in Costa Mesa, CA

Virtual Short Sessions

Short Session 1 of 2:
Tuesday, April 7, 2026,
1:00 PM–2:30 PM PT

Short Session 2 of 2:
Tuesday, May 12, 2026,
12:00 PM–1:30 PM PT

In-Person Capstone

Date:
Friday, September 25, 2026

Time:
Breakfast: 8:00 AM–9:00 AM ET
Capstone Class: 9:00 AM–12:00 PM ET
Small group sessions: 12:00 PM–4:00 PM ET

Location:
In-person, in DMV/DC-Metro

Cohort 6

In-Person Leadership Launch

Date:
Thursday & Friday,
July 23 & 24, 2026

Time:
Breakfast: 8:00 AM–9:00 AM PT
Class: 9:00 AM–5:00 PM PT

Location:
In-person, in Southern California

Virtual Short Sessions

Tuesday, August 18, 2026,
11:00 AM–12:30 PM PT

In-Person Capstone

Date:
Friday, September 25, 2026

Time:
Breakfast: 8:00 AM–9:00 AM ET
Capstone Class: 9:00 AM–12:00 PM ET
Small group sessions: 12:00 PM–4:00 PM ET

Location:
In-person, in DMV/DC-Metro

HI-Way Executive Elevation Semi-Annual Meeting

As part of your Capstone for the DEAL Fellows Program, you will interact with Executive Elevation members and DEAL Alumni.

Friday, September 25, 2026, 4:00 PM–9:00 PM ET
Saturday, September 26, 2026, 8:00 AM–2:00 PM ET
In-person, in DMV/DC-Metro

HI-Centric Curriculum
Focuses on developing leadership skills rooted in Human Intelligence.

Program Highlights

Senior Executive Mentorship
Provides guidance and support from seasoned leaders.

Experiential Learning
Engages participants in practical projects and real-world scenarios.

Capstone Project
Allows participants to apply learned concepts to a significant leadership challenge.

Lifelong Learning Ecosystem
Offers ongoing opportunities for professional development and networking.

Uniqueness & Value

Cognitively Designed Curricula

Built on the foundation of Human Intelligence (HI), this program leverages research-backed methodologies to develop leadership skills that AI cannot replace—including strategic thinking, relational intelligence, and ethical decision-making. The HI-Way approach blends practical, research-based learning into a condensed, experiential, and homework-free format.

Continuous Camaraderie & Capital

Build lifelong camaraderie and champions, beyond the program’s duration, through the Hi-Way Executive Elevation program. Create continuous capital, such as social, emotional, and financial, through the alliances and the broader Elevate ecosystem.

Capstone Project

Forged learning with practical and tactical dimensions that tie the lessons directly to your organization with project-based learning.

Customized Report & Certificate

Tailored progress report for management review and incorporated into individual performance development plan. Receive a Certificate from the Elevate consortium of universities.

Career & Competency Connected

Tailored toward the most in-demand executive competencies, based on research of leadership effectiveness and Human Intelligence. Participants gain insight into the Competency DNA Matrix, which aligns with cross-industry executive leadership success.

Cross-Industry Champions

Assigned an executive advisor and gain access to a network of executives across industries. Our champions complement your skip-level sponsors for an internal and external dynamics of continuous development.

In fairness, I attended the class in person. My rating was based on experiencing the dynamic surveys and conversations. Great learning and powerful messages from the facilitators. Would recommend to all!

Engagement, motivation, and enthusiasm—be bold, be a risk-taker, and learn to let things go or walk away. This was one of the best classes!

The book is great! The leadership skills, toolbook, and strategies are helping me lead my team more effectively.

A lot of assessment tools that I can use to evaluate myself and better align with my boss, organization, and customers.

The instructor found ways to adapt to the natural discussion while introducing new points from the course and showing how they could be applied. It was versatile and highly applicable!

The instructor was fantastic! Even though this was a late class for me, their consistent energy encouraged everyone to participate. It was a truly great course—filled with practical examples that were easy to follow and immediately applicable to my work. I really appreciated the high energy and the clear, useful insights. Excellent session overall!

Loved the course! I’ll be putting the tools into practice for my team meetings. Great session—very helpful!

The instructor is one in a million—bringing together talent, wisdom, and charisma. An inspiring team with truly exceptional value. I especially loved the standing exercises—they kept the blood flowing, energy high, and engagement strong.

Networking was excellent, with amazing guest speakers from various industries. I loved it and only wish I had invited more people! I'm also interested in becoming an ambassador or sponsor.

I appreciated the instructor making themselves so available to us—even during breaks. They’ve got a lot of energy! 😊 It really helped me gain clarity, especially during the discussion around retirement as a false picture.

Good interaction. Breaks and roadmaps—where are we going? Outsourcing. Focus on high performers. Power line/environmental advantages.

Very eye-opening. Shared ways to look at every situation differently. Very engaging conversations and examples. Dynamic speaker. Relevant materials for the audience. Had a great time. Thank you so much for the information and tools.

Very useful in providing clear, understandable data. The in-class activities were a great way to deepen my understanding of the topics. What I learned will definitely help me in the long run of my career. I'm thankful for the gems I gained from this class and eager to apply them to my role.

Loved the collaboration shared by all—it helped us learn additional skillsets within the module. The flowcharts were helpful for strategizing.

The real-life examples were effective and helped get the message across. I think the class really resonated with me when I realized that reaching the executive level wasn’t everyone’s goal. It became more personal. The class was very informative and great for growth and development.

We learned more about ourselves through the breakout rooms. I realized I need to develop a better relationship with my boss.

Fantastic course—tailored perfectly to meet our needs! How do I become an adjunct instructor for this course? I want to teach this content to others. Outstanding. Thank you!

This is a very informative class and the best presenter I have ever had or attended. I would not mind if the time went longer because the knowledge he presented is powerful. I am very pleased with everything he presented in the class.

It was incredibly beneficial to hear others’ insights and real-world experiences during the class discussions. The tools introduced will be helpful for prioritizing what matters most and managing workload to reduce stress. The instructor did a great job leading this course!

I’m grateful for these courses—they helped me identify areas of opportunity to work on, as well as areas where I’m already doing well. I especially appreciated the real-life applications of the models and tools. I’m extremely thankful to the Elevate team!

Super engaging and relatable. Very engaging and fun content. People were very open and forthcoming with their stories. Great session—exceeded my expectations.

The program allowed me to look at the background of where I am and gave me tools to make specific changes. The instructors were phenomenal. They had a very casual way of showing us how to look at ourselves. I loved the class. Will work to make sure my kids are aware of these pitfalls as well.

Dynamic instructor and excellent materials. I loved the group discussions and felt the online format worked wonderfully. This is my fourth series of classes—loved them all!

I wish we could have spent a little more time going through the various exercises—I really enjoyed the dialogue with the team; it was very insightful. Great tools for my own personal development and for Future Forward leaders (which I can share with my staff). I really enjoyed this session and look forward to others.

Great instructor and focused materials. The decision-making, prioritization, and optimization processes were especially valuable. This is a great class to take at this stage of professional growth.

Best! The open discussions and group activities made the training interactive and interesting. So much knowledge and wisdom from the instructors made the training effective and memorable.

Appreciated the interaction and exercises done in class. The instructors were very approachable and made the content fun. The way they presented the material made the class interesting. I’m learning to shift fear into courage and find my advisory board/sponsorship to help promote me.

Excellent opportunity to join this pilot program. I felt very seen and heard. Collective influence changes the world. Loved this—I'm so fortunate to have participated. This changed my life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!