Course catalogue

Many managers are promoted to leadership positions by virtue of their technical skills or subject-matter knowledge. Their proficiency and expertise set them apart from other candidates. These abilities are important, but they are just one aspect of being an effective leader. Leadership expert, Stephen Covey, says that due to the speed and constant change that define our world today, leaders need to be able to face new and different problems as they arise, make strategic decisions quickly, and guide their organizations with competence and character. He has identified four roles a leader must master in order to succeed in this ever-changing environment.

• Inspire trust among your team members

• Create a vision for your team

• Execute strategy to reach your goals

• Recognize your coaching potential

Leaders must focus on developing their ability to be more agile and strategic – within an environment of constant change. They should explore tools that can be leveraged to achieve the goal. Good agile leaders make sure that their teams identify the desired long-term goals, and then work backward from these to identify all the conditions that must be in place for the goals to occur.

• Define the theory of change and identify factors impacting the change

• Enlist 5 types of organizational change and successful ways to implement them

• Apply strategies which help in creating an organization that is always ready for change

Why do we often say that it is important to effectively network and build strong business partnerships? It is because your success as a businessperson will be greatly affected by the professional relationships you cultivate. Whether leading employees, working on a cross-functional team, or meeting with colleagues at an industry conference, your ability to successfully network and build productive and authentic business relationships is important. Strong business relationships drive productivity and business success. Smart leaders spend time developing their interpersonal skills in order to build solid bonds with their employees, work productively and positively with peers and superiors, and generate business relationships that can contribute to personal and organizational success.

• Describe interpersonal skills    

• Identify ways to build business partnerships    

• Enlist key strategies to successful networking

Your day-to-day ability to genuinely connect and work well with others is the key to long-term career success. Especially in today’s work environment, where cross-unit, cross-functional, and even cross-organizational teams abound, those with strong interpersonal skills have a decided advantage. And you don’t have to be the stereotypical extroverted salesperson to possess these kinds of skills. Anyone can learn and practice how to interact with others in positive and productive ways. Whether you are collaborating with colleagues, attending a conference of industry peers, or chatting with a team member one-on-one, well-developed people skills give you the opportunity to build stronger relationships, foster goodwill, and cultivate influence with others.

• Manage business relationships   

• Work collaboratively with your team    

• Manage disagreement with colleagues

Problems come in all shapes and sizes, and they are an inevitable part of business life. Instead of trying to avoid or ignore them, it’s better to accept them, find ways to solve them and learn from them. With the right perspective, problems can even be gateways to innovation. There are a variety of models and methods that can be used to identify, analyze, and implement effective solutions. In this lesson, we will look at a hybrid of the A3 model, 5 Whys, and Divergent/Convergent methods.

• Identify the eight steps of the A3 model  

• Assist your team in problem-solving

There is no “one-size-fits-all” leadership style or approach for today’s managers. Each day brings new situations and challenges to be navigated. Depending upon the circumstances, effective leaders modify how they lead others and how they manage outcomes. They build collaborative partnerships with their team members. They develop and apply multiple leadership styles. As they know that change is inevitable, they plan for the future—for themselves and their team members. Let’s take a look at the skills situational leaders need to succeed.

• Identify the core situational leadership skills

• Evaluate your leadership approaches

• Create individual development plans

A project is a sequence of tasks completed in a specific order with the goal of achieving a certain outcome. Projects are overseen by managers but are executed by project teams according to detailed plans, budgets, and timelines. The investment of an organization’s time, labor, materials, equipment, and capital require that each detail be monitored and managed carefully to ensure that the scope of the project doesn’t spiral out of control and that the project’s profitability is maximized rather than jeopardized. Effective project managers demonstrate well-developed technical and interpersonal skills, attention-to-detail, business acumen, and exceptional follow-through.

• Explain the four components of project management  

• State the project management lifecycle

Good leaders are predominantly facilitators, these leaders teach their people how to work effectively and solve problems. The result is more empowered and capable teams. Directing is said to be a process in which the managers instruct, guide, and oversee the performance of the employees to achieve predetermined goals. 

• Differentiate between a leader and a director 

• Define an enabler 

• Describe how a good leader facilitates an employee's problem solving ability

"Today’s business environment is global, generationally diverse, collaborative, cross-functional, and constantly changing. Leaders who believe that they can achieve organizational goals using just one leadership style will not succeed. The most effective leaders learn how to flexibly adapt multiple leadership styles to guide their employees, achieve their goals, and build strong teams.

A popular management theory called Situational Leadership, first developed in 1969 by Dr. Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard, remains especially relevant in today’s business environment. This theory is based on the premise that because organizations are not made up of workers who are equally skilled and motivated, leaders should manage team members according to their individual abilities and developmental readiness. We’ll review their method, and then suggest some ways you can use it to manage today’s business challenges."

• Name the four leadership styles

• List the four maturity levels

• Apply the situational leadership model

Your success as a leader isn’t dependent upon how much technical knowledge, business expertise, or years of industry experience you have. If you want to achieve goals consistently, build strong, collaborative teams, and establish solid relationships with colleagues, superiors, and clients, then you need Emotional Intelligence (EQ). Emotional Intelligence, also known as Emotional Quotient (EQ) is the ability to properly gauge your emotions as well as the emotions of others in all situations, use proper judgment and behave appropriately for the desired outcome. In other words, EQ is the ability to identify your emotions, and those of others, and use that knowledge to make the best decisions, regardless of the circumstances.

• Define EQ 

• Describe the four components of EQ 

• Use tips and techniques to develop your EQ

A business is a living organism that depends on the strategic coordination of systems, activities, and information to build customer-satisfying products and services and ensure profitability and future growth. A company’s success is determined by the ability of each core function to effectively perform its specific purposes and responsibilities and, at the same time, proactively cooperate and communicate with the other departments. It is this combination of business-unit excellence and cross-functional collaboration that acts as a key to organizational success.

• Review talent recruitment and development    

• Review finance and information technology   

• Assess operations and strategic management

Constructive feedback has the ability to help your employees do their jobs better. It helps strengthen your team and improve the overall performance. Many managers are unable to give constructive feedback; hence, they do not get the expected results and sometimes have an adverse effect on their relationship with their employees. To avoid this, many managers are reluctant to provide feedback.  

Constructive feedback is an opportunity to coach your team members on how to grow into more productive and independent contributors. When giving and receiving positive and negative feedback becomes a routine part of everyone’s workday, you and your team will be on your way to personal and organizational success.

• Follow the rules of providing feedback 

• Implement effective methods to share feedback

"“Communication works for those who work at it.” 

-John Powell  

Upward communication flows from the lower level to the upper level of a hierarchy. For example, employees communicating with their immediate manager, the immediate manager communicating with their reporting manager, and so on up to the board of directors or owner of the company. This form of communication helps employees express their requirements, ideas, or goals. Managing upward communication is an art to be acquired if you are looking for a long-term career in your organization and wish to get ample opportunities to learn and grow. This course will help you communicate upward effectively.

Establish your interest in the organization  

Look for opportunities to contribute and think big 

Be yourself and do not encourage or be involved in manipulation 

Take ownership of your mistakes and avoid politics

You want to develop a team that feels comfortable approaching you with new ideas, suggestions for improvements, and even their personal challenges. You want your clients to know that you are genuinely interested in hearing their concerns and ideas. And you want your superiors and peers to see you as someone who encourages innovation and open communication in your department. Working to improve your active listening will take patience and practice. But if you learn how to put this powerful communication skill to work for you, you’ll discover that the benefits are well worth the effort.

• Define active listening

• Confirm your understanding of the meeting

• Pay attention to body language

Today’s marketplace is fast-paced and ultra-competitive. Operations departments should be the same. They can’t afford to be wasteful, slow, or out of touch with their customers’ needs if they hope to compete and thrive. In order to achieve and maintain a competitive edge in the global economy and maximize corporate profits, successful operations management systems need to be engineered to quickly respond to customer’s requests, promptly adapt to new processes and product requirements, and rapidly embrace new technologies. No wonder Forbes magazine reports that 75% of CEOs come from an operations background. Having a comprehensive understanding of how an organization works is a leadership advantage. 

• Define operations management 

• Make operational decisions 

• Improve operations continuously

Your success as a businessperson will be greatly affected by the professional relationships you cultivate. Interpersonal skills are the cornerstone of developing these associations, so it is important to assess your abilities to communicate clearly and empathetically and to listen well. The most effective and satisfying relationships are based on a genuine and mutual desire to get to know and help others. When you focus on adding value to your business connections, you will build a network that is both personally satisfying and professionally beneficial.

• Identify foundational skills required to build a strong interpersonal relationship

• Develop methods of building business partnerships

• Enlist keys to networking

"“Change is the only constant in life.” 

-Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher 

As a leader, you’re responsible for leading your team to achieve organizational goals. Sometimes that involves changing processes, adopting new technologies, or learning new skills. What do you do when one or more of your employees refuse to change and grow with the rest of the team? People tend to approach change in one of the two ways. They either embrace change and are excited about the possibilities and opportunities inherent in a new adventure. Or they resist change because they fear the unknown. As a leader, you probably have employees in both camps. In this course, we will discuss how to influence the change resisters.

• Identify the fear for change 

• Implement T-chart

Conflict management is a major hurdle in any organizational growth and has to be resolved on priority to reduce the negative effect it may cause. The role of the facilitator is complex. A leader’s job is to guide conflicting individuals through a process without using their influence to determine the outcome of the negotiations. They must model calmness, respect, and open-mindedness in situations that can be emotionally charged. They must encourage full participation of all group members from defining the cause of the conflict to agreeing on a resolution.      

In task-based situations, facilitators need to push team members strongly but respectfully question, challenge, and argue decisions, suggestions, and processes recommended by other team members.      

Leaders who know how to anticipate conflict and address it proactively with the right tools, techniques, and a well-managed process create healthy work environments that use differences to grow and move forward positively. In this course, you will explore the various tools available to the facilitator to manage conflicts.

• Identify the basics of facilitation   

• Apply the three-step mediation process     

• Decide when to encourage opposing dialogue

Business acumen is gaining an understanding of how business works as well as the behaviors business professionals should possess. This important skill is critical not only to corporate leaders, but to aspiring leaders, managers, and employees as well. The organization that prioritizes business acumen as a core competency promotes the growth of its workforce and strengthens its competitive edge.   

Some use the analogy of a quarterback who can “see” the entire field to describe business acumen. It’s simply understanding how your company operates, and then using that knowledge to develop the best business strategy. Regardless of your role in the organization, it’s an important skill to develop.

• State the importance of business acumen 

• Learn ways to improve your business acumen

One of the most important leadership roles is a mentor. You are responsible for teaching your employees how to achieve goals, make better decisions, solve problems, and advance their careers. Without formal training in this area, how do you coach or mentor these skills? This course will introduce you to employ a model, built on four simple techniques. By employing these techniques, you will strengthen your coaching skills and develop your team members’ potential.

• Help your team set the goal as per the GROW model 

• Provide assistance in gauging the available options 

• Get your team commit to specific actions to help them make progress