Course catalogue

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

Kurt Lewin a German-American psychologist, defined himself and his contributions within three lenses of analysis: applied research, action research, and group communication were his major offerings. One of the Cornerstone models for understanding organizational change was developed by him and is referred to as ""Kurt Lewin's three-stages of Change.

This model breaks into three-stages: Unfreeze, Transition, and Refreeze. In the ""Unfreeze"" stage, an organization prepares for the change. In the ""Transition"" stage, the change takes place and in the ""Refreeze"" stage, the change becomes solidified as the new norm.

• Describe the need for change

• Identify the three stages of Kurt Lewin’s change model

• List the activities in the unfreezing stage

• Explain why communication is important in the transition stage

• Explain the importance of refreezing

The principles that determine how a person reacts in a certain situation define that person’s workplace ethics. It is also defined as the belief that states hard work and integrity showing moral benefit adds strength to human character. It is a set of values centered on the importance of work and manifested by determination or desire to work hard.    

Workplace ethics ensures honesty, respecting the code of conduct, exhibiting good conduct, and strong moral principles.

• Identify the elements to establish the structure of ethical behavior   

• Enlist values to set the tone of cementing trust    

• Identify ways to reward ethical behavior at the workplace

With COVID-19 meaning that home working is no longer an option but a necessity for many, what are the potential side effects on our health and work performance. Employers may need to provide additional training to ensure appropriate supervision and work behaviours. These include remote technology, communication skills development, time management and ergonomics. 

Maintaining health and well-being while working from home encompasses many areas, including ergonomics, preventing feelings of isolation and effectively managing stress. Studies have found that more than half of people working from home had not paid any attention to ergonomics, and 94% of them reported that neither had their employers. Almost half of remote workers have experienced work-related pains. One of the most problematic aspects of home working is the isolation and the lack of access to day-to-day informal interactions. While remote working enables greater autonomy, it also leads to higher levels of work intensity. The ‘24/7’ availability for work can result in family conflict and stress. Key areas to promote a positive work-family interface include the parental ability to cope with children and amicable resolutions of conflict about working hours, household work and personal time in the family.

The ‘Healthy Home Working’ bundle includes 3 month access to 12 online courses and over 9 hours of eLearning.

• Stress Awareness

• Working Time Limits and Fatigue Management

• Display Screen Equipment (DSE)

• Ergonomics

• Health and Safety for Home Workers (Employees)

• Medicine Awareness

• Smart Health: Sleeping – How to Ensure You Are Well-Rested & Energized

• Smart Mental Health: Managing Anger and Emotions

• Smart Mental Health: Keys to Successful Parenting

• Smart Health: Drinking Responsibly

• Smart Mental Health: Reducing Stress and Anxiety

• Smart Mental Health: Mastering Marriage

If you always do what you always did,  you will always get what you always got

- Albert Einstein 

Innovation by itself is a challenging and draining process. The unpredictability of the results of innovation adds to the stress of the innovator or innovation teams. Combining the task of innovation with a predictable process helps ease out the difficulties. This lesson focuses on the six areas which can be included in your innovation plan framework that will help you conduct the innovative team building activities in a constructive manner. You will also be in a position to identify the innovation roles and appoint the right persons to promote a flawless innovation process. Organizations that innovate new concepts using the correct framework and processes can ensure consistent industry growth. Take this lesson to learn about building innovation teams.

• Identify the six areas to include in your innovation framework 

• Describe and assign innovation roles to persons in the organization 

• Build innovation teams that drive success

The simplest definition of diversity is “a range or variety of different things”. In the context of D&I, diversity refers to “the traits and characteristics that make people unique” which include (but are not limited to) race, ethnicity, age, gender, socio-economic class, ability, sexual orientation, and nationality. The summation of these variables combine to create life experiences which shape how a person solves problems, creates, and assesses risk. These are examples of “diversity of thinking” which yields direct and indirect benefits that are foundational to the business case for investments in D&I initiatives.

An inclusive environment is one in which “all individuals are treated fairly and respectfully, feel welcome, have equal access to opportunities and resources, and can contribute fully to the organization’s success".

• What you need to know before you create an anti-racism strategy?

• How to successfully support your strategy for combating institutional racism? 

• What are key steps for successful diversity programs? 

Managers are expected to achieve strategic goals by making the best business judgments possible using limited resources. To do this successfully, they need to be able to budget and forecast. Forecasting is the process of analyzing historical data along with market, economic, and industry trends to make good financial and business decisions. We’ll review the role forecasting plays in constructing different kinds of budgets, avoiding common budget pitfalls, and planning for “what-if” scenarios.

• Identify the types of forecasting    

• Infer budgeting basics    

• Manage pitfalls   

• Planning for other scenarios

By definition, dynamic teams are composed of self-directed, goal-focused individuals, each with specific expertise and skills, who work together to create innovative solutions that consistently result in superior outcomes. But truly dynamic teams don’t just happen. They are the result of purposeful selection, a motivating vision, and strong leadership. In this course, you will learn how to identify potential team members, how much supervision and oversight to provide, and how best to motivate your people.

• Build a dynamic team 

• Guide the team to focus on work 

• Beware of group thinking 

• Lead the dynamic team

Kotter's 8-Step Change Model was created by Harvard University Professor, John Kotter. He perceived the change process as having 8 essential steps.

The 8 Essential Steps in this model are:

Create a sense of urgency for change

Build a coalition for change Form a vision for change 

Communicate the vision for change 

Remove barriers to change 

Generate quick wins for the change 

Stay persistent with the change 

Make the change permanent

• Describe Kotter’s 8-step change model 

• Explain what leaders can do to make the change successful

Various masks: Procedural Mask vs Surgical Mask

Proper handwashing means scrubbing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Digital technologies are an undeniable part of today’s global economy. Digital organizations, like Amazon, have set the standard for the ideal customer experience, and all industries will need to embrace digital technology in order to satisfy customer needs and expectations. Digital Transformation can be defined as Business Transformation enabled through digital technologies, such as mobile, cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, robotics, data analytics, the Internet of Things, and Virtual and Augmented Reality. Within the workplace, as human work shifts to a more knowledge-based, continual learning model, the flexible and agile use of technology will be critical in attracting and retaining top talent. AI, RPA, data analysis tools, and machine learning are speeding repetitive tasks so that human workers can concentrate on activities that are less redundant and more productive and profitable. Organizations that focus on building company-wide cultures that embrace the agile, flexible world of digital technology will reap the benefits as they learn and grow.

• Explain how digital technology resulted in the transformation of customer needs

• Explain the role of digital technology in the transformation of the workforce

• Explain the role of digital technology in the transformation of operations

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

"“We all need people who will give us feedback. That's how we improve.” 

-Bill Gates 

Feedback is an essential part of any manager-employee relationship. However, a lot of managers are reluctant giving corrective feedback. They either fear offending the employees or damaging the good rapport built over a course of time. But feedback is essential and beneficial for the manager, the employee, and the organization as a whole. So, how do you give negative feedback? This lesson will introduce you to the technique of sharing negative feedback using the sandwich feedback approach.

• Provide sandwich feedback 

• Assess the issues to be considered

As a leader, one of your main responsibilities is to find good talent, cultivate that talent, and inspire loyalty and motivation in those talented individuals. Providing employee development is a great way to mature your staff and ensure that they stay with the organization. In this course, you will learn to provide the employees with the development they seek, using an Individual Development Plan, which is also beneficial for your enterprise.

• List the benefits of the Individual Development Plan 

• Create an Individual Development Plan

Consistent business analysis is critical to a company’s short- and long-term success. Because the SWOT framework is such a simple, flexible, and powerful tool, organizations can use it to examine, plan, and implement business decisions and plans that range from incremental to comprehensive. By gathering a range of input from inside and outside the organization, your analysis will provide substantial, relevant, and objective data to guide your decision-making. Whether you’re planning new corporate-wide strategic goals or reviewing departmental processes, a well-executed SWOT analysis will enable you to focus on your strengths, diminish threats, and take advantage of identified business and market opportunities as you move forward.

• Describe SWOT Analysis   

• Conduct a SWOT Analysis   

• Create a SWOT Action Plan

"“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

"“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” 

-George Bernard Shaw 

Thanks to technology, we now have numerous ways to communicate with one another. Organizations depend on social media, texting, and tweeting in addition to emails to present themselves to all the stakeholders. These rapid-fire methods of communicating have changed how we speak, how we receive information, and how we interpret the information we’ve received. Sometimes, these speed-of-light methods of connecting can affect our communication skills. Have you ever wondered if the receiver received your communication correctly or not? Do you evaluate the messages you send? This course will help you with tricks to communicate effectively using electronic media.

• Judge whether your message is essential and timely 

• Draft short messages 

• Use tools and white spaces for flawless messages 

• Convey the gist of the message in the subject line 

• Make decisions on when to not send emails and when to reply promptly

Defining your competitive edge, target market, and competition is just the first step to gaining more market share in your industry or niche. This is an ongoing process. You must continuously research, review, and revise these three factors in order to maintain your edge. Use your research alongside a competitive strategy to drive internal and external efforts through marketing, corporate culture, training, hiring, research, operations, customer service, messaging, leadership, and more. Defining and leveraging your unique competitive edge is the key to market success.

• Define your competitive edge    

• Define your target market and identify your competition    

• Practice the strategies for building your competitive edge

The old saying, greater the risk, greater the rewards has probably rung true for many of us in different stages and areas of life. However, still most people tend to avoid risks when possible, because they think that inaction is often safer than action. The belief is that taking a risk is “exposing oneself to the possibility of loss or injury in the hopes of achieving a gain or reward.” But the legendary boxer Muhammed Ali stated “He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.” In this course, you will learn to mitigate risks and start taking calculated risks.

• Recognize the need for smart risk-taking and its 5 components

• Determine the strategies of smart risk-taking  

• List the types of risk-taking cultures