Executive leadership training programs can be just the thing for bringing your leadership skills up to date. Leadership thoughts, methods and theories are constantly evolving.
In fact it wasn’t too far back when leadership training focused predominantly on preventing disruption in the work place. Maintaining status-quo in the workplace wherever possible was the right thing to do.
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Today however we are living in an open-market environment where leaders must embrace disruption. They must grab it by the horns and ride with it to shape a new future. No longer can leaders simply sit back and rest.
Today’s organizations need agile, change-adopting, opportunity-seeking leaders.
New Capabilities Required
To succeed in this new environment executive leaders need to develop and practice a new set of leadership capabilities. Capabilities which move away from the more traditional planning, directing and controlling towards more coaching, engagement, networking and change catalysts.
Coaches
Coaching often begins with a leader having a strong understanding of themselves. Understanding personal strengths and weaknesses and then also gaining a deep understanding of those that they work closely with too.
Leaders need to have much more understanding of soft people skills, with strong emotional intelligence and the ability to draw out the best from team members. Able to recognize individual strengths and weaknesses and to capitalize on the best each individual has to offer. Enabling team members to work effectively as a team and drive the team forward towards one collective, shared vision or goal.
They need to understand the importance of building diverse and inclusive teams. Facilitating each team member to perform at their best.
Engagement
Employees must be fully committed and enthusiastic to the work that they are performing for the organization. High employee engagement usually corresponds to increased organisational performance. Leaders must be able to increase employee engagement through effective communication and clarity of job expectations and job importance but also through matching job appropriately to individual passions, skill-sets and strengths. They must do this while continuing to provide regular and relevant feedback to the employees.
Networking
Leaders can no longer work in silos. They must reach out beyond the department with which they usually operate and in fact even beyond the organization itself. Leaders need to be open to the fact that ideas, and solutions to problems can come from almost anywhere in the global business world that we all now operate within. The internet and social media now mean that almost anyone can be contacted to find a solution to your latest business dilemma.
Change Catalysts
New leaders need to be catalysts to change. They need to be visionary and able to effectively communicate that vision to employees across an organization. Able to gain buy-in from all stakeholders. Doers who lead by example and make change a priority.
Executive Leadership Training Programs
Free
Before you embark on a paid executive leadership training program you should first consider some of the excellent (university run) courses that are available free as MOOC’s. MOOC stands for Massive Open Online Course. These courses have unlimited participation which anyone can attend courses for and access by simply using their web browser.
Most MOOC organizations are for profit organizations. They often make money by offering students the ability to have a verified course completion certificate in return for a fee.
Don’t be too quick to dismiss MOOC’s either. May of them are offered from some of the top universities in the world and many have renowned professors presenting the material.
MOOC’s offer a wide variety of courses however you should find that most of the bigger ones usually have some from of leadership training included as part of their offerings.
Two of the most popular American MOOC’s include… Coursera and edX.
In Europe one of the biggest is FutureLearn
Paid
Of course you shouldn’t dismiss the paid executive leadership training programs with most of the top universities having some form of offering.
Some of the tops ones that you may want to consider in the US include…
Stanford: “Collaboration. Power. Communication. Great leadership requires all three. In this six-day transformative program you’ll focus on developing a personal leadership style that inspires innovation in others—your team, your organization, and the outside world. It all starts with a pre-program Leadership Style Questionnaire sent to your team and ends with a personalized 100-day action plan you create to keep you accountable and increase your success…”
Berkeley: “You have achieved enormous responsibility in your organization through your relentless hard work, proven decision-making ability, and natural talent. UC Berkeley’s Executive Leadership Program is about taking a brief professional pause to reflect—alongside others equally accomplished, facilitated by the foremost luminaries in their fields—on what kind of leader you are today, where you want to go from here, and what you will do to get there…”
Wharton: “Successful leaders know their value lies not only in managing teams and running organizations, but in inspiring others, setting purposeful goals, executing strategic visions, and creating cultures of excellence.
No matter your level, Wharton programs are designed to challenge your perceptions about leadership and the values that shape it, encouraging you to think differently.
From exploring power and influence and organizational change, to developing personal negotiation styles, to coaching teams for high-performance results, the Wharton Leadership Development portfolio will advance your skills as a leader…”
and Harvard: “Successful companies worldwide continue to invest in a strong pipeline of next-generation leaders who can help them build and secure a competitive advantage. Designed to advance this process, the Program for Leadership Development (PLD) equips up-and-coming leaders with a broader understanding of today’s global marketplace and the integrated functions of the organization. You will emerge with the leadership capacity to manage cross-functional initiatives, identify new sources of revenue, and execute bold strategies that drive your company’s bottom line…”
And then in the UK there is Cranfield: “Leadership is key to stimulating innovation, driving change and to deliver results in increasingly competitive and complex circumstances. Designed for senior executives, our programmes will stimulate you to think about your contribution as a leader, whatever your role. We can help you to lead strategy, including the inevitable organisational politics that accompany this process, as well as lead teams and drive change…”
London: “The course looks at the major challenges today’s leaders are facing and provides insights into how leadership skills can be developed and how organisations can create the optimal environment for effective leadership…”
and Cambridge: “This three week general management and leadership programme offers the opportunity for seasoned general managers and senior executives to step back from their professional and personal lives and dedicate time for themselves in a learning environment second to none. Aside from refreshing their thinking and fine-tuning their leadership agenda, participants will benefit from discussions and exchange with top Faculty members and outstanding speakers from Cambridge Judge Business School and Cambridge University, as well as from other top business schools…”
For links to other items of possible interest then please see below…
Team Leadership Training
Team leadership training can be just the thing to bring your leadership skills and competencies up-to-date. Effective leaders at all levels within an organisation are vital for an organization to effectively meet its strategic objectives.
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