Mastering Leadership Challenges

Mapping and mastering the dynamics of business and work dependencies is key to asserting oneself as a leader, building powerful coalitions, and to getting things done. In this highly interactive seminar you learn how to deal with the blind spots in leadership, explore the opportunities to generate impact, gain actionable insights on how to use positional, personal and relational power to win support and identify the challenges to leadership in times of technological change.

Day 1

Part 1: The blind spot in leadership:  Managing yourself and your boss

Business is based on and work is accomplished through social relationships and social networks. For aspiring leaders mapping business and work dependencies and understanding their underlying dynamics is key to asserting oneself as a leader, building powerful coalitions, and to getting things done. This interactive, hands-on workshop empowers participants to engage in the hidden but essential leadership activity of “managing yourself and your boss”. Based on management case studies, it will provide you with actionable tools and techniques to manage yourself and your superior. 

Topics include:

• The framework: The power of relationships
• The task: Operating in your stretch zone
• Identifying the many faces of power
• Managing myself. Managing my boss.
• Expectations management: Who am I to my boss?
• Synchronising work styles

Part 2: Leading change with impact

Change is a constant in many organisations. Leading change is challenging because as a leader you need to convince people to give up habits, routines, and scripts. Masterful change leadership is high on skills and low on threats: Leaders who are skilled at influencing social change processes understand what motivates people and how to get people to commit to new lines of thinking and action. In this case-based session, we explore some of the traps that can derail a leader’s attempt to change an organisation.

Topics include:

• The new leader – asserting leadership in a firm in transition.
• Creating a new team and new dynamics.
• Changing the path – growing while maintaining the firm’s culture.
• Beware of the traps. A cautionary tale.

Day 2

Part 3: The persuasive leader – Lessons in the art of engagement

In this inspiring session, we show how leadership engagement and persuasion excellence matter. You will learn how a leader wisely used positional, personal, and relational power to create change: Nelson Mandela cultivating alignment, commitment and engagement (“ACE”) among the citizens of South Africa to overcome racial division between black and white South Africans in the post-apartheid era of his presidency. To cultivate engagement and commitment, leaders often need to use persuasion and negotiation tactics. Mandela skillfully used several classic principles of persuasion to accomplish his vision about change. This session aims to impact your view on change management, and how change and engagement in your organization can be accomplished.

Topics include:

• The ACE-approach: alignment, commitment and engagement
• The Cialdini-Six: Persuasion tactics in politics and business
• The mundanity of excellence: Discipline, attitude, and technique
• What is inspirational leadership?
• Strengthening the link between the employee and the organisation
• Driving change through contagion
• How to effectively communicate a business vision

Part 4 (optional): Leadership redefined – How managers will survive technology

Many organizations are delayering and reducing their hierarchies. In this session, we explore if leaders will be relevant in a future dominated by artificial intelligence and self-managing teams. Will the role of manager/leader disappear in the future? Do you think the future role of ‘the leader’ will only be to focus on change and transformation, or will the role of the leader also be central in mundane, day to day operations? In this session, we explore if and why leaders and managers are needed in today’s organizations. Specifically, and with reference to Google’s Project Oxygen we identify eight managerial practices that are important across business firms.

Topics include:

• Why hierarchies persist
• Doing away with managers?
• Learning from Google’s Project Oxygen
• Identifying and redefining the role of managers
• Data driven change management in a flat organization

Target group

Managers, Directors, Executives, Head of Departments, Managing Directors

Methodology

Case studies, discussions, live simulations

Duration

2 days

First day 9:30 AM - 5:30 PM, second day 9 AM  - 5 PM

We would be glad to advise you and create a tailor-made company offer on request. Find out more about our corporate offers or write us an email.

For bold leader: Facing the unexpected - Leading in the "Panic Zone"

Two Cities. Two Challenges. This exciting and rewarding program offers new perspectives on and unique experiences with crucial leadership skills.

Frankfurt: Through mini-lectures, case discussions and exercises we draw implications and explore opportunities for leading in situations where leaders are pushed into the panic zone (e.g., where the demands of the situation exceed the knowledge and experience of the leader).

Vienna: Building upon and challenging your insights from the Frankfurt program, we expose you to the immediate experience and understanding of your individual leadership impact: Conducting the Leadership Orchestra will improve your poise when facing the unexpected.

Find out more about the programme Facing the unexpected - Leading in the "Panic Zone"