COURSE DESCRIPTION

Leaders are expected to be able to elevate their thinking from a tactical or operational perspective to a more strategic perspective, allowing them to see “the bigger picture.” In addition, leading the human side of a transformative change can be one of the most challenging parts of leadership. This combined course is designed for people who want to be able to move beyond day-to-day, reactionary thinking to a more long-term and future-focused perspective. It enables you to mitigate these challenges of change by embracing and adopting a set of proven practices and principles. It is designed for senior and mid-level leaders and managers who want to lead people more effectively through change and transition.

COURSE TOPICS INCLUDE

• Definitions of operational, tactical, and strategic thinking
• Methods for gaining a strategic perspective
• Strategic elements of an organizational system
• Environmental factors in the strategic landscape
• Strategic leverage points
• Decision making from a strategic perspective
• Forecasting the cause and effect of strategic decisions
• Barriers to strategic thinking
• Five paradoxes of leading change efforts
• Organizational leadership and the importance of trust
• Trust as part of change and the human experience
• Leadership presence and authenticity
• Maintaining an understanding of the organization
• Maintaining an understanding of the organization
• Working on multiple levels of culture
• The importance of understanding values within cultures
• Influencing and leading culture
• Working with subcultures

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Differentiate between tactical approaches and strategic approaches to thinking
• Use questioning as a method to clearly articulate the strategic interests of your team, department, or organization
• Identify strategic leverage points within the organization to advance a mission and vision
• Describe and interpret environmental factors that influence strategic thinking
• Compare strategic options to make effective decisions
• Forecast the ripple effects of strategic decisions
• Identify detractors that commonly prevent strategic thinking
• Draw connections and strategically think through how to apply your learning
• Examine the paradoxical elements of leading change efforts
• Define “culture-based”, particularly the importance of symbols and artifacts in relation to culture as well as individual and group identity
• Describe the role of the leader in establishing trust in order to gain credibility in the change process
• Articulate the importance of leadership presence and authenticity in gaining others’ buy-in
• Understand the role of empathy and people-oriented practices when leading others through change and transition
• Describe your change style and the implications of respective styles
• Identify people-oriented transition issues and plans to mitigate them