Mid-Level Leadership Program

Becoming a supervisor for the first time is one of the most difficult transitions in the workplace. It can be an overwhelming experience. Knowing how to apply a key set of tools and skills can ease this transition considerably. Further, having a good understanding of leadership styles and how to apply them in the workplace can bolster the opportunity for success. There are many definitions of leadership and many different styles. This first session will focus on establishing a common framework for the leadership work and discussions that will occur within the program. Leadership is challenging but the desired outcome is really quite simple: achieve results. That’s what leaders are in place to do. Results, however, are only achieved with and through the commitment of the people we lead.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) reinforces the concept that every individual is unique. The value of MBTI (and personality theory in general) is that it enables participants to expect differences
in people and to cope with those differences more constructively than they otherwise could. This knowledge will help participants be better team members, leaders, and decision makers. They will learn that type does not define who they are as a person nor does it limit their ability to act in ways counter to their preferences. Rather, knowledge of their preferences allows them to know when it is appropriate to act counter to those preferences in order to be successful.

In this interactive session, participants will increase their understanding of emotional intelligence and how a greater awareness increases their interpersonal effectiveness and their ability to be a more effective leader, manager, and public servant. Participants will explore the background of emotional intelligence, take a behavioral-based personal EQ (Emotional Quotient) assessment, and learn skills to apply their EQ awareness in the workplace. The program will cover intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligence as well as one’s ability to understand the intentions, motivations, fears, desires of others and self, and the impact on our lives and the decisions we make. EQ concepts and applications will be explored using the widely regarded Emotional Quotient Inventory Assessment EQi 2.0.

The most common time management problem is that people are reactive rather than proactive. Rather than acting towards long-term goals, they react to external pressures. This workshop teaches participants how to reverse this process. Through stimulating and interactive participation and analysis of their own data, participants learn a set of tools which they can apply on a continuing basis.

Supervisors who can effectively delegate can free up a great deal of their own time and help their direct reports to cultivate expertise in learning. At the same time, employees can learn to self-empower and increase their own decision making ability — a skill set that is critical for problem solving, goal attainment, learning, and engagement.

In this workshop, a set of skills and tools are taught that enable employees to make their own decisions while increasing supervisor confidence that employees are moving forward with a clear understanding of expectations and the limits and conditions under which the decisions are made. Through discussion, practice, and interactive exercises participants will learn how to put these skills to use in creating the most effective workplace environment.

Improving our ability to communicate and collaborate raises the bar on professionalism, effectiveness, efficiency, and overall ability to influence others. It is impossible to be an effective leader without being an effective communicator.

It is impossible to be truly effective in the workplace without the assistance and cooperation of others. Such interdependence, however, can produce conflict, which can be very difficult to resolve in a productive way. Resolving conflict in a way that helps people find common ground and mutual understanding is a critical leadership skill. Finding a resolution that satisfies conflicting priorities can stimulate new approaches to old problems. Innovation is often a by-product of well-managed conflict.

Whether they realize it or not, leaders are constantly negotiating — with customers, peers, subordinates and bosses. Effective negotiators get what they need while being focused on the needs of the other party. Finding a resolution that satisfies conflicting priorities can stimulate new approaches to old problems. Innovation is often a by-product of well-managed conflict.

This workshop session provides tools and techniques to find common ground while uncovering how each party sees the issues, and how to reach an equitable agreement on what should be done, who should do what, and when. Participants in this workshop will learn how to build on their knowledge of conflict and negotiate agreement without giving in. They will also learn to influence upwards in support of projects and organizational goals.

Leadership is entirely about learning, and continuing to expand our own and our organization’s horizons. No one is put in a leadership role with the mandate to maintain status quo. Innovation is necessary for teams and organizations to grow. Unfortunately, for government leaders, their ability to innovate can feel limited due to the laws, rules, and regulations under which they operate. As
a consequence, leaders may “self-limit” and not step into innovation as well as they might have otherwise. This session of the workshop will explore how to be innovative and creative within the bounds of public service.

Growing leaders of tomorrow requires engaging with employees in new and different ways — making the choice to interact with them through a different kind of conversation. Coaching is about application of learning and positive, visible change. Through coaching, employees develop their own critical thinking skills.

It is very difficult to motivate others; most motivation comes from within. Yet some leaders have the ability to motivate and inspire others to do great things. This session will explore how effective leaders create and sustain the environment that fosters the self-motivation necessary for organizational success.

This workshop explores analysis and problem solving by tackling the most difficult problems of all: the application of personal values and ethics to decision making. The interactive session, based on the book, How Good People Make Tough Choices, involves lecture and small group work, explores the most challenging decisions an individual faces – right verses right decisions. Additionally, participants will learn other decision making models and when it is appropriate to use those models. They will develop their own and their subordinates’ problem solving skills.

Strategic thinking and organizational change management is the process of developing a planned approach to leading change in an organization. Typically the objective is to maximize the collective benefits for all people involved in the change and minimize the risk of failure of implementing the change. The discipline of change management deals primarily with the human aspect of change.