Let's Talk Core Leadership Skills

A Lessons in Leadership webinar series examining different leadership skills and their application in today’s workplace.

The workplace is not only changing, but changing at unprecedented speed.

Employees from a range of backgrounds across multiple generations are working flexible schedules from remote locations across the globe. New technologies are emerging everyday, uprooting workplace operations and processes.

How are you managing these changes?

Succeeding in this environment can be challenging, even for the most seasoned leaders.

Join us for Lessons in Leadership, a monthly webinar series, led by Professor Ed Barrows, that encourages you to stop and reflect upon your current leadership skills as well as the skills you’ll need to be successful in the future. From strategic thinking and communication to problem solving and executive presence, you will explore a set of valuable skills and tools that managers can use to effectively lead through this dynamic environment and achieve the goals set forth.

Webinar Topics

Are you able to clearly articulate where your organization is going in the next three to five years? What are the priorities? How are you going to get there? We all know thinking about the future is important. But all too often, we get caught up in our day-to-day work and we don’t allocate the time needed to think about what lies ahead.

During this 1-hour webinar, we’ll help you uncover practical approaches to strategic thinking. This isn’t just about thinking—it’s about strategically changing what you do in your job to have a better sense of your organizations—and your own—point of view on the future.

You’ll learn how to:

  • Explain what your company does and where it’s going in concise, layperson’s language
  • Ask incisive questions about potential threats and opportunities and discuss them
  • Make specific recommendations about how to do something differently 
  • Prioritize your activities to maximize your impact on reaching current goals

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Between work and homelife, we make thousands of decisions every day. With that volume, we can’t possibly give equal attention to every decision, so we prioritize. 

But are we prioritizing the right things?

Many times, we don't take the time to stop and ask ourselves if something is really a problem that needs to be solved at this time. 

During this 1-hour webinar, we’ll introduce you to an effective process for problem solving. 

You’ll learn:

  • New and novel ways to solve problems teams face
  • Ways to apply critical thinking to poorly defined issues
  • A structured approach to increase the odds of reaching a favorable solution
  • Tools to strengthen how colleagues address and solve their challenges

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As a leader, how are you showing up to work? Does the way you present yourself impact the way your team and colleagues perceive you? Particularly over the last decade, executive leaders have evolved and diversified, and hence executive presence has also been transformed. Today’s leaders look and act differently than how they did even a few years ago.

During this 1-hour webinar, we’ll explore executive presence and the factors that shape how you are perceived in the office. 

You’ll learn how to:

  • Shape a personal appearance and style to both fit in and stand out at work
  • Gain awareness of the behaviors that diminish your personal image
  • Start projecting greater confidence when interacting with your colleagues 
  • Make a plan that continues to enhance your personal brand

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Communication is an essential skill–one that many leaders don’t do well.  That’s in part because we need to keep a lot in mind whenever we’re communicating, challenging us to keep our messaging clear while we keep our audience’s needs in mind. During this 1-hour webinar, we’ll explore clear messaging, improving how you structure and send written and verbal communication for maximum impact.

By the end of the session you’ll:

  • Gain an awareness of how effective your current communication is
  • Learn how to evaluate and incorporate the needs and difference of your audiences
  • Understand how to simplify and structure your communication for maximum impact
  • Craft robust messages that reach and resonate with your intended audience

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You've likely been building relationships your whole life but when you interact with others, are you aware of people’s emotions as well as your own? Do you know what you need to do to grow and harvest value from your network? This session will show you how. Once you've completed this web event you will be able to:

  • Understand what emotional intelligence is and how it impacts relationship building
  • Learn techniques, start new relationships, and expand and strengthen existing ones
  • Discover new ways to build and manage your professional network.

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Talent development is essential for success today.  Leaders who know how to develop talent are invaluable assets to their organizations and their colleagues. Your team members are key drivers of your success as a leader, so you want to make them top tier players. When you finish this web event you will be able to:

  • Attract the talent you need for key positions
  • Provide constructive feedback and coaching to employees on their development journeys
  • Continually manage performance, using a straightforward process.

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Teams are used now more than ever before. In fact, they’re so pervasive leaders often skip over core team building practices essential for success.  Revisit the fundamentals of teams: what they are, how they work, and where they go wrong. We'll also give you a process for launching and developing A-Team. At the end of this web event you'll be able to:

  •  Describe and design the successful configuration of a team
  •  Launch and develop A-Team using a structured process
  •  Perform the basic responsibilities of a team leader
  •  Spot the common dysfunctions of a team and plan to mitigate them

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Having a strong personal brand is crucial for leaders of all levels to have a thriving and influential career. Unlock the power of personal branding to take your ideas, your leadership, and your career to the next level. This master class will touch on introductory skills to empower you to elevate your personal presence, stand out in your field, and open doors to new opportunities. By the end of this web event you will be able to:

  • Clarify and articulate your values and purpose
  • Set your strategic goal for how you'll establish your presence online
  • Identify your target audience and how to build a community
  • Start to craft your core narrative and unique voice

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The marketplace has changed, requiring ever increasing levels of collaboration. The collaborations you'll work on will also continue to grow in scale and complexity. Top leaders in organizations must master the skill of leading collaborations that extend beyond the walls of their entity. By the end of this web event you will be able to:

  • Recognize when you need to collaborate (and when you don’t)
  • Assemble a group of people that will collaborate effectively
  • Guide your project successfully and manage conflict
  • Make collective progress toward defined goals

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Change leadership is no longer the exception–it is a constant in the workplace. However, attempting it too quickly or without considering the director's collateral effects often leads to failure. Following a structured process can make the crucial difference to any change effort large or small. At the completion of this webinar you will be able to:

  • Prepare yourself and your team for change
  • Implement change initiatives more quickly
  • Sustain focus on the change period

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Executive presence is the X-factor that sets extraordinary leaders apart. It’s the ability to command attention, inspire confidence, and drive results. Learn practical tools and strategies to cultivate a powerful executive presence and how to project confidence in high stakes situations, communicate with clarity and impact and manage conflict with grace. At the completion of this webinar you will be able to:

  • Define your personal brand (human skills and core values).
  • Craft and deliver compelling messages, share your story, and use body language to connect and build trust.
  • Utilize communication strategies to de-escalate conflict, find solutions, and make decisions under pressure.
  • Develop a personal style that reflects your authentic self, and leadership brand.

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Five steps for effective communication

Communication can be a challenge for leaders at any level, but it doesn’t have to be. Follow this simple five-step process for clear messaging success.
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The ABC’s of executive presence

Ever wondered what sets business executives apart? From their visual presence to their confident demeanor and communication style, top leaders project important cues that shape how they are perceived in the workplace.
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Four steps to improved problem solving

Professor of the Practice in Leadership Ed Barrows discusses a four-step plan designed for leaders to address and solve complex organizational problems.
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