International School of Management & Leadership

Building a high performance organisation where top quality staff are selected, motivated and inspired to hit targets and achieve bonuses is a key driver for many senior executives. Over the five days of this programme you will learn what distinguishes outstanding leaders from the rest of the ‘pack; understand the importance of developing self-confidence, self-assurance and strong presence as well as techniques for influencing others. In summary, you will learn to lead well, hire well, increase engagement levels and secure the performance and results you and your team are capable of. Key Areas Covered: Managing professionally in the current demanding business climate Attracting and retaining high calibre employees Leading change initiatives Effective influencing styles Coaching for results Doing the right thing – ethics, quality and standards Fundamental Learnings: The power of an effective Vision How Emotional Intelligence is the mark of effective leaders Mastering influencing and networking strategies The art of managing performance The role of career development and employee engagement Who Should Attend Business professionals at a mid-level position and above, including: Managers Directors Chairmen
Day 1 Leadership Essentials (Giving Employees a Reason to Follow you) Appreciating how to provide dynamic and inspirational leadership by creating a climate that drives the team or organization forward with energy and purpose. Recognise your role as a leader and how that differs from the role of the manager Understand what you can do to create an energising work climate for your team Acquire an insight into six leadership styles and when to use them Master a process for creating a compelling Vision Grasp the ‘mind-set’ of an outstanding leader Realise the power and importance of taking an ethical stance Developing Emotional Intelligence (EQ) (The Master Competency for all those whose Success is Built on Working with Others) Emotional intelligence can be defined as the range of skills that a person uses to deal with the everyday challenges that life brings. It is about (i) recognising our own feelings and (ii) the feelings of others, (iii) managing our own emotions and (iv) influencing the actions of others. This is important to leaders because research has shown that a person’s Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is often a more accurate predictor of success than the individual’s IQ. Master a powerful technique for becoming aware of your underlying values Discover the behaviours that are used by successful people to stay in control Be equipped to resolve personal problems with finesse Learn how to empathise with others Grasp some methods for influencing the moods and actions of others to co-create strong performance and sustainable results Day 2 Effective Recruitment and Selection (Getting the Right People in Place) Great leaders need great teams around them; so good hiring is a cornerstone of business success. Here we look at how to identify whether a candidate is suitable for a vacancy, and also how to give the candidate enough information to decide whether the job on offer is suitable for him or her. Understand how to specify what is required for success in a given role so that the hiring criteria are clear to everyone involved in the process Master a structured routine for starting an interview so that the candidate is put at ease Discover how the Behavioural Event Interview method can help you to uncover a candidate’s strengths and weaknesses Learn how the Biographical Interview method can give you a holistic picture of the candidate’s capabilities Become aware of what questions you might be asked by the candidate and learn how to handle them Ensure you interview professionally and secure the best talent for your team Motivation and Delegation (Inspiring Great Performance) Delegating tasks in a way that is tailored to the needs of the individual employees means that they learn new skills quickly, and it allows the manager to focus on their strategic priorities; while adopting motivational techniques increases morale and staff retention thereby driving up productivity. Discover a simple, yet effective, process for planning to delegate an activity Master techniques for overcoming self-imposed barriers to delegation Acquire strategies for tailoring your delegation to the needs of the individual concerned Learn how to set good quality goals that inspire people to take action Develop methods to encourage enthusiasm within the work force to secure the discretionary commitment needed to compete successfully in the financial sector Day 3 Effective Feedback and Coaching (Managing Performance and Setting Standards) People need to know how they are doing if they are to do their best work. Here we cover the ‘golden rules’, or fundamental principles of good feedback. We next look at feedback methods that motivate employees to improve their performance and how to mentor them when they need support. Explore powerful techniques for praising good performance Discover a simple, yet effective, five-step process for constructive feedback Acquire strategies for developing employees by using ‘facilitative feedback’ Learn how to tailor the messages to take account of people’s individual feedback preferences Master the GROW method for running effective coaching sessions that enhance both capability and performance Giving Bad News (The Courage to Deal with Conflict and Negative Messages) Giving ‘bad news’ is an unpleasant but necessary part of the leader’s role. This could take many forms, ranging from having to tell an employee (or group of employees) that they are to be made redundant, to explaining that a delay has occurred on a project, to asking for a price rise from a customer. Master powerful techniques for dealing with resistance to hearing the bad news Discover a simple, yet potent, process for planning to make your point Acquire strategies to move the focus to future action Learn how to separate the message from the messenger Grasp some methods available to manage and control your own feelings to ensure successful outcomes, even under pressure Day 4 Effective Problem Solving Strategies (Making Great Decisions) Good leaders use a core problem solving methodology that helps to ensure high quality solutions are implemented to deal with issues and challenges. They appreciate the importance of making ‘evidenced based choices’, as well as appreciating the value of gaining ‘buy in’ to their decisions from their peers and other interested parties. Master the ‘golden rules’ of effective decision making Discover a tried and tested process for ‘rational problem solving Acquire strategies for making well informed choices Learn how to avoid some of the most common mistakes when solving problems Grasp the importance of assessing risk in decision making and balancing the need for short term wins and long term sustainable profits Leading Change (Making Change Initiatives Happen) Great leaders are ‘authentic leaders’ who can deal with change in a positive, honest and flexible manner. We review a number of tools for dealing with uncomfortable conversations that deal with the doubt, worry and fear experienced by many employees as they confront change and look at systems for structuring those conversations in a productive manner. Master a powerful technique for understanding people’s reaction to change Discover the behaviours that are used by outstanding change leaders Be equipped with a robust methodology for managing the ‘human side’ of a change initiative Learn how to create an environment where people can explore ideas and take risks Become skilled in helping employees support one another as the 
change unfolds, to sustain results during change and make transformation successful Day 5 Networking and Influencing (Using your Connections to Get Things Done) Effective and successful business people know how to get things done through their contacts, and how to influence the outcome of events by selecting the ‘right’ influencing strategy. People who can make an impact on a decision making process are aware of the need to enhance their levels of authority, and understand how this can be done by the deliberate cultivation of nine key ‘power bases’. They also appreciate that they need to use a range of influencing tactics, because what works well with one person (or in one culture) might not work so well in another. Understand why networking is a key business skill Learn how to prepare a stakeholder analysis Realise the importance of power and how to develop ‘power bases’ Analyse different types of influencing tactics and when to use them Appreciate how ‘corridor conversations’ can boost your personal impact and enhance you and your team’s ability to deliver great results Talent, Engagement and Career Development (Retaining the Brightest and Best Staff) Talent Management is more than just leadership development and succession planning. It is a systematic and joined up approach to: attracting, retaining and developing the ‘brightest and best’ people in a business to help the organisation achieve its goals. Effective leaders and managers understand this work to retain key talent, increase levels of engagement from all staff and ensure that they maximise the potential of their staff. They are prepared to have well informed ‘career dialogues’ with their people, and know how to support them on an on-going basis. Understand how performance differs from potential Appreciate what constitutes the ‘talent pool’ Learn how to participate in developing the talent pool Explore 10 possible career strategies open to individuals Handle ‘career dialogue’ conversations, confidentially, with key staff Conclusions and Action Plans Capturing key learning points and discussing how to implement theories from the workshop back in the work place. Course summary and close