Introduction

The Leader's Journal

Personal Leader Profile

• Identifies activities that energize a leader.
• Describes one's most challenging leadership relationships.
• Learn your preferred style and instinctive needs.
• Communicate better with people who are wired differently.
• Describes key issues on how one develops trust.
• Identifies the correct type of feedback needed.

Goal Setting

• The SMART formula for setting goals.
• Providing direction and defining priorities.
• Clarifying roles and responsibilities.
• Linking team and organizational missions.
• Measuring results.
• Rewarding success.

Leader's Compass

• Why study leadership?
• Defining leadership.
• The ten most important leadership principles.
• Expectations of leaders.
• The four basic leadership styles.
• Your personal leadership philosophy.

Homework

Allow 1-2 hours to complete the required readings and exercises from Day 1.

Communicating as a Leader

• A systems approach to communication.
• Causes of organizational communications problems.
• How messages become distorted.
• Four ways to handle data overload.
• Effective listening.
• Four tips for improving communications.

Creating a Motivational Climate

• Why motivation is the key to success.
• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
• Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory.
• Goal setting.
• Reinforcement, rewards, and punishment.
• Building a motivational climate.

Leveraging the Power of Conflict

• Managing conflict for continuous improvement.
• The five styles of conflict management.
• Four steps to conflict resolution.
• Establishing a win-win environment.
• Six ways to prevent a conflict from recurring.
• Contrasting assumptions about conflict with implications.

Homework

Allow 1-2 hours to complete the required readings and exercises from Day 2.

Setting Leadership Priorities

• What is your time really worth?
• Four tips for managing your time more effectively.
• Six ways to manage the time of others.
• Seven steps for maximizing time use.
• Identifying and using high-payoff activities.
• Eliminating unnecessary paperwork and e-mail.

Leading Productive Meetings

• Three types of meetings and when to use them.
• Learn the characteristics of successful meetings.
• Properly prepare for a meeting.
• Proper actions to chair a meeting.
• The keys to follow-up after the meeting.
• Coping with dysfunctional behaviors.

Leader as Coach

• Nine characteristics of effective coaches.
• Five keys to great coaching.
• Conducting performance coaching.
• Coaching to correct substandard performance.
• How to be a mentor.
• Guidelines for gaining productive feedback.