Leadership Development Series

Effective communication skills are essential to all aspects of life and this course specifically addresses communications in contemporary businesses and organizations. It is important to be aware of the wide variety of communication methods and technological tools which are available, and which should be used to a convey a particular message. Managing communication channels requires time management, and effective informal and formal communication skills. This course discusses communication styles, presentation skills, how to facilitate meetings and social media.

Today’s workplace is highly regulated from the commencement of the employment relationship through to its termination.  An examination of both statutory law and common law will be undertaken in both federal and provincial jurisdictions.  Students will review employment standards, health and safety, labour relations, pay equity, and human rights legislation as it applies to management and unionized employees and leaders.

Leadership today involves all aspects of an organization and multiple skills, duties and responsibilities. This course is designed to meet the needs of leaders in any organization who may be new to project management or who have not had formal project management training. This course provides the practical knowledge to start and complete a project successfully from a leadership perspective. You will learn how the elements of the Project Management Body of Knowledge are applied during each phase of a project's life cycle and the implications of project management on leadership within an organization. This will help establish priorities and effectively manage your projects and project teams.

Sustainability in business is often related to profitability. Organizations now need to incorporate practices that include a more holistic approach to the responsibility corporations have to their communities and the environment.  Leaders need to assess the impact of the business in an ethical and globally sustainable way using measures such as Corporate Social Responsibility and triple-bottom line accounting.

Today’s leaders are often called upon to implement and support the change process.  They need to be able to identify and respond to internal and external factors that will determine when and what type of change initiatives are required.  Environmental scanning, identifying trends, implementing and measuring successful change are all essential to developing and managing change to the benefit of the organization.  Organizational readiness and risk assessment will also be covered in the context of best practices.

Leaders in any organization need to understand the cost of doing business.  Financial documents are used to explain how money is used in a business and can be interpreted to predict an organization's success.  The ethical and effective use of financial statements and ratio calculations for forecasting and budget preparation can ensure investments or withdrawals within an organization will produce a healthy return or mitigate decline in other areas.  Knowing the processes for assessing ROI, creating a budget and anticipating variances are critical in any organization in order to make effective decisions.

This subject will focus on performance analysis, counseling, constructive feedback, conflict resolution, performance management systems and overall strategies for performance management.

Thinking is any mental activity that helps formulate or solve a problem, make a decision, or fulfill a desire to understand. Today more than ever, leaders need to be creative and critical thinkers in order to deal with all aspects of organizational, strategic and societal situations or environments.  You will learn how to think creatively and critically and apply those skills to both professional and personal situations. For leaders, fine-tuning your creative and critical thinking skills will  assist you in strategic planning, decision-making and problem solving.

This course will provide leaders with the appropriate skills and knowledge to be able to effectively recruit personnel, train them, and manage their performance in a professional manner.  Leaders will use their knowledge of the concepts of statutory and common law to conduct interviews, handle performance problems, counsel and discipline as required, plan and direct training needs assessments, methods and program delivery.

This course will examine the leader’s role in the development and success of teams in the workplace.  Leaders will learn the differences between a group and a team, analyze various types of teams including Self Directed Work Teams, and explain how coaching and mentoring skills assist team effectiveness.