Exec Ed renews successful Strategic Leadership Development Program

Haskayne Executive Education had been delivering Business Essentials, our flagship leadership development program, for more than twenty years. It was an immensely successful program, helping hundreds of leaders develop new ways of thinking, implement new tools and resources, and enhance their leadership skills. However, in 2020, as the impact of the pandemic began to be felt, we took the opportunity to rethink some of our programming. We redesigned our Business Essentials program to better fit the changed environment in which we all now live and work and launched the Strategic Leadership Development Program. The program was delivered fully online, running from December 2020 to July 2021, with the goal of providing our participants with a truly elevated learning experience. We shifted the tone of the sessions. Rather than offering fundamentals or introductions to various topics, there is an increased focus on strategy, decision-making, and leadership. We retained everything that worked well in Business Essentials, while ensuring greater cohesion between topics and themes. What did not change is our emphasis on relevancy and real-world results.

We shifted to online delivery for many of our programs and had feedback from participants they were a success. As one stated, “The virtual offering allowed me to manage the commitments of the sessions with ease while still forming valuable connections with my cohort”. In this shift to online learning, we incorporated significant changes to our program design and delivery models. We updated our learning outcomes and determined how best to meet them, while still providing our learners with an engaging and impactful learning experience in a dynamic, virtual environment.

The Strategic Leadership Development Program is a mixture of live, interactive online workshops and self-directed online modules. Sessions are deliberately spaced to allow sufficient time to digest materials, to practice concepts and tools, and to discuss ideas with colleagues. Between the live sessions, learning engagement activities provide continuity and connection.

A critical success measure of the Strategic Leadership Development Program is ensuring that what is learned is applied to real, relevant, and timely business issues and opportunities. The Action Learning Project process is designed to provide an opportunity for learners to practically apply program content and is not additional or tangential work. It is designed in consultation with senior leadership within the organization and guided through an in-depth mentorship process to produce tangible outcomes that are beneficial to both the learner and their organization.

As Dr. Derek Hassay, Action Learning Project Mentor, says, “It may sound simple, but in order to practice leadership one must ‘practice’ leadership. The Strategic Leadership Development Program goes beyond theory and content delivery to focus on the application of tools and concepts. Practice, such as this, enhances understanding and content ‘stickiness’. The Action Learning Project takes application a step further as it encourages participants to realize real world value from the knowledge gained during the program.” As one participant stated, “Having one-on-one consultation and mentorship on an Action Learning Project customized to a real-life challenge facing my organization equipped me with the structure, tools, and frameworks to influence change with my senior leadership”.

Running in parallel throughout the program are leadership components designed to enhance leadership practice. Over the course of the program participants identify their current leadership capabilities and track how they have grown, improved, and changed as a leader. Throughout the program learners will complete two self-assessments, which will help them to identify their improvement goals and create a customized leadership development plan. They will receive one-on-one coaching from a certified leadership coach, who will help them to further develop a pragmatic plan for their leadership practice.

Dr. Fred Jacques, Executive Coach and Leadership Lead for the program stated that, “The Strategic Leadership Development Program offers a highly integrated learning framework that delivers key leadership knowledge in a fluid and interactive environment. The leadership assessments and individual coaching sessions supplement the more formal learning with key personal insights and a pathway to improvement through a goal-oriented Leadership Development Plan.”

This program has been thoughtfully designed to help learners become a more effective leader, strategic thinker, and agent of change within the organization. It will appeal to both experienced managers and high potential leaders from across all levels of the organization, including those who are working towards a more senior position, who are being asked to take on enhanced leadership responsibilities, or who are developing into a role that requires a more strategic outlook.

Registrations for the 2021-2022 cohort are still open. Further information about the program is also available on our website: https://haskayne.ucalgary.ca/future-students/executive/programs-individuals/strategic-leadership-development