No specific prerequisites
Strategic thinking is a valuable leadership tool for analysing challenges and identifying successful strategies and solutions. It brings multiple benefits, particularly the ability to assess a situation from several different perspectives. Strategic thinking works best as a collaborative activity, whether discussions take place in formal or informal settings. As you build your team, it helps to consider each member’s capabilities and personality, in order to understand their strengths and any factors that might influence the balance of a strategic thinking session.
The training will address difficult aspects of conflict management, what makes an effective leader, and how to motivate a team.
Case studies and experiential learning techniques will be used, with participants encouraged to share their own experiences. This helps align expectations within the group and supports the creation of practical solutions for colleagues.
Session 1 – Elements of Strategic Thinking
- Benefits of strategic thinking
- Critical thinking versus creative thinking
- Developing different types of strategic thinking
- Common mistakes in strategic thinking
- Resource allocation
Session 2 – Leadership Challenges
- Balancing expectations: leaders’ expectations of others versus others’ expectations of leaders
- Traits of a successful leader
- The “cubic model” of leaders in modern organisations
- Managing change (including conflict management), time management, coaching and mentoring
- The need for conflict, causes of conflict, confrontation vs avoidance
- Problem-solving: methods and action strategies
Session 3 – Leader’s Interpersonal Skills
- Key interpersonal abilities required for leadership
- Communication styles
- Understanding others’ emotions and feelings
- Asking questions, giving feedback, paraphrasing and contextualising
- Encouraging communication; delegation (the art of delegation, when to delegate, supervision and monitoring)
- Managing change (including conflict management), time management, coaching and mentoring
Session 4 – The Power of the Team
- Leadership versus management
- Mission versus vision
- Characteristics of team members
- Negotiating within diverse teams (when to negotiate, advantages and limitations)
- Optimal placement of people within teams
Session 5 – Decision Making
- Types of decisions
- Characteristics of decision-making processes in leadership
- The role of context in decision making
- Common errors in decision-making processes
Session 6 – Team Evaluation
- Advantages and challenges in the evaluation process
- Factors that may influence evaluation
- Communicating evaluation results
- Encouragement and guidance
- Setting objectives
- Motivating teams to achieve goals
Session 7 – Analysis of the Current Business Environment and Key Influencing Factors
- Analysing the external context
- Analysing the general business context
- Identifying key factors that impact development
- Understanding clients and how to identify their needs