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Learning

SONA International Executive Development Programme

Workshops

The innovative SONA International Executive Development (SIED) Programme offers the opportunity of personal development for leaders and senior executives. This is derived from online and in-person training workshops for individuals or groups, including CEOs, business leaders and key Government Officials.

WORKSHOP 1: UNDERSTANDING LEADERSHIP
Are leaders born or are they developed? What are the characteristics that make a leader charismatic? Do different leadership styles exist? Is management and leadership the same?
The purpose of this workshop is to critically discuss the various concepts leadership, to analyse the principles of leadership, identify the difference between leadership and partnership, and between leadership and management, and to develop the necessary skills, knowledge and techniques that characterize a charismatic and effective leader.
After completing this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Recognize the fundamentals of leadership
  • Identify what makes a leader successful and the causes for failure
  • Understand the skills necessary to interact better with others and enhance their performance
  • Explore and develop their personal leadership style
  • Understand the basic rules for delegation and how to implement it correctly
WORKSHOP 2: LEADER… KNOW THYSELF
A workshop aimed at guiding leaders to explore themselves and identify their personality and leadership style and emotional quotient. Through deep knowledge, leaders can identify the characteristics which inhibit them from achieving their full potential. The workshop includes various self-assessment tools, personality tests and experiential exercises to assist in the process of knowing themselves.
After completing this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Identify and handle the personality characteristics that may inhibit them from achieving their full potential as leaders
  • Identify and cultivate the characteristics that help them to be an exceptional Leader
WORKSHOP 3: EMPOWERMENT - THE WAY TO SELF AND SHARED LEADERSHIP
More and more academics and practitioners recognize the vital importance of empowerment as a motivational tool for engaging employees into self and shared leadership. By using empowerment, leaders can influence their people to be self-motivated and self-activated to achieve their goals and to work together in order to contribute to the organizational success.

But what does empowerment actually mean? Is there such a thing as self and shared- leadership? Where does empowerment stop? The aim of this workshop is to explain the importance of empowerment as a motivational tool for improving employees’ performance, to clearly define the terms of self and shared leadership, and to provide a holistic view regarding the effective empowerment process.

After completing this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Identify and eliminate the factors that may disempower employees
  • Understand the benefits of employees’ empowerment
  • Use effective empowering techniques in order to engage their employees into self and shared leadership
WORKSHOP 4: LEADING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
Things are constantly changing. We cannot lead in the new era with old tools. An exceptional leader is the one who can follow change and adapt to the new world in order to exploit the advantages of this new situation and to face effectively any challenges that may arise. However, around 70% of change projects result in failure. What are the factors that lead to this situation and what are the factors that can prevent us from being damaged by change?

The purpose of this workshop is to develop the change capability in each leader and make them understand that “change” is a competence to be developed, if a leader wants to be ahead. The workshop aims to inform leaders on how to deal with and implement change effectively in their organizations.

After completing this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Recognize the possible drivers of change
  • Learn how individuals and organizations face change
  • Identify and handle resistance to change
  • Implement different change strategies according to the situation
  • Act as role models for leading change
WORKSHOP 5: TRUST - IS IT WORTH THE INVESTMENT?
A responsibility for an exceptional leader is to cultivate the path of trust in the workplace. Why is this so important? Trust is a fundamental prerequisite for the empowerment, motivation, engagement and retention of employees. When trust dominates the workplace, employees are willing to take risks, and to go the “extra mile”. They know that their leader will reciprocate in many ways.
How can a leader cultivate a culture of trustworthiness? The aim of this experiential workshop is to help participants identify possible areas where they lack trust, and to provide the tools, techniques and strategies in order for the leaders to build and maintain trust within their teams.
After completing this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Explain the psychological contract
  • Identify their possible areas of improvement in relation to trust issues
  • Use effective techniques and strategies of building trust within the team
WORKSHOP 6: SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP
More and more leaders are realising that a “one size fits all” approach to leadership does not exist and that the best leaders are the “situational” leaders. The purpose of this workshop is to teach leaders how to use the appropriate leadership style in response to the needs of their employees, the current situation, and the long-term vision of the organization. It is a workshop suitable for those who acknowledge that there is a place for autocratic and collaborative management styles and who wish to understand when each is appropriate.

After completing this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Understand when and where to use alternative styles of management and leadership
  • Have clarity on the mix of management and leadership activities and approach
  • Clarify individual goals and ensure alignment with the organization’s goals
  • Create a shared language of leadership within the organization
WORKSHOP 7: EMOTIONALLY CLEVER LEADERSHIP – THE POWER OF EQ
“Ninety percent of leadership success today can be attributed to EQ rather than IQ”. The best leaders of today are those who can effectively understand and manage their own emotions but also, understand and manage the emotions of others, building thus a creative, productive, interactive and motivating environment that leads to the company’s success.

Due to the plethora of benefits that arise by expressing emotional intelligence, it is of a vital importance for each leader, to learn how to enhance their skills regarding this subject. The aim of this innovative workshop is to enhance the understanding and development of leaders’ emotional intelligence, using recognized, diagnostic tools, while coaching the participants in an in-depth exploration of their emotional Intelligence.

After completing this workshop, the participants will be able to:

  • Gain an honest and accurate awareness of their Current EQ level
  • Monitor and adapt their own emotions and behaviours for their benefit and that of their team and department
  • Develop cohesive, emotionally intelligent teams
  • Create an atmosphere that fosters emotional intelligence
WORKSHOP 8: MINDFUL LEADERSHIP – THE MINDFUL WAY TO SUCCESS
What is mindfulness? Is there such a thing? What is mindful leadership and does it matter? Is it the same as emotional intelligence? How can we engage in mindful Leadership? All these considerations arise around the topic of mindful leadership which is ranking more important every year among the “hot management topics”.

The aim of this workshop is to explain in depth the concept of mindful leadership, to emphasise its significance towards leader’s success, and to give the recipe of starting to create a mindful mind-set that will improve leaders’ emotional intelligence, productivity, decision making, leadership and success. It is a workshop designed for those with the desire to engage in self -reflection and self-awareness and for those that believe in finding the best in themselves and others. It is especially ideal for emerging, front-line, and senior leaders who want to develop their emotional intelligence and lead more mindfully and intentionally for optimum results.

After completing this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Recognize what a mindful mind-set is and its significance towards leadership
  • Recognize the strong link between mindful leadership and emotionally clever leadership
  • Use the strategies and techniques learnt in order to build a mindful mind-set
  • Create a culture of mindfulness in their company
WORKSHOP 9: CREATING A GROWTH MIND-SET CULTURE IN YOUR ORGANIZATION
The purpose of this workshop is to explain the importance of having a growth mind-set in an organization, how leaders can develop a growth mind-set throughout an organization and learn about the benefits of this. If a Leader wants to improve the company’s culture, change a negative mind-set, challenge and change employee interactions and attitudes, build loyalty, promote creativity in employees and encourage team work and trust in one another, then, embracing a growth mind-set could be the way to go.

After completing this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Understand what Growth mind-set is and how it works
  • Learn ways to develop Growth mind-set in organization
  • Understand the advantages of creating a Growth mind-set in an organization
  • Transform themselves as leaders to have a growth mind-set
WORKSHOP 10: FOSTERING CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION THROUGH INNOVATIVE LEADERSHIP
Creativity and innovation play a vital role in the business world. A plethora of successful products, services and companies are a result of a creative and motivated workforce. However, are creative and innovative people born that way, or can these abilities can be developed? Paulo Coelho said: “Everybody has creative potential and from the moment you can express this creative potential, you can start changing the world”.

A question arises here, whose job is it to pave the road to creativity and innovation? Innovation by Steve Jobs is what distinguishes between a leading organisation and a follower. This workshop aims to provide leaders with the techniques and tools needed to express innovative leadership and to lead their workforce to success.

After completing this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Identify the drivers of innovation
  • Identify the creativity and innovation “killers”
  • Use effective innovative leadership techniques
  • Motivate their employees by fuelling passion
WORKSHOP 11: INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP
Why are firms expanding their economic activities in foreign countries? What is international leadership? What makes an exceptional global leader? Is success guaranteed in international leadership? Are there any challenges that global leaders must cope with while exercising global Leadership?

This workshop aims to introduce participants to the concept of international leadership and to enhance their skills and knowledge in order to excel as global leaders. Significant challenges that global leaders must face will be analysed using the CAGE framework. Increased focus will be given to cultural and institutional diversity and how these challenges can be effectively managed.

After completing this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Understand the concept of international leadership
  • Recognize what makes an exceptional global leader
  • Recognize the challenges that are accompanied by global leadership
  • Use strategies in order to manage the international challenges effectively
WORKSHOP 12: THE FUTURE OF AI AND ITS USES FOR DECISION MAKING
With the data explosion over the past few years, several new technologies have been expanding rapidly, of these, AI and Big Data analytics are among the top. These advanced technologies have been transforming the way businesses work. Machines can efficiently control and manage many different factors at the same time during complex decision making and can mine and process large amounts of data in minutes while providing valuable business-based insights. This workshop will examine the ways in which leaders can combine their soft skills with the use of AI in order to make more effective decisions to meet the needs of their organisation.

After completing this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Use and integrate data and technology in their most important decisions
  • Work hand-in-hand with Artificial Intelligence systems to support their decision making process
  • Create a decision collaboration team to design, test, and update their organization’s most important decisions, creating continuous improvement and organizational learning
  • Avoid the most common traps that cause data-driven projects to fail
  • Radically accelerate the value received from all data, big and small
WORKSHOP 13: INFLUENCE FOR LEADERS
How do we define a Leader? Are leaders born or made? What defines a real leader? John Quincy Adams said “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader”. John Maxwell refers to leadership as something which “is not about titles, positions or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another”. Thus, leadership is all about influence. A real leader is not the person who commands others follow, but rather the person who cares, guides, coaches, empowers and motivates people to take action.

How can leaders enhance their influence capability? How can they inspire their followers to achieve their full potential? The aim of this workshop is to provide the key skills and knowledge on how leaders can inspire and influence their teams effectively.

After completing this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Recognize the differences between influence, manipulation and control
  • Recognize the importance of influence
  • Identify their influencing style
  • Use self-mastery and other key strategies to enhance their influence
  • Develop effective influencing skills in various situations
WORKSHOP 14: TECHNOLOGY FOR LEADERSHIP
Digital transformation is happening and is already part of our everyday lives. Are we ready to welcome this transformation in our personal and professional lives? People tend to be afraid and resist when they need to face an upcoming change. However, we cannot live in the new era with old tools. Leaders need to be familiar with new trends in order to lead by example.

To be a successful leader today, you need to lead people efficiently and be in a position to accept and enforce the use of technology in the workplace. The seminar aims to help the participants to understand what the digital transformation is and to how they can use it to influence and energize their people.

After completing this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Define what digital transformation is
  • Describe the influence that the new era can have on leadership
  • Use technology to enhance peoples’ capabilities and motivation
WORKSHOP 15: PRESENTATION SKILLS FOR LEADERS
Being a successful leader depends on the ability to communicate your ideas and authority in a clear and compelling manner. As executives are being called to deliver more presentations both within and outside their organization, how they are able to deliver these presentations is ultimately a reflection of their executive presence.

In this workshop, participants will learn how to “up your game” by delivering powerful presentations that convey information in a compelling, memorable and actionable manner. You will also learn how to communicate your message in a way that your audience will remember it and act on it, from delivering a killer opening, including visuals, using storytelling, creating an emotional connection, and generating discussion.

After completing this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Plan and organize their presentation, including identifying the right kind and level of content for their audience
  • Recognize key steps to develop and organize content in a presentation for optimal absorption by the audience
  • Use effective techniques to deliver their presentation
  • Handle tough Q&A sessions
  • Identify insightful and inspiring elements of presentations and discover how they help establish credibility and leadership
  • Recognize methods of conveying key messages to persuade audiences

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