Ready to Launch Solutions | UNC Kenan-Flagler

Leaders need to build trust, think strategically, and lead effectively.

Today’s leaders face an environment that is complex, uncertain, and the pace of change has only accelerated. Leaders need to be able to navigate ambiguity, solve problems, and achieve business results — all while being an empathetic and inclusive leader that can adapt to, anticipate, and drive change and innovation. In order to grow business in this environment, organizations need to develop leaders of the future.

Effective leaders are able to lead their teams and successfully navigate the business challenges of today while preparing for tomorrow’s unknowns. They have a combination of critical leadership skills and a relentless resourcefulness that allows them to succeed in any environment.

UNC Executive Development has developed four ready-to-launch cohort-based solutions that are designed to focus on the key skills and behaviors your leaders need to not only be successful in today’s environment, but to be prepared to lead your organization into the future.

Each learning solution is a hybrid design that includes (2) virtual sessions and a (3-day) residential experience. Both virtual and face-to-face sessions include interactive learning such as small group discussions, experiential activities, structured reflection, relevant exercises, and practical application.

4 CURRENT LEARNING SOLUTIONS

Effective Leadership

Successful leadership starts from within and the ability to recognize one’s impact and influence on others. The Effective Leadership journey focuses on leveraging emotional intelligence and self-awareness to become a more authentic, and ultimately impactful, leader. Participants will explore how to balance the demands of leadership vs. management, understand and combat personal and group biases, and elevate their communication impact as a modern leader.

Learning Objectives

Become a more emotionally intelligent, authentic, and inclusive leader
Balance the demands of management, leadership, and strategic roles of a modern leader
Enhance the capability to connect with and inspire others to achieve alignment and success

Leading High-Performing Teams

Leaders of the future will need to be able to inspire, coach, and steer their teams through a volatile and uncertain world where the only constant is change. To establish and sustain high-performing teams, leaders need to understand the multiple roles they must balance as well as hone the key leadership skills needed to engage and empower talent on their teams, drive innovative thinking, and effectively lead through change.

Learning Objectives

Apply best practices for enabling high-performance while managing through tensions and conflict
Create a culture of psychological safety to increase inclusivity and accelerate innovative thinking
Guide teams and key stakeholders through stages of change

Strategic Leadership

In increasingly complex markets, creating competitive advantage is a critical and difficult challenge. Future leaders must be equipped to not only understand these challenges but also to adapt and maintain consistent strategy execution. In Strategic Leadership, participants will explore the core elements of building and sustaining modern competitive advantage, cultivating organizational innovation, and implementing effective strategic change.

Learning Objectives

Improve ability to plan, execute, and adapt strategy amid uncertainty
Cultivate an innovative organizational mindset for continuous competitive advantage
Apply effective change management practices to advance organization’s strategic change initiatives

Inclusive Leadership

Inclusive Leadership moves beyond traditional DEI trainings by offering a contemporary approach to building organizations where people thrive. While 71% of executives say that employee engagement is critical to their company’s success, only 36% of the workplace feel engaged. Organizations need leaders who can create the conditions where their team members not only feel engaged but also have a sense of belonging and connection to their workplace. As culture influences how we create diverse and equitable spaces, leaders will learn specific tools to change organizations for the better.

Learning Objectives

Learn the differences between traditional “DEI” and the more contemporary emerging “Inclusive Leadership” approach
Deepen understanding of key fundamentals of advanced Inclusive Leadership and the vital role of inclusion in organizational innovation and growth
Identify strategies that help individuals feel a sense of belonging and attachment to their work and workplace, strengthening engagement and retention
Apply techniques that strengthen inclusion and equity in day-today leadership practices, such as communications, hiring, providing feedback, managing conflict, and meeting management