Course Overview
This is an advanced leadership course to prepare project managers for successful interactions with senior management and to effectively manage politically charged projects. The workshop describes communication styles, personal risk assessment approaches and helps attendees prepare for the challenging discussions that need to be held to successfully deliver complex initiatives involving multiple senior stakeholders. Included in the workshop is a discussion of Intelligent Disobedience; the ability to successfully counter the directions of management. This requires the project manager to challenge, pushback and make suggestions to management that defend project integrity against the expectations of your key stakeholders.
The application of standard leadership techniques is compared and contrasted with “courageous” approaches, along with the circumstances under which courageous approaches are necessary. The workshop goes on to assist the attendees with understanding and formulating the “difficult conversations” that need to take place in order to “say no” to senior leaders, as a means of assisting the project manager to support their businesses with the greatest degree of integrity. Exercises that provide attendees the means to practice the formulation of these conversations are a pivotal part of this stimulating and highly interactive course.
Key Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:
- Expand your influence as a leader
- Recognize situations when courageous leadership techniques are required for success
- Discuss approaches for successfully dealing with senior managers and stakeholders
- Craft compelling arguments to garner business support
- Discuss techniques to prepare for “Difficult Conversations”
Course Outline
Examining Courageous Leadership
- Discuss the characteristics of a courageous leader
- Examine courageous leadership techniques
- Explore personal risk with courageous leadership
- Derive techniques for changing attitudes and managing perceptions
- Examine approaches for defending your beliefs
Applying “Intelligent Disobedience” as a Courageous Leader
- Describe Intelligent Disobedience and how it applies to project management and courageous leadership
- Review what Intelligent Disobedience is NOT
- Discuss appropriate situations to apply Intelligent Disobedience
- Validate techniques to ensure Intelligent Disobedience is effective
Conducting the Difficult Conversation
- Define a “difficult conversation”
- Discuss the principles of successful conversations
- Examine applications of difficult conversations and courageous leadership
- Practice difficult conversations in a project management context
Preparing for the Difficult Conversation
- Practice writing an invitation to a difficult conversation
- Prepare for potential reactions from the receiver
- Derive key questions to enable alternatives to surface
- Examine the overall process for concluding difficult conversations
