The IT Leadership Academy will consist of an orientation and seven monthly day-long sessions.  

Session 1 - Authentic Leadership
Learn how to be transparent, open and engaged. Learn to lead instead of manage by understanding emerging trends, by providing vision and by honing your interpersonal skills of compassion, encouragement, engagement and trust. You will have the opportunity to take Gallup's Clifton StrengthsFinder™ 2.0 assessment to gain a comprehensive understanding of your individual strengths. Each subsequent session will offer you insights on how to leverage your strengths to lead more effectively.

Session 2 - Global Mindset
Today's companies must increasingly accommodate a diverse, global workforce. As a result, employees have unique needs and cultural differences to which managers need to be sensitive. How do you all work together to achieve that common goal? Learn how to manage virtual teams while embracing diversity. Learn what it means to have a global mindset, recruit a global team and manage within various cultures and work styles.

Session 3 - Strategic Planning
Learn about creating a clear vision for IT, marketing IT, measuring success within IT, and prioritizing the highest value IT projects. This will be a customer-focused session, teaching IT managers practical applications of how to align business and organization strategies.

Session 4 - Creativity/Innovation
As more businesses recognize the essential role of creativity in the workplace, learn how to create an environment that encourages creativity to increase innovation and promote intrapreneurship. Learn how to change your organization’s culture and foster your employees’ creativity, all while balancing risk and stability.

Session 5 - Developing and Retaining IT Talent
Learn how to accomplish things through others by identifying, motivating, coaching and empowering talented individuals. By providing a comprehensive and genuine interest in your employees’ growth and success, you will build their affinity and commitment to your company.

Session 6 - Communication Skills
Learn a variety of communication skills: giving and receiving feedback, communicating technical information to technical and functional staff, providing clear direction to employees, facilitating meetings, navigating organizational politics and aligning strategically with the rest of the company. Learn to listen first and communicate effectively with all personality types and levels.

Session 7 - Self-Management
This final session of self-reflection explores qualities of risk-taking, flexibility, self-motivation and placement of team before self. You will learn to say no, manage conflicting priorities, macro-manage instead of micro-manage, and balance management versus technical skills. These valuable relationship-building skills will serve as an asset in the office as well as in your personal life.