Strategy & Leadership

Description Of Leadership & Strategy Courses

For any organization, leadership is the core of management and is quintessential for its success. In the corporate world, when clubbed with an effective strategy, leadership enhances the firms’ efficiency, performance, and competitiveness. There are multiple interpretations of what ‘leadership’ means in today’s world, specifically the corporates. However, the general understanding is that a leader is the one who is at the forefront and is often responsible for the overall growth of a business including the turnover, profits, sales, etc. Before you choose one of our leadership and/or strategy courses, we will take you through what leadership and strategy mean in relevance to today’s corporate world.

Define Leadership

General George S. Patton, one of the most famous military leaders during World War II was known for his decisive moves and unconventional style. He is often misunderstood by many for his aggressive leadership style, however, he was admired across the world during the deadly war for his orientation towards fellow military people, keeping their best interests in mind.

To sum up, he may have been controversial as a military leader, but in the end —he was an effective and decisive leader.

Being effective and result-oriented as a leader is highly desired. However, many other crucial elements are associated with leadership that enables decisiveness. Before we dive into the depth, let’s analyze General Patton’s philosophy and principles of command and management.

If you will sum up why he was successful in almost all of his military operations, you will find that it was his being result-oriented and decisive as a leader. “Do everything you ask of those you command,” is what he said and did. Despite being a high-ranking official, he exposed himself to the war front, sometimes leading to narrow escapes from enemy fire. This way, he was able to imprint himself as a leader on others.

Incorporating General Patton’s Leadership Theories for the Corporate World

The concept of leadership across the spectrum is relevant. There may be variations in style and methods but the basic underlying philosophy remains the same — to lead people towards success. Take the example of Steve Jobs of Apple Inc. who established himself as one of the greatest global leaders in the era of modern business.

Like General Patton, Steve Jobs was also the man of his people and inspired people through his hard work and unconventional thinking. Both of them have inspired millions of people even long after their respective deaths. Just like General Patton used to be at the forefront of the battlefield, Steve Jobs drove the brand from the front in all the ventures.

Without going deep into the academic connotation of leadership, let’s summarize what it takes to be a successful leader in today’s corporate world:

1. Connecting with the team members
2. Encouraging growth
3. Having optimistic approaches
4. Collaborative and motivating
5. Teaching over issuing orders
6. Demarcating goals and expectations
7. Open to communication and ideas
8. Honest feedback exchanges

1. Connecting with the team members
As General Patton and Steve Jobs were the leaders of the people, a key trait of their respective leadership styles. Similarly, one of the essential elements for effective leadership is that you must establish a sense of mutual trust and understanding with the members of your team or the people you are working with.

There’s no rocket science here, you must develop empathy, compassion, and humility as key traits to evolve a healthy connection with your people. Establishing mutual trust and understanding is not only essential for a leader and a team, it also enriches the whole working culture on the floor.

How to connect with people while in a professional space? Well, you can establish strong connections by knowing about the personal lives of the employees, their hobbies, interests, preferences, etc. In the case of young members of your team, you can help them explore their strengths, weaknesses, goals, motivations, etc. This way you can build a healthy work relationship with your team members.

2. Encouraging Growth
With leadership, there comes a whole set of responsibilities towards your teammates. Along with making them feel safe and secure at their respective positions, a leader must invest in the personal as well as professional growth of its people. In a professional space, it can be through helping them learning new or upgrading skills.

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader” —John Quincy Adams, 6th US President

A good leader will help teammates grow by throwing challenging opportunities and guiding them through wherever necessary. Taking on challenges is the best opportunity to learn and grow for the employees. The only thing a leader needs to do is, offering opportunities to the employees and watching them accomplishing marvels.

3. Having an optimistic approach
“Being positive in a negative situation is not naive. It’s leadership” —Ralph Marston

Being a leader, you will strive for running daily operations as smoothly as possible. However, your real skills will be tested amid hostile circumstances or when you face obstacles.
A good leader handles discomforting situations optimistically while looking more towards positive things. This way, the whole approach turns positive and relaxes the environment, paving the way for discovering solutions.

4. Collaborative and motivating
A leader who understands the value of interpersonal relationships along with recognizing the cross-functional collaborations will swiftly lead the organization towards success. Here, a collaborative leader will try to build bridges to cultivate strong working relationships.

This way, your teammates will learn by watching you actively collaborating, eventually ending in establishing an integrated working workplace where everybody likes to work together as a team. Hence, individuals will take initiative to act in a way that contributes to achieving the overall objectives of an organization.

Moreover, a leader will try to generate value in the workplace by motivating employees. S/he will motivate the employees by appreciating the work done or accomplishments achieved by team members. The leader will drive the team with enthusiasm and passion and will match the needs of the individuals with organizational needs.

5. Teaching over issuing orders
“Be a leader with a ladder, not a boss with an order” —Debasish Mridha

A true leader shows the team members what is to be done instead of simply ordering them. Hence, it is teaching that is required on the part of the leader and not controlling.

This way, a leader will engage the employees deeply in the tasks they are involved in. It is like navigating people to recognize the choices they have and letting them take ownership of the tasks they are engaged in. Well, we all know that growth can only be achieved through teaching and not merely throwing orders at others.

“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity” — General George S. Patton

6. Demarcating goals and expectations
One of the main components of employee success is a clear demarcation of goals and expectations. However, it is always advised to engage with employees before setting up such objectives. Encourage them to raise questions and ask for feedback to make the whole process more authentic.

As a leader, it becomes your task to align the employee goals and expectations with those of the organization. Show employees the greater picture and make them feel a part of the greater unit working towards achieving a larger goal.

Further, these clear demarcations will not only help you to analyze the growth and progress of every employee but also the employees to examine how they are adding value to the success of the company.

Here, it is important to take note that these sets of goals and exceptions should be revised periodically to make things more relevant. Follow the aforementioned process while making changes to these sets of goals and expectations.

7. Open to communication and ideas
Establishing an open line of communication with your teammates is crucial to the concept of modern-day leadership. Moreover, there can be nothing better than words to express your honesty and commitment to your people.

An open line of communication is essential as it established two-way communication between you and your team members. Hence, a proper channel of communication is established to exchange messages, thoughts, and emotions.

You can tailor-make the line based on the preference of your employees. It can be on text-messenger, e-mail, phone, and/or face to face. Active communication between you and your team will end up building mutual trust while enhancing the more of the team.

8. Honest and direct feedback exchanges
Honest feedback exchange is best for enhancing your’ as well as your teams’ performance. If you are receiving direct and honest feedback, probably, you are going to get back on right track. Hence, you being open to honest feedback (even criticism), is not only good for you but your team as well.

Similarly, a leader should also convey the feedback directly to the teammates. Try to provide constructive feedback while highlighting accomplishments along with conveying a clear message where improvements are required. Another great way to convey your feedback is by celebrating their achievements and letting them know how great they were while performing a specific task.

Strategy and its Importance for Leadership and Corporate Management

Strategy is a plan of action to achieve aims and objectives. In organizations, leaders play a key role in formulating strategies to achieve short and long-term goals. A corporate strategy is a process of decision-making by the highest levels of management defining an organization’s goals and objectives and ways to achieve them.

Here, it is important to note that formulation and implementation of corporate policies is the responsibility of leaders across the levels of management. In today’s highly competitive world, strategically managing and leading a business is key to success. However, if a leader is unaware of what strategic management is, it can prove to be a serious toll on the growth and sustainability of his/her organization.

Formulating an effective corporate strategy today requires advanced strategic leadership training for corporate leaders. We, at Talentedge, believe that India Inc requires loads of dynamic leaders for the rapid growth of Indian corporates, eventually enhancing its contribution to the GDP. Hence, we offer some of the best strategy courses online in association with premier institutions in India and abroad for you to excel in the field.

Important Elements of Corporate Strategy

The corporate strategy takes into account various components of a business such as human capital, governance, process, etc. In general, there are four crucial pillars of corporate strategy:

• Organisational Design: It ensures establishing a necessary organizational structure based on the approach the leadership chooses to follow (centralized/decentralized).
• Allocation of Resources: The main focus is on capital and the workforce. To ensure maximization of the value of the company, they choose to allocate resources to a business or its unit.
• Portfolio Management: Here, the leadership decides in what business should their firm be in or out of. It also includes diversification of portfolio for managing risks.
• Strategic Tradeoffs: One of the most challenging aspects of corporate strategy, it specifically focuses on managing risks, generating returns, and establishing incentive structures.

How can one get insights into all the important aspects of corporate strategy? You can opt for any online strategy course for corporate leaders. However, we advise you to choose reliable strategic management and leadership course offered by recognized institutions in India. We, at Talentedge, being dedicated to upgrading and enhancing the skills of executives, offer a wide range of online executive leadership training courses and strategic management training courses in association with premier institutions in India and abroad.

FAQs

How to Become an Effective Leader?

There have been debates over centuries on the question of whether leaders are born (innate skills) or are they made (acquired skills). Well, without getting deep into the debate, we would like to focus on how one can become a good leader.

Consider a situation where you were performing great as a team leader of a content team and suddenly you were promoted to the position of manager. Now, you are managing a team that includes content writers, digital marketers, branding managers, etc.

Now, you are exposed to areas you don’t even have any idea about and you are expected to lead such a vivid team. Here, you will have to acquire an all-new set of skills to manage your various teams. If you are not a “born leader,” how you are going to justify your new profile?

We believe you can acquire any skill you want through proper education and training. We offer a range of leadership courses exclusively for you so that you can justify your promotion as a manager and add value to the company. In case, if you are thinking of carrying on without having equipped with the prerequisite skills desired for the profile, here’s something for you!

The State of the American Manager: Analytics and Advice for Leaders report (study of around 2.5 million manager-led teams across 195 countries), suggests that 57 percent of managers learn leadership skills through trial and error! If you are planning to follow the suit, you are going to become a strain on the company’s revenue and a toll on your employment quotient.
Hence, we offer a range of leadership development programs in India for emerging leaders along with multiple strategic management courses for you to choose from.

WHAT ALL BENEFITS WILL I BE GETTING THROUGH THE EXECUTIVE ALUMNI STATUS?

IIM Lucknow Executive Alumni Benefits:

• Receipt of all programme brochures and newsletters from IIM Lucknow (MDP Office)
• Details of Souvenirs available with the MDP office can be shared
• Lifelong access to a network of distinguished IIM Lucknow Executive Alumni
• Access to the IIM Lucknow Campus Library (onsite access)
• 10% discount in fee for any additional program (Open program, Online) at IIM Lucknow (Lucknow and Noida campus)
• 10% group discount on the fee for reference of participants (Minimum group of five)

IIM Raipur Executive Alumni Benefits:

• Lifelong access to the IIM Raipur’s Alumni Network
• Access to Campus Library and resources
• Exclusive Invites to Alumni Meets/City Meets across the globe
• Alumni Mentorship Programme
• All programme brochures and newsletters from IIM Raipur

I DON’T WANT TO TRAVEL TO THE CAMPUS. IS THE CAMPUS COMPONENT MANDATORY?

Campus Component is an integral part of the program and it’s mandatory for all students to attend the campus component. However, if this is something you’re not comfortable with you can check out the programs which don’t have a campus component. For instance, the Executive Development Program in Leadership & Change Management from XLRI Jamshedpur.

WHY IS THE COURSE FEE SO HIGH?

The course fees is dependent upon a lot of factors like duration, course curriculum, number of faculties involved, campus components, alumni status and so on…

However, the benefits offered by the partner institutes of Talentedge outweigh the extra fees by a huge margin. For instance, you’ll get certifications of completion from Tier 1 institutes like the XLRI and IIMs. You’ll also get on-campus modules and alumni status with a little extra fees. This is over and above the state of the art curriculum which spans 6-12 months (depending upon the program) and delves into all the advanced concepts of Strategy & Leadership.

I ALREADY HAVE LEARNT STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT IN MY MBA, SO HOW DOES REPEATING THE SAME CURRICULUM WILL HELP ME?

While Strategic Management is an integral part of MBA course, most institutes doesn’t delve deep into the advanced concepts of strategy and leadership. The Strategic Management programs offered by Talentedge would be of immense value to experienced practitioners, managers and business owners, who are ready to step into independent leadership roles. The ultimate goal of a strategic manager is to implement the most suitable strategy, in the most effective manner, and see it through to successful completion.

I HAVE 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AND I AM WELL EXPOSED WITH DOMAIN & ITS OPERATIONS; HOW THIS COURSE HELPS?

The Executive Development Program in Transformational Leadership from XLRI is tailor-made for strategic leaders and CXOs with a minimum of 15 years of experience. Carefully designed modules of this course shall expose the participants to the wisdom from a variety of fields including neurosciences, management, sports, behavioural sciences, and psychology to create healthy organizational cultures that deliver. Also, the pedagogy comprising group assignments and exercises shall contribute towards networking with worthy classmates from other sectors and industries.

WHY IT IS A CERTIFICATION PROGRAM AND NOT PGDM OR MBA?

Unlike the MBA degree courses which are more comprehensive and broad in nature, certification programs are focused on one specific discipline. If you are looking to polish your leadership and strategic management skills, then you need a specialized course in this particular domain. A certification program is also more cost effective when compared with a full-time on-campus MBA degree course.

I AM AT MID-LEVEL MANAGEMENT HOW WILL THE ADVANCE STRATEGY CONCEPTS HELP ME?

On the contrary, a course in advanced strategy will be highly beneficial for you as it will open the doorway for you to advance to the next level in your career i.e. senior management and leadership roles.

HOW THIS PROGRAM HELPS IN XYZ DOMAIN?

The program is not domain specific & can come in handy in any type of work/industry/strategy planning.

WHAT ARE CORPORATE LEADERSHIP COURSES ALL ABOUT?

We believe that every employee has a role to play in the growth of the company. Our online leadership training courses and online strategy courses are exclusively tailor-made for the executives to build on their existing as well as newly acquired skills to become an effective leaders in the corporate world. When you will enroll in these courses, you will not only get an opportunity to directly learn from industry leaders but also interact with leaders from other companies and industries. Our leadership courses will provide inclusive strategic management training to executives across the industries. Hence, these corporate leadership courses are all about you and your desire to become a dynamic and effective leader.

HOW CAN I ENROLL IN AN ONLINE LEADERSHIP TRAINING COURSE OFFERED BY TALENTEDGE?

You just have to check the eligibility criteria of the respective course you wish to enroll in based on your interest and requirement. Click on the tab ‘Enroll Now’ tab visible on the course page and proceed with your enrolment.

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE IN ONLINE LEADERSHIP AND STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT COURSES?

Eligibility criteria vary based on the course we are offering. For Instance, for the Executive Leadership Course by eCornell any graduates from a recognized university can join the course. However, it will be benefit mid-level and upper-level managers with 5+ years of experience. Similarly, the Leadership in Digital Era Course by IIM Lucknow asks for a working experience of at least 8 years. Moreover, you will have to clear an online assessment test for you to enroll in this course.

WHAT ALL LEARNINGS I CAN EXPECT FROM THE COURSE?

When you will complete any of our leadership and strategic management courses, you will be equipped with all the necessary skills that are required for you to become an effective leader. Moreover, you will learn different skills and techniques based on the course you choose.

WHAT COURSE SHOULD I CHOOSE?

First, you should think about your goals, objectives, and interests. Based on the aforementioned concepts, you can choose from a list of online leadership training courses and strategic management training. We will advise you to go through the course details and scroll over to look for the curriculum, pedagogy, and other benefits the course has to offer. Moreover, you can contact our counselors to find a course that suits you best.

HOW ARE THE PROGRAMS STRUCTURED?

All of our courses are curated by nationally and internationally renowned faculty and area experts. Our online leadership and strategic management courses are structured for a blended and enriched learning experience. For instance, the Advance Program in Strategic Management for Business Excellence Certification by IIM Lucknow offers an advanced curriculum and pedagogy and it includes —6 days on-campus components along with the regular online live and interactive sessions. The program is structured in 9 modules along with a campus component. You will also get a chance to interact with industry leaders, along with in-depth case studies, projects, and stimulations.

HOW MUCH TIME DO I HAVE TO DEDICATE WHILE PURSUING A COURSE?

An average of 12-15 hours weekly commitment is required for the completion of an online leadership training course. Apart from your online interactive sessions, almost two hours of beforehand preparation time is required before every session.

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF LEADERSHIP AND STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT COURSES?

After you complete the course, you will be ready for a professional advancement leveraging the leadership training you earned. Along with the basic leadership skills such as critical thinking and problem-solving approach, you will be equipped with various skills based on the program you choose. For instance, if you will go for the Executive Leadership Certificate Program by eCornell, you will be able to develop and lead collaborative teams, motivate people for high performance and make divergent strategic decisions along with gaining coaching skills. All of our courses are made to satisfy the professional learning needs of the individuals. You can choose the course based on your interest and as soon as you complete the course you will find yourself equipped with all the necessary skills you were looking for before joining the course.

WHY SHOULD I CHOOSE A COURSE FROM TALENTEDGE?

When it comes to executive learning programs, we are known for providing a rich and hassle-free learning experience to our students. All the courses we offer are affiliated with one of the best institutions in India and abroad. Most of our courses offer blended learning that includes live and interactive sessions along with on-campus modules. The curriculum of all these courses is designed by industry leaders and faculty members of our affiliated institutions. Moreover, we offer a competitive fee along with various additional benefits to our students.