Women with vision and purpose are stepping into leadership roles at unprecedented rates. Thriving in this space requires political acumen, resilience and the ability to drive change despite systemic pushback.

In this course, you will learn to lead with impact and confidence and review your assumptions about what it takes to succeed as a female leader. We will discuss how to beat habits that spark burnout, such as overworking or getting stuck in crisis management mode. You will also learn how to build a dynamic business culture, hone your negotiation skills and speak to be heard. Take charge of your own destiny, as well as the future of your team or business.

This course is for women already in leadership roles who would like to further develop their leadership skills, and challenge assumptions they have about women in leadership. This course complements our Women in Leadership Course: Foundation Skills.

Aims

This course aims to empower female leaders to identify their unique leadership attributes and to use these to negotiate, lead and mentor with confidence.

Outcomes

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

• challenge stereotypes about gender and leadership, so you can accelerate your success as a leader
• maintain your focus, clarity and resilience under pressure
• eliminate habits which lead to burnout, so you can work strategically and lead with intention
• drive positive culture change in your business
• act as a role model for emerging female leaders
• use your improved powers of influence to better negotiate
• find solutions to real-life problems and challenges as a female leader in the age of ‘supposed equality’.

Content

In this course, you’ll learn practical skills for addressing the issues which emerge for women as they advance into senior leadership roles. Each session will cover research findings that have implications for women in leadership. You will then explore specific steps you can take to address common challenges and thrive as a savvy business leader.

Challenging myths about women in leadership

Research on the issues impacting professional women and female leaders is disrupting conventional wisdom about how to succeed in your leadership role.

We will discuss:

• current findings on gender and brain function
• differences between male and female communication styles
• what it takes to succeed as a female leader.

Handling 'glass ceiling' issues

As you progress in your leadership role, you may face a number of challenges. Common issues include finding yourself in constant 'reaction' mode, feeling overloaded, overworking because of a perfectionist mindset, or facing pressure because you’re part of a ‘dual career couple’.

This session provides a toolkit for addressing these issues. Learn how to:

• clear your schedule of low-impact activities or meetings
• overcome imposter syndrome
• get results through other people and manage tandem careers.

There will also be an open frame discussion in which you can identify additional issues holding you back and receive tips on how to address them.

Shaping organisational culture

Culture-building is a core responsibility of leaders. Your culture-building efforts can significantly impact the ladder of participation for professional women. Workplace culture also impacts motivation, engagement and productivity throughout the business. How do you create a dynamic, positive culture that capitalises on diversity and builds ‘positive deviance’? Get answers to this question, drawing on positive leadership theory. During this session, you will develop a personal action plan for standing out as a leader who drives change.

Becoming a savvy negotiator

74% of women feel uncomfortable negotiating in business contexts. What causes this? More importantly, what can we do about it? Power up your negotiation skills so that you will feel, look and sound confident at the negotiating table. This session will show you how to:

• take on a success mindset so you can spot opportunities to negotiate (which many women fail to see)
• prepare a backup plan, so you never say ‘yes’ to a bad deal
• keep your negotiation on track by leading a conversation through four key stages
• eliminate five habits that limit the success of female negotiators – so you can become a savvy woman of influence.

Intended audience

This is an advanced level course for women who have been in senior management or leadership roles for over two years. It is also suitable for men who wish to support diversity agendas in their organisations.

Delivery modes

• Face-to-face, presenter-taught workshop
• Online workshop via the platform Zoom

Delivery style

The workshop is a highly interactive program for experienced leaders and senior managers. You will get the most from this course if you are:

• an experienced leader, who has spent two or more years working at a senior level
• willing to contribute to group discussions about your success mindset
• confident communicating verbally in English
• comfortable participating in role-play style activities.

You’ll learn through a variety of methods including:

• mini lectures
• video presentations
• Q & A sessions
• demonstrations by the facilitator
• practical group activities
• individual planning activities.

Materials

Course materials are provided electronically using Dropbox.