Ethical and Effective LeadershipGarth D. heaDley, head of Corporate relations at FIU’s Centerfor leadership, on their top ranked executive leadership programs.

07.2014Essentials of leadership

development, managerial effectiveness,

and organizational productivity

Vol.31 No. 7

The Standard of Global Leadership Development

Presented By

What is your overall leadership vision and mission specific to Executive Leader-ship Program?

Through our Executive Leadership Program (ELP), we aim to develop leaders with a grounded understanding of self and impart leadership skills consistent with ethical and effective leadership practices. We believe it’s the combination of self-insight, and development and practice of leadership behaviors that equip leaders to make personal and professional decisions that can positively transform their organi-zations and communities.

We are very focused on being practical. Once you complete our program, you will be able to begin applying the principles immediately on returning to work! The center expects that individuals participating in our program will leave with a better understanding of their personal drivers and how these affect the way they view their world and in turn the quality of decisions they make for themselves and the organi-zations they serve. Additionally, they will leave having learned and had a chance to practice some key leadership skills found to be consistent with effective leadership. We are committed not only to training leaders to be more effective, but also to continuously incorporating the most current research into our training programs, as well as feedback from the practitioners themselves who attend and complete our programs.

What makes your program unique and different?The Center for Leadership Executive Leadership Program is a unique resource de-

veloped not only on the strength of our proprietary research, but also by leveraging extant and impactful leadership knowledge from around the world. In addition, we tap executives who attend our programs, the practitioners of leadership, for informa-tion on what is proving effective in the field and we feed this information back into our research directives and our program. In this way, the program remains current, relevant, to the point and resonates!

Program content is based on our Leadership Competency Model (LCM) and de-veloped by the center’s multi-disciplinary academic faculty, in collaboration with key partners around the world. LCM identifies five core competencies for effective leadership -- Leading Self, Leading Others, Strategic Focus, Managing Work and Connecting with Others. This proprietary research forms the foundation of our program and provides participants both unique and practical perspectives. The ELP is designed to provide building blocks for executives to develop their unique leader-ship blueprint, and it also allows customization for specific peer groups, including C-Suite executives, women leaders, educators, and high-potential executives.

Participants are placed in cohorts that best match their organizational experience

Educational Institutions

Leadership Excellence Rank

#Globalleadership14 Global Leadership Excellence 2014

Garth Headley

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Company Name: Florida International University Center for LeadershipProgram Name: Executive Leadership ProgramProgram Director: Dr. Mayra BeersAddress: 11200 SW 8th St, CBC 223, Miami, FL, 33199Call: 305-348-5323Email: beersm@fiu.eduVisit: lead.fiu.edu

Ethical and Effective LeadershipOur editorial team interviewed Garth Headley from Florida International University’s Center for Leadership, at the Leadership Excellence Awards this past April. Following are the excerpts from an exclusive interview.

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and needs (Director and above). Program content is tailored to meet the unique leadership challenges of executives while maintaining our core leadership philosophy and is highly interactive.

How many people do you impact, every year, with this program?During the past year, approximately 100 participants have at-

tended our executive leadership training program. Over the last five years, the center’s growth has been deliberate, targeted and grounded on developments in the field. At present there are more than 600 alumni of the program. Participants are nominated by their organi-zations and to date more than 140 organizations across the United States, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Africa have par-ticipated.

How long does it take to complete this program?The programs are three to four-day resident schedules, with spe-

cific targeted cohorts offered throughout the year. Pre-work read-ings and assignments, assessments, and questionnaires are part of the preparation for participants attending the program. Action planning is a key part of every program and ensures participants apply lessons to real-world, on-the-job challenges. Each participant also spends a

one hour, one-on-one, with an executive coach who helps them craft an actionable and practical plan for returning to work.

How is this program delivered, both online and in classroom?The Executive Leadership Program emphasizes the value of peer-

to-peer learning and interaction and its resident, face-to-face, format has proven highly effective by bringing together different perspec-tives across organizations and industries. The program is designed to maximize ROI for executives and busy professionals by offering a mixture of online assessments, classroom lectures, experiential learn-ing and roundtable discussions.

Upon arrival, participants are expected to engage in full-day ses-sions that cover pre-session assignments, personal experiences, and faculty expertise. Participant interaction is a hallmark of each day’s sessions, including group work and individual presentations. Work-books with relevant materials as well as books and articles for further reading and continuous development are provided to participants.

Whom do you target for the Executive Leadership Program?Our participants come from a broad spectrum of industries and

levels. Our typical clients are senior managers, directors, vice presi-

#Globalleadership14 Global Leadership Excellence 2014

#Globalleadership14 Global Leadership Excellence 2014

dents, C-level executives and board members, or any executive with extensive responsibilities and whose decisions have substantive im-plications on their organizations. Industry representation includes multinational corporations, local enterprises, non-profit organiza-tions, educational institutions, and government administrators.

The center also partners with our home institution, Florida In-ternational University (FIU), to provide leadership training for our managers and directors through custom in-house ELP.

How do you measure success and ROI of your program?Each program offered by the center is rigorously evaluated by par-

ticipants, facilitators, and staff using a comprehensive accountability and measurement system that evaluates the quality of the products and services provided. Evaluations are designed by trained organi-zational psychologists in order to provide an accurate assessment of the center’s performance. Each instructor is evaluated on delivery, knowledge, and ability to engage the audience as well as the rigor and applicability of the session. Program content is evaluated on the utility and value of information, quality of materials used, and amount of new knowledge gained.

Prior to each program, participants are asked to complete a ques-tionnaire to assess their expectations from the program and to better address the group’s unique leadership development needs. During multi-day programs, participants are asked to complete daily evalua-tions including reporting on each session and instructor.

In addition, an overall program evaluation is distributed on the final day of the program that adds questions on venue, staffing, and logistics. Participant feedback through the evaluation process is used to introduce new material, refine existing curriculum, and make adjustments to the delivery process. Since the launch of our first program, we have consistently averaged 4.8 on a 5 point scale.

What is your area of expertise with regards to leadership train-ing, such as teamwork, execution and frontline managers?

Our research shows that decisions are a key measure of effective leadership and as such our work revolves around how to help leaders and enhance their decision making abilities. For this reason, our program is built on creating a strong sense of self and developing key leadership capabilities that influence the decision making process. We teach skills that help leaders build infrastructure for developing and actioning effective decisions.

What are the key takeaways from this program and how does it help your customer, client, or participant to improve their, as well as that of their team members’, performance?

Since we focus on bettering the process of leadership decision making, self-insight and practical leadership behaviors are impor-tant takeaways.

Prior to arriving at the program, participants are asked to come

prepared with a challenge they want to work on during the program. Throughout their time with us and by using the knowledge and skills acquired during the program, each prepares an action plan to address the challenge/issue. We have a systematic way of identifying your core values, assessments geared towards understanding the role personality plays in decision making as well as life traps and schemas at work that we may not be aware of. On the behavioral side, you walk away knowing how to build high impact networks, connect meaningfully with others, and developing and enlisting others to a strategic vision.

They also get to meet an executive coach who helps them develop the plan and ensures it has actionable steps. The action plan is presented to the rest of the cohort on the last day of the program, helping to create accountability. This document, prepared by par-ticipants, vetted by their coach, and committed to in front of their peers, results in a valuable blueprint they take home. It prepares them to face pertinent challenges.

What impact does your program have on users?The Executive Leadership Program provides exceptional ROI to

organizations and individuals. Many have termed it ‘life-changing’. But, perhaps more tangible are the promotions that often occur after finishing the program and the referral of their colleagues to future programs, or having CEOs who complete the program ask to have custom workshops for their internal leadership team. When you consider that many of our graduates are decision makers in Fortune 500 companies, both locally and internationally, leading large teams within their organizations, the impact is wide reaching. When we hear from our graduates on returning to work that we have dramati-cally changed the way they lead, this is perhaps our best endorse-ment.

What’s in store for future?We are currently preparing to launch an executive leadership

program for physicians and hospital administrators. The program was developed based on our competency model, and while it will focus on developing self-insight and leadership skills, it is also de-signed to help the physician-leader begin to understand and effec-tively navigate the changing landscape of healthcare leadership. We are very excited about this program which should launch soon with registration dates in January 2015.

The High Potential Leader Program

Great Leaders Never Stop Learning

October 21-24, 2014 APPLY NOW

lead.fiu.edu/HighPotentials or call 305-348-LEAD

Center for Leadership

Executive Leadership Development