What is The Leadership Challenge® Workshop?

Backed by more than thirty-five years of original research and data from over five million leaders worldwide, The Leadership Challenge® Workshop is a leadership development program that is proven to cultivate and liberate the leadership potential in every person, at every level, in any organization.  Created by James Kouzes and Barry Posner, whose internationally best-selling book, The Leadership Challenge (now in its sixth edition), first identified the powerful Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership®, this program approaches leadership as a measurable, learnable, and teachable set of behaviors that can become part of the everyday practice of getting extraordinary things done in organizations today.

Back to Top

What are the benefits of The Leadership Challenge® Workshop?

The comprehensive suite of assessment tools, group activities, and individual exercises used in The Leadership Challenge® Workshop are all designed to help aspiring and accomplished leaders alike achieve their Personal Bests and improve their effectiveness in leadership roles. Upon completing the workshop, participants will be able to:

• Identify and improve their frequency of exemplary leadership behaviors
• Clarify and communicate their fundamental values and beliefs
• Set the example for others by aligning their actions with shared values
• Express their images of the future
• Inspire others to share a common vision
• Search for opportunities to change and improve
• Experiment with innovative ideas and learn from accompanying mistakes
• Build collaboration, teamwork, and trust
• Strengthen the ability of others to excel
• Develop greater credibility as a leader
• Effectively recognize the accomplishments of others
• Apply the lessons learned in the workshop to a current organizational challenge

Back to Top

Who is The Leadership Challenge® Workshop designed for?

No matter where individuals might be on their leadership development journey, anyone interested in becoming a more effective leader and learning how to apply The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership® to real-life challenges and opportunities will benefit from participating in The Leadership Challenge® Workshop:  seasoned leaders as well as those new to the role; individual supervisors, managers, directors, and executives; and young people looking to enhance their leadership roles in school or in the community.  From academia to government, healthcare to technology, faith-based to community advocacy organizations, The Leadership Challenge® Workshop has been designed to be accessible to as many leaders and pragmatically applicable to as many experiences as possible.

We have outlined a full list of prospective participants here, but, to summarize, The Leadership Challenge® Workshop is most appropriate for anyone who:

• Currently manages or supervises others in an organization
• May have no direct reports, but still has leadership responsibilities (e.g., project or team leaders)
• Is being considered for or would like to prepare for leadership responsibilities

Back to Top

How long does The Leadership Challenge® Workshop take to complete?

Our standard workshop consists of approximately two days (or sixteen hours) of delivery, as this format has proven to be the most effective in giving participants an in-depth understanding of The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership and helping them identify the specific action steps required to become better leaders.  However, when fewer than sixteen hours are available for training or in situations when you might have more time, we have different delivery options that are also available for you to consider, which help accommodate different time frames.

Back to Top

Is it possible to schedule The Leadership Challenge® Workshop from one day (or week) to the next?

In most circumstances, it is recommended that this workshop be scheduled at least a month ahead of time.  This helps participants have enough time to complete all the pre-work assignments that are part of the workshop, which includes completion of The Leadership Practices Inventory® (LPI®).  Since the LPI® is a questionnaire that requires involvement from a participants’ peers, a sufficient amount of time is needed to collect, score, and print the results from this essential development tool.

Back to Top

What is the pre-work for The Leadership Challenge® Workshop and does it really have to be completed by participants?

The pre-work assignments for The Leadership Challenge® Workshop include the:

• Leadership Practices Inventory® (LPI®) assessment tool, which helps individuals measure and improve their leadership effectiveness, according to key behaviors that research has consistently found to be critical to success

• Characteristics of an Admired Leader (CAL) survey, which asks participants to identify the seven attributes (out of twenty) they most look for and admire in a leader

• “Personal Best” worksheet, which asks participants to recall a peak leadership experience from their life and put it into words

• “Current Leadership Challenge” worksheet, which asks participants to identify a real-life leadership challenge that will be the focus of their work during the workshop

This pre-work is absolutely necessary, as it is a vital component of the entire workshop experience and helps shape the agenda for the event. To help participants gain the most value from the event, all pre-work materials must be completed at least ten days before a workshop begins.  If the pre-work cannot be completed on time, we would rather delay a workshop until everyone is ready, that way the impact of the event is not compromised for anyone.

Back to Top

Why does The Leadership Challenge® Workshop use a 360-degree measurement tool that requires participants to obtain ratings from others?

An important thing to keep in mind is how leadership, to a very large degree, is in the eye of the beholder.  As such, the use of a 360-degree tool that obtains feedback from others is an essential part of developing our capacity to lead.  While self-discovery and self-awareness are essential to leadership development, equally as valuable is feedback from those around us who have observed our behaviors while acting in a leadership capacity.  Combined, these essential perspectives provide invaluable insight into how we view ourselves as leaders, how others view us, and what actions we can take to improve our overall effectiveness.

Back to Top

Why does this workshop use the Leadership Practices Inventory® (LPI®) as its 360-degree measurement tool?

The Leadership Practices Inventory® (LPI®) is used in this workshop since it is recognized worldwide as one the very best tools when it comes to measuring and developing exemplary leaders.

While the LPI-Self assessment offers individuals an opportunity to evaluate their own leadership behaviors, the LPI-Observer tools generate 360-degree feedback from bosses, co-workers, direct reports, and others on an identical set of behavior measures.  Together, these results help guide participants in applying the highly acclaimed Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership® model, upon which The Leadership Challenge® Workshop is based, to develop a heightened self-awareness of their individual leadership behaviors and to create a plan of action to enhance their leadership effectiveness.

Back to Top

How will The Leadership Practices Inventory® (LPI®) help participants be a better leader?

The Leadership Practices Inventory® (LPI®) has been researched and rigorously tested for over three decades, with the findings clearly demonstrating that leaders who engage in The Five Practices are more effective and successful than those who do not, and they are perceived by others as:

• Having a high degree of personal credibility
• Being effective in meeting job-related demands
• Being able to increase others’ motivation levels
• Having a high-performance team
• Fostering loyalty and commitment
• Reducing absenteeism, turnover, and dropout rates

In addition, those working with leaders who use The Five Practices are shown to feel more committed, powerful, and influential.  Significantly more satisfied with their leaders’ practices and strategies, they are also more likely to:

• Be proud to tell others they are part of the organization
• Feel a strong sense of team spirit
• See their own personal values as consistent with those of the organization
• Feel attached and committed to the organization
• Have a sense of ownership of the organization

Back to Top

How can a group or entire organization benefit from the Leadership Practices Inventory® (LPI®)?

While the Leadership Practices Inventory® (LPI®) excels as an individual development tool, it can also be used to benefit a distinct group or organization as well.  For groups or organizations who want to continue their growth following a workshop, one great option to consider would be requesting a follow-up session with a LPI® Group Report.  The LPI® Group Report provides a snapshot of the data that is collected from all workshop participants, so that a group, team, or organization as a whole can see their strengths and areas for improvement, and consider how they might move forward on team-wide or organization-wide initiatives.  The LPI® can also be mapped, along with The Five Practices, to a specific mission or vision statement, for even further benefit.  Each option is strongly recommended, especially for organizations who are truly serious about performing at their absolute best.

Back to Top