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.

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What is The Leadership Challenge® Workshop designed to achieve?

Immensely practical and hands-on, The Leadership Challenge® Workshop is designed to inspire, engage, and help participants develop the leadership skills needed to meet whatever leadership challenges lie ahead.  The core curriculum is structured around seven components, including five independent modules that focus specifically on each of The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership®.  Each module describes the practice, reviews The Leadership Practices Inventory® (LPI®) items related to that practice, and ends with techniques that ask participants to reflect on how to apply what they have learned to a current leadership challenge of their own.  With a plan of action in hand for taking the key learnings from the workshop back to the workplace, participants are prepared to implement these new leadership practices back on the job, beginning on their very first day back.

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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
• Effectively recognize the accomplishments of others
• Enlarge their professional network
• Develop greater credibility as a leader
• Apply the lessons learned in the workshop to a current organizational challenge

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What is unique or different about The Leadership Challenge® Workshop?

There is a fundamental truth about leadership that lies at the very heart of The Leadership Challenge® Workshop and sets this program apart from all others.  That truth is:  leadership is everyone’s business.  It is not a place or position.  It is not a rank or title.  And most importantly, it is not available to only an elite few.  From the front lines to the executive suites, leadership is a set of practices and behaviors that can be learned by anyone with the desire and dedication to fully develop him- or herself, to achieve his or her personal leadership best, or to facilitate the development of others as leaders.  This program’s focus is solely on leaders – whether seasoned or new to the role – and their relationships with others.

In fact, “Leadership development is self-development” is the first of several principles that shape the design and delivery of The Leadership Challenge® Workshop. It informs the assessment tools, learning resources, and activities that are part of the program, which are all designed to help the individual leader discover what he or she can do to improve.

Essential concepts that form the core principles of the program include:

• Leadership is everyone’s business
• Leadership is a relationship
• The best leaders are the best learners
• It takes practice - deliberate practice - to become a better leader
• Leadership is an aspiration and a choice
• Leaders make a difference

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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

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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 also host private workshops with flexible delivery options for you to consider.

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Is it possible to register a day (or week) before The Leadership Challenge® Workshop?

Due to the pre-work package involved in this workshop, all participants must be registered at least a month before a workshop begins.  This helps participants have enough time to complete all the pre-work assignments in time for 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.

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Is the pre-work really necessary? Can I just attend The Leadership Challenge® Workshop without it?

Yes, the 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 you make the most out of your time and investment, 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 have you attend a future workshop, rather than compromise your growth as a leader.

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What are the pre-work assignments for The Leadership Challenge® Workshop and what do they involve?

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

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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.

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