Leadership Essentials for Frontline Leaders
Certificate Program Overview
NC State Industry Expansion Solutions (IES) has developed a transformative leadership certificate program that combines direct application of key leadership concepts and skills. It also supports the development of key leadership skills and competencies important to the success of frontline leaders.
A recent DDI study across 40+ years of research illustrates the positive impact DDI’s Interaction Management® (IM) curriculum has on leaders, employees, and the business. The research shows that:
- 81% of direct reports whose leader attended IM reported increased engagement.
- 8.5 of out 10 clients report that DDI solutions lead to measurable change and sustainable outcomes year after year.
- 77% of organizations report decreased turnover.
Who Should Participate in the Program?
Recently appointed supervisors or group leaders and employees, promoted from the ranks, to frontline leadership roles currently managing employees.
Participation Benefits
- Enhance your leadership communications
- Build your team’s capabilities and capacity through developmental delegations
- Grow leadership capabilities using 360° feedback from employees, peers and supervisor
- Effectively coach and develop employees to enhance productivity, efficiency and morale
- Encourage people to take ownership of, and be accountable for, their work performance
- Support ambitious change efforts
- Improve the organization’s overall culture
Key Elements of the Program
Access to Award Winning Curriculum
NC State Industry Expansion Solutions (IES) has partnered with Development Dimensions International (DDI) to offer an impactful leadership program that supports the development of key leadership skills and competencies important to the success of frontline leaders in today’s industry sectors that include: effective communication, establishing goals and measures, delegation, coaching, giving performance feedback, addressing poor performance and driving organizational change.
Electives to Support Your Unique Learning Needs
In addition, participants will have the opportunity to add up to two additional courses from DDIs online curriculum and development content to supplement and customize their learning experience. These electives can be used to gain additional knowledge on topics outside the reach of the program or be used as make-up sessions if participants missed on-site sessions.
The Individual Development Plan and Coaching
The Individual Development Plan (IDP) is designed to provide frontline business leaders the opportunity to enhance their professional and personal leadership skills. Individual development is an essential component of leadership excellence because it increases competency in developing others and allows time for self-reflection using the outcomes of self and group assessment. Moreover, to become a leader, one must have a personal vision and be able to balance personal and professional commitments.
The IDP helps participants articulate leadership excellence through self-improvement and the development of a personal vision. Each participant will receive up to (3) individual coaching sessions from a leadership coach to support their targeted development needs based on identified leadership strengths and gaps identified from personal assessments (DiSC) and feedback received from key stakeholders through the Leadership Mirror 360° Assessment.
Developmental Feedback
Leadership Mirror 360° Assessment
Leadership Mirror® is DDI’s web-based multi-rater feedback assessment designed to provide a clear picture of individual strengths and development needs that support the development of key leadership skills and competencies important to the success of front-line leaders. Each participant will complete the assessment along with their supervisor and direct reports to provide each participant key insights into their existing strengths and opportunities for development. Participants will use the feedback to create an individual development plan to focus their efforts towards achieving the best results in their leadership growth.
Please note that the Leadership Mirror 360° Assessment is designed to be used only for developmental feedback through this program and not for evaluating employee performance or promotions. All information obtained through this process is treated with the utmost confidentiality, and only used for coaching and development of each participant.
Professional Development Credits
Participants will earn 39 Professional Development Hours (PDHs) upon the successful completion of the program. HR Professionals can apply a total of 23 PDCs towards their SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP recertification requirements.
Module Descriptions
Your Leadership Journey
This module arms a new or prospective leader with the knowledge and skills needed to confront the early challenges in their leadership career. It encourages them to think about the transitions new leaders face and how to handle those challenges. They are introduced to three leadership differentiators that are important to building a positive reputation as well as contributing to the organization’s success.
Enhancing Your Leadership Style With The Everything DiSC® Work Of Leaders Assessment
Everything DiSC Work of Leaders® uses the framework of Vision, Alignment, and Execution to enhance the leader’s understanding of their own leadership behaviors and how they impact their effectiveness. Through facilitated discussion and guided activities, participants will develop an understanding of their unique approach to leadership, identify key barriers to their effectiveness and actionable strategies to adapt their leadership style, ultimately improving engagement, collaboration, and the overall quality of the workplace.
Communicating for Leadership Success
This module helps leaders communicate effectively so they can spark action in others. It teaches leaders the interaction essentials needed to handle the variety of challenges and opportunities they encounter every day in the workplace and beyond.
Delegating with Purpose
In this module, leaders keep the skills needed to address these challenges, gain the commitment of team members, develop individual skills and abilities, enhance the overall capability and capacity of their teams and, ultimately, the organization. Leaders identify the tasks needed to delegate, select the most appropriate individuals, assess capabilities and commitment, and plan the delegation discussion. That discussion includes the decision making level authority, support amount and methods for monitoring progress and measuring results.
Setting Goals and Reviewing Results
This module shows the positive effect of shifting the traditional role of planner and evaluator from the leader to a shared responsibility between leaders and employees. This shift builds employee ownership and allows the leader to focus on coaching and developing throughout the performance cycle. Leaders experience how to use SMART goals to help them and their employees track progress and fairly evaluate outcomes. A well-written performance plan is also a powerful tool to use when determining where to focus development and coaching discussions with their employees.
Coaching for Peak Performance
This module teaches the importance of three coaching techniques and how to effectively handle proactive and reactive coaching discussions, to support more effective and efficient interactions.
Addressing Poor Performance
A single employee with chronic performance problems can dominate a leader’s time and drag down the productivity and morale of an entire work group. This module builds leaders’ skills in handling chronic performance problems. They learn how to document and present a solid case for needed improvement. Leaders identify the steps to take following a performance problem discussion to provide ongoing feedback and support, and determine if it is necessary to impose formal consequences.
Driving Change
Successful change in organizations requires leaders that facilitate workplace change initiatives by turning resistance into commitment and inspiring team members to take ownership of change. This module provides the skills and resources leaders need to accelerate the process of implementing change with their team members and to create an agile work environment where people are more open to change.
Developing Your Action Plan & Program Evaluation
This module helps participants take key learnings and identify next steps for moving to action within their new role. Lastly, participants provide feedback on key program elements to support future changes and enhancements.
Leadership Essentials Program Instructors
To best meet the diverse needs of our clients, we have selected a group of instructors with more than 50 years of combined off industry knowledge and leadership expertise to support your learning and development needs throughout this program. Meet your instructors:
Chris Hartley
Lean Improvement Specialist | Leadership Essentials Instructor/Coach
Email: chris_hartley@ncsu.edu | Phone: 336-684-3538
Bill Iacovelli
Lean Improvement Specialist | Leadership Essentials Instructor/Coach
Email: bill_iacovelli@ncsu.edu | Phone: 704-750-0804
Nora Milley
Lean Improvement Specialist | Leadership Essentials Instructor/Coach
Email: nora_milley@ncsu.edu | Phone: 919-335-6649
What Happens If I Miss A Session?
Because this program is designed to be a cohort experience, participants are strongly encouraged to attend all instructor-led classroom sessions to receive a certificate of completion. However, participants will be allowed to make-up one session (two modules) online through the DDI portal. (Or, you can take these modules to gain additional knowledge on topics outside the reach of the program.)
Non-DDI sessions must be scheduled for make-up with the IES program manager.
