Strategic Leadership Program

This Strategic Leadership Program empowers senior leaders to develop a strategic mindset so they can make intelligent decisions and implement business strategy. It is designed to help leaders in all industries uplift their skills in critical thinking, decision-making and exercising sound judgement. Whether your leaders are just starting out or have been in these positions for some time, our program helps them grow more sophisticated thinking skills.

Working with organisations across Australia, we know that leaders face unique challenges. Here’s a few of them:

1. Managing multiple stakeholders: Senior leaders often have to balance the needs of multiple stakeholders, including customers, shareholders and employees. In today’s fast-paced business environment, leaders must adapt to constantly changing circumstances and, at the same time, service all stakeholders.
2. Balancing priorities: Balancing work responsibilities is challenging for most people, but senior and executive leaders are more likely to juggle competing priorities. Managing commitments and priorities across career and home can make it hard for senior leaders to establish work-life balance, leading to feelings of stress and fatigue.
3. Technology and rise of AI: Advancements in technology and the way we work will automate more manual work, changing job roles and what organisations consider valuable. Senior leaders with skills in strategic planning and strategic management will become increasingly desirable.
4. Complex world of work: Living in a ‘VUCA’ (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) environment means that senior leaders need to be able to cope with a changing environment that presents constant challenges. Covid recovery, economic instability and hybrid working call for strategic thinking capabilities in senior leaders – to make sure the organisation can lead through change.
5. Complex macro environment: Senior leaders are dealing with rapid technological change, a fluctuating economy, and rising expectations from organisations. Senior and executive leadership teams must adapt constantly and be aware of change before it happens. Skills in adaptability and strategic leadership need to be applied frequently – and often – in response to uncertain and complex conditions.

Overall, these challenges can make it difficult for senior leaders when leading change and implementing key strategic initiatives. However, with the right support such as a tailored Strategic Leadership Program and coaching sessions, senior leaders can overcome these barriers and build supportive relationships to make change together.

With the help of the Strategic Leadership Program, leaders will explore these fundamentals to enhance their leadership capability:

1. Critical thinking: When organisations invest in developing senior leaders’ thinking capabilities, it helps to set the scene for better decision making. Instead of moving too fast into ‘solution mode’, leaders properly assess problems and work through possible solutions to move forward with confidence. 
2. Problem-solving: New markets, technologies and opportunities call for complex problem solving. Organisations are better equipped to deal with ongoing change when they have strong skills in assessing the root cause of a problem, applying strategies to solve problems, and sharing learning experiences with colleagues. 
3. Becoming active learners: Active learning is a critical skill for senior leaders in today’s work environment, as they often need to upskill quickly on trends and developments to offer new insights. Leaders develop these skills by keeping an open mind, seeking out new opportunities, and developing a range of learning strategies. 
4. Cognitive flexibility: Effective leaders can flex their thinking; anticipating challenges and seeking new opportunities to achieve outcomes. Leaders can improve these skills by being prepared to challenge the status quo when the market shifts and being prepared to flex on plans to get traction on initiatives. 
5. Decision making: Leaders make well-considered decisions with confidence when they’re prepared and see all points of view. Employees can build this this capability by working through different scenarios, researching and establishing best practice, and by weighing up both positive and negative impacts.

By developing competencies in these practical skills, senior and executive leaders can become better strategic leaders and impact business sustainability in positive ways.

What is a Strategic Leadership Program?

Our Strategic Leadership Program is a professional development course specifically designed to support those in senior leadership positions. It aims to provide participants with the skills, tools, resources and confidence necessary to develop effective leadership practices. Our specialist facilitators have worked with many leaders across Australia and draw from these experiences to offer meaningful advice, practical strategies, and case studies to learn from.

Why should my organisation offer a Strategic Leadership Program?

Being part of the Strategic Leadership Program can help senior leaders develop skills, access mentoring and build partnerships across a supportive community of peers. It can also help participants to challenge themselves to uplift critical thinking capabilities, so they can better cope with the demands of senior leadership. The networking opportunities are crucial to helping leaders help each other.

Who can attend an Strategic Leadership Program?

This Strategic Leadership Program is designed for senior leaders entering into or who are part of a senior or executive management team. The skills we focus on build competencies in tackling strategic and organisational matters, as well as building a more well-rounded, robust leadership style.

Are Strategic Leadership Programs only available in person?

Our Strategic Leadership Program can be delivered face-to-face or as online learning – depending on the organisation’s set-up. It is typically made up of a series of workshops and/or webinars with case studies and tools to support real world application – so leaders can apply strategies in their management roles right away. Often these are complemented by coaching sessions with a Thinka coach. Coaching plays an important role in challenging old behaviours and supporting leadership development in each of the participants. Organisations might also opt for a blended program that makes use of eLearning modules and other forms of media.

Senior Leaders Forum with Struber

1. What was the objective?

Struber delivered a Senior Leaders Forum for 15 leaders in the Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia, over three days – focusing on empowerment, growth and elevating leadership capability. This short course was branded ‘Kulin – Brighter, Bolder, Better Getaway’. Struber enlisted Thinka’s help to deliver two workshop experiences on two days based on these learning outcomes: ‘Leading Self’ and ‘Empowering Others’.

2. How did we do it?

For the ‘Leading Self’ workshop, we talked about self awareness and leading with vulnerability. We also explored the importance of building trust with your team to elevate performance, promote empathy and demonstrate emotional agility.

Participants reflected on their personal leadership brand and how this reflects their priorities, values and promises they make. This was followed by an activity and the establishing of commitments where each senior leader identified initiatives they would be responsible for and their accountability to these.

Throughout this workshop, the learning activities and language linked back to Struber’s ‘Seven Mantras’. Application tools were provided as takeaway references to help participants practise and apply these leadership skills on the job.

In the ‘Empower Others’ workshop, leaders learned about cultivating psychological safety to build trust in their teams. They realised the differences between managing and leading – to push past ‘manager-mode’ and elevate capability.

Senior leaders learned about empowering others to build ‘Impact Players’ – leaders who stretch themselves to deliver results. They explored giving feedback, problem solving and taking ownership and responsibility – while creating an environment of ‘safety and stretch’.

3. How was it integrated and what were the results?

The workshops were facilitated over three days with positive results. Feedback from participants included:

“I loved it. I wish it was longer!”

“Loved the facilitators. They were engaging and gave everyone the opportunity to ask questions.”

“I think it was a great balance of content and workshop.”

“Loved the whole thing. There was an amazing vibe in the room.”