Management Programs

Successful leaders begin by carefully focusing on their agenda. Before they do anything else, they have to understand the organization and be clear about their direction and how it will affect their organization.

Before you can get people to support you, you need to understand what you're trying to achieve. Once you develop and prioritize an agenda for action, you will need to have the skills of political competence to take the next steps toward building support and gaining traction for your idea.

Key Topics

• Assess Your Organization's Dynamics - Evaluate your organization's receptiveness to change and formulate your agenda for action.
• Identify the Four Spheres of an Effective Agenda - Identify and prioritize arenas where you can effect change in your organization:
• Mission and goals: Know how your idea will align with the organizational goals and strategic plan
• Organizational culture: Assess how organizational culture may propel or stall your agenda
• Organizational design: What will be the impact of your plan on the organizational structure?
• Job design: Will your agenda require - or, result in - important changes to job functions, expectations or work loads?
• Develop your political competence
• Assess allies and resistors: identify those in your organization who are likely to support - or oppose - your agenda
• Negotiate support for your agenda: assemble a coalition of support for your initiative and get buy-in from key stakeholders

Who Should Attend

Leaders and managers at public, private, and not-for-profit organizations who are charged with devising and executing business plans, strategies, and corporate initiatives.

Instructor

Samuel B. Bacharach