

Creative Strategic IT Leadership
Overview:
Introduction:
This program is designed to provide IT leaders and professionals with a set of transformational tools and techniques to help them maximize their own and their team’s creative potential. The starting point for this conference is self-discovery; participants will work on the inside first and then focus outwards onto the world of business
Course Objectives:
At the end of this course the participants will be able to:
- Set out their leadership brand
- Demonstrate innovative methods for harnessing others’ creative potential
- Articulate a vision using multiple sensory representations
- Communicate their vision in refreshing and engaging ways
- Identify critical components of a strategically-aligned IT department
- Apply value and performance measurement techniques
- Develop meaningful recruitment and retention policies
- Evaluate technology solutions, vendor selection, and outsourcing
Targeted Audience:
- IT Team Leaders
- IT Managers
- IT Professionals from both Technical and Management Backgrounds
- IT Operations Staff,
- Networks/Systems and IT Projects staff
- Technical Professionals
Course Outlines:
Unit 1: Creative Problem-Solving:
- Leadership Reality Assessment
- Leadership VS Management
- Understanding Our Brain Function
- Myths of Creativity
- The limitations of the rational
- Divergent approaches to problem-solving
- Letting go of logic
- Analogous thinking modes
- Convergent and divergent modes
Unit 2: Overcoming Personal Blockers to Creativity:
- Sigmoid Curve
- Lifecycle Model
- Continuous Improvement
- Breakthrough step change
- Self-awareness and the nature of the ego
- Personal goal alignment
- Adaption and innovation: personal preferences for creating meaning
- Exploring attitudes to risk
- Left- and right-brain thinking
Unit 3: Developing Vision Creatively:
- Six thinking hats
- Using differing thinking styles
- Johari's window
- The business plan process & creating a vision
- Harnessing the power of the team
- Organizational culture and its influence on innovation
- Letting go of the ego
- Working with different creative preferences
Unit 4: Communicating the Vision Creatively:
- The 7 Step Creative Process
- Models of communication
- Viral visioning
- Authenticity and trust
- Creativity tools, techniques & strategy
- Letting go of the vision
- Leading without directing
- Possible leadership beliefs
Unit 5: From Ideas to Action: Creativity and Change:
- Motivation
- Hierarchy of Needs
- Overcoming organizational barriers to creativity and change
- Nurturing a learning environment
- Is Money a motivator?
- Personality Profiling
- Building a creative consensus
- Engaging stakeholders creatively
- Influencing and motivating through change
Unit 6: Leading and Managing the IT Department:
- Understand the challenges of the IT manager
- How to value IT services
- Communicate IT value to upper management, peers, and end-users.
- Understand the responsibilities of the IT team leader.
Unit 7: Managing Technology:
- Understand the Strategy for Managing Existing Technology
- Know when to develop and adopt New Technologies
- Be Aware of how to manage assets effectively.
Unit 8: Using Influence:
- Understand the different types of influential power.
- Be aware of the various influence strategies
- Select the most effective influence strategy for the situation
- Understanding negotiations, tactics, and techniques.
- Use influence effectively to thrive as an IT manager
Unit 9: Strategic Decision Making:
- Apply strategic decision making
- Recognizing strategic decisions and initiatives.
- Apply strategic decision making to vendor selection
- Understand when to outsource
Unit 10: Developing the IT Strategic Plan and Budget:
- Using the mission as an IT driver
- Defining the customer profile
- understanding the partnership model
- Creating a strategic plan
- Planning and budgeting issues
Unit 11: Managing IT Quality:
- Understanding the importance of managing by process
- Understand the definitions of quality
- Applying maturity models
- Using process management
- Applying international standards
Unit 12: Building the IT Management Team:
- Evaluating IT performance and metrics
- Understanding delegation and motivation
- Team building
- Managing the management team and stakeholders.
Unit 13: IT Project Management:
- The Importance of Project Management
- Defining Project Manager talents and skills
- Understanding the principles of Project Management
Unit 14: IT Performance Metrics:
- Developing a measurement strategy
- Creating a “Best Practices” based organization
- Deploy metrics
- Managing by facts and results
- Integrate metrics into the strategic plan
Unit 15: Common Pitfalls and Lessons Learned:
- Balancing technical and corporate requirements
- Balancing tactical and strategic decisions
- Evaluating new and existing technologies
- Balancing management styles and culture