Description

The same leadership skills that made you effective before Covid-19 may undermine you now. Click on the link to read We've got to get better at video meetings.  (view white paper here)

Design and Construction Leadership Skills 2020 delivers the insights, strategies and skills you need to lead effectively NOW: 

• Manage change proactively, strategically
• Build essential new leadership competencies
• Update classic leadership strategies and skills
• Redefine your leadership to integrate new skills with classic wisdom

Not a webinar or lecture, this high-impact online program features:

• Small group from both design firms and construction companies
• MBA-method interactive, hands-on learning,
• Focus on applying insights and tools
• Integrating emerging and classic leadership practices

• Six 2-hour interactive seminars spread over months  
• Both short and long-term results and outcomes

Workshop 1.  You as leader now (Oct 27)

• 4 reasons why effective leaders in ordinary times struggle in times of change
• Identifying, assessing your own response to change
• 5 emerging high-priority tasks you should be doing more of now
• Why and how to use a 360 survey to check your performance and thinking with key others

Assignments: Launch your 360 survey, predict results
 
Workshop 2.  Moving from insights to actions (Nov 10)

• Analyzing your 360 survey results, planning intelligent action steps
• Why and how to interview your survey respondents
• Identifying the 5 key conversations that shape your overall performance
• Recognizing the predictable, destructive patterns that undermine leadership conversations
• Sampling two 1-on-1 skills that improve 1-on-1 outcomes and results

Assignments:  Implement 360 survey actions; identify patterns in your key conversations
 
Workshop 3. Improving one-on-one skills (Dec 2)

• Getting beyond yes – learning and using the new negotiations skills
• Informal influencing - holding others accountable when you don’t have formal power
• Identifying, addressing the special problems and benefits of video conversations
• Writing and using your own Conversation Case to apply skills in your own situation
• Assignments:  Implement the new skills, track results

Workshop 4.  Improving video meeting skills (Dec 15)

• Mastering video meetings:  5 threats, 6 success strategies
• Why and how to comfortably engage quiet participants
• Building proficiency with the video software feature that improves meeting dialog
• 4 ways to improve discussion quality and problem-solving in video meetings

Assignments:  Implement skills in meetings, revise Personal Vision, draft Goal-Based Work Plan
 
Workshop 5.  Building Virtual Teams (Jan 7)

• Anticipating, addressing the disadvantages and advantages of virtual teams
• Why virtual teams need teambuilding even more than in-person teams
• 4 especially productive teambuilding tasks that improve virtual team performance
• Assignments:  Implement the teambuilding tasks, track results

Workshop 6.  Updating Your Leadership Vision, Goals and Everyday Practices (Jan 20)

• Why and how to write an updated Personal Vision Statement
• Developing and using goals that challenge and nurture your deepest interests
• Using the Goal-Based Work Plan to update your everyday leadership practices
• Forming new habits to reinforce changes in your leadership

Assignments:  Implement the skills and tools, plan for your continuing learning and development
 
Take-Aways you’ll use long after the program ends: your 360 Survey results, Goal-Based Work Plan re-prioritizing your current tasks, Video meetings surveys, Ground Rules, Checklists 

Considered as an investment, the fee provides outstanding returns.  The program:

• Improves immediate and longer term job performance and productivity
• Enables participants to take on new tasks and responsibilities
• Provides development and recognition for neglected “good performers”
• Increases job satisfaction, morale, energy and focus
• Especially focuses on skills that increase the value participants add to the company
• Strengthens participant’s working relationships with clients and others in the company

Who Should Attend  
Executives, principals, senior and mid-level leaders who have responsibilities in the office and field will benefit from participating.  People who get the most from this program typically:

• Have 10 + years in the design and construction industry
• Have office-wide responsibilities in one or more key firm/company functions
• Have 5 + years’ experience managing projects
• Are deeply interested in their personal learning and continuous improvement

Program Design Maximizes Lasting Results 
Six 2-hour Seminars.  This program design reinforces your ability to not just learn ideas but fully apply program insights.  Spreading the sessions over time enables you to put program strategies and skills to work between sessions and fine tune your learning outcomes.  
Start-Up, Pre-Work.  To ensure maximum program results, we ask participants to complete several hours of self-guided pre-work before the first group seminar.  This enables us to take full advantage of valuable program time.   
 
Homework.  There is little formal “homework,” but we expect participants to apply program skills between seminars and take notes on the results. 
 
About Program Leader William Ronco, Ph.D.
William Ronco, Ph.D., has extensive experience designing and delivering custom training and consulting for design, construction, owner/client organizations and leaders.  Dr. Ronco:

• Consults, researches and publishes on strategic planning, high-performing teams and leadership training and development
• Has led seminars for the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Boston University, Northeastern University and CORENET (Corporate Real Estate Executives)
• Initiated and leads the Boston Society of Architects’ Young Designers Professional Development Institute and Massachusetts Associated General Contractors’ Young Contractors Professional Institutes, now in their 20th year
• Is a global expert on effective partnering in mergers, acquisitions and strategic alliances,
• Wrote The Partnering Solution (Career Press) and has led over two hundred design and construction partnering projects including the Big Dig, Massport, Williams College, Harvard University, the Commonwealth of Virginia, EMC Corporation and NY DOT
• Earned his B.A. at Rutgers University, Ed.M. at Harvard Graduate School of Education and Ph.D. in Urban Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Co-Instructors for Selected Sessions
James C. Martin, Chief Information Officer at Shepley Bulfinch, brings both technical expertise and facilitation skills to his work with improving video meetings.
 
Ralph DeFlorio, Director of Operations at the Harvard Divinity School, brings his extensive experience in the owner/client role to his leadership insights and instruction.
Design and Construction Leadership Skills 2020 Program