Fundamentals of Executive Leadership

Name: Fundamentals of Executive Leadership
Author: Thomas Poulin

Take the first steps to becoming an executive leader

Preview the first lesson free — get full access to all 6 lessons.

Course: On-Demand

(bright music) Welcome to Fundamentals of Executive Leadership. To become an executive leader, it's important to understand what being an executive involves. In these lessons, you'll learn what an executive leader is, how they rely more on influence than authority, and how you might develop and nurture your own executive leadership traits to prepare you for future opportunities. Leadership is about creating a shared vision. Then working with a team, motivating them to effectively achieve organizational goals and objectives. Leadership skills are necessary for organizational success and are often required for everyone who holds positions of authority. But there is a significant difference between leaders and executive leaders. Leaders usually work directly with their teams on a regular, continuing basis. They may develop a professional relationship with their team members, learning their individual strengths and weaknesses. This allows leaders to assign and oversee work in the most appropriate fashion, monitor quality and quantity of performance, and provide support for each team member. Executive leaders on the other hand can influence organizational culture and performance across either the entire organization or at least major portions of it. They might be among the C-level personnel, such as the chief executive officer, chief financial officer, chief operating officer, chief information officer, or other key positions found in your organization. Executive leaders also include those responsible for organization-wide responsibilities, such as human resources, safety and security. Executive leaders could also be those responsible for an organization's major functional divisions. The key difference between executive leaders and regular leaders is that executive leaders lead through others. They don't directly perform tasks and they barely interact with team members within their area of responsibility. In larger organizations, they may not even interact with those team leaders who work directly with frontline employees. Because of this, they don't have the opportunity to build the trust and respect that's often considered invaluable to leaders. In addition, they don't have the direct ability to monitor performance quality, which helps support team members. However, successful executive leaders do find the means to succeed, relying on executive presence, executive influence, and creating a values-based organization.

Advanced Provider : Thomas Poulin 6 Lessons · 18m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Urdu, Chinese

Course Description

Are you on your way to that nice corner office with lots of windows? Are you being given new responsibilities that place you at the top of your business’ management staff? Being an executive leader carries a great deal of responsibilities. As an executive leader, you’re expected to be a guiding light that charts your organization’s path through murky waters. But what sets executive leadership apart from other leadership roles? What skills are you going to need to serve yourself, your company, and your employees effectively?

In these lessons on the Fundamentals of Executive Leadership, you’ll learn how executive leadership differs from other forms of leadership. We’ll explore what characteristics support success in this role, and how you can acquire those traits. You’ll discover how to craft an executive presence for yourself, as well how to cultivate your external influence. Preparing yourself now will help you become better positioned to assume the role of executive leadership in the future.

What You'll Learn

Identify the traits that make a good executive leader
Distinguish how executive leadership differs from other forms of leadership
Craft an executive presence for yourself
Recognize the different forms of power that support executive leadership
Cultivate your external executive influence
Acquire and develop habits of executive leadership

Key Takeaways

Executive leadership carries a great deal of responsibility, with the executive leader expected to guide the organization's path forward.
Executive leadership differs from other forms of leadership, and specific characteristics support success in this role.
Different forms of power support executive leadership.
Building an executive presence and cultivating external influence are central to the executive role.
Preparing now helps position you to assume an executive leadership role in the future.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is this course for?

It is designed for people taking on new responsibilities at the top of their business's management staff or preparing to assume an executive leadership role in the future.

What will this course teach me?

You'll learn how executive leadership differs from other forms of leadership, what characteristics support success in the role and how to acquire them, how to craft an executive presence, and how to cultivate your external influence.

What topics does the course cover?

The lessons cover Defining Executive Leadership, Crafting Executive Presence, Cultivating Executive Influence (Parts 1 and 2), Acquiring Executive Habits, and a Test Your Knowledge section.

What are the learning objectives?

To identify the traits that make a good executive leader, recognize the different forms of power that support executive leadership, and describe how to acquire habits of executive leadership.

Professional Certifications and Continuing Education Units (CEUs)

Project Management Institute (PMI®)

Professional Development Units (PDUs): 0.5

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