Roles of Executive Leaders

Name: Roles of Executive Leaders
Author: Thomas Poulin

Navigate the responsibilities of executive leadership

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Course: On-Demand

(soft music) Welcome to roles of executive leaders. To succeed as an executive leader, it's crucial to mold yourself into the kind of person who's deserving of executive leadership. In these lessons, we'll go over how to steer yourself in this direction, as well as steering your organization towards success. One of the oldest theories of leadership is trait theory which suggests that successful leaders will have certain recognizable traits. If you possess these traits, you can become a leader, but if you don't, you're more likely to be a follower. These traits can be developed, refined and expanded in the same manner you acquire positive habits. There are many traits associated with being a successful leader, like being a good communicator. To be an effective communicator, you can tailor your message to the needs and abilities of those you're communicating with. Being a good communicator also means being respectful, timely, comprehensive, and open to feedback. People in leadership positions often fail because they think that they're great communicators, but they don't listen to others. They might not even provide subordinates with the opportunity to provide input or feedback. Communications are recommended to be cyclic where you communicate the messages you want to share, and ensure that the recipients understand you. This is a critical trait for any leader, and it becomes more challenging as you move up within the organizational hierarchy, where you'll likely have to communicate through others. Another key trait associated with leaders is integrity. You are recommended to walk the talk, never demanding more of others than you would do yourself. Integrity is about knowing, and understanding both your values and the organizations, then embodying those values. If you hold employees to one standard, but don't hold yourself or your friends to the same standard, people will take notice. If they see this regularly, it sends a powerful and lasting message. If you don't act with integrity, you might find yourself without followers. There are some traits that are associated more with executive leadership, than with those who lead in mid, or frontline positions. Vision building is one of those traits. If you build an effective team to achieve a goal, they need to have a clear, identifiable, measurable concept of success. Effective executive leaders can develop a collective vision which everyone can seek to and wants to achieve. You can create and share this future-focused vision to everyone within your organization. As an executive leader, you could also share it with the external partners you might rely on for success in joint ventures. You are also recommended to determine which traits are necessary for success in your organization and your discipline. It's best to determine your strengths, and find the means to leverage them for your success. You can determine your weaknesses, and find the means to minimize or limit them. Keep in mind that a strength in one area might be a weakness in another. For example, attention to detail and being a reflective thinker might be a powerful trait when developing a strategic plan, but a weakness in dealing with a pressing customer complaint or media issue. If you want to cultivate your executive leadership traits, you can begin with understanding the traits you already have and the traits you desire, then find a means to develop and reinforce these traits on an ongoing basis throughout your career.

Advanced Provider : Thomas Poulin 6 Lessons · 22m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Urdu, Chinese

Course Description

Being an executive leader doesn’t just mean managing things from the top, and expecting others to pick up the slack. It’s about being the kind of person that employees want to follow, as well as serving as a visionary. It’s important to come up with an organizational goal that will provide your company with direction, and to convince your employees to follow that path. But how can you get to that point? What skills do you need?

In these lessons on the Roles of Executive Leaders, you’ll learn what responsibilities you’ll likely take on as an executive leader. You’ll explore how to develop and communicate a vision of the future. You’ll also discover how to provide guidance to align all organizational activities. You’ll know how to cultivate the traits and mindset that will make you an outstanding executive leader. We’ll also show you how to encourage your employees to embrace organizational changes.

What You'll Learn

Identify the responsibilities you are likely to take on as an executive leader
Cultivate the leadership traits and mindset of an outstanding executive leader
Develop and communicate a vision of the future to chart organizational direction
Articulate purpose and provide guidance to align all organizational activities
Inspire commitment and convince employees to follow your vision
Empower employees to embrace organizational change

Key Takeaways

Being an executive leader means being the kind of person employees want to follow and serving as a visionary, not just managing from the top.
Setting an organizational goal gives the company direction and helps convince employees to follow that path.
Outstanding executive leadership depends on cultivating the right leadership traits and developing an executive mindset.
Aligning all organizational activities requires providing clear guidance and articulating purpose.
Effective executive leaders encourage and empower their employees to embrace organizational change.

Frequently Asked Questions

What will I learn in the Roles of Executive Leaders course?

You will learn the responsibilities you will likely take on as an executive leader, how to develop and communicate a vision of the future, how to provide guidance to align all organizational activities, how to cultivate the traits and mindset of an outstanding executive leader, and how to encourage employees to embrace organizational changes.

What are the main learning objectives of this course?

The objectives are to define the traits that make a good executive leader, develop an executive mindset, and demonstrate how to convince employees to follow your vision.

What topics or lessons does this course cover?

The course covers Cultivating Leadership Traits, Developing an Executive Mindset, Establishing Vision and Charting Direction, Articulating Purpose and Inspiring Commitment, and Empowering Employees to Embrace Change, followed by a Test Your Knowledge lesson.

Who is this course for?

This course is for executive leaders and those who want to learn what it takes to be a visionary leader employees want to follow, including how to set an organizational goal that provides direction and convince employees to follow that path.

Professional Certifications and Continuing Education Units (CEUs)

Project Management Institute (PMI®)

Professional Development Units (PDUs): 0.5

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