Custom Programs
Leadership and Management Development Programs

The Center for Corporate Education can provide your company with unique programs tailored to your organizations needs and challenges. Our staff may either take direction from your executives and OD department, or conduct an organizational competencies assessment in order to create the best learning initiative.

The custom programs are not open enrollment programs. Each session is customized to your organization and can be delivered at your company, here at the university, or any offsite location. Here are some sample areas:

 Effective Presentation Skills 

This 2 day program provides in depth practice and skills development on making effective presentations.  Focus will be on getting to decision making rather simply sharing information.  Skills including:  PowerPoint, slide usage, chart development, and ease of use during presentations will be demonstrated.  Participants will design and develop presentations, be taped and given individual feedback on style, body language, and technical expertise.

The learning objectives include:

• PowerPoint skills

• Tailoring the message to a group

• Recognizing different reasons for presentations and adapting accordingly.

• Recognizing personal presentation styles and improving strengths.

• Applying technical information to non technical audiences

 Project Management

Whether it's launching a new product or a global communication system, developing software or building a building, it's your job as a project manager to make it all happen. Project management takes a special set of tactical and practical management skills to carry out this kind of responsibility. This workshop will give you the skills and training you need in all of the critical phases of managing people and projects successfully. The emphasis is on real-world, practical applications developed through years of hands-on experience in world-class, multinational organizations. The techniques are proven, the approach sound, and the results measurable.

 Strategic Plan Integration

Objectives for the session:

• Principles of strategic decision making.

• Understanding the creation of shareholder value as it relates to managerial actions.

• Defining purpose, mission and goals in synchronization with the firm's objectives.

• Developing a business plan that works for your department.

• Determining where your people must contribute to meet the plan.

• Establishing project guidelines and results.

 Leadership vs. Management, Skills for the Next Generation

Objectives for the session:

• Describing the characteristics of effective leaders.

• Identifying situational leadership styles.

• Determining follower potential and directional needs.

• Enhancing our own leadership qualities.

 Leading Transformational Change

Change is a constant factor in any organizational environment.  It ranges from task changes to strategic changes.  As a result, managers are charged with balancing change, cooperation and results.  This workshop will help prepare the participants to become more effective change agents. 

Objectives - At the end of this workshop, the participants will be better able to:

• understand the components of change

• determine where or when leadership action is necessary

• display leadership behavior consistent with the organizational objectives.

 Managing Upward

This workshop examines the process of consciously working with your superior to obtain the best possible results for you, your boss, and your organization.  One of the biggest challenges for a manager is to effectively communicate with those in senior positions.  A growing body of literature suggests that a manager should spend more time managing his/her superiors than subordinates. 

Objectives - At the end of this workshop, the participants will be better able to:

• adjust their actions and communications with their senior managers

• engage in challenging interactions with their superiors, such as: giving or receiving

• criticism, delivering bad news, managing conflicts, getting agreement to ideas and soliciting support.

Focusing on mid-size companies or profit centers within a large corporation, this 2-3 day program explores the concepts and applications of marketing as they relate to the marketing planning process. Where these concepts have been applied, companies report a clear enhancement of return on training time invested for this fast-paced, interactive program.

Key Learning Concepts Include:

• Competitive Forces Review

• Strategy Foundations Practiced by Successful Global Corporations

• Pricing Strategies for New, Growing and Declining Markets.

• Implementing Marketing Tactics

• Sales Channel Deployment and Effective Measurement

• Customer Satisfaction and Relationship Management

The basis for this workshop is that effective leadership employs a number of specific coalition and communication knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA).  These KSAs include explaining, advocating, and expressing ideas and facts in an appropriate manner to both internal and external groups and individuals.  Effectiveness in these areas increases the ability of leaders to build coalitions for goal accomplishment. 

Objectives - At the end of this workshop, the participants will be better able to:

• understand the specific skills needed to present information effectively to different internal and external groups,

• understand the impact of their personal communication verbal, nonverbal, and listening styles in working with others,

• understand the effective structure, roles, and process of meeting management,

• recognize the mechanisms available for building strategic coalitions.

Techniques and Tools - The workshop uses a variety of questionnaires and approaches

including Personal Presentation Checklist, The Listening  Styles Inventory, FIRO-B

Fundamental Interpersonal Orientation scale, and BARA Approach to Meeting Management; each providing feedback to leadership effectiveness.

Topics and Activities:

• Introduction of Workshop for Internal and External Context

• Administration, Scoring, and Interpretation of Questionnaires and Approaches

• Presentation of Informative and Persuasive Presentation Materials and Structure

• Meeting Management Activities and Case Study

• Video on Listening and Negotiating to Build Peer coalitions

Day One - Making the Personal Transition to Team Culture

• To understand one's leadership orientation and behavior

• To understand the impact of personal communication style in working with others

• To embrace the philosophy of team delegation required in teams actions

• To set ground rules for time together

Day Two - Creating and Maintaining and Effective and Efficient Team Environment

• Recognize the stages of team development and performance

• To provide a team meeting approach supporting empowerment and team decision making

• To provide a structure for transitions and change to team environments.

Day Three - Supervising Issues and Coaching Employees as Team Members

• To understand where to begin as a team member

• To develop strategies for collectively evaluating team progress

• To understand coaching and mentoring responsibilities

• To apply our learning's in organizational setting

Business Acumen  

The Center offers a complete learning process assisting professionals in these areas:

• Review of key competitive forces impacting their industry and markets

• Identify strategic styles of operational excellence, product leadership and customer intimacy

• Differentiate the strategies implemented by their company, competitors and customers

• Reading and interpreting financial statements

• Determining key financial ratios to measure impact of strategy

• Create tactical approaches to implement selected strategies

Executive Coaching & Mentoring  

The Center draws upon certified and experienced executive coaches to assist both the individual and the organization in developing the best leadership attributes. Coaches utilize a variety of assessments and communication methods to create a focused approach to your developmental needs.
Our coaching resources have experience at the entrepreneurial business executive level to the CEO of FORTUNE 100 companies, including success at GE's Crotonville Leadership programs, the federal government Institute and notable corporate universities.

Contact the Center Director, Richard J. Chvala at (804) 828-3165 or email us at corp-ed@vcu.edu