Insights
The Importance of Leadership Strategy Training
4 REASONS why you should DEVELOP YOUR STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP SKILLS
The competition for qualified senior leaders is fierce, meaning organizations are constantly seeking to be the first to secure top talent. To do so, they need executive search consultants who have advanced strategic leadership skills, the latest information on critical business issues and the practical tools to find and place the best leaders in critical roles.
Differentiating yourself in such a targeted industry may seem ambitious, but you can advance your skills at any stage in your career through continuing education and leadership strategy training courses. Whether you have three years of experience or 10 years, it’s never too early or too late to increase your long-term value to your clients and organization.
Leadership strategy training proves its importance through the multitude of benefits it offers:
1. Improve Critical Strategic Leadership Skills
As an executive talent consultant, your job involves networking, building relationships and liaising between clients and candidates. One of the most important character traits to complete these tasks is trust. When clients and candidates trust you, relationships begin to form, and you can more easily share roles with candidates or receive calls for placements from clients.
The biggest aspect of working in executive talent acquisition is determining which candidates have the experience, knowledge and personality to be great leaders. This involves high-level problem-solving and decision-making skills. Leadership training can help you hone these skills and teach you how to make a convincing case, analyze a problem and prepare possible solutions and proposals.
In the executive search and leadership consulting profession, it’s critical you have the skills to implement a talent and succession strategy as well. Learn new models of work, how to develop adaptable and agile teams, the benefits of using executive assessments and how new data and technology can assist the strategy.
2. Learn to Drive Organizational Culture Change
Diversity and inclusion are essential to organizations across the globe, and building an inclusive organizational culture begins at the top. When you’re searching for a C-suite executive or board director candidates, you need to be able to detect if the potential placement can drive sustainable change. Leadership courses can help you develop the skills you need to uncover the candidates who are committed to equality, demonstrate bold leadership, take comprehensive action and foster an empowering environment.
To ensure you’re driving organizational change, it’s also important you work on recognizing unconscious bias, counteracting it and reinforcing inclusive behaviors. A leadership strategy training course can help you avoid bias and increase diversity during the hiring process.
3. Build ESG Business Strategy Skills
Like diversity and inclusion, a company’s performance as a steward of the planet is determined by its C-suite and board. Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) has become an important criterion for investors and customers. To ensure you’re placing ESG-focused CEOs, CFOs, board directors and more in senior-level roles, you’ll need to understand recent ESG failures and successes and how to structure talent management practices.
4. Master Complex Negotiation Tactics
In this line of work, you’ll need to negotiate compensation, benefits and stock options between candidates and clients. Leadership strategy training ensures you master complex negotiation, achieving successful outcomes. Learn how to balance competing goals with integrity and insight through practical exercises that you can apply in everyday practice. Enhancing your negotiation skills also depends on your knowledge of executive compensation. Gain an understanding about compensation best practices in several countries, pay level trends, how ESG measures are being used in incentive plans and how to use long-term incentives.
How the AESC Provides Leadership Strategy Training to Consultants
The Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC) in partnership with Cornell University’s IRL School designed an interactive, virtual program specifically tailored to those that work in executive talent acquisition. The Advanced Certificate in Executive Talent and Advanced Certificate in Leaders and Culture offer effective strategies and tactics that enable you to help shape solutions for executives and organizations today. Tailored for seasoned executive search and leadership consultants and in-house talent acquisition specialists, participants will gain an understanding of the importance of diverse talent and the impact leaders have on organizations.
AESC’s Cornell programs can help you develop your authenticity, integrity, accountability and courage—character dimensions inherent in building trusting relationships. Gain the practical tools to reflect and build your authenticity at work and how to communicate with integrity. You can also learn about the structures corporations use to oversee ESG, explore how company culture impacts ESG and explore how executive compensation plans are now incorporating ESG principles and targets for companies.
One Cornell program participant said:
“I am much closer to my clients. I work hard to build strategic relationships with the board and executive team to understand their businesses and challenges. This has assisted me and my team to find the best possible talent to help achieve their future business objectives.”
The Advanced Certificate programs also delve into the future of the executive landscape and the implications for talent, the steps to build a talent and succession strategy, information on influencing hiring decisions and courses on counteracting bias and diversity, equity and inclusion.
“The Cornell-AESC Advanced Certificate in Executive Search and Leadership Consulting program was a valuable part of my development as a search consultant and one that I would recommend to others in the field,” said a participant who received Advanced Certificates in both programs. “The topics were both relevant and tangential to business issues that I regularly confront, and the instructors bring a good balance of real-world experience and teaching capability to the program. Having a chance to interact with an engaged peer group that represented a broad spectrum of experiences and cultures was particularly valuable.”
Register for AESC and Cornell’s Advanced Certificate in Executive Talent and Leaders and Culture to gain new leadership strategies and tools, enhance your ability to place high-quality executive talent and differentiate yourself in the industry.
