Online Executive Education Sessions
Timely topics for rising above business as usual
Upcoming Executive Education Workshops
We believe in values-driven leadership for all, so each month we make an executive education workshop available for free, online. Our leadership development webinars cover timely topics that will help you think deeper and lead stronger.
Video recordings of previous sessions are available below. Check back for future live events.
Previously Recorded Executive Education Sessions
Miss a session? Looking for a little extra wisdom? View one of our previously recorded executive education sessions below. Our leadership development webinars are designed to give you evidence-based insights that you can apply in your workplace immediately.
Intentional Inclusion: Designing Inclusive Organizations in 2021
What does intentional inclusion look like in our current context? In honor of Black History Month, African American Employee Resource Groups throughout Chicagoland joined with our Center to address this important question under the guidance of Dr. Courtney McCluney of Cornell University.
Remote work can amplify biases and increase racial code-switching, McCluney found in research conducted in 2020. In this session, she helps us uncover these opportunities with ideas we can put into action, now.
Mindfulness Practices for Leaders: Three Exercises
A growing body of research shows that leaders who are engaged in mindful practices are more effective and more connected with their team members. But mindfulness doesn't happen by accident. To achieve the benefits of mindfulness takes intentional engagement in practices that connect leaders to their emotional and spiritual wellbeing.
In this interactive 50-minute session, we introduce you to three mindful practices designed to help you chart a path to successful leadership. Additionally, we provide suggestions and links for other mindfulness practices you can do at your desk.
Leading Change with Appreciative Inquiry
No matter the size of the challenge, changing anything can be difficult. In this short webinar, we introduce you to Appreciative Inquiry (AI), a positive and future focused process of organization development. Applying the tools of AI will help make your next change initiative faster and more successful ... whether you're trying to change the way you lead team meetings, or restructure a global organization. This sessions's facilitator, Appreciative Inquiry pioneer Dr. Jim Ludema, will help you see AI's potential for transforming your organization. Then we'll end the session with tips and tools you can use to launch your own change initiative. The webinar is free, but advance registration is required.
If you're looking for a more advanced understanding of Appreciative Inquiry, check out our one-day Appreciative Inquiry for Strategic Change workshop, March 25.
Practical Strategies for Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Your Organization
Throughout 2020, many companies have made verbal commitments to address racism and build inclusion within their organizations. Making this happen takes methodical work. In this sessino, Dr. Salwa Rahim-Dillard, founder of Equision, will walk us through a series of practical ideas for moving the needle on DEI in your organization. She is joined by Gena Lovett, former VP of Operations with Boeing and Chief Diversity Officer at Alcoa, to provide real-life commentary on want it takes to advance inclusion. Together, the presenters offer an authentic and experience-driven perspective on what it takes to bring true equity and inclusion to our organizations.
Leading in the Age of Disruption: How to Help People & Organizations Thrive in Complexity
Trends such as artificial intelligence, automation, digitization, and other technology shifts are disrupting the way leadership gets done. Those who have been taught and rewarded for being analytical and efficiency-oriented are now challenged to pivot to leadership based upon adaptability, critical and creative thinking, and communication skills. For many leaders, these changes and the speed at which they occur can be daunting. This 45-minute session explains why leadership is changing and how individuals can better lead themselves and others for adaptability in a complex world. Our keynote presenter is Dr. Mary Uhl-Bien, one of the world's foremost scholars on complexity leadership, and a Professor of Leadership at Texas Christian University.
Brain Science & Bias: Understanding How Your Brain Works to Prevent Racism
Today’s organizations are working hard to raise employees’ awareness of unconscious bias. But to truly cut down on discrimination and boost inclusion, leaders must develop unique habits that help identify bias and rewire the brain. Our October session featured the NeuroLeadership Institute's
Khalil Smith and Barbara Steel, who will used insights from neuroscience to help us effectively advance inclusion and prevent racism. View the video above.
Leading Connected & Engaged Virtual Teams
COVID-19 pushed many companies into remote work; some will never go back. With more and more teams operating remotely, how can we create connection and ensure engagement? In this session, Dr. Jim Ludema and Dr. Amber Johnson of Benedictine University help us turn to research for answers and draw examples from exceptional organizations who have made it possible. We draw actionable insights for building trust, strengthening connection, and supporting exceptional performance. This session corresponds to our free eBook, Leading High-Performing, High-Engagement Virtual Teams During COVID-19 and Beyond.
Actionable Steps to Advance Inclusion Now: How Values-Driven Leaders Can Create Belonging
Values-driven leaders create psychologically safe environments where all team members experience belonging. This session digs into the fundamentals of inclusion with the author of Inclusify: The Power of Uniqueness and Belonging to Build Innovative Teams, Dr. Stefanie K. Johnson of the University of Colorado, Boulder. Dr. Johnson will discuss why inclusion is so important amidst COVID-19. Finally, she'll share strategies to build more inclusive meetings, clean up office housework, and create culture swaps.
Understanding Identity & Leadership
This 45-minute webinar features leading identity, diversity, and inclusion scholar Dr. Stephanie Creary of the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Creary introduces the concept of identity, then helps make connection to leadership and workplace relationships. Dr. Creary introduces the concept of identity, frames it in the context of workplace relationships and leadership, and offers useful tools for using your understanding of identity to advocate for others and serve as an ally to Black colleagues. This video is part of our executive education series on fighting racism and building inclusive organizations.
Servant Leadership on the Edge
In this 30-minute session (plus Q&A) servant leader expert and core faculty member Dr. Gus Gustafson provides a fast introduction to the concept of servant leadership, and makes the case that its values-driven mindset offers a useful methodology for facing uncertain times. Find a recording of the session to the left.
New Insights for Leading High Performing Teams
How Leaders Can Address Racism & Care for Colleagues of Color
On June 19th, the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth, we explored how leaders can confront racism, build inclusive organizations, and care for colleagues of color in a 60-minute executive education session led by world-class diversity and inclusion scholar Dr. Laura Morgan Roberts and our expert panelists Dr. Salwa Rahim-Dillard of US Cellular and Cheryl Harris of Allstate. Find a recording of the session to the left.