Change Leadership

Description

Cornell University's Certificate in Change Leadership prepares managers to both create change in their organizations, and sustain momentum for that change over the long-haul.

Every day, a leader with a good idea fails in their ability to implement change in their organizations. Most leaders fail because they can't get beyond vision. They rely too heavily on a good idea and a charismatic personality. The courses in the Certificate in Change Leadership series, part of eCornell's Proactive Leadership program, are based on Professor Samuel Bacharach's acclaimed books Get Them on Your Side and Keep Them on Your Side. Proactive Leadership leverages Professor Bacharach's decades of research, teaching, and expertise in organizational change, negotiation, conflict resolution, and organizational behavior, with a hands-on, in-the-trenches approach to getting things done in organizations. Proactive leadership is about both getting people and/or groups on your side AND sustaining momentum by keeping them on your side.

Leaders who succeed are those that mobilize people in pursuit of a common and directed course of action. They recognize that a good idea is not good enough; you need to influence key organizational stakeholders to support an initiative. The first four courses in the series are dedicated to the leadership process of converting an idea into action. These courses will help you to develop the political competencies of influence, negotiation, and organizational awareness in order to identify opportunities for change, negotiate support for an initiative, and mobilize action to ensure that your change initiative is implemented.

Successful leaders also have the capacity to "go the distance." They keep projects, initiatives, and people moving ahead in spite of emerging obstacles and uncertainties. The last two courses in the series focus on establishing and sustaining the four dimensions of momentum to ensure long-term success. The courses will help you to develop the managerial competencies of organizing resources, motivating and directing others, managing performance and achievement, leading through culture, managing conflict, and developing political and organizational agility.

Who Should Enroll in This Certificate?

This certificate is designed for managers and leaders at all levels of public, private, and not-for-profit organizations who want to create and sustain change in their organizations.

Enrollment

To register, contact an Enrollment Counselor at info@ecornell.com or 1-866-326-7635 (+1-607-330-3200 from outside the United States).

Certificate programs are eligible for eCornell Payment Plans. Discounts are available for military personnel, veterans, and Cornell University Alumni. eCornell programs are not eligible for financial aid or federal Pell Grants. Contact an enrollment counselor for more information.

Courses in this Certificate

• Developing an Agenda for Change

  • The many economic, competitive, and global factors that influence how organizations conduct business are constantly changing and evolving. The ability of organizations to understand these influences on their organizations and to respond to and adapt to these changes is critical for long-term growth and survival.

    This course discusses change as a political process driven by individuals and leaders within the organization who emerge as change agents. To be effective, individuals must recognize the areas within the organization over which they can exercise control and the areas over which they cannot.

    Course Format

    All eCornell courses are delivered online and are self-paced. An eCornell instructor leads the online discussions, grades any course projects, and is available to answer specific questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Analyzing the Change Environment
      • The role of the change agent as a proactive thinker
      • Implementing a 3-step model for change
      • Analyzing the nature of the change environment in which you operate
      • Analyzing the specific nature of the environmental uncertainties In which your organization operates
    • Identifying Change Opportunities
      • Analyzing how loosely or tightly coupled your organizational structure should be
      • Identifying opportunities for change within the four main spheres of organization and execution within which the change agent can effect change
      • Outlining a plan for change within your organization that addresses one or more of those spheres

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner
    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Evaluate their organization's environment
    • Identify opportunities for change
    • Understand change as a process of negotiation
    • Develop an agenda for action based on the goals, culture, design, and work structure of the organization
    
    
• Mapping the Political Terrain of Allies and Resistors

  • Implementing an agenda for action is a political process driven by individuals within the organization who emerge as change agents. Essential to their success is the understanding that all new initiatives attract both allies and resistors.

    This course teaches leaders how to frame their agenda in a way that helps them identify and assess potential allies and resistors to their initiatives. With this understanding participants will be able to anticipate and prepare for arguments resistors may use in their attempts to derail the initiative.

    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and our courses are built around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Framing Your Change Agenda
      • Change agendas and styles
      • Four change mind-sets
    • Meeting the Challenge of Different Change Agendas
      • Strategies for recognizing allies and resistors
      • Identifying key stakeholders
      • Analyzing the change mind-sets of potential allies and resistors
      • Anticipating arguments against your change agenda

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner
    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Map the allies, potential allies, and the resistors to their initiative
    • Assess the attitude toward change of various actors in the organization
    • Identify various agendas and styles
    • Anticipate arguments against the agenda for action
    • Explain the need for a coalition of support
    
    
• Negotiating Support and Buy-In for Your Agenda

  • In these highly uncertain and turbulent times, going it alone is no longer a route to success; as a result, effective leaders build coalitions of support for their agenda and change initiatives. Leaders develop such coalitions by establishing their own credibility and the credibility of their agenda.

    This course, the third in the series, "Getting Things Done in Organizations: Creating Change and Building Support," is designed to:

    • Help learners develop a "roadmap" for negotiating support for their action agenda
    • Convey an understanding of the principles of bargaining power and influence in the process of negotiating a strategic initiative
    • Help learners apply this conceptual model to their action agenda in their organization
    • Help learners analyze the political agendas of others in the organization, identify sources of support for their agenda, and develop a strategy for building support for their initiative
    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and our courses are built around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Why You Need a Change
      • Coalition Conditions that necessitate coalitions
      • Power dynamics and credibility
      • Understanding and communicating the benefits of your agenda to others
    • Negotiating Support for Your Initiative
      • Strategies for gaining initial support for your agenda
      • Justifying your actions
    • How to Negotiate a Coalition of Support
      • When to use tacit or explicit language to present your agenda
      • Approaches to communicating your agenda
      • Developing a negotiation strategy appropriate to your agenda

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner
    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Describe why coalitions are critical to taking effective action
    • Describe how coalitions increase your bargaining power
    • Analyze the types of initial support you can build
    • Develop strategies for getting initial support for your agenda
    • Identify communications approaches that will be most effective
    • Outline a strategy for getting others to buy-in to your agenda
    
    
• Mobilizing the Coalition for Action

  • In most organizations, it is no longer sufficient to identify what needs to get done, and how it should get done. A leader must have the skills to implement his or her initiative and to overcome the dynamics of opposition and resistance that exist in every organization.

    This course is designed to help learners:

    • Apply the leadership style appropriate to the situation
    • Put a change coalition into place
    • React to changing conditions in the organization to ensure successful implementation
    • Anticipate and prepare for the future
    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and our courses are built around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • The Essentials of Coalition Leadership
      • Solidifying your coalition
      • Managing differences among coalition members
      • Diffusing your ideas and expanding your network
    • Pitfalls to Avoid and Leading for the Long Term
      • Strategies for preventing your coalition from becoming insular
      • Avoiding complacency and differentiating your coalition
      • Negotiating changing conditions and uncertainties
      • Political analysts, consensus builders, and politically competent leaders

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner
    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Solidify their coalition
    • Map differences among coalition members
    • Propagate ideas and diversify their network
    • Identify the two dimensions of coalition leadership
    • Avoid traps of insular coalitions
    • Recognize and respond to changing conditions within the organization
    • Employ a Change Outcome Matrix and respond to different outcomes
    • Effect ongoing and proactive change
    
    
• Establishing Momentum: Managing Structure, Resources, and Performance

  • Effective leaders not only develop good ideas and create action, but also implement the ideas and sustain action. You can be charismatic. You can be charming. But your skill as a manager will be evaluated in terms of your ability to get things done.

    Once you have gotten an initiative off the ground, you need to ensure that your coalition has the ability to produce results and drive momentum. A proactive leader must have the managerial competence to build the coalition’s capacity to keep the initiative moving forward and growing, and the performance-management skills to keep it operating effectively.

    This course is designed to help learners:

    • Develop a “roadmap” for establishing momentum for their coalition’s agenda
    • Apply facilitative and directive leadership styles appropriately in teams and organizations
    • Maintain organizational capacity in order to allocate resources and prioritize effectivelyMonitor performance in order to evaluate progress and make corrections
    • Apply these skills to a change agenda in their organization
    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and our courses are built around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Managing for Momentum
    • The need for both political and managerial competence
    • The four dimensions of momentum
    • Facilitative vs. directive leadership
    • Structural Momentum
    • Creating hierarchies, while sustaining groups
    • Providing resources without going too far
    • Giving autonomy and defining parameters
    • Performance Momentum
    • Being clear about results, while remaining objective
    • Making adjustments without over-reacting

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner
    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Describe the dimensions of effective leadership and their implication on the long-term success of their agenda
    • Identify the four dimensions of momentum and explain why you need to manage all four to ensure the success of your agenda
    • Choose facilitative and directive leadership approaches, as appropriate
    • Recognize and respond appropriately to changing conditions within the organization
    • Balance multiple considerations in building and maintaining the capacity of their organization
    • Evaluate performance and make corrections
    
    
• Sustaining Momentum: Motivating Through Vision, Culture, and Political Agility

  • Leaders need to provide the vision, exercise political agility, and establish the organizational culture necessary to keep their initiatives vital and moving forward. Proactive leaders must have the skills to keep the “soul” of their coalition alive and relevant to the needs of the organization.

    This course is designed to help learners:

    • Manage organizational culture to sustain momentum.
    • Become politically agile in ensuring continued support for their agenda.
    • Manage their coalition—and their agenda—for the long-term.
    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and our courses are built around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Cultural Momentum
    • Creating a problem-solving culture
    • Developing the collective while supporting the individual
    • Celebrating results without "worshiping idols"
    • Political Momentum
    • Keep the coalition mindset alive
    • Don’t feed the Trojan horse
    • Beware of counter-coalitions
    • Proactive Leadership
    • Putting your agenda together, from idea to implementation
    • Planning your next agenda and leveraging current success.

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner
    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Create a culture of motivation that helps people learn and problem-solve while providing opportunities for affiliation and re-affirmation
    • Become politically agile: anticipate conflict and continuously mobilize support to ensure that their agenda remains vital
    • Build on current success and plan their next agenda
    • Focus on the big picture - from acting on an idea to implementing for long-term results - in their organization
    
    

Accreditation / CEUs

HRCI Recertification

The courses in this certificate series have each been approved for six (6) Strategic Management recertification credit hours toward SPHR and GPHR recertification and six (6) recertification credit hours toward PHR, SPHR, and GPHR recertification through the Human Resource Certification Institute. Please contact the Human Resource Certificate Institute (HRCI) for further information about certification or recertification.

Accreditation

Participants who successfully complete all six courses in this certificate series will receive a Certificate in Change Leadership from Cornell University.

Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) will give .6 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) to each student who successfully completes each course. Students can apply to the ILR School for the CEU units after they have successfully completed the courses.