Sometimes it takes a crisis for a true leader to emerge from the crowd. A sad but very real example of this is how the war in Ukraine has transformed Volodymyr Zelenski from a politician to a world-class leader.
That’s a radical example but even in the normal course of commercial life, strong leadership can make a huge, positive impact on both business and personal outcomes. And that’s why it pays to develop good leadership skills – as these are highly valued in business and they offer tangible benefits; not only in terms of career prospects but also in the context of having more control over the direction your work might take.
Situational Leadership
Of course, a leadership mindset doesn’t just extend to the workplace, it can also have an important and positive influence throughout every aspect of our lives. Someone who has leadership skills can help family and friends to excel – to give them direction and the confidence and support needed to achieve their goals. A great leader will take the initiative and inspire others. He/she will set realistic goals and be willing to have challenging conversations and even deal effectively with conflict. To manage these situations and influence outcomes, preparation, resilience and great organisation are all essential – all traits of strong leadership.
So, if you work in ICT and you are someone who is fed up with taking a backseat, or you’d like to be the one calling the shots – someone whom businesses and individuals can turn to when they need to know what direction to move towards – then now’s a good time to consider building robust Leadership skills.
And don’t feel that you need to be “born a leader” – that’s not the case; leadership skills can be learnt, practiced and acquired through experience.
MSc In Leadership, Innovation And Technology
Our two year, part time course is a Level 9 Masters Degree which has been developed by the TU Dublin in partnership with us here at Technology Ireland ICT Skillnet. The course is comprised of 2 phases. The first phase takes place over eight months, and is divided into 6 modules, which all target key areas needed for leadership positions.
They include
- Innovation Management and Creativity
- Problem Solving and Critical Thinking
- Personality and Leadership
- Strategy Tools for Competitive Positioning
- Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation
- Team Leadership and Change Management
The purpose of this first phase is to help you to familiarise yourself with the latest thoughts and theories on effective management. This is also the perfect time to trial your own ideas, which you can then go on to flesh out in phase 2. The first phase doesn’t feature any exams, but will be graded based on submissions on reflective learning, as well as project-based assignments.
Phase 2, the longer of the two, last from month nine to month twenty-four. This phase will contain workshops and webinar-based training – designed to ramp up your skills so that you have the ability to deliver on a research project, one which can be applied to real world business situations. This project will be based on research undertaken on your specialist area within your own organisation. This helps you to build up your personal knowledge of the situations most pertinent to you, so that you can immediately create commercial benefits for your company. This can contain significant amounts of cross-disciplinary work. This benefits you and your personal skills development by giving you a wider, birds-eye view of the business, enabling you to make better, more-informed decisions in the future.
Mentorship Programme
Not only will you be provided with a framework of learning to acquire the skills needed, you’ll also be given your own mentor. The advice and direction which a mentor can provide is invaluable. A good mentor can prevent you from making mistakes, or point out when you’re going down the wrong path. And of course, it’s a fantastic opportunity to network. Developing a positive bond between yourself and someone who has years of experience can really help to open doors. The opportunity to pick the brains of someone who is further on in their commercial career, is really useful and can offer benefits long into the future.
Leadership Qualities in Management
This course aims to build your ability to use a variety of skills, such as your critical thinking, conceptual and analytical skills. Your ability to lead and manage will be bolstered by your ability to both use and fully comprehend the frameworks, tools, and methodologies that are available to the modern, dynamic business leader.
We’ve mentioned it earlier, and it’s important to remember that, although some people are naturally strong leaders, the majority of effective leaders have honed their skills through experience and learning – not purely through genetics! You have the opportunity to become a great leader through hard work, study, and experience. Take a look at the course overview here, and why not give yourself new skills that will serve you for life!