Amplify your leadership skills and optimize your performance.

Day 1:

Leadership Communication & Influence | Professor Andy Yap

As executives make the progression to senior leadership, being able to communicate effectively becomes even more important. The goal of this session is to introduce interactive oral and interpersonal communication skills critical to leaders by developing two kinds of knowledge:

1) Conceptual expertise on the art and science of leadership communication
2) Practical mastery of communication aimed at business audiences.

To understand how to communicate effectively, you will need to understand how the human mind makes sense of messages and ideas. We will explore the anatomy of ideas and messages—why do some ideas stick, and others don’t? Through this process, we will unpack the key elements that help you engage, persuade, and inspire your audience, regardless of whether they are clients, bosses, or team members.

Executive Presence in Leadership | Professor Andy Yap

Across nations, cultures, and organizations, regardless of whether you are communicating with a client or your team members, your body language shapes how your message is perceived. Thus, to communicate effectively, leaders need to not only focus on “what they say”, but also consider “how they say”. Additionally, people instinctively judge how trustworthy and competent leaders are simply by their body language. These judgments, in turn, impact how effective you are as a leader and communicator.

For this session, EO@INSEAD focuses on amplifying your leadership presence. How do you command a powerful presence? What body language signifies power, confidence, trust, and competence? Through a video-case and self-awareness exercise you will become more mindful of your leadership presence and take strategic steps to attain the ideal communication style you aspire to have.

Take charge, grow, and heighten your skills to build a culture within your organization.

Day 2:

Judgement and Decision Making Under Uncertainty | Professor Anil Gaba

Most decisions are necessarily made under conditions of risk and uncertainty. There often exist severe limits to predicting the future – be it in the context of business, health, or even personal pursuits such as happiness. Therefore, we often look for shelter in “models” to accurately predict future outcomes. In doing so, we frequently go too far and often end up underestimating the role of chance and what we don’t control.

Conversely, we also overestimate our ability to predict the future and hence fall prey to “illusion of control” with all its costs. A counterpart to this is the Paradox of Control which shows that if we don’t try to control what we can’t control, we often end up with more beneficial outcomes. Stemming from our illusion of control while making judgements, we can be susceptible to a variety of cognitive biases and emotional barriers.

We will explore such distortions in judgments using some interactive online tools. Also, we will discuss some common obstacles to learning from experience and discover how to overcome these barriers.

Team Decision-Making, Diversity, and Process | Professor Anil Gaba

We will next explore the broad question of individual judgments versus group judgments. Abundant theories exist on the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusiveness (DEI) at an organizational and societal level. Yet, the effectiveness of such initiatives despite heavy investments and good intentions remains an open question.

In leveraging the full potential of group judgments, DEI is a key factor. This session will highlight the meaning of diversity and inclusiveness in a group judgment process giving you the knowledge to build culture within your organization.

Day 3:

Inspirational Leadership and Influence Beyond Authority | Professor Thomas Mannarelli

This session focuses on the social processes of leading, inspiring, and influencing individuals and teams beyond a reliance on one’s authority. We will also consider how observation and reflection skills can improve one’s understanding of social landscapes and how that can inform one’s strategy and approach in any given leadership and influence situation.

The session will conclude with a discussion of both the benefits and potential risks that groups, majorities, minorities, and authorities have in influence, and we will highlight the ethical considerations that can arise in many influence contexts.

Leading and Influencing Organizational Change: ChangePro Simulation | Professor Thomas Mannarelli

In the session you will have the opportunity to test your skills of change leadership and influence without authority in a computer-simulated organization. The ChangePro simulation provides a flexible tool to experience a change process in a risk-free environment and helps to stimulate productive discussions on the subject. In the exercise, you will be given the task of securing the buy-in of 24 simulated managers to a new organizational initiative. You will also face the additional challenge of needing to coordinate your change approach and strategies within teams.

After the simulation, key insights will be shared and presented. We will also discuss the context of how change occurs in your organization and debate the role this group must assume in driving change.

Build success and boost performance by understanding how to navigate change, adapt, and implement effective strategies within your organization.

Day 4:

Strategic Thinking: Creating a Sustainable Competitive Advantage | Professor Daniel Simonovich

What sets thriving organizations apart from those that struggle to keep up with change? In this session, participants will reflect on what their company stands for and how to live up to it while exploring how to build and sustain a competitive edge through superior value creation. Drawing on cross-industry examples and practical frameworks, the discussion will show how to approach innovation systematically, uncover new market opportunities, avoid the trap of head-to-head competition, and translate strategic vision into effective action.

Strategy Execution: The Dice Method | Professor Daniel Simonovich

It’s often observed through surveys that the downfall of many visions and strategic plans isn’t due to their quality, but rather the failure in their execution. Our session aims to shed light on common pitfalls in strategy implementation and offer strategies to enhance the likelihood of success. We’ll delve into both the tangible and intangible factors that influence outcomes and their interplay. Participants will explore essential components to sidestep initial obstacles when formulating a detailed plan for enacting strategies.

Attendees will engage directly with these concepts through a self-assessment exercise on strategic initiatives, evaluating the potential for success of strategies they have been or will be involved in. Additionally, the session will foster an environment for exchanging peer feedback, further equipping participants with insights to tip the scales towards successful strategy execution.