Certificate Course in High-Potential Leadership

Duration 10 days 16 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends High-potential managers, Newly promoted leaders and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-LD-142

Before you join: Participants should have at least two years of professional experience and current responsibility for a project, workstream, team, client relationship or operational outcome.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

High-potential leaders are expected to deliver results beyond their current remit while building trust, developing others and handling ambiguous, politically sensitive work. Promotion potential alone is not enough: leaders must show sound judgement, influence across functions, make decisions with incomplete information and create conditions in which teams perform. This programme addresses the transition from strong individual contributor or first-line manager to leader of broader work, people and stakeholder commitments.

Participants examine the habits, decisions and leadership systems associated with sustained high performance. They assess their leadership pattern, clarify career direction, set a leadership agenda, communicate strategically and influence without relying on formal authority. The course covers delegation, coaching, feedback, talent development, conflict, change leadership, ethical judgement, stakeholder management and executive presence. Participants apply recognised models including the 70-20-10 development model, SBI feedback, SCARF and stakeholder mapping.

Teaching combines short faculty briefings with realistic cases, group analysis, leadership simulations and structured application planning. Cases reflect common challenges in government, banking, NGOs, professional services and large corporate settings: leading a cross-functional programme, restoring a strained team relationship, briefing senior sponsors and delivering change under scrutiny. Participants progressively build a personal High-Potential Leadership Portfolio, including a leadership agenda, stakeholder plan, development plan and action plan for a live workplace priority.

The programme suits managers and technical specialists identified for broader leadership responsibility, as well as recently promoted leaders who need a disciplined approach to managing people, influence and delivery. It is equally relevant to employers seeking a consistent basis for preparing future leaders for succession roles.

What you will be able to do

  • Assess personal leadership patterns using 360-degree feedback themes and reflective evidence
  • Construct a leadership agenda linked to strategic priorities, stakeholder expectations and delivery risks
  • Apply stakeholder mapping and influence strategies to gain support for complex initiatives
  • Conduct coaching conversations using the GROW model and developmental questioning
  • Deliver corrective and developmental feedback using the SBI feedback method
  • Design delegation agreements that build capability while maintaining accountability
  • Lead change conversations using stakeholder analysis, resistance diagnosis and communication planning
  • Present a High-Potential Leadership Portfolio addressing a live workplace priority

Benefits of attending

For you

  • A clear evidence base for promotion and succession discussions
  • A practical leadership agenda for the next 12 months
  • Greater confidence influencing senior and cross-functional stakeholders
  • A repeatable method for coaching, feedback and delegation
  • A documented development plan linked to career goals

For your organisation

  • Stronger internal pipeline for critical leadership and succession roles
  • More consistent management of feedback, delegation and employee development
  • Earlier identification and treatment of leadership development gaps
  • Better stakeholder alignment on cross-functional change initiatives
  • Workplace action plans tied to current business priorities

Course modules

16 modules over 10 days

Participants can define the leadership expectations, results and behaviours required for their next-level role.

  • High-potential criteria distinguished from current performance and technical expertise
  • Leadership pipeline transitions from individual contributor to enterprise contributor
  • Role charter defining outcomes, decision rights, relationships and constraints
  • Strategic priorities translated into leadership commitments and measurable outcomes
  • Value creation choices across customers, people, operations and financial performance
  • Leadership reputation shaped through recurring behaviour and visible judgement

Participants can assess their leadership pattern and identify priority behaviour changes.

  • Johari Window used to compare self-perception with observed leadership impact
  • 360-degree feedback themes sorted into strengths, risks and development priorities
  • Values clarification against difficult workplace choices and competing obligations
  • Derailers identified through pressure responses, blind spots and recurring feedback
  • Reflective practice using after-action reviews and critical incident analysis
  • Personal leadership narrative connecting experience, purpose and future contribution

Participants can connect leadership decisions to strategy, operating performance and risk.

  • Strategy maps linking objectives, capabilities, measures and operational initiatives
  • PESTLE analysis separating external drivers from internal management choices
  • Porter's Five Forces used to test industry position and competitive pressure
  • Financial drivers interpreted through revenue, margin, cash flow and capital
  • Systems thinking identifies reinforcing loops, delays and unintended consequences
  • Scenario planning frames plausible futures, assumptions and leadership responses

Participants can create a focused leadership agenda for a current or next-level role.

  • Leadership agenda prioritising enterprise outcomes, team needs and stakeholder commitments
  • Eisenhower Matrix distinguishes urgent activity from strategically important leadership work
  • First 90 Days framework structures entry, diagnosis and early credibility
  • Career anchors tested against role preferences, values and development choices
  • SMARTER goals define leadership outcomes, evidence and review points
  • Weekly leadership rhythm protects time for thinking, people and stakeholder work

Participants can plan influence strategies for stakeholders with differing interests and power.

  • Power-interest grids classify stakeholders by influence, interest and engagement approach
  • Stakeholder salience assesses power, legitimacy and urgency of competing claims
  • Influence mapping identifies sponsors, blockers, brokers and informal opinion leaders
  • Reciprocity principles build support through credible value exchanges and commitments
  • Political risk assessed through agendas, alliances, decision routes and timing
  • Influence plan specifies stakeholder messages, meetings, asks and follow-up actions

Participants can communicate recommendations clearly to senior and diverse stakeholder groups.

  • Pyramid Principle structures recommendations, supporting arguments and evidence
  • Audience analysis adapts messages to priorities, concerns and decision authority
  • Executive briefings open with the decision, recommendation and required action
  • Message maps prepare concise responses to predictable questions and objections
  • Nonverbal signals assessed through pace, posture, eye contact and vocal control
  • Difficult messages communicated with candour, empathy and clear next steps

Participants can make and explain sound decisions under uncertainty and time pressure.

  • Decision rights clarified using RAPID roles for recommendation and approval
  • Decision trees compare options, probabilities, consequences and contingency actions
  • Pre-mortem analysis surfaces failure modes before commitments become difficult
  • Cognitive biases identified in anchoring, confirmation, sunk-cost and groupthink
  • Red-team challenge tests assumptions, evidence quality and unintended effects
  • Decision logs record rationale, dissent, commitments and review triggers

Participants can build team conditions that support candour, belonging and accountable performance.

  • Trust equation examines credibility, reliability, intimacy and self-orientation
  • Psychological safety established through inquiry, fallibility and productive response
  • SCARF model identifies status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness and fairness triggers
  • Inclusive meeting design distributes voice, challenge and decision participation
  • Micro-behaviours assessed for their effects on belonging and contribution
  • Team norms define respectful dissent, escalation and shared accountability

Participants can hold coaching conversations that improve performance and build capability.

  • GROW model structures goals, reality, options and way-forward commitments
  • Open questions distinguish coaching inquiry from advice and instruction
  • Active listening uses paraphrasing, summarising and accurate emotion recognition
  • Coaching contracts clarify purpose, confidentiality, ownership and meeting cadence
  • Performance barriers diagnosed through capability, motivation, resources and clarity
  • Follow-up reviews test commitments, learning evidence and adjusted actions

Participants can deliver feedback that is specific, fair and directed toward improvement.

  • SBI feedback method separates situation, observable behaviour and resulting impact
  • Feedforward conversations focus on future choices, support and measurable commitments
  • Evidence records distinguish facts, interpretations, assumptions and hearsay
  • Performance expectations translated into standards, measures, deadlines and consequences
  • Difficult feedback planned around timing, privacy, wording and emotional response
  • Conversation close confirms actions, support, review date and documentation

Participants can delegate meaningful work while preserving clarity, control and development value.

  • Delegation matrix matches task risk, capability, authority and development value
  • RACI chart clarifies responsible, accountable, consulted and informed roles
  • Outcome-based delegation specifies results, boundaries, resources and decision rights
  • Control points set review cadence without taking back delegated work
  • Escalation protocols define thresholds, response times and sponsor involvement
  • Accountability conversations address missed commitments, causes and recovery plans

Participants can develop talent through targeted assignments, feedback and succession planning.

  • 9-box grid distinguishes performance evidence from future potential indicators
  • 70-20-10 model allocates learning through experience, relationships and formal study
  • Development assignments stretch judgement, influence, delivery and people leadership
  • Individual development plans connect capability gaps with practical learning actions
  • Succession slates identify readiness, development needs and retention risks
  • Talent reviews use calibrated evidence rather than manager preference

Participants can address conflict constructively and negotiate workable agreements.

  • Thomas-Kilmann modes match conflict response to relationship and issue importance
  • Interest-based negotiation separates positions, interests, options and objective criteria
  • BATNA analysis defines alternatives, reservation points and negotiation choices
  • Conflict diagnosis distinguishes task, process, relationship and values disputes
  • Repair conversations acknowledge impact, rebuild trust and agree behavioural changes
  • Mediation structure manages opening statements, issues, options and agreements

Participants can lead people through change using clear sponsorship, communication and adoption plans.

  • Kotter's change model links urgency, coalition, vision and sustained adoption
  • ADKAR analysis identifies awareness, desire, knowledge, ability and reinforcement gaps
  • Change impact assessment maps process, role, skill and technology effects
  • Resistance diagnosis distinguishes legitimate concerns from uncertainty and loss
  • Sponsor roadmaps define visible actions, communications and reinforcement moments
  • Transition plans manage endings, neutral zones and new beginnings

Participants can make defensible leadership decisions when values, risk and performance conflict.

  • Ethical decision model tests stakeholders, duties, consequences and public scrutiny
  • Conflict-of-interest checks identify personal benefit, bias and disclosure requirements
  • Risk appetite statements guide choices between opportunity, control and exposure
  • Speak-up channels assessed for confidentiality, protection and escalation pathways
  • Ethical fading recognised when targets obscure duties, harms and standards
  • Decision documentation records evidence, rationale, approvals and dissenting views

Participants can build, review and present a complete High-Potential Leadership Portfolio for a live workplace priority.

  • Leadership agenda integrates strategic outcomes, role priorities and personal commitments
  • Stakeholder plan sequences influence actions, messages, sponsors and decision points
  • Team development plan combines delegation, coaching, feedback and talent actions
  • Change plan addresses impacts, resistance, communications and adoption measures
  • Risk register identifies ethical, delivery, people and stakeholder exposures
  • Portfolio presentation defends priorities, trade-offs, measures and review cadence

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Personal leadership agenda template
  2. Stakeholder influence map
  3. Coaching and feedback conversation guides
  4. Delegation and accountability agreement
  5. Individual development and succession plan
  6. High-Potential Leadership Portfolio

Who should attend

  • High-potential managers — preparing for broader people, project or functional responsibility
  • Newly promoted leaders — establishing credible leadership habits during early tenure
  • Technical specialists — converting subject-matter authority into cross-functional influence
  • Programme managers — aligning sponsors, delivery teams and competing stakeholder interests
  • Succession candidates — demonstrating readiness for senior leadership assessment
  • Talent development managers — building a common development standard for emerging leaders

Skills and tools covered

Strategic self-awarenessStakeholder influenceCoaching conversationsTalent developmentChange leadershipEthical judgement

Tools and standards

GROW model, SBI feedback model, SCARF model, RACI matrix

How the course runs

Training methodology

Faculty use short briefings to introduce models, followed by case analysis, paired work, group exercises and leadership simulations. Participants examine realistic decisions involving performance, influence, conflict, talent and change. Structured reflection connects feedback and observed behaviour to each participant’s leadership goals. Throughout the programme, participants apply tools to a current work priority and receive faculty and peer challenge. The final sessions are used to review, strengthen and present each participant’s High-Potential Leadership Portfolio.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have at least two years of professional experience and current responsibility for a project, workstream, team, client relationship or operational outcome. Some experience of supervising others is useful but not essential. Participants need a live workplace priority they can use for planning and analysis during the programme. No formal leadership qualification, psychometric certification, prior coaching training or senior management title is required. The course assumes participants can discuss workplace situations candidly and receive feedback constructively.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should have at least two years of professional experience and responsibility for a project, workstream, team or client outcome. Prior people-management experience is useful, but the course also suits technical specialists moving toward leadership roles.

Bring details of a live workplace priority that requires leadership, influence, team performance or change. Participants use this situation to build their leadership agenda, stakeholder plan and final portfolio.

The course is intended for managers, succession candidates, programme leaders and technical specialists identified for broader responsibility. It is most useful for people preparing for their next significant leadership transition.

General management courses often focus on planning, operations and business administration. This programme concentrates on the behaviours and judgement expected of future leaders: influence, talent development, strategic communication, change and leadership reputation.

Participants leave with a portfolio built around a current work priority rather than a fictional case alone. The plans, conversation guides and review measures can be used immediately with managers, teams and stakeholders.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The first week establishes leadership direction, strategic judgement and influence; the second week develops people leadership, change and the final portfolio presentation.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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