Leading the Organisation Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends New Executives, Senior Functional Leaders and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-EM-084

Before you join: Participants should have experience managing a team, function, programme or business area and familiarity with basic organisational planning and performance reporting.

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

Leading an organisation requires more than setting direction. Executives and senior managers must turn purpose into choices, allocate scarce resources, establish decision rights, interpret financial and operational evidence, and maintain confidence among boards, regulators, employees, customers and partners. When these elements are disconnected, organisations experience stalled initiatives, unclear accountability, weak delivery discipline and inconsistent messages from leadership.

This course develops the management practices required to lead at enterprise level. Participants examine strategic positioning using PESTLE and Porter's Five Forces, convert strategy into measurable priorities, design governance arrangements, assess operating-model choices and direct portfolios of initiatives. They also address financial stewardship, risk appetite, stakeholder communication, organisational culture, talent, change adoption and execution cadence. The focus is on making informed decisions across functions rather than managing a single department.

Instructor-led teaching combines short briefings with sector-based cases, group analysis, executive decision simulations and structured application planning. Cases reflect situations common to government bodies, banks, NGOs, regulated businesses and large corporates, including constrained budgets, public scrutiny, service disruption, transformation programmes and competing stakeholder demands. Participants leave with an executive leadership toolkit containing reusable planning templates, decision aids and a 90-day application plan for a current organisational priority.

The course suits managers moving into enterprise-wide responsibilities, functional leaders working across organisational boundaries, and established executives seeking a more disciplined approach to strategy execution and organisational leadership.

What you will be able to do

  • Formulate strategic choices using PESTLE, Five Forces and scenario planning
  • Translate strategic priorities into Balanced Scorecard measures, initiatives and accountabilities
  • Design governance arrangements using decision rights, delegated authorities and RACI matrices
  • Evaluate investment proposals through business cases, cash forecasts and benefits realisation plans
  • Establish risk appetite statements, control arrangements and executive escalation criteria
  • Prepare board-ready communications, stakeholder engagement plans and decision papers
  • Direct organisational change through impact assessments, sponsor actions and adoption measures
  • Create a 90-day leadership application plan linked to organisational priorities

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater confidence presenting strategic recommendations to executive and board audiences
  • A clearer method for balancing competing enterprise priorities and resource demands
  • Stronger ability to interpret financial, operational and risk information together
  • Practical language for leading difficult stakeholder and workforce conversations
  • A focused 90-day plan for improving personal leadership impact

For your organisation

  • Clearer links between strategy, investment decisions and measurable outcomes
  • More consistent governance, accountability and escalation across major initiatives
  • Better prioritisation of limited funding, capability and management attention
  • Earlier identification of material risks, delivery barriers and stakeholder concerns
  • Stronger executive sponsorship for organisational change and benefits delivery

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can translate organisational purpose into strategic choices and a credible leadership narrative.

  • Enterprise purpose translated into strategic choices, priorities and resource commitments
  • Corporate, business and functional strategy distinguished through decision rights
  • PESTLE signals assessed for implications, assumptions and strategic response
  • Porter's Five Forces used to test industry attractiveness and position
  • Strategic intent expressed through vision, mission, values and ambition
  • Material stakeholder expectations reconciled with organisational purpose and public commitments
  • Strategy narrative structured for board, workforce, customers and partners

Participants can assess strategic options using evidence, assumptions, scenarios and decision criteria.

  • External trends separated from internal capabilities using evidence and uncertainty ranges
  • Customer segments prioritised by needs, economics, service requirements and risk
  • Value chain analysis identifies cost drivers, bottlenecks and differentiating activities
  • Scenario planning tests strategic choices against plausible demand and policy shifts
  • Assumption log assigns owners, evidence thresholds and review dates
  • Competitive response options compared using feasibility, impact, cost and timing
  • Decision papers present recommendation, alternatives, risks and required approvals

Participants can convert strategic intent into outcomes, measures, initiatives and review routines.

  • Strategic themes converted into measurable outcomes, initiatives and accountable owners
  • Balanced Scorecard links financial, customer, process and capability measures
  • Outcome measures distinguished from output, activity and vanity metrics
  • OKR drafting sets ambitious objectives and measurable key results
  • Benefits maps trace initiatives through capabilities to measurable organisational value
  • Portfolio prioritisation weighs strategic fit, value, dependency, risk and capacity
  • Quarterly business reviews address variance, decisions, actions and escalation

Participants can establish decision structures and accountabilities that support timely execution.

  • Operating model design aligns structure, processes, technology, people and partners
  • RACI matrices clarify accountable decisions, consultation routes and delivery handoffs
  • Board, executive and management forums assigned distinct decisions and information
  • Delegated authorities define spending, contracting and people decision thresholds
  • Management information packs combine performance, finance, risk and delivery indicators
  • Cross-functional interfaces mapped to remove duplication, delay and ownership gaps
  • Governance calendar schedules approvals, reviews, assurance and statutory reporting

Participants can evaluate resource choices using financial evidence, business cases and benefits plans.

  • Business cases state strategic rationale, options, costs, benefits and risks
  • Capital and operating expenditure distinguished for planning and approval purposes
  • 13-week rolling cash forecast built from receipts, payroll and supplier data
  • Unit economics connects volume, price, variable cost and contribution margin
  • Resource allocation scenarios reveal trade-offs between growth, resilience and service
  • Benefits realisation plans assign measures, baselines, owners and review points
  • Financial variance analysis separates price, volume, timing and scope effects

Participants can oversee material risk, controls, incidents and continuity priorities at executive level.

  • Risk appetite statements set boundaries for strategic, financial and operational exposure
  • Risk registers record causes, events, consequences, controls, owners and actions
  • Control design distinguishes preventive, detective and corrective control activities
  • Three lines model clarifies management, oversight and independent assurance roles
  • Incident escalation criteria define materiality, notification routes and decision authority
  • Business continuity priorities identify critical services, recovery objectives and dependencies
  • Ethical decision tests examine duty, consequences, rights and public scrutiny

Participants can plan and deliver communications that secure understanding, support and decisions.

  • Stakeholder maps classify influence, interest, expectations and engagement priorities
  • Power-interest grids guide communication intensity, listening methods and sponsorship
  • Executive messages connect organisational purpose, evidence, decisions and personal impact
  • Board papers use headline conclusions, supporting data, risks and requested decisions
  • Media and regulator communications distinguish facts, commitments, uncertainty and confidentiality
  • Negotiation preparation defines interests, alternatives, concessions and walk-away limits
  • Conflict conversations address behaviour, impact, needs and agreed next steps

Participants can shape culture and talent practices through visible leadership and management systems.

  • Culture diagnosis examines stated values, observed behaviours, systems and symbols
  • Leader role-modelling links everyday decisions to declared organisational values
  • Psychological safety practices invite challenge, reporting, learning and dissent
  • Talent reviews assess performance, potential, critical roles and succession readiness
  • Workforce planning matches future capabilities with build, buy, borrow choices
  • Inclusion metrics identify representation, progression, pay and voice disparities
  • Performance conversations set expectations, evidence, support and consequences

Participants can direct change by assessing impacts, preparing sponsors and monitoring adoption.

  • Change impact assessments identify affected groups, process shifts and capability gaps
  • Case for change connects evidence, urgency, benefits and consequences
  • Change sponsor plans specify visible actions, decisions, messages and reinforcement
  • Readiness assessments test commitment, capacity, skills, systems and local constraints
  • Communication plans segment audiences by impact, concerns, channels and timing
  • Resistance diagnosis distinguishes information gaps, loss concerns, incentives and trust
  • Adoption measures track usage, proficiency, sentiment, benefits and corrective actions

Participants can establish delivery discipline and commit to focused leadership actions over 90 days.

  • Execution cadence links weekly delivery reviews with monthly strategic decisions
  • Critical path analysis identifies dependencies, milestones, float and delivery threats
  • Initiative charters define scope, outcomes, sponsor, team, milestones and controls
  • Escalation protocols separate decisions requiring intervention from routine delivery management
  • After-action reviews capture expected results, actual results, causes and improvements
  • Performance dashboards focus executive attention on exceptions, trends and decisions
  • 90-day leadership application plan commits priorities, conversations, measures and review dates

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

What you take back to work

  1. Strategic choice and scenario-planning template
  2. Balanced Scorecard and initiative portfolio model
  3. Governance and RACI design checklist
  4. Business case and benefits realisation template
  5. Executive stakeholder communication plan
  6. 90-day leadership application plan

Who should attend

  • New Executives — need a structured approach to enterprise-wide leadership decisions
  • Senior Functional Leaders — must align specialist priorities with corporate strategy
  • Business Unit Directors — require stronger governance, performance and resource disciplines
  • Public Sector Managers — balance service outcomes, accountability and political scrutiny
  • Programme Sponsors — need to connect strategic intent with change delivery
  • Future Executive Leaders — are preparing for broader organisational responsibility

Skills and tools covered

Enterprise strategyGovernance designFinancial stewardshipRisk oversightStakeholder leadershipStrategy execution

Tools and standards

PESTLE analysis, Porter's Five Forces, Balanced Scorecard, RACI matrix

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce methods, followed by case work, facilitated group analysis and executive decision simulations. Participants assess realistic strategic choices, review management information, prepare stakeholder messages and test governance arrangements against organisational scenarios. Group exercises compare approaches across sectors while retaining attention on practical decisions, evidence and accountabilities. Individual application planning converts course methods into actions for a current priority. Trainers adjust case emphasis for the cohort, including public service, financial services, commercial or NGO settings.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have experience managing a team, function, programme or business area and familiarity with basic organisational planning and performance reporting. They should be comfortable discussing budgets, operational measures and stakeholder issues, although advanced finance knowledge is not assumed. Experience contributing to strategy, governance forums or change programmes is useful but not required. Participants do not need an MBA, prior executive title, formal project-management certification or specialist knowledge of a particular sector. Bringing a current organisational challenge will help participants apply the methods directly.

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 experience leading a team, function, programme or business area. The course assumes familiarity with management reporting and planning, but does not require an executive title, MBA or advanced financial qualification.

Bring details of a current organisational priority, change initiative or leadership challenge if you can share it appropriately. Participants receive course materials and templates, so no specialist software or equipment is required.

It is designed for senior managers, directors, functional heads, programme sponsors and newly appointed executives. It is particularly relevant for people whose decisions now affect multiple teams, services or business units.

Strategic management courses commonly focus on analysis and strategy formulation, while people management courses focus on direct-team leadership. This course connects strategy with governance, finance, risk, stakeholders, culture, change and enterprise execution.

Participants use reusable templates for strategy translation, governance, business cases, stakeholder planning and performance review. The final module produces a 90-day plan tied to a real organisational priority.

Training runs from 08:30 to 16:30 each day, providing about 6.5 contact hours daily. The five days progress from strategic direction and governance through finance, risk, culture, change and execution.

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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