Personal Leadership Development Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends New Managers, Team Leaders and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-LD-217

Before you join: Participants should have at least one year of professional work experience and regular responsibility for projects, colleagues, stakeholders or work priorities.

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

Personal leadership is tested when priorities conflict, stakeholders disagree, teams need direction and decisions carry operational or reputational consequences. Technical expertise and formal authority are rarely sufficient on their own. Leaders must communicate a clear position, regulate their responses under pressure, build commitment, address poor performance and make sound decisions with incomplete information. This course develops the practical self-management and interpersonal discipline needed to lead credibly in these situations.

Participants examine their leadership values, strengths, blind spots and behavioural patterns, then connect these findings to day-to-day leadership responsibilities. The course covers personal effectiveness, communication, feedback, coaching, delegation, conflict management, decision-making, change leadership, team dynamics and influence without authority. Participants use established frameworks including GROW, SBI, ADKAR, RAPID and the Thomas-Kilmann conflict modes to prepare for conversations, decisions and stakeholder challenges.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with realistic cases, role-based simulations, peer feedback, structured group analysis and individual reflection. Cases can be adapted to public-sector, financial services, NGO, corporate and operational settings. Participants leave with a personal leadership development plan, stakeholder influence map, communication tools, delegation checklist and a first-90-day action plan for applying new behaviours at work.

The course is suited to managers, technical specialists and project leaders who already contribute to organisational results and now need stronger personal leadership habits. It is particularly valuable for people moving from individual contributor roles into positions where they must guide colleagues, influence senior stakeholders and create accountable team performance.

What you will be able to do

  • Assess personal leadership strengths, values, blind spots and behavioural triggers using structured reflection tools
  • Articulate a credible leadership brand and translate it into observable workplace commitments
  • Apply GROW coaching, SBI feedback and delegation levels in performance conversations
  • Conduct difficult conversations using interest-based negotiation, DESC and conflict-mode selection
  • Use RAPID, RACI and pre-mortem analysis to improve decision quality and accountability
  • Diagnose stakeholder resistance and plan change communications using the ADKAR model
  • Lead team interactions through clear working agreements, meeting design and psychological safety practices
  • Produce a measurable 90-day personal leadership development plan with review milestones

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Clear personal leadership brand statement
  • More confident handling of difficult conversations
  • Practical methods for giving feedback and coaching colleagues
  • Stronger control of priorities, energy and reactive behaviour
  • Measurable 90-day leadership development plan

For your organisation

  • More consistent management behaviour across teams and functions
  • Earlier resolution of performance, conflict and communication issues
  • Clearer decision ownership and escalation discipline
  • Improved stakeholder commitment during change initiatives
  • Stronger internal pipeline for supervisory and management roles

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define their leadership standards, identify behavioural blind spots and set credible development priorities.

  • Leadership credibility assessed through competence, character, connection and consistency
  • Personal values translated into observable leadership commitments and decision criteria
  • Johari Window identifies blind spots, disclosure choices and feedback priorities
  • Emotional intelligence domains: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management
  • Leadership brand statement links strengths, standards, contribution and reputation
  • Reflective practice uses Gibbs' cycle to convert events into learning
  • Ethical dilemmas tested against consequences, duties, rights and fairness

Participants can manage priorities, energy and habits to sustain reliable leadership performance.

  • SMARTER goals connect leadership intentions, measures, review dates and adjustments
  • Wheel of Life diagnoses competing demands affecting leadership energy
  • Weekly priority planning distinguishes important work from urgent interruptions
  • Eisenhower Matrix sorts commitments by urgency, importance, delegation and deletion
  • Implementation intentions specify cue, behaviour and contingency for difficult habits
  • Personal Kanban visualises work-in-progress limits and blocked commitments
  • Energy audit identifies routines that sustain focus, recovery and presence

Participants can communicate clear messages tailored to stakeholder needs, decisions and risks.

  • Audience analysis identifies stakeholder interests, objections, language and desired action
  • Message maps structure core point, supporting evidence and response to concerns
  • BLUF opening states bottom line before context, rationale and detail
  • Active listening uses paraphrasing, probing questions, summarising and silence
  • Nonverbal signals align posture, pace, eye contact and vocal emphasis
  • Communication channel selection weighs urgency, complexity, confidentiality and record requirements
  • Briefing notes separate facts, assumptions, recommendations and decision requests

Participants can develop others through direct feedback, coaching conversations and accountable delegation.

  • SBI feedback describes situation, behaviour and impact without attributing intent
  • Feedforward requests focus on future actions rather than past faults
  • Radical Candor balances direct challenge with demonstrated personal care
  • Coaching conversations use GROW: goal, reality, options and way forward
  • Powerful questions avoid leading language and invite employee-generated solutions
  • Delegation levels clarify authority, boundaries, checkpoints and escalation routes
  • Recognition links specific contribution to customer, risk or team outcomes

Participants can address conflict, poor performance and disagreement with clarity and professional control.

  • Thomas-Kilmann modes match competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding and accommodating
  • Interest-based negotiation separates positions from underlying needs and criteria
  • Conflict diagnosis distinguishes task, process, relationship and values disputes
  • DESC script structures assertive requests, consequences and agreed next steps
  • Crucial Conversations framework identifies safety threats during high-stakes dialogue
  • De-escalation uses acknowledgement, neutral language, pauses and choice architecture
  • Boundary statements define unacceptable conduct, required change and follow-up

Participants can structure decisions, challenge assumptions and assign clear accountability for action.

  • Cynefin categorises contexts as clear, complicated, complex, chaotic or confused
  • RAPID assigns recommend, agree, perform, input and decide accountabilities
  • Decision criteria weight strategic fit, risk, cost, timing and ethics
  • Pre-mortem analysis exposes failure assumptions before commitments become irreversible
  • Red-team challenge tests evidence, alternatives, bias and unintended consequences
  • RACI clarifies responsible, accountable, consulted and informed roles
  • Escalation thresholds distinguish decisions requiring sponsor, executive or specialist approval

Participants can identify resistance and communicate change in ways that build practical commitment.

  • Stakeholder mapping plots influence, interest, support and resistance patterns
  • ADKAR diagnoses awareness, desire, knowledge, ability and reinforcement gaps
  • Change messages explain rationale, local impact, expectations and support
  • Force-field analysis identifies drivers, restraining forces and practical interventions
  • Resistance conversations surface losses, concerns, misinformation and adoption barriers
  • Transition milestones sequence communications, training, reinforcement and feedback loops
  • Visible sponsor actions demonstrate commitment through choices, messages and resource decisions

Participants can create team conditions that support trust, accountability and coordinated delivery.

  • Tuckman's stages guide interventions during forming, storming, norming and performing
  • Team charter defines purpose, roles, decisions, norms and meeting cadence
  • Psychological safety practices invite dissent, questions, uncertainty and error reporting
  • Belbin team roles reveal contribution preferences and potential role gaps
  • Meeting design specifies purpose, agenda, participants, decisions and actions
  • Working agreements establish response times, escalation routes and collaboration norms
  • After-action reviews capture expected results, actual results, causes and actions

Participants can build support for proposals through stakeholder analysis, ethical persuasion and coalition building.

  • Stakeholder influence maps identify allies, blockers, sponsors and persuadable audiences
  • Cialdini principles guide ethical use of reciprocity, authority and consensus
  • Influence strategies combine evidence, values, relationships and reciprocal commitments
  • Coalition building sequences one-to-one conversations before formal decision forums
  • Executive presence aligns message discipline, calm delivery and situational awareness
  • Political awareness distinguishes formal authority from informal networks and interests
  • Upward management frames options, risks, recommendations and required executive decisions

Participants can create a focused development plan with measurable behaviours, support and review points.

  • Leadership challenge diagnosis links behaviour patterns to business and people consequences
  • Stakeholder feedback converts observations into specific development priorities
  • 70-20-10 planning combines experience, relationships and formal learning actions
  • Personal development plan sets goals, measures, milestones, support and review dates
  • Accountability partners establish check-ins, evidence requirements and course corrections
  • Behavioural indicators define observable proof of leadership habit adoption
  • First-90-day action plan prioritises conversations, decisions, delegation and feedback

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

What you take back to work

  1. Personal leadership brand statement
  2. SBI feedback and GROW coaching conversation templates
  3. Delegation levels and accountability checklist
  4. Stakeholder influence and change resistance map
  5. Difficult conversation preparation worksheet
  6. First-90-day personal leadership development plan

Who should attend

  • New Managers — need practical habits for leading former peers and direct reports
  • Team Leaders — need clearer methods for delegation, feedback and team accountability
  • Project Managers — need influence skills when delivery depends on cross-functional stakeholders
  • Technical Specialists — need to communicate recommendations and lead without formal authority
  • Programme Officers — need stakeholder management skills for complex initiatives and partnerships
  • High-Potential Professionals — need evidence-based preparation for broader leadership responsibilities

Skills and tools covered

Self-leadershipLeadership communicationCoaching and feedbackConflict managementDecision accountabilityStakeholder influence

Tools and standards

GROW model, SBI feedback model, ADKAR model, Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce methods, followed by case analysis, paired practice, group exercises, simulations and structured reflection. Participants apply leadership frameworks to realistic situations such as performance concerns, stakeholder resistance, competing priorities and cross-functional decisions. Peer and instructor feedback focuses on observable behaviour, message clarity and decision logic. Individual application planning links each participant's development priorities to current responsibilities, workplace relationships and measurable follow-up actions.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have at least one year of professional work experience and regular responsibility for projects, colleagues, stakeholders or work priorities. Experience of supervising staff is helpful but not required. Participants should be prepared to reflect honestly on their own leadership behaviour and bring current workplace situations for analysis. No formal leadership qualification, psychometric certification, management degree or prior study of leadership theory is required. The course does not assume authority over budgets, performance ratings or organisational strategy.

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

You should have at least one year of professional experience and responsibility for work, stakeholders, projects or colleagues. Prior line-management experience is useful but not essential.

Bring examples of current leadership situations, such as a difficult conversation, a team issue, a decision delay or a stakeholder challenge. You do not need to bring confidential documents or formal assessments.

The course suits new and existing managers, team leaders, project managers and technical professionals with growing leadership responsibilities. It is also appropriate for high-potential staff preparing for their first formal leadership role.

This course focuses on personal leadership behaviour: communication, self-management, feedback, conflict, influence and team leadership. Strategic leadership courses usually place greater emphasis on organisational direction, business models and enterprise strategy.

Participants use their own workplace scenarios to prepare messages, conversations, stakeholder approaches and development actions. The final 90-day plan identifies specific behaviours, milestones and review points for use after the course.

The programme runs for five instructor-led training days, normally 08:30-16:30, with about 6.5 contact hours each day. Time is divided between faculty input, case work, simulations, group discussion, feedback and individual planning.

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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