½ day – Wednesday, July 8, 2020
With John Austin, Ph.D.
Agenda:
8:00 – 9:00 AM Registration and FULL, HOT buffet breakfast
9:00 to 12:00 PM Session
Location: The Curtis Ballroom, 5345 Landmark Pl, Greenwood Village, CO 80111
Session Includes: Seminar, Breakfast, Parking, and Materials
Description

Seeing the same thing with a new set of eyes. Seeing opportunity where others see a barrier. Breaking out of conventional wisdom. The ability to break a team out of predictable, often limiting, mindsets has become the core focus of strategic leadership training. Insight and innovation cannot occur until leaders are open to seeing their world differently. In this session, participants consider why it is so difficult to break out of dominant mindsets and how they can help their team recognize their limited frames. The workshop introduces a number of useful techniques to enable strategic thinking such as blind-spot centering, HERE assessments, uncertainty vectoring, and TAP analysis. The training is built around the core strategic thinking capabilities of anticipating, building, and aligning.
With the increasing speed, complexity and data availability in today’s competitive environment, strategic thinking skills are more important than ever. This workshop helps experienced managers improve their strategic decision-making skills, better anticipate strategic needs, and align work with key stakeholders. We examine the advanced critical thinking skills and creative strategies needed to manage unfamiliar, highly complex problems or decisions that involve significant uncertainty. We practice strategies for more effectively avoiding cognitive traps, managing loosely structured problems, proactively anticipating stakeholder needs, effectively using available expertise, and adapting decisions and initiatives to fit a changing environment.
Building from the work outlined in Dr. Austin’s book Unquestioned Brilliance: Navigating a Fundamental Leadership Challenge, participants in this session will consider the key practical actions they can take to see strategic shifts before others and to also help make their organizations more resilient in the face of strategic shifts. The session will include application of several techniques designed to enable the core leadership actions of anticipating, building, and sustaining strategic momentum.
REGISTER NOW »Instructor: John Austin, Ph.D.

John Austin works at the intersection of scholarship and practice as a professor in the School of Leadership Studies at Fielding Graduate University. Prior to that, Dr. Austin was a Principal at Decision Strategies International and a management professor at Penn State University and The University of Washington. He has taught executives at Georgetown University, Thunderbird School of International Management, Duke CE, and The Wharton School and he continues to teach executives programs for The University of North Carolina and Penn State University. John has worked with numerous Global Fortune 500 companies and government agencies as an executive development resource and is a frequent conference speaker.
Dr. Austin has a B.A. in economics from The Johns Hopkins University and a Ph.D. in management from Boston College. He is an experienced facilitator and an award-winning teacher who has worked with practicing executives on six continents. John has developed leaders and led long-term projects in the areas of change management, scenario planning, team performance, strategic decision-making, and strategy execution.
Dr. Austin’s research has been published in leading management and applied psychology journals including Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Organization Science as well as practice-oriented publications including HR Magazine and The OD Practitioner. He is the author of Leading Effective Change: A Primer for the HR Professional published as part of the SHRM Foundation’s Effective Practice Guidelines Series (2015). Dr. Austin’s book, Unquestioned Brilliance: Navigating a Fundamental Leadership Trap, was published in fall 2015
Objectives
At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Identify and correct for the cognitive limitations and situational pressures that hinder strategic thinking
- Use uncertainties and proactive forecasting techniques as a source for improved strategic decision making
- Effectively identify and harness organization expertise
- Link initiatives with larger strategic objectives
- Building flexibility into decisions through systematic situational assessments
Timed Outline
9:00 to 10:30
Solving the right problem and avoiding decision traps
Solving the right problem
- Anticipating strategic needs
- Mindful decision definition
- Questioning organization assumptions
Avoiding decision traps
- Overconfidence and confirmation
- The value and risk of stories
10:45 to 12:00
Managing uncertainty and becoming a better forecaster
- Knowing what we don’t know: Seeing uncertainties
- Keys to becoming a better forecaster
- Linking insights and actions
Competencies and Target Audience
Competencies Covered
Strategy/Execution,
Change Management/Agility
Creativity/Innovation
Level of Leaders
MOST appropriate = Level 2 (Leader of Others) = Middle managers, people leaders, frontline supervisors
NEXT appropriate = Level 1 (Leader of Leaders) = Senior leaders, executives, large span of control
Registration Options & Pricing
To register one or more attendees online with a credit card, click the desired link below. You’ll receive an email confirmation with a receipt. Each person registered will receive a ticket with detailed instructions.
To receive an invoice or pay with a check, please email our registrar [email protected] with attendee names, titles, and email addresses.
Live Instructor-Led Event in Denver . . . REGISTER FOR DENVER
- $299 per member, $499 per guest (includes breakfast, lunch, all-day beverages, parking, wifi, and participant materials)
- $1999 for a table of 8 or $19,999 for an annual table (email [email protected] for these options)
Live Stream to Individual, Team, or Group . . . REGISTER FOR LIVE STREAM
- Single-Device/Single-User License per event – $199 per person (members)
- Single-Site/Multi-User License per event – $499 small company (fewer than 500 total employees)
- Single-Site/Multi-User License per event – $999 small company (500+ total employees)
If you have multiple sites or are not a member of LEADERSHIP USA, please email [email protected] for options.
Recorded Live Event . . . BUY THE RECORDING
- $199 per member
- $1,999 unlimited license for all employees in all locations
Additional Information
Delivery Method: Group-Live
Elements of Engagement: Large group discussion, small group discussion, partner exercises, individual reflection
Recommended CPE Credits: 3.6 for the Group Live event only
Recommended Field of Study: Personal Development
Program Level: Basic
Prerequisites: NONE
Advance Preparation: NONE
Cancellation Policy: A 100% refund will be given if notice is received 72-hours (3 business days) prior to the learning event. Within 3 business days, substitutions ARE allowed. No refunds are given for sickness or inclement weather, unless CDOT closes the roads. Registrants who do not attend and do not substitute another person will receive a recording of the event. For more information regarding refunds, concerns, and program cancellation policies, please contact our offices at 303-471-7401. Please email our registrar Nadine Balabanoff at [email protected] to have your ticket transferred to another attendee.
Certifications
Certifications

LEADERSHIP USA, Inc. is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. These programs have been submitted to the NASBA for review for 3.6 recertification credits. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its web site: www.nasbaregistry.org

This activity has been approved for 3.0 HR General recertification credit hours toward California, GPHR, PHRi, SPHRi, PHR and SPHR recertification through the HR Certification Institute. The use of this seal confirms that this activity has met HR Certification Institute’s® (HRCI®) criteria for recertification credit pre-approval.

This program is valid for 3.0 PDCs for the SHRM-CPSM or SHRM-SCPSM.
If you have membership or registration questions, please contact [email protected] or call 303-471-7401.