Executive Masterclass Series

“Leading in an era of constant disruption and times of crises would require a distinct set of competencies and these include, but are not limited to, a combination of variables such as visionary and entrepreneurial skills, innovation-driven mindset, and experimentation (disruptive mentality), cognitive readiness and critical thinking (mental agility), emotional resilience, empathy, and social skills (people agility), driving for success (results agility), and resilience and adaptability (change agility).”
Sattar Bawany (2023)

“Digital Transformation is the key to business competitiveness in a changing and increasingly demanding market. However, for this transformation to be successful, the right corporate culture is needed to promote innovation and creativity within companies.

The key to success in leading during times of disruption such as the digital transformation at the workplace or managing crises such as the COVID-19 requires ‘disruptive digital leaders’ who thrive in situations of ever-greater volatility and uncertain globalized business environment.”

– Sattar Bawany, Author, Leadership In Disruptive Times (Business Expert Press, 2020)

OVERVIEW

Developed Advanced Leadership Skills for Success in a Disruptive and Digital-Driven Workplace

We are pleased to announce the launch of the latest series of Executive Masterclass programs, made possible through collaboration between the European International University (EIU Paris) and Centre for Executive Education Pte. Ltd. (CEE). These innovative executive education programs are curated and designed by a team of instructional designers and curriculum architects from the Disruptive Leadership Institute (DLI).

These Executive Masterclass Series provide leaders with the relevant knowledge, skills, best practices tools, and approaches towards creating their digital transformation strategy and ensuring it is aligned with the business and growth plans of their organization. This is achieved by developing a suite of disruptive digital leadership competencies which include cognitive readiness, critical thinking, innovative thinking, agility, and resilience along with emotional and social intelligence skills such as empathy and relationship management.

Given the current disruptive, digital, and VUCA-centric business environment era of Industry 4.0, now, more than ever, leaders have to navigate unfamiliar, challenging times, a quickening pace of change, increasing expectations, and a rising tide of rapidly-evolving conditions. Against this backdrop, we have designed, developed, and successfully delivered in recent years, this series of leadership development programs that leverages best-in-class or thought-leadership concepts, tools, and techniques to drive organizational & leadership excellence.

The program is designed to provide CEOs, C-Suite Leaders as well as both current and upcoming functional leaders with a platform to develop from being ‘good to great’. It is specifically aimed at enhancing and developing the skills, knowledge, and behaviors of the participants. The participants will develop their understanding of leadership effectiveness and how it will lead to the creation of sustainable competitive advantage for their respective digital-driven organizations.

Case Study Methodology

Simply put, this executive education program is highly experiential with various learning approaches including the case study method.

The case study approach is effectively a discussion of real-life situations that business executives have faced. Often, executives are surprised to discover that the objective of the case study is not to reach a consensus, but to understand how different people use the same information to arrive at diverse conclusions and make relevant recommendations to resolve the organizational challenge(s). When you begin to understand the context, you can appreciate the reasons why those decisions were made.

The time you spend here is deeply reflective. You’re not only working with case materials and assignments but also taking on the role of the case protagonist—the person who’s supposed to make those tough decisions. How would you react in those situations? We put people in a variety of contexts, and they start by addressing that specific problem(s) or organizational challenge(s).

The faculty or facilitator’s role is to guide you in examining and resolving the issues—but the beauty here is that they don’t provide you with the answers. You’re interacting in the classroom with other executives—debating the issue, presenting new viewpoints, countering positions, and building on one another’s ideas. That’s how real learning takes place.

Program 1: Digital Transformation & Disruptive Innovation at the Workplace

Overview

Digital Transformation (DT/DX) is the process of integration and leveraging of digital technologies (including but not limited to artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, the Internet-of-Things (IoT), big data, cloud computing, and blockchain technologies) into all aspects of an organization to create new or enhance existing business processes, culture, and customer experience (CX) to meet changing market requirements.

Leaders play a critical role in the digital transformation journey by bringing expertise, judgment, healthy skepticism, and concern for long-term value. Foundational to any transformation is getting the right data in the hands of business leaders so they can make informed and effective decisions. To undergo true transformation at scale, leaders must nurture a healthy culture—or change it promptly if it shows signs of resistance.

Key Learning Outcomes

Develop disruptive mental agility and understand how digital technologies are radically changing competitive environments, and how leaders can leverage them to ensure the sustainability of their organization.

Understand how to shape organizational culture and behavior to become digital-first, lead with a growth mindset and become accepting of change and continuous, iterative improvement.

Program 2: Transforming the Next Generation of Leaders for a Disruptive and Digital-Driven Workplace

Overview

In the past decade, leaders have recognized the need for greater oversight of critical levers of business performance such as strategy, risk, major transactions, and “people” including talent management and succession planning to ensure business sustainability. However, today, leaders need to identify, assess and develop their human capital to ensure that they always have a strong pipeline of talent coming in to help them execute the corporate strategy effectively in the highly disruptive and digital-driven business environment.

The leadership team should know the mission-critical roles and ensure that effective learning & development, as well as compensation strategies, are aligned to them. They mustn’t understand just these roles, but the capabilities and competencies needed for these roles to thrive, and the assessment of talent against these capabilities. They need to partner with the human resources team to formulate the strategy to attract and develop the top talent to ensure their readiness to take on these critical roles.

Key Learning Outcomes

Develop an understanding of how to recognize the development of top talent as a priority and entirely rethink how the role leaders’ play in ensuring talent development.

Identify the right talent management and succession model for the mission-critical roles that will suit the organization’s circumstances and business requirements. Develop a collective understanding among the senior leadership team on matters of talent management and succession planning.

Program 3: Crisis Leadership Masterclass

Overview

This masterclass focuses on the key elements that enhance executive and board crisis leadership and what factors may undermine meeting the organizational goals and business results. In an organizational crisis Boards, executives and senior managers face a myriad of organizational challenges as they navigate a range of expectations and obligations. These come from a range of stakeholders including communities, regulators, shareholders, and employees. This course teaches essential ways to communicate and collaborate with every level of your organization during a crisis event.

Key Learning Outcomes

Develop an understanding of the root cause of a crisis and how to use key best practice tools and frameworks towards managing a crisis effectively.  Participants will also be able to discuss the correlation between crisis and risk management strategies and ensure the effective flow of communication within the organization for managing crises. Leverage the “C.R.I.S.I.S.” Leadership Model to prepare and develop the next generation of leaders to enable them to integrate continuity and contingency planning at organizational and departmental and operational levels. Finally, the participants will be able to create, document, and communicate their organization’s crisis and contingency plans and procedures.

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Program 4: Transforming a Disruptive Innovation-Driven Culture

Overview

Innovative organizations are leveraging new business models, service innovations, and applying technologies to disrupt industries and develop new markets globally. Leaders are in a unique position to help their companies redefine the future through pre-emptive 4 innovation. It can be hard to know when to pull the trigger on changing a company’s course and to determine whether it is the strategy that should change or the execution of the strategy or both.

Developing a culture of innovation internally leads to higher employee engagement, empowerment of employees to assist in solving some of the organization’s most critical challenges, and effective method for capturing their ideas and acting on them, and finally, leading to an increase in cost savings and productivity.

Key Learning Outcomes

Understand the meaning of innovation and disruption, and their impact on the sustainability of the organization as well as to support the development of an innovation-driven culture to drive passion and productivity.

Acquire the best practice tools and frameworks to develop a process for innovation and successfully foster by using design thinking methodology (high level) to transform into an innovative organization for the digital economy.

Program 5: Driving a High Performance Culture (HPC)

Overview

One of the leader’s primary role is to become more engaged and effective stewards of business performance and shareholder value by driving a high-performance organizational culture. This could be achieved by taking a systemic approach to the development of a high-performance culture and strategy taking into consideration the customer service, sustainability, and other factors valued by customers and employees.

Leaders should continue to assess the organization’s strategy including feedback on products, business opportunities, and from its partners. Transforming to a high-performance culture (HPC) of any organization takes time, effort, and commitment. But it begins with clear, visible changes in behavior, especially by the leader’s efforts to transform its organizational culture, starting with a new strategic digital vision.

Key Learning Outcomes

Develop an understanding of how organizations can help foster long-term shareholder value by deepening their understanding of the strategic importance of a high-performance culture as well as leveraging on tools towards ensuring that management is forging a culture that is aligned with the business strategy.

Understand the leader’s fundamental role in ensuring that culture, values, and behaviours align towards achieving a high-performance organizational culture.

Program 6: The Future of Work in a Disruptive and Digital-Driven Workplace

Overview

The workplace of tomorrow is an uncertain place. We live in a rapidly changing world, and digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and big data are rapidly changing the fundamental nature of how we live and work, communicate and do business and disrupting traditional industries and redefining the employee-employer relationship.

Leaders at all levels need to understand the strategic implications and impact of these disruptive changes on contemporary work practices and understand how to support the design of a secure future amidst this disruption. What new, disruptive technologies are on the horizon? How will jobs change? What challenges will employers and employees face? How can the breakthrough processes and systems help businesses and employees to create innovative solutions to overcome such challenges?

Key Learning Outcomes

Understand the leader’s role of strategic importance in the disruptive ‘new normal’ workplace. Understand how to meet the challenges of the coming decades in the highly disruptive and increasingly digital-driven workplace of the future.

Develop insights on how to transition the current work to be ready for the ‘Future of Work’ and understand how the roles of firms, employees, and public policy have changed and created the labor market of today including the ‘Gig Economy’.

Program 7: Leading High Performance Digital Transformation Teams

Overview

High-performing teams have become a principal building block of the successful digital transformation strategy. Although teams are at the core of any change initiative, success will often depend on how well each team member operates and collaborates with others. Today’s highly disruptive, as well as VUCA-driven networked business environment, not only provides a challenging environment for leaders to operate in but would need to 6 depend on their teams, which are critically important to getting work done.

Open communication in high-performing teams means a focus on coaching instead of directing. Communication is the very means of cooperation or collaboration between team members. One of the primary motives for companies to implement teams is that team-based organizations are more responsive and move faster.

Key Learning Outcomes

Development of a well-defined ‘Team Charter’ which includes the team’s mission, shared purpose and values, and goals and understand the effective communication strategies to ensure a fast, clear, accurate communication culture.

Learn how to maximize the value of coaching as a process for helping team members to think for themselves and facilitate the process of self and group discovery. Develop a culture of rapid response approach in decision making where team members can adapt, adjust, and, when necessary, pivot in real-time on how to approach the implementation of the digital transformation project.

For the detailed Course Outline for any of the above programs, please submit your request here.

THE BENEFITS OF ATTENDING

  • Learn the best practices towards the development of a digital-driven culture at the workplace
  • Understand how to ensure successful implementation of digital transformation initiatives
  • Learn the best practices on leading and adapting during disruptive times
  • Develop strategies for transition of the current work to be ready for the ‘Future of Work”
  • Shape organizational culture and behavior to become digital-first, lead with a growth mindset
  • Support the development of the innovation culture to drive passion and productivity.
  • Leverage on tools towards development of a high performance-driven culture that is aligned with the business strategy
  • Recognize the development of top talent as a priority and entirely rethink how the role they play in ensuring talent development.
  • Understand the crucial competencies and develop the KPIs required in driving for success in a disruptive changing world of work
  • Understand how to adapt their leadership and communication styles with key stakeholders
  • Build an open and trust-based partnership with key stakeholders for successful digital transformation implementation
  • Develop relationship management and social skills at the digital-driven workplace
  • Craft a 90-Day Personal Disruptive Digital Leadership Development Plan

YOUR MASTER FACILITATOR

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Professor Sattar Bawany is the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Executive Education (CEE) and the Disruptive Leadership Institute (DLI). He is also concurrently the Managing Director (Asia Pacific) & C-Suite Master Executive Coach with Executive Development Associates Inc. (EDA).

He has over 30 years’ international business management experience, including 20 years in executive coaching, board advisory, and leadership development and consulting with global management consulting firms including Mercer HR, Hay Group (now part of Korn Ferry) and DBM (now part of LHH/Adecco Group)

In addition to his business and consulting career, Prof Bawany has over 20 years of concurrent academic experience as an Adjunct Professor teaching senior executives international business strategies and human resource courses at various leading universities. he is currently the Professor of Practice of Disruptive Leadership at the IPE Management School – Paris and also an Adjunct Professor of the School of Management (SOM) at Asia e University (AeU) in Kuala Lumpur.

In November 2019, Prof Bawany was awarded the “2019 Executive of the Year for Human Resources Consulting” at the Singapore Business Review (SBR) Management Excellence Awards 2019. Subsequently, in July 2023, he was named by the CEO Insights ASIA Magazine as the “Top 10 Best CEOs in Singapore 2023“.

He has coached a range of leaders, from CEOs to senior vice presidents, and high potential managers. His current work in organizations focuses on encouraging individual initiative and leadership from a systemic perspective to achieve clearly defined business results. His specialty is effectively linking people processes to business outcomes.

Prof Bawany is an accomplished author on related themes of Leadership Development & C-Suite Succession Planning in the Digital era of Industry 4.0. His latest book, “Leadership in Disruptive Times” published by Business Expert Press (BEP) LLC, New York, NY. was released in July 2020. The book focuses on navigating the organizational challenges of the post-COVID-19 pandemic crisis and the digital transformation at the workplace.

His earlier book on “Transforming the Next Generation Leaders: Developing Future Leaders for a Disruptive, Digital-Driven Era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0)” (2019) also published by Business Expert Press (BEP), provide organizations with the systematic and fact-based leadership development approach and strategies they need to develop their high potential (next generation of future) leaders in today’s fast-paced highly disruptive, increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous ( VUCA), and the digital-driven era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (better known as Industry 4.0).

Prof Bawany is a member of the Advisory Panel for China-ASEAN Business Association (CABA) and RHT G.R.A.C.E. Institute. He is also a Fellow of the International Professional Managers Association ( IPMA) and The Chartered Institute of Marketing ( CIM). He is a Professional Member of the Society for Human Resource Management ( SHRM) and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development ( CIPD). He is also a Practicing Member of the International Coaching Federation ( ICF) and the International Association of Coaching ( IAC).

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What Our Clients Have To Say - Selected Testimonials

“The talent cohort has benefited tremendously from your group and individual coaching sessions and your generous sharing of insights and knowledge. In particular, the cohort had enjoyed the numerous intellectual sparring sessions and the way you challenged their thought processes to come up with innovative and yet pragmatic solutions to address the current business situations and issues that they were facing. In addition, the exchanges were often tempered with a high level of emotional support and encouragement from you which helped them to remain focused when the going got tough.”

“The “Managerial Coaching Skills” Workshop which you had successfully facilitated has allowed the SLT members to leverage a fully developed coaching model which enables them to immediately implement in the workplace resulted in the development of a coaching culture within Prasarana.

The Group Executive Coaching sessions as well as Individualised Executive Coaching for selected members of the SLT members have raised their standards for constructive, collaborative conversations with their respective teams, and they have developed practical business-based skills and competencies. This has not only shaped the 4 individual leader’s performance but also, increasingly build broader organizational capacity.”

“The Action Learning-based Workplace Project, where the participants were required to work on specifically designed project teams, have been found by them to be extremely useful as they were able to immediately apply newly-acquired leadership practices for multidimensional problem-solving to important challenges and opportunities facing their organizations.

The participants also valued the series of contemporary and practical case studies that were introduced throughout the programme which were relevant to their circumstances. The programme curriculum includes breakthrough academic research from the latest book, “Leadership in Disruptive Times” (2020), which the participants have found to be critical in developing their agility in navigating the complexity of leading in an era of the highly disruptive and digital-driven workplace.”

“One valued aspect of the Masterclass is the highly contemporary, practical and relevant nature of the programme to our business. The highly experiential course utilises a dynamic blend of skilled instructor presentation and individual as well as group skill practice in each of the concepts presented, using real business concerns, issues and challenges brought by participants.

The introduction of multiple critical thinking process tools (including Cognitive Readiness, RED Model, Phoenix Checklist and Force Field Analysis) allows our leaders to look at problems comprehensively and make well-thought-out recommended action plans and effective decisions. The participants can use the processes they learned to apply to ongoing business challenges they faced in leading their respective teams toward achieving our organisation’s mission, vision, strategic intent, goals and KPIs.”

“The practical case studies and important lessons you impart across the intensive modules; together with the systematic and fact-based approach of the programme, allow for a deep understanding of the best practices and the pertinent leadership practices that can be immediately applied to our daily work. The learnings are not just critical to our organisation’s digital transformation needs, but also each participants’ professional and personal leadership development.

I would recommend CEE and DLI for any organization looking to develop its senior leadership team. The lessons are practical and the learnings profound. The programme has put us in good stead to deliver on our responsibilities as leaders; as we push forward through challenges and embrace new opportunities that the digitally charged era of Industry 4.0 offers us.“

“I would like to extend our sincere appreciation for your sharing. It is highly relevant, thought-provoking and was well-received by our members, many of whom are professionals and business leaders. The Q&A session was dynamic and intense. I am certain that our members have benefited tremendously from this sharing.

The primary takeaway from the session is how to prepare for a prolonged adjustment to the current COVID-19 pandemic and how leaders can be prepared to make the necessary shift in the manner they are leading and engaging the team in the “new normal” of the post-pandemic workplace. The case studies and examples used during the session were also useful.”

“You had successfully helped to communicate to our members the processes, issues, and challenges of managing digital transformation in organisations especially in the context of post COVID19. Many of our members had conveyed their sincere appreciation for such a unique opportunity to join and participate in the webinar and to hear from a distinguished speaker. Your ability to simplify a complex subject is truly admirable. The active engagement that ensued is a testament to the success of the webinar.

The presentation and interaction thereafter were engaging, demonstrating the broad knowledge of strategy and management expertise that you possess which could be brought down for practical application to small and medium-sized companies. We are also very grateful for your generosity to share vast numbers of quality corporate examples and experiences. The disruptive digital mindset is now firmly embedded in the members who had attended the webinar. Thank you for contributing to the development of our SICCI members and I hope there will be a future opportunity for the Chambers to engage your services once again.”

“The College of Human Resource Management (CHRM) located in Nairobi, Kenya, Africa would like to express our sincere gratitude to you for your excellent facilitation at the Board Essentials Program. Your presentation on ‘Leading the Board through Times of Disruption and Crisis’ was highly informative, exciting, engaging and truly enlightening. You were able to use relatable case studies that the trainees will apply relevance to, in their professional endeavours. Your Training method accompanied by your enthusiastic and energetic approach provided a perfect learning environment during this session.

We are grateful for your time and we can confidently say that you delivered beyond our expectations and we will not hesitate to work with you on similar training in future.”

“The workshop attendees found that the program provided a clear understanding of high-performing team, best practices and practical strategies that they can implement at the workplace. The interactive nature of the program engaged attendees to be involved in their own learning experience through various activities from self-reflections to team dynamics.

Through the interaction, attendees were able to internalize the characteristics of the High-Performing Team elaborated in the excellent SCORE™ Framework, enhance critical thinking and disengage what has hitherto been obstacles to be a high performing team.

Thank you again for such a thoughtful and excellent learning experience!”

“Based on the feedback from the C-Suite leaders, as well as from my observations as the CEO and Sponsor, both CEE and you as the Coach have exceeded our expectations for such a coaching engagement.

Today, the C-Suite leaders have someone they can talk to, discuss facts with, and get clear, concise, “right-on” feedback that they can take and immediately implement. Your advice is always spot on! They have learned to have confidence in your counsel because it works. Both CEE and your approach is all about results and relationships and keepsthem focused on these high leverage areas. Your invaluable insights come from the rare combination of being a seasoned and successful global executive development practitioner, having solid academic credentials, and a strong track record of coaching and consulting experience as evidenced by others that you have helped.

We would highly recommend you as an Executive Coach to any organization that would like to transform their senior leadership team and developing a next-generation leadership pipeline”

“My congratulations to Professor Bawany for his new books, Leadership in Disruptive Times. This is a significant book, and its theme is overdue, particularly when severe disruptions are brought about by the recent Covid-19 pandemic. When times are good, solutions often come easy and straightforward. However, when rapid changes brought about by unexpected disruption, it is not clear if a solution even exists, let alone a good one. It takes an exceptional leader who has experienced disruptive times before to offer us insights and visions to move forward, and quality to be an effective leader. Readers will benefit enormously from Professor Bawany’s new book, and it is my firm belief that this pioneering book will be acknowledged as classic textbook/reference in leadership in disruptive times.”

“All of a sudden, a deadly pandemic is at the centre of unprecedented worldwide disruptions. Inadvertently, the Covid‐19 has left organisations with little or no choice but to take the big leap towards digitalization. Prof. Sattar Bawany’s latest book on ‘Leadership in Disruptive Times’ is a timely sequel to his first publication, ‘Transforming the Next Generation of Leaders: Developing Future Leaders for a Disruptive, Digital‐Driven Era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0)’. In his latest offering, Prof. Bawany recognised the need for organisations to include digital leadership competencies for them to successfully implement transformative initiatives in a highly disruptive environment. He also examines the attributes and competencies of disruptive leadership as they maneuver through the disruptions caused by the Covid‐19 and the post-pandemic digital transformation in meeting the needs of the new normal. In developing successful organizational leadership in the new world order, this book provides valuable guidance and direction on the future way forward.”

“I am pleased to share that we have received very positive feedback from the participants for the 2 workshops for our Singapore Management Team. Generous amounts of information were shared, as well as dialogues for brainstorming sessions. Everyone had a refreshed outlook at different leadership styles and there was a lot more collaboration. In terms of delivery style, they felt that the facilitator was engaging and the programme was well structured. It also provided relevant tools and knowledge that can be applied in their respective business and professional situations scientifically and practically. Overall, the programme exceeded their expectations. Thank you for contributing to the development of our team and I look forward to future collaboration with you in terms of our learning needs.”

“I would like to take a moment to show our appreciation for the excellent work done throughout the delivery of the workshop “Developing High Performance Leadership”. Our company and our brand are committed to delivering exceptional customer service. Our passion for excellence has been complemented perfectly well with the management concepts and the applications done during the three days course. You have successfully sent across our team the importance of leadership effectiveness on organizational success and taught the team how to develop Emotional Intelligence, which is also in line with our internal training on the importance of Emotional Intelligence as a crucial element to deliver the best service to our guests. The split sessions and the personal follow-ups done have been highly effective. Your commitment to the objectives originally set has translated into an engaging and positive course that had a very satisfactory impact on the team. I have only received positive feedback from the team, it was a great learning experience for all of them.”

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