Strategic Leadership pathway
Strategic Leadership Labs
Apply a useful method to a practical challenge. Each monthly lab gives you guided practice, a concrete output, and a way to use it in your work. Explore the learning objectives, activities, tools, and participation routes for each session below.
Registration opens December 10, 2026. The calendar provides the reminder reservation links.
Learn · apply · build · use
Twelve labs. Twelve practical outcomes.
Diagnose Before You Intervene
Aligned course: Adaptive Strategic Leadership
Work out what kind of leadership challenge you face before choosing a response. Separate technical fixes from changes that require people to learn or adapt, then create a practical intervention plan.
Tools & participation options: Adaptive Leadership
6:00–7:30 PM ET · 90 minutes · $99
View learning objectives and activities
You’ll learn: Diagnose a leadership challenge and choose a response that fits.
You’ll apply: Sort evidence in a sample case, compare diagnoses, and test your intervention choice.
You’ll build: A challenge diagnosis and matched intervention choice.
You’ll leave with: A diagnosis canvas, evidence and assumption notes, intervention rationale, and a first-action plan.
Tools and frameworks: Adaptive Leadership; Technical vs. adaptive challenge diagnosis.
Ways to participate: Guided / Applied / Stretch.
Frame the Executive Decision
Aligned course: The Strategic Shift
Turn an ambiguous issue into a clear decision. Define the choices, assumptions, and criteria so a decision-maker can see what is being asked and what evidence still matters.
Tools & participation options: Decision framing
6:00–7:30 PM ET · 90 minutes · $99
View learning objectives and activities
You’ll learn: Frame a decision with clear alternatives, assumptions, and criteria.
You’ll apply: Restructure a sample executive decision and challenge the evidence behind its options.
You’ll build: An executive decision frame with explicit assumptions and criteria.
You’ll leave with: A one-page decision frame, options and criteria table, prioritized assumptions, and an evidence-gathering next step.
Tools and frameworks: Decision framing; Assumption mapping and decision criteria.
Ways to participate: Guided / Applied / Stretch.
Build Influence Without Authority
Aligned course: Leading Without Authority
Build support for a decision without relying on a management title. Map influence, trust, and competing interests, then rehearse a request that gives others a clear reason to engage.
Tools & participation options: Influence mapping
6:00–7:30 PM ET · 90 minutes · $99
View learning objectives and activities
You’ll learn: Design an ethical influence strategy without formal authority.
You’ll apply: Map stakeholders in a sample cross-functional case and rehearse a first request.
You’ll build: An influence and coalition strategy map.
You’ll leave with: A stakeholder and coalition map, evidence notes, a conversation sequence, and a rehearsed first request.
Tools and frameworks: Influence mapping; Power, trust, incentives, and coalition analysis.
Ways to participate: Guided / Applied / Stretch.
Diagnose Transformation Readiness
Aligned course: Leading Through AI & Transformation
Identify why a change is not being adopted. Use readiness evidence to distinguish understanding, motivation, knowledge, practical ability, and ongoing support needs, then design a targeted intervention.
Tools & participation options: ADKAR and change-readiness diagnosis
6:00–7:30 PM ET · 90 minutes · $99
View learning objectives and activities
You’ll learn: Diagnose adoption barriers and match support to the evidence.
You’ll apply: Map readiness in a sample rollout and test whether your intervention addresses the gap.
You’ll build: A readiness map and targeted adoption intervention plan.
You’ll leave with: A readiness map with evidence, a focused adoption action, an owner, and a follow-up measure.
Tools and frameworks: ADKAR and change-readiness diagnosis; Resistance and readiness mapping.
Ways to participate: Guided / Applied / Stretch.
Expand Your Leadership Range
Aligned course: Adaptive Strategic Leadership
Expand the ways you respond as a leader. Compare directing, coaching, facilitating, and delegating, then choose the support and ownership a particular task requires.
Tools & participation options: Situational Leadership and leadership range
6:00–7:30 PM ET · 90 minutes · $99
View learning objectives and activities
You’ll learn: Match your leadership response to the task, capability, confidence, commitment, urgency, and ownership.
You’ll apply: Compare sample tasks, rehearse a response, and revise it when the situation changes.
You’ll build: A leadership-response matrix and next-action plan.
You’ll leave with: A response matrix, a rehearsed opening conversation, ownership boundaries, and a review trigger.
Tools and frameworks: Situational Leadership and leadership range; Direct, coach, facilitate, and delegate matrix.
Ways to participate: Guided / Applied / Stretch.
Stress-Test Strategy with Scenarios
Aligned course: The Strategic Shift
Test a strategy against more than one plausible future. Build a scenario matrix, examine the consequences, and identify actions to take now or when specific conditions change.
Tools & participation options: Scenario planning
6:00–7:30 PM ET · 90 minutes · $99
View learning objectives and activities
You’ll learn: Stress-test a strategy under different plausible conditions.
You’ll apply: Build sample scenarios, compare implications, and define contingent actions and signals.
You’ll build: A scenario matrix with strategic implications and contingent actions.
You’ll leave with: Four bounded scenario sketches, an implications table, no-regret and contingent actions, and a signpost list.
Tools and frameworks: Scenario planning; Two-by-two scenario matrix and implications analysis.
Ways to participate: Guided / Applied / Stretch. Optional configured spreadsheet.
Negotiate Across Boundaries
Aligned course: Leading Without Authority
Prepare for cross-functional disagreement with a clear view of interests, options, and boundaries. Rehearse the conversation and know your alternative if agreement is not reached.
Tools & participation options: Principled negotiation
6:00–7:30 PM ET · 90 minutes · $99
View learning objectives and activities
You’ll learn: Prepare a principled negotiation with clear options and authority limits.
You’ll apply: Build and rehearse a sample negotiation plan, then revise it after new information.
You’ll build: A negotiation plan with interests, options, BATNA, and boundaries.
You’ll leave with: A preparation canvas, option packages, an alternative-to-agreement assessment, and a rehearsed opening and follow-up.
Tools and frameworks: Principled negotiation; Interests, options, BATNA (your best alternative if agreement is not reached), and boundaries.
Ways to participate: Guided / Applied / Stretch.
See the System Before You Transform It
Aligned course: Leading Through AI & Transformation
Trace how a transformation decision could ripple through the organization. Map feedback and delays, then identify a leverage point and risks an isolated improvement might miss.
Tools & participation options: Systems thinking
6:00–7:30 PM ET · 90 minutes · $99
View learning objectives and activities
You’ll learn: Map feedback and unintended consequences before choosing a transformation intervention.
You’ll apply: Build and critique a small causal-loop map using a sample transformation case.
You’ll build: A causal-loop map with leverage points and second-order risks.
You’ll leave with: An editable causal-loop map, a causal-assumption log, and a bounded intervention and observation plan.
Tools and frameworks: Systems thinking; Causal-loop mapping and second-order effects.
Ways to participate: Guided / Applied / Stretch.
Lead in Complexity
Aligned course: Adaptive Strategic Leadership
Choose how to act when the situation is uncertain. Use a complexity lens to decide when to standardize, analyze, experiment, or respond immediately, then design a bounded learning experiment.
Tools & participation options: Cynefin and complexity sensemaking
6:00–7:30 PM ET · 90 minutes · $99
View learning objectives and activities
You’ll learn: Match your response to the context and design a safe-to-fail learning experiment.
You’ll apply: Compare sample contexts and test the boundaries, signals, and stop rules of a proposed experiment.
You’ll build: A context diagnosis and safe-to-fail experiment design.
You’ll leave with: A context rationale, experiment card, observation criteria, and stop or amplification rules.
Tools and frameworks: Cynefin and complexity sensemaking; Context classification and safe-to-fail experiment design.
Ways to participate: Guided / Applied / Stretch.
Make Portfolio Tradeoffs
Aligned course: The Strategic Shift
Decide what to stop, defer, and protect when resources are limited. Compare priorities, test assumptions, and make the opportunity cost of your choices clear.
Tools & participation options: Portfolio prioritization
6:00–7:30 PM ET · 90 minutes · $99
View learning objectives and activities
You’ll learn: Make and defend portfolio tradeoffs using criteria, capacity, and opportunity cost.
You’ll apply: Compare a sample portfolio and test how changed assumptions affect your choices.
You’ll build: A defensible portfolio decision with explicit stop, defer, and protect choices.
You’ll leave with: A prioritization model, sensitivity notes, opportunity-cost explanation, and a decision record with review triggers.
Tools and frameworks: Portfolio prioritization; Weighted criteria, opportunity cost, and stop/defer/protect choices.
Ways to participate: Guided / Applied / Stretch. Optional spreadsheet sensitivity check.
Design Decision Rights
Aligned course: Leading Without Authority
Clarify who shapes a decision, who makes it, and who carries it through. Compare decision-rights frameworks, then test your map against delays and conflicting expectations.
Tools & participation options: RAPID and DACI decision-rights design
6:00–7:30 PM ET · 90 minutes · $99
View learning objectives and activities
You’ll learn: Design clear decision rights and accountable follow-through.
You’ll apply: Compare RAPID and DACI in a sample case, select one, and test its exception paths.
You’ll build: A decision-rights map with named accountability and follow-through.
You’ll leave with: A selected-framework role map, decision record template, escalation rules, and follow-through checklist.
Tools and frameworks: RAPID and DACI decision-rights design; Decision-rights and accountability mapping.
Ways to participate: Guided / Applied / Stretch.
Build the Operating Model for Change
Aligned course: Leading Through AI & Transformation
Design what keeps a change working after launch. Connect capabilities, ownership, governance, and adoption support, then build a practical 30/60/90-day sustainment plan.
Tools & participation options: Operating-model design
6:00–7:30 PM ET · 90 minutes · $99
View learning objectives and activities
You’ll learn: Connect transformation goals to an operating model and sustainment plan.
You’ll apply: Map a sample change, define review routines, and test an ownership or quality setback.
You’ll build: An operating-model blueprint and 30/60/90-day sustainment plan.
You’ll leave with: A capability and ownership map, governance and support routines, a sustainment plan, and an exception-response note.
Tools and frameworks: Operating-model design; Capability map, governance, and 30/60/90-day sustainment.
Ways to participate: Guided / Applied / Stretch.
How the lab works
Define the practical challenge and intended outcome.
Explore the method and the tools that support it.
Use a sample case or anonymized work situation to create the lab output.
Test the result, discuss its limitations, and identify your next application.
Participant questions
Do I need to manage a team?
The activities focus on decisions, influence, and change. Sample cases provide roles and context so you can practice without using confidential workplace information.
Will I practice, or only discuss frameworks?
You create a defined artifact and challenge it through evidence, peer feedback, a rehearsal, or a changed condition. Each description identifies the work and the takeaway.
What if I do not want to role-play?
Where an activity includes rehearsal, you can use a written response or observe and critique a sample exchange. You still complete your own decision artifact and use the feedback to improve it.
What are the tools?
Leadership tools include diagnosis canvases, scenario matrices, negotiation plans, decision-rights maps, and operating-model templates. Digital platforms support organizing or testing the work; they are not the learning objective.
Do the lab platforms and tools have free tiers?
Many do. ChatGPT and Make, for example, offer free plans. Other tools may offer a free community edition or a time-limited trial. Features and usage limits vary by provider. The lab details identify the tools and participation routes so you can choose an option that fits your access.
Are paid tool subscriptions required to participate?
No paid subscriptions are required for standard lab participation. Use the free-tier participation route or provided examples when a paid feature is demonstrated. You may need a free account for hands-on activities. Optional API usage, advanced features, or hosting outside class can incur charges; these extensions are optional.