The Globe and Mail Leadership Institute builds on The Globe and Mail's mission to deliver essential content and knowledge to ambitious Canadians.seb_ra/Getty Images
When you’re looking to level up your career, two options typically come to mind: The intense financial and time commitment of an MBA, or the low-investment, low-return quick hit of an e-learning module.
Enter The Globe and Mail Leadership Institute, a new educational forum for ambitious decision makers that fills a gap in the market for accelerating expertise in tangible, practical ways.
“People look to us for news and information to help in their business and their careers,” says Garth Thomas, The Globe’s managing director of business and financial products. “We felt, why stop there?”
Like the content in its courses, the Leadership Institute leans on The Globe’s deep knowledge expertise and its connections with its readers.
“When we surveyed our audience, 86 per cent planned to take a professional development course in the future. We saw there clearly was a need,” Mr. Thomas says. “As we started to look into what was most important to them, they really wanted to hear from experts.”
The Globe is uniquely positioned to access an abundance of experts thanks to its journalists, who have contacts with leading voices across almost every field, in Canada and abroad.
“When we look at academia, they do great programs but the business expertise isn’t front and centre,” Mr. Thomas says. “Because of the connections we have, we have an ability to bring practicing experts to the table to help share real-world examples of what it’s like to be a leader.”
Case in point? One of the first courses The Globe and Mail Leadership Institute offers is focused on the narrative-building skills that are essential to high-level communication. It draws on a deep bench of diverse experts that include the chief marketing officer for Tim Hortons, BMO’s head of enterprise CRM, and DXC Technology’s head of external communications.
These experts work alongside instructors who are professional coaches, ensuring valuable insights are translated into practical skills that participants can apply to their careers.
“They’re experts not only in teaching, but in helping people learn in an interactive environment,” says Mr. Thomas, who adds that in addition to these coaches, discussions are facilitated by The Globe’s own world-class journalists.
Programs come to life in a dynamic mix of formats over four-week-long courses, explains Michel Shah, program director and founder of Upskill Corporation Inc.
“In one session, you might see leaders working together on case studies, question-and-answer with business experts, role playing, and presenting their group or individual recommendations,” says Ms. Shah of the weekly three-and-a-half-hour sessions, which are virtual and live.
“This course combines the best practices for leadership development in a condensed manner so you can get the optimal value for minimal time commitment,” she explains. “They’re carefully curated experiences to meet you right where you are at, with a range of resources live and offline to address your unique style.”
The curriculum is designed to “address the current needs of leaders so it provides solutions to help with your greatest pain points.”
The courses - which also include an executive leadership skills program tailored to women - are designed to respond to another need readers flagged: the ability to network.
“We all know that when it comes to career development, a lot of it is about relationships and interacting with other people,” Mr. Thomas says. “Not only will our students be able to meet each other, they’ll meet business experts, and have the opportunity to attend the events The Globe runs throughout the year, like Canada’s Top Growing Companies.”
As Ms. Shah says, students are “joining a cohort that stays connected to support each other’s ongoing leadership journey, networking and building relationships and alliances with leaders across different industries, and learning from Globe experts about senior leadership experiences, expectations and future opportunities.”
Then there’s perhaps the most valuable lesson of all.
“You’ll leave with a clearer understanding of who you are as a leader, how you show up, how that affects the context, and how the context affects you,” Ms. Shah says. “This is a critical self-awareness for leaders in the modern workplace.”
Learn more about The Globe and Mail Leadership Institute and register for courses starting soon.
Advertising feature produced by Globe Content Studio. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.