Leadership & Management   

Course Overview

Ready to level up your influence without needing a formal title? Join a tight-knit circle of 6–8 ambitious professionals to tackle the real-world hurdles of leadership. Using the powerhouse Immunity to Change™ framework, you’ll uncover the hidden habits holding you back and turn them into your greatest strengths. This isn't just a class—it’s a collaborative leadership lab where you’ll swap "authority" for authentic impact, master the art of peer coaching, and build a lasting squad of allies dedicated to your growth.

Why Join? 

• Break the Cycle: Map out and dismantle your personal barriers to change.
• Coach & Be Coached: Master Case Clinics to solve complex leadership puzzles in real-time.
• Lead From Any Seat: Build the confidence to influence your organization, whether you manage a team or not.
• Create Your Roadmap: Launch a personal leadership initiative with the backing of a dedicated community.

Note: 9/2 is online from 8:30am-12:30pm; all other sessions are online from 1:00pm-2:30pm

Course Description:

Teaches strategies for influencing and guiding others when you lack formal positional power, emphasizing relationship-building and persuasive communication.

Learning Goals:

1. Build trust and credibility.
2. Develop persuasive communication skills.
3. Drive initiatives across cross-functional teams.

Course Overview 

At some point, every leader has to contend with sub-standard performance. Why do some employees fail to do what's expected of them and what action can you take to correct the situation? During this workshop learn a step-by-step approach to effectively manage poor performance and create stronger accountability. Discuss and practice strategies to deal with problem performance and behavior.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify cues for sub-optimal performance and corrective action.
• Define a step-by-step process for dealing with poor performance.
• Create greater accountability in performance.
• Practice the corrective action interview.

Who Should Attend?

This program is designed for entry- to mid-level supervisors and managers, small business owners, technical staff, and individuals interested in leadership roles.

Additional Information

This workshop is part of the Supervision Certificate: Individual Format. Stepping Up to Supervisor followed by Using Feedback Effectively are prerequisites for all other workshops in the Supervisory Certificate:

The Veteran Workforce Integration Workshop, a comprehensive, evidence-based training program developed by the University of Southern Maine in partnership with Maine Hire, Maine Bureau of Veterans Services, and Veterans Affairs (VA) Maine Healthcare System. The program is designed to equip employers, HR professionals, managers, and workplace leaders with the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully integrate veterans into civilian work environments.

Through this workshop series, participants will:

• Develop a comprehensive understanding of military culture and structure across the six branches of the United States Armed Forces

• Recognize challenges veterans face during civilian transitions, including identity, community, mental health, and financial considerations

• Acquire critical cultural competency skills and practical strategies to create inclusive workplace environments

• Apply best practices for recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and retaining veteran employees

• Build bridges between military and civilian workplace cultures through effective communication strategies

• Understand federal employer incentives and legal obligations related to veteran employment, including the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), SkillBridge, USERRA, and the HIRE Vets Medallion Award

Course Description:

Equips professionals with the tools to manage workplace conflicts constructively, transforming disagreements into opportunities for collaboration and growth.

Learning Goals: 

1. Recognize sources of conflict.
2. Employ effective de-escalation techniques.
3. Foster a collaborative team environment.

This course is designed for nonprofit executives, senior leaders, board members, and emerging operational leaders who are navigating organizational growth and increasing complexity. The course focuses on what it truly takes to scale a nonprofit organization successfully—not just expanding programs or revenue, but building the leadership, systems, culture, governance, and operational discipline required to sustain long-term impact.

Participants will learn how to assess organizational readiness, avoid common scaling pitfalls, strengthen execution capacity, and lead effectively through periods of growth and transformation. The course is highly participatory and will use an evolving case study to guide discussion, encourage peer learning, and help participants apply course concepts to challenges within their own organizations.

Course Objectives: 

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:   

1. Apply tools and frameworks to assess organizational readiness for sustainable growth.
2. Recognize common operational, cultural, governance, and leadership challenges associated with scaling organizations.
3. Understand how leadership, organizational structure, decision-making, and accountability must evolve as organizations grow.
4. Develop strategies to lead change, strengthen collaboration, and build sustainable operations.

Course Themes:

The course consists of five in-person classes, each 3 hours in length, held over 5 consecutive weeks.

Class 1              Scaling Readiness:  Assessing Organizational Readiness for Growth

Class 2              Professionalizing the Organization:  Structure, Change and Resistance

Class 3              Scaling Leadership: Structure, Accountability and Organizational Design

Class 4              Sustaining Growth:  Governance, Culture, and the Next Operating Model

Class 5              Wrap up and Applied Learning Project Presentations

The final class will synthesize key learnings from the course and provide participants with the opportunity to present an Applied Learning Project focused on a current organizational challenge within their own institution.  Participants will apply course concepts, frameworks, and discussion themes to develop practical recommendations and strategies relevant to their organizational context.

Course Description

A practical guide to developing a strategic mindset in daily operations, empowering leaders to make decisions that align with long-term organizational goals.

Learning Goals:

1. Identify key strategic priorities.
2. Apply strategic frameworks to daily tasks.
3. Enhance decision-making skills.

Course Overview 

Are you experiencing changes in your workplace? Does it sometimes feel like change is happening to you rather than for you?

As the pace and volume of organizational change continue to increase, having the right tools and frameworks can make all the difference. In this course, you'll learn practical techniques to recognize and release resistance, strengthen your confidence, and reduce the fear associated with transformation.

This course explores the why, what, and how of change, offering proven strategies for navigating transitions with greater clarity and purpose. Through real-world examples and hands-on practice, you will develop skills that empower you to engage with change more effectively.

Learning Goals:

• Understand the why behind organizational changes
• Describe what organizational change is - using the change curve
• Develop strategies for how to navigate changes in the workplace 

Who Should Attend?

This course is ideal for professional at all levels of an organization, across a wide variety of fields of industry and the arts. 

Additional Information

This 3 hour live-online course can serve as one leadership elective for certificate courses in the Professional Development Programs.

Course Overview 

Giving feedback is a necessary and important part of workplace relationships, whether you are working with a peer, manager, staff member or customer. Learn how to turn a situation that many times ends in defensiveness or anger into a positive conversation that strengthens the working relationship and contributes to increased productivity.

Learning Objectives:

• Differentiate between fact and opinion
• Avoid using verbal hooks that lead to defensiveness and anger
• Respond to challenging rebuttals and diffuse tension
• Stay focused and on-track during the feedback conversation

We recommend, but it is not required, that students start the supervision program with Stepping Up to Supervisor followed by Using Feedback Effectively. This course is part of the Certificate Program in Supervision.

Who Should Attend?

This program is designed for entry- to mid-level supervisors and managers, small business owners, technical staff, and individuals interested in leadership roles.