Advanced Leadership Academy
The roles of a leader are many, and the challenges they face are more complex than ever before. COVID-19 has disrupted business continuity in a profound way, requiring leaders to solve a variety of unprecedented challenges. Identifying and effectively navigating competing priorities now is no easy task. How do leaders cultivate exceptional teams, increase personal and organizational productivity, minimize employee turnover, mitigate risk, build trust and transparency within an organization and nurture a culture of innovation?
The University of Nevada, Reno’s Advanced Leadership Academy is a five-month training and coaching program designed to develop and support senior leaders and key team members. The program also offers the next level of advanced leadership training for those who have completed the 10-course Supervisory Management Certificate through Extended Studies (although completion of this program is not a prerequisite).
Those responsible for setting strategy, spearheading competitive initiatives, leading change, driving innovation, coaching team members and inspiring positive culture within their organizations will learn tools and techniques to enhance their influence and successfully lead their teams.
Academy Objectives:
The Advanced Leadership Academy is built upon seven pillars that support the influence and effectiveness of those leading within an organization. Classroom learning and individual coaching sessions are designed to meet the following objectives.
Pillar I:
Leading Self
Develop a deeper understanding of human behavior and the ability to manage emotions more effectively to avoid unintended outcomes and build resilience in the face of challenges.
Pillar II:
Leading Transformation
Learn to gather and analyze data to support high-quality decision-making to avoid biases, reduce negative consequences and maximize benefits.
Pillar III:
Leading People through Change
Learn methods to engage people in small and large change initiatives to increase innovation, improve agility and enhance employee experiences.
Pillar IV:
Leading the Enterprise through Turbulent Times
Cultivate the skills necessary to successfully design, build and manage organizational strategy in times of uncertainty and tumult.
Pillar V:
Leading with Diversity
Learn how to reduce prejudice and discrimination within an organization, and to foster a positive organizational culture that leads to greater problem solving and increased accountability.
Pillar VI:
Leading Communications
Learn effective approaches, frameworks and tools for communicating effectively, transparently and authentically to build stronger internal and external networks.
Pillar VII:
Leading Individuals and Teams
Learn coaching techniques to empower your team(s) to more effective performance, creating synergies, and gaining loyalty and commitment to organizational objectives.
Academy Components:
The Advanced Leadership Academy includes seven content blocks outlined below. The program also includes an EQ-i 2.0 Leadership Assessment. Two individual coaching sessions with Certified Professional Coach Kevin Ciccotti may be added for an additional cost.
Classroom Sessions
The program consists of seven content blocks in person at the University of Nevada, Reno Redfield Campus in south Reno.
Participants proceed through the program as a cohort and can expect a mixture of lecture, case studies, simulations and class participation to learn and apply the principles in each session. Participants will be encouraged to discuss examples from their professional lives, and active student participation in class is a key component of the learning experience.
EQ-i 2.0 Leadership Profile
Emotional intelligence is a key factor in the long-term success of leaders in today’s complex business environment. The EQ-i 2.0 Assessment measures emotional intelligence (EI) and how it affects people and the workplace, by asking questions related to self-perception, self-expression, interpersonal relationships, decision-making and stress management. EQ-i 2.0 is one of only two commercially available assessments validated by the American Psychological Association for its reliability in measuring emotional intelligence.
Students will complete an EQ-i 2.0 assessment at the start of the program. Each student will receive their results as part of an EQ-i 2.0 Leadership profile, which compares individual assessment results to those of more than 200 leaders in positions from mid-management to senior leadership roles from a variety of industries across the United States. This EQ-i 2.0 Leadership Profile measures the main composite and subscales used in the standard assessment against four key dimensions of leadership — Authenticity, Coaching, Insight and Innovation — to provide insight into specific leadership strengths and areas for improvement. Along with this individual report, participants will receive a one-hour personal debrief from Certified Professional Coach Kevin Ciccotti.
Optional Individual Coaching
Two 50-minute, one-on-one coaching sessions with Certified Professional Coach Kevin Ciccotti may be added for an additional cost. These sessions are incorporated to support leaders in implementing the tools and strategies learned in the program. Participants will be guided to examine successes and challenges with fresh perspectives, while working through obstacles they may be experiencing.
The coaching sessions are provided via teleconference, and students will be given a recording of each. Students will be provided with scheduling information during the first class, and the sessions may be scheduled at mutually agreed upon times between the instructor and the student during the course of the program.
click to expand/collapse Session I: February 12, 2025
Kevin Ciccotti, CPCC, PCC
Kevin Cicotti, CPCC, PCC
Kevin Ciccotti is president and founder of Human Factor Formula Inc., and a Professional Certified Coach. Ciccotti was trained at The Coaches Training Institute, the world’s largest in-person coach training organization. He also trained with the Robbins-Madanes Center for Strategic Intervention, founded by world-renowned human performance experts Anthony Robbins and Psychotherapist Cloe Madanes. Ciccotti delivers customized leadership retreats, classroom trainings, one-on-one coaching and compelling keynotes to clients around the world. He is certified by both CTI and the ICF, and he adheres to the highest ethical standards in the coaching industry.
In the first session, participants will develop a deeper understanding of human behavior (specifically, their own) and the impact they have on their team(s). This includes how to avoid unintended outcomes during stressful or difficult conversations. How do you react when problems occur? What are the skills and competencies required to respond more effectively to difficult circumstances? There is no doubt that in today’s Covid world, leaders are expected to do more with less and respond to unprecedented challenges. Participants will learn proven methods for building resilience in the face of challenges, and practice the skills necessary to become more resourceful and respected leaders.
Topics:
- Neuroscience basics
- Impact of behavior on brain; solving the stimulus/response problem
- Basic human needs/motivators
- Emotional intelligence
- Tools for managing emotions more effectively
- The mindfulness — leadership connection
click to expand/collapse Session II: February 26, 2025
Kandis Porter, MBA, MSPM, PMP
Kandis Porter, MBA, MSPM, PMP
Kandis Porter is the founder and managing director of Effective Flow Connections, a management consulting company that helps leaders transform their organizations. She has a master of science in project management (MSPM) from The George Washington University and an MBA in human resources. She is certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP) and Six Sigma Green Belt. She is also a certified Prosci Change Management Practitioner and Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Practitioner. Kandis has more than 15 years of experience managing people and large projects in both the government and private sectors.
In our rapidly changing world, making high-quality decisions is more crucial than ever to ensure the success of the organization and people that work within it. Successful leaders must make important decisions that allow them to seize opportunities and swiftly address challenges. Decisions relating to cutting costs and increasing efficiencies are common. To maximize benefits, and minimize negative consequences, decisions that are complex or have a high impact should be made using a systematic approach. This session explores decision-making concepts, techniques and processes. Participants will better understand how to properly define a required decision, frame the decision, communicate and implement the decision, and monitor results. Leaders also will learn how to avoid biases, which are common in decision-making.
Topics:
- Aligning strategic decisions to organizational goals and objectives
- Using data to support decision-making
- Following a decision-making process with clearly defined roles
- Implementing decision-making techniques
- Avoiding common biases
click to expand/collapse Session III: March 12, 2025
Morgan Massie, M.A., ACC
Morgan Massie, M.A., ACC
Morgan is co-founder of Change RHYTHM, a nonprofit organization focused on providing resources to individuals undergoing change and transition. In addition to being an award-winning leadership development practitioner and Associate Certified Coach (ACC), Morgan is co-author of several best-selling books (Five Coaching Conversations and Change RHYTHM). Morgan is a credentialed facilitator across many leadership and professional development programs and has exposure working with global leaders across a variety of industries. Morgan holds a Master’s degree in instructional systems design, a specialization in positive psychology and resilience, and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Business Management and Leadership.
We are living in a time that requires us to embrace great change and flexibility in order to succeed. If you’ve ever tried to change one of your own behaviors and habits, you know how difficult change is for just one person. Trying to affect change for a small or large group of people has its own difficulties. Sometimes change is inspired by internal pressures while other times it's forced upon people via external pressure (i.e. global pandemics). During this session, leaders will assess how they personally navigate change by completing the ChangeRHYTHMⓒ self-assessment. Leaders will then discover best practices for developing personal resilience through change as well as how to effectively lead others through change by addressing personal and practical needs. The result of leading change well is increased innovation, improved agility and better employee experiences.
Topics:
- Things that get in the way of successful change (no matter how it came about)
- The role of vulnerability in change and innovation
- People’s needs during change initiatives
- Best practices for personally navigating change
- Tools and resources for leading change
click to expand/collapse Session IV: March 26, 2025
Todd Felts, Ed.D. APR
Todd Felts, EdD, APR
Todd Felts is a teaching associate professor of strategic communication at the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno. He possesses more than 20 years of experience working in strategic communications, including serving as press secretary and speechwriter for Gov. Jim Hunt of North Carolina and director of community relations for the Special Olympics World Summer Games. Felts also has crisis communications experience leading Fortune 50 companies in marketing during crisis. Felts earned a doctorate in education management from Drexel University, a master of arts in international communications from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s in broadcast journalism and political science from Lenoir-Rhyne University. Felts is also an accredited professional with the Public Relations Society of America and was awarded the Distinguished Outreach Faculty award by the University of Nevada, Reno in 2019, recognizing him for a decade of outreach efforts in the Reno-Sparks community.
How can you position yourself more effectively as a leader through inclusive communication? How do you know the message you are intending to send is what is being received? What will it take to help rebuild and respond from COVID-19? In this session, participants will learn communication techniques and best practices necessary to inspire others and leverage ideas with attention on organizations in crisis. The session will explore tactfully bridging difficult conversations (whether one-on-one or with thousands), situations faced by leaders, and share how to build stronger communication cultures internally and externally so leaders may share their vision effectively.
Topics:
- Discover personal communication strengths to build more effective personal and professional relationships in a post-COVID world
- Approaches, frameworks and tools for communicating effectively in day-to-day and difficult situations
- Techniques to create space for transparent and authentic communication, where people from different areas and backgrounds feel safe to speak up and share ideas.
- How to develop key messages and deliver them to the media and beyond.
click to expand/collapse Session V: April 9, 2025
Erica J. Olsen, MBA
Erica J. Olsen, MBA
As COO and co-founder of OnStrategy, and author of Strategic Planning for Dummies, Erica J. Olsen has dedicated the past 15 years to helping organizations from around the globe create and execute great strategy. Erica’s expertise in strategic plan facilitation, strategy design, software development, and execution best practices has allowed her to influence the strategic growth of organizations such as Patagonia, City and County of San Francisco, Microsoft, Washoe County-Nevada, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority and North Slope Borough School District.
An engaging and experienced speaker and facilitator, Erica has trained executive teams around the world, and taught at the university level for more than 5 years. She possesses a Master of Business Administration in International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management.
This session covers the concepts and tools of designing, building and managing organization-wide strategy in times of uncertainty and tumult. Leading an enterprise-wide, dynamic strategic planning process requires inspiring strategic thinking, and adopting best-practice strategic planning processes that are agile and matching the market dynamics with the organization’s competitive advantages. Students will gain tools and practices to assess market opportunities and threats, determine organizational strengths and weaknesses, and formulate strategic alternatives with the agility needed today.
Topics:
- Agile strategic planning best practices, framework and process
- External and internal analysis, to include SWOT development and competitive positioning
- Visioning and roadmapping that allows for adaptations
- Corporate strategy design and organizational alignment
- Strategic thinking exercises
- Understanding the intersection of strategy, culture and employee engagement
click to expand/collapse Session VI: April 23, 2025
Horacio Leyva
Horacio Leyva
Horacio Leyva is a dynamic community-centered professional with over 20 years of experience as a non-profit and public service leader in Northern Nevada. He is CEO of Leyva Consulting, LLC, specializing in DEIB and Language Access Planning & Equity based strategies. Horacio is also a Senior level public service professional in Washoe County. As a culturally responsive agent of change, Horacio has positively impacted the lives of disadvantaged, marginalized and diverse youth and families in our region. Developing meaningful, cross-cultural, and interpersonal relationships has served as the foundation of his professional work. With his personal experiences as the son of Spanish speaking Mexican immigrants as the backdrop, Horacio brings a unique and compelling voice to the DEIB space that is motivated by equity and guided by compassion.
Studies have shown that diversity drives collaboration and innovation in the workplace, allowing greater opportunities for problem solving, reducing bias, and increasing accountability. Diversity within a workplace encompasses race, gender, ethnic groups, age, religion, sexual orientation, citizenship status, military service and mental and physical conditions, as well as other distinct differences between people. It includes not only how individuals identify themselves, but also how others perceive them. This session will explore the formation and ownership of personal thoughts and feelings and how they impact the workplace. Leaders will learn how to reduce prejudice and discrimination within their organizations, and to foster a positive organizational culture that encourages employees to work together effectively.
Topics:
- Discover biases and how they hamper or strengthen personal relationships
- Strategies to strengthen workplace relationships for effective outcomes
- Walk through uncomfortable conversations that are essential for growth
click to expand/collapse Session VII: May 7, 2025
Kevin Ciccotti, CPCC, PCC
Kevin Cicotti, CPCC, PCC
Kevin Ciccotti is president and founder of Human Factor Formula Inc., and a Professional Certified Coach. Ciccotti was trained at The Coaches Training Institute, the world’s largest in-person coach training organization. He also trained with the Robbins-Madanes Center for Strategic Intervention, founded by world-renowned human performance experts Anthony Robbins and Psychotherapist Cloe Madanes. Ciccotti delivers customized leadership retreats, classroom trainings, one-on-one coaching and compelling keynotes to clients around the world. He is certified by both CTI and the ICF, and he adheres to the highest ethical standards in the coaching industry.
Leaders understand they also must be coaches for their teams. But how do you actually coach individuals and teams to higher performance? What are the steps to creating a powerful coaching conversation? This session provides participants with a solid understanding of basic coaching tools and techniques, provides the opportunity to put those skills into practice and teaches them how to use coaching as a method for driving stronger performance within an organization. The tools and techniques learned can be utilized immediately to more effectively lead teams, create synergies, and gain loyalty and commitment to organizational objectives.
Topics:
- What exactly is coaching?
- Core competencies of coaching
- The structure of the coaching process
- Skills required to coach effectively
- Gaining agreement, setting accountability
- Getting the most from individuals and teams