Upcoming Executive Education Workshops and Short Courses: Spring Preview

Wake Forest Executive Education offers several exciting in-person and virtual workshops this semester for professionals looking to enhance their skills in leadership, technology, and negotiation.

The most successful and influential leaders within any organization usually share a common trait – a commitment to continuous learning.

The Executive Education team at Wake Forest University is here to help you learn, adapt, and excel with our non-credit and non-degree professional development programs taught by our world-class faculty.

Here is a preview of the workshops that will be offered during the spring semester.

Building and Leading Effective Teams

Date: February 7, 2025, 8 am – 4:15 pm
Location: In-person at Wake Forest Charlotte Center in Charlotte, NC
Facilitator: Patrick Sweeney, Ph.D
Registration deadline: January 30, 2025

Effective teams play a pivotal role in driving success within organizations. They enhance cohesion, boost employee engagement, and fuel cultures of creativity. 

This 1-day program equips participants to lead their teams effectively with the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary to navigate the challenges inherent in various team structures, including virtual teams. 

Participants will learn how to:

• Use a team charter to build and lead effective teams
• Approach difficult conversations and manage conflict
• Build trust with others
• Shape a culture of empowerment and shared leadership

This workshop is one of several open enrollment leadership programs. When participants complete four programs, they earn a Certificate in Leadership from Wake Forest Executive Education and the School of Business Allegacy Center for Leadership and Character. 

Register today.

Setting Strategy as a Leader

Date: March 7, 2025, 8 am – 4:15 pm
Location: In-person at Wake Downtown in Winston-Salem, NC
Facilitator: Stephen Smulowitz, Ph.D.
Registration deadline: February 27, 2025

This course is designed for professionals who are currently in or transitioning into roles in which setting and executing strategy is critical. Facilitator Stephen Smulowtiz is an Assistant Professor in Strategic Management at the Wake Forest School of Business. He will guide participants through case studies, group work, and interactive discussions to explore practical strategies for leading through uncertainty, ethical decision-making, and fostering sustainable organizational success.

Participants will learn how to:

• Create competitive advantage by making deliberate choices, allocating resources strategically, and defining clear priorities
• Craft inspiring vision statements and strategic narratives that connect with stakeholders and align teams
• Turn strategy into action through goal-setting, team alignment, accountability, and progress tracking
• Communicate effectively, overcome resistance, and foster a culture of accountability
• Address ethical challenges and integrate stakeholder needs into the decision-making process while mitigating risks

This workshop is one of several open enrollment leadership programs. When participants complete four programs, they earn a Certificate in Leadership from Wake Forest Executive Education and the School of Business Allegacy Center for Leadership and Character. 

Register today.

Implementing AI at Your Organization

Date: March 13, 2025, 8 am – 4:15 pm
Location: In-person at Wake Downtown in Winston-Salem, NC
Facilitator: Shannon McKeen
Registration deadline: February 26, 2025

Implementing AI into an organization offers substantial opportunities and brings complex operational, ethical, and legal challenges that require careful attention. In this 1-day workshop, facilitator Shannon McKeen, a Professor of Practice at the Wake Forest School of Business and Executive Director for the Center for Analytics Impact (CAI), will guide participants through interactive sessions and practical exercises that will explore the frameworks for developing effective AI governance strategies, including risk mitigation tactics that address data privacy, algorithmic bias, and transparency.

Key takeaways include:

• Real-world examples of AI integration in business, focusing on risk management and compliance
• How to balance innovation with responsible AI usage in your organization
• Frameworks for developing an AI governance strategy
• Risk mitigation strategies for data privacy, bias, and transparency
• Key legal and confidentiality considerations when implementing AI tools

Register today. 

Leading Effective Change

Date: April 3, 2025; 8 am – 4:15 pm
Location: In person at Wake Forest Charlotte Center in Charlotte, NC
Facilitator: Patrick Sweeney, Ph.D
Registration deadline: March 26, 2025

To keep organizations relevant, leaders must understand and possess the skills to lead change effectively. In this 1-day program, participants will gain the knowledge and tools to lead change and shape a learning culture in their organization. Led by Patrick Sweeney, Ph.D., a Professor of the Practice of Management and the Executive Director of Wake Forest School of Business’ Allegacy Center for Leadership and Character, this program will allow participants to identify ways to apply the tools from this workshop immediately to enhance change management efforts

Participants will learn how to:

• Lead effective change from visualization of change
• Determine the type of change required
• Implement various change models
• Anticipate and manage people’s normal psychological reactions to change while shaping a culture that values learning and improvement to facilitate change

This workshop is one of several open enrollment leadership programs. When participants complete four programs, they earn a Certificate in Leadership from Wake Forest Executive Education and the School of Business Allegacy Center for Leadership and Character. 

Register today. 

Fundamentals of Effective Negotiation

Date: May 6, 2025; 8 am – 4:15 pm
Location: In-person at Wake Downtown in Winston-Salem, NC
Facilitator: John Sumanth, Ph.D.
Registration deadline: April 22, 2025

Professionals in all roles need a strong foundation to understand how to think about, prepare for, and execute negotiations in a variety of contexts. This 1-day session helps participants gain a greater understanding of the five fundamental questions you should ask before every negotiation to enhance negotiating effectiveness. 

Facilitator John Sumanth, Ph.D., is a James Farr Fellow and Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Wake Forest University School of Business. His research focuses on issues of leadership/trust, employee communication/voice, and status.

Key takeaways include:

• A  greater awareness of your natural tendencies and how they influence your interactions and ability to negotiate with others
• A deeper understanding of the negotiation framework and how it can help you better think about, prepare for, and successfully execute negotiations
• A thorough understanding of the key elements and contingencies of negotiation to create greater value

Register today. 

Leveraging a Growth Mindset for Personal, Team, and Organizational Success

Date: May 16, 2024, 8 am – 4:15 pm
Location: In-person at Wake Downtown in Winston-Salem, NC
Facilitator: Amy Wallis, Ph.D.
Registration deadline: May 8, 2025

How you view your skills and capabilities impacts your performance, happiness, and ability to learn. With this in mind, this 1-day workshop focuses on the principles of growth mindset, using the research of Carol Dweck and her colleagues as a foundation. This highly interactive program – led by Amy Wallis, Ph.D., a Full Professor of Practice in leadership and ethics at the Wake Forest University School of Business – focuses on the personal development of a growth mindset and ways to influence your workplace and team to adopt this way of thinking.

Participants will learn how to:

• Embrace challenges as opportunities to learn and grow
• Boost resilience and learn from failure
• Identify and develop a network of growth-minded individuals
• Gather and apply constructive feedback as a pathway to advancement
• Take risks and make mistakes as a learning tool
• Nurture a growth mindset in your personal and professional environments
• Assist others in seeing the value of pushing outside one’s comfort zone

This workshop is one of several open enrollment leadership programs. When participants complete 4 programs, they earn a Certificate in Leadership from Wake Forest Executive Education and the School of Business Allegacy Center for Leadership and Character. 

Register today.

Implementation in a Learning Health System

Date: May 19 – 23, 2025
Location: In-person at Wake Forest Charlotte Center in Charlotte, NC, with a block of rooms reserved at the DoubleTree Charlotte Center City
Facilitator: Kristie Foley, Ph.D., MS; Jaime Hughes, Ph.D., MPH, MSW; Justin Moore, Ph.D., MS

Implementing new discoveries into a health system can directly and positively impact the health and well-being of patients and communities. In this week-long program, participants will learn how to navigate the intersection between implementation science and practice.

The Implementation in a Learning Health System Institute will equip attendees with the skills to propose, design, implement, and evaluate healthcare innovations in a learning health system. Aimed at academic faculty, clinician-researchers, and healthcare leaders, the program will cover key theories, models, frameworks, and evaluation methods while focusing on leadership skills to navigate complex health systems.

Participants will learn how to:

• Discuss and apply key theories, models, and designs for working at the intersection of implementation science and implementation practice
• Apply and adapt major frameworks to develop a comprehensive framework to guide your work
• Open the black box of implementation research and practice via sessions focused on aspects of implementation process (e.g., regulatory challenges, example templates, analytic guidelines)
• Build a network of implementation scholars and practitioners working at the intersection of implementation science and practice

Register today. 

Leading People Who Are Different From You

Date: June 6, 2025 8 am – 4:15 pm
Location: In-person at Wake Downtown in Winston-Salem, NC
Facilitator: Patrick Sweeney, Ph.D
Registration deadline: May 29, 2025

In today’s global economy, organizations are continuously becoming more diverse. This broadening diversification of organization members includes cultural backgrounds, ethnicities, age, gender, and sexual orientation. This 1-day program provides participants with the knowledge and tools to understand and effectively lead people who are different from them. Participants also gain insights into how to shape the team’s or organization’s culture to create an environment that is authentic and brings out the best in everyone.

Participants will learn:

• Understanding the importance of emotional intelligence in leading others who are different
• The ability to use social perception to accurately access others while reducing potential biases
• Understanding how to reduce prejudice in teams
• The ability to earn the trust of and apply various leadership styles to effectively lead people who are different from you
• Understanding the nature of the various areas of diversity: culture, gender, sexual orientation, and age.

Register today.

First Responder Leadership Program

Date: June 10 -12, 2025
Location: In-person at Wake Downtown in Winston-Salem, NC
Facilitator: Sean Hannah, Ph.D. and Patrick Sweeney, Ph.D

First responder leaders must build and lead high performance organizations and teams that can operate effectively and thrive in volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) situations. This requires exemplary leaders who can provide purpose, motivation, and direction to effectively accomplish missions requiring adaptable responses. 

This course has been designed specifically for the needs of first responder leaders. Hear from leaders in the field including a panel of top leaders in Law Enforcement, Fire, and Emergency Services.  The course will combine key theories and frameworks on leadership and teams, with best practices and actionable tools targeted to enhance the capabilities of first responder leaders.

Participants will develop key skills in a variety of first responder leadership areas:

• Authentic and Influential Leadership
• Exemplary Leadership Styles
• Building Trust and Credibility
• Shaping a High-Performance Culture
• Building and Leading High Performing Teams

Register today. 

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