DelftX’s Leadership Essentials for Engineers

Become a successful leader in a technology dominated world

What you will learn

• How to apply a set of practical analytical techniques to support business planning and strategic decision making
• How to encourage multiple stakeholders with different interests to cooperate
• How to recognize team dynamics and handle both individual and team issues
• How to gain support from senior management and your teams

Program Overview

The majority of challenges that organizations face are technology related. Given the growing importance of technology, the demand for leaders with an engineering background will probably rise. Already a quarter of the CEOs of the world’s 100 largest corporations have engineering degrees.

Engineers have the potential to be good leaders. They are analytical and tech-savvy. They are comfortable with figures. They often have a can-do attitude. However, these characteristics alone are not enough to make engineers effective leaders.

In this program, you will learn that a good leader needs at least three mindsets, supporting the development of essential leadership skills:

• The analytical mindset- This mindset is about the ability to analyze complex problems and opportunities as a basis for making strategic decisions. It is about developing a strategy in a systematic way and preparing for action. This mindset taps into the strengths of engineers.
• The influencing mindset- Designing solutions and strategies, however, is about more than analysis. In our interconnected and complex world, leaders are faced with stakeholders, both internal and external, who might have completely different views. Problems and challenges are often ambiguous. This mindset looks at all these issues and finds common ground and ways of producing willing consensus in teams and stakeholders.
• The sensemaking mindset- The first two mindsets require a high tolerance of complexity. Leadership is also about communicating, inspiring and convincing people and teams inside and outside the organization. This mindset is about translating complexity into powerful and concise messages so people can understand and make sense of the complexity of their world.

These three mindsets are indispensable for good leaders. They sometimes conflict and they often require completely different skills. In this program, you will become familiarized with each of these mindsets and discover how they can support you as a leader.

By completing this certificate, you will improve your leadership skills through tasks that help you develop a managerial summary of a business situation analysis to inform an effective decision, use a set of cohesive strategies for dealing with stakeholders, and frame your communication.

Courses in this program

Effective Decision Making: Dealing with Business Complexity

4–5 hours per week, for 5 weeks
Learn how to solve complex problems in a business environment using analysis-based decision making.

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Dealing with Power and Dynamics: Discover Your Leadership Style and Influence Stakeholders

4–5 hours per week, for 5 weeks
Learn to lead teams and manage stakeholders effectively and strategically to encourage cooperation and successful performance.

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Framing Your Communication to Inspire and Convince

4–5 hours per week, for 5 weeks
Discover how to gain support from management and motivate your teams by learning how to communicate effectively and strategically.

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Meet your instructors from Delft University of Technology (DelftX)

Hans de Bruijn
Professor of Public Administration in the Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management
Delft University of Technology

Jet Pagnier

Gerdien de Vries
Assistant Professor Public Management and Organisation
Delft University of Technology

Els van Daalen
Associate Professor of Policy Analysis
Delft University of Technology

Alexander de Haan
Business Analyst and Strategic Consultant

Program endorsements

Russell Reynolds Associates

Engineers underestimate their role in shaping the future of their organizations and our world at large. It is time to step up. This Professional Certificate Program of TU Delft truly prepares engineers for managerial and leadership positions. The program addresses key challenges in making decisions regarding business strategies, managing people and influencing key stakeholders, and executing convincing and skillful communication, in situations that are often ambiguous and uncertain.

Pieter Ligthart , Consultant at Russell Reynolds Associates

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