Leading Beyond Any Title: 6 ways SAIT is transforming leadership education

It’s a new era in leadership and we’re addressing the demand for corporate leadership training with modern strategies

“Have you talked to your boss about it?”

If that question has ever filled you with unease, you already know what it’s like to work for a ‘boss.’ Someone who manages, or maybe tries to control employees. But what about working with a leader?

Leaders collaborate, inspire and lead with a vision employees can buy into. They guide and support their teams rather than just telling them what to do. Sounds nice, right? Teams with leaders rather than bosses are likely to have a positive culture and produce better results.

That seems straightforward. Happy, supported employees do better work. Okay. But how do we make sure we hire leaders into the right roles? Better yet, is it possible to become an inspirational leader if your title isn’t ‘manager?’

Craig Hess and Jennie Gilbert from SAIT’s Corporate and International Training think so.

Jennie Gilbert, Leadership Development Specialist, creator, curator, designer and facilitator for Leading Beyond Any Title and Craig Hess, Director of Individual Learner, Corporate and International Training, co-host the webinar and podcast series, Leading Beyond Any Title – a program that challenges classic leadership and empowers leaders to navigate complexity and drive innovation through the six intelligences required for leadership in the 21^st century.

The making of a leadership program

Leading Beyond Any Title started as a solution to the need for a corporate leadership program.

"Before COVID, SAIT didn’t have a leadership program for corporate clients. I knew we needed someone with a deep understanding of leadership and corporate training to develop one," said Hess. "Jennie was the natural choice — she's been one of SAIT’s most sought-after facilitators for over a decade, with extensive experience in adult education. Her work with the Calgary Stampede and SAIT’s leadership breakfast conversations, along with her award-winning course design, made her the perfect person to bring this program to life.”

 

 Jennie did her research, pulled from her education and experience in adult education, worked with stakeholders and validated the program with several clients.

As leadership continues to evolve, shifting how we approach leadership development has become essential. Recognizing this need for change, Gilbert developed a framework known as the Six Leadership Intelligences to better address the complexities of modern leadership.

The six intelligences

Also known as “journey stages” in the Leading Beyond Any Title program, the six key intelligences are an outline the program follows, and the way SAIT aims to transform leadership education.

1. Emotional Intelligence

Less effective approach: Don’t bring your emotions to work. Talking about emotions isn’t professional. It shows vulnerability and could make you look less competent.

More effective approach: Managing emotions creates a healthier, more productive environment where people feel seen, heard, valued and empowered — leading to improved organizational performance and success.

“Emotional intelligence involves making conscious choices. The old way taught us not to bring our emotions to work that’s like working for a brick wall. It's more effective to use emotional data to understand how feelings influence behaviours and work styles, and then make better decisions based on this understanding,” says Gilbert.

2. Trust and Psychological Safety

Less effective approach: Do as I say, control and command. Employees should trust their boss because of their authority and position.

More effective approach: Building trust is a two-way street that requires intentional work from both leaders and employees. Psychological Safety allows leaders to understand the climate required to provide a safe space for the interpersonal risk required in collaborative, innovative teams.

“Trust is the foundation of healthy conversation and relationships. You can’t have psychological safety without trust. Leaders hold an integral part in enabling teams behave accordingly,” says Gilbert.

3. Collaborative Intelligence

Less effective approach: Ideas come from the top down and prioritize individual contributions over collective input. Leaders control the conversation, with very little input from team.

More effective approach: Diverse perspectives, productive dissent and input are encouraged and valued. This allows for enhanced problem-solving, greater engagement and overall improved performance.

“Collaborative intelligence is about harnessing the power of the team. Traditionally, we used to think of collaboration as coercion where one person had an idea and the others followed. Now, we start with the problem we’re trying to solve and collaborate to find solutions. It’s a much more open approach,” says Gilbert.

4. Social Intelligence

Less effective approach: Bosses should maintain order. Culture and employee experience and engagement are by-products and not the priority.

More effective approach: Social intelligence and emotions are crucial to overall performance and workplace culture. We need to manage our own emotions and attune ourselves with others so we can be better teammates and create a more inclusive and supportive workplace.

“Social intelligence is about understanding people and culture to help the team flourish within their environment. An integral part of this is being a good listener. As Ben Zander says, ‘A conductor gets the best music from his orchestra without making a sound at all,’” says Gilbert.

5. Adaptability Intelligence

Less effective approach: If things must change, how can I cope with it?

More effective approach: How can we lead through change so we’re aware of how our team is adapting, allowing them to constantly be innovating and improving? Are we considering how to build team resilience.

“Adaptability intelligence is a mindset that can be flexible, grow and help others through change. It’s about going from fragile to agile. Building individual and team resilience — which are very different. We saw the importance of adaptability rise during COVID. How many times did we say pivot during the pandemic?” says Gilbert.

6. Strategic Intelligence

Less effective approach: Senior leadership sets business goals and tells employees how to accomplish them.

More effective approach: Strategic intelligence encourages leaders to zoom in and out, make connections and actively pursue the positive engagement of their team towards the agreed ‘destination.’

“Strategic intelligence is about anticipating what’s next and determining the best path forward. It’s the ability for leaders to effectively gather, analyze and apply information to make informed decisions that shape the direction and success of their team,” says Gilbert.

Beyond the classroom

SAIT is often recognized as an institution that produces highly skilled graduates. We do that but we also do so much more.

“We are a vital partner in helping businesses navigate the challenges of today’s rapidly changing market and thrive. Leading Beyond Any Title is the tool we use to get businesses there,” says Hess.