Storytelling is an essential part of leadership. Effective leaders communicate to inspire talent to excel; to partner with investors and communities; to engage with customers and clients and to grow their impact in the world as part of a global community. Cultivating an authentic, trustworthy and compelling narrative is vital to a leader’s success. This course helps leaders find their own story through personal branding; develop storytelling success with all constituencies; initiate an effective voice for crisis; interact well through social and third party media; and communicate a vision for innovation.
This course is part of the Organizational Leadership Specialization
Leadership Communication for Maximum Impact: Storytelling
Offered By
About this Course
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Skills you will gain
CommunicationLeadershipInnovationCrisis Management
Learners taking this Course are
- Chief Financial Officers (CFOs)
- Project Coordinators
- IT Managers
- Chief Operations Officers (COOs)
- Marketing Managers
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Week
11 hour to complete
Leadership Lessons From Great Brands
What makes a brand truly great? What makes a leader truly great? In this module, our first leadership lessons will be learned from great brands. Understanding great brands will then help you as you build your own personal brand.
6 videos (Total 32 min), 3 readings
6 videos
Introduction to Module 13m
What Makes Brands Great6m
The Branding-You Audit9m
Branding-You Insight4m
Goals7m
3 readings
Pre-Course Survey10m
Meet Your Professors10m
Course Grading & Logistics10m
Week
225 minutes to complete
The Art of Leadership Storytelling Made Simple
In this module, you will learn about the art of storytelling made simple. You’ll learn to use storytelling as a powerful strategic communications tool to inform, engage, motivate and inspire those key audiences that are critical to your success. You will also be introduced to the concept of visual mind mapping as a way of helping you to effectively structure your story.
5 videos (Total 25 min)
5 videos
The Power of Storytelling5m
It All Starts with the Audience7m
The Structure of a Great Story – Visual Mind Mapping5m
Visual Narrative Mapping Applied4m
Week
323 minutes to complete
Storytelling in Crisis: The Ultimate Marketing Event
Conquering a media-driven crisis means doing the "right" thing and then telling a fact-based story about it. In this module, you’ll learn that what you do and how well you tell your story is key to your crisis communication strategy. You’ll learn that the most effective crisis responders have planned for the unplanned and recognize that there is a big difference between knowing what to do ... and being ready to do it.
5 videos (Total 23 min)
5 videos
Crisis Response: Maximum Exposure, Minimum Delay6m
Critical Audiences: Know who they are and how to reach them ... in a hurry4m
The Rules of Crisis Media Engagement: "The network is calling. Now what?"5m
Planning for the Unplanned: Know what to do ... and be ready to do it6m
Week
43 hours to complete
Leadership Storytelling and Innovation
Leadership requires an innovation mindset, but getting others inspired by new approaches or products requires storytelling. This module will augment your leadership communication capacity as you grow your organization.
6 videos (Total 32 min), 2 readings, 1 quiz
6 videos
Leadership Storytelling and Innovation 15m
Innovation and Storytelling Round Table: What is innovation and the leader’s role10m
Innovation and Storytelling Round Table 2: Practical Examples10m
Leadership Storytelling and Innovation 23m
Conclusion of Course 2 with Dean Blount1m
2 readings
Post-Course Survey10m
Optional Readings10m
4.4
135 Reviews67%
started a new career after completing these courses
43%
got a tangible career benefit from this course
Top reviews from Leadership Communication for Maximum Impact: Storytelling
The subjects selected are relevant, the professors are very knowledgable, engaging and inspiring and they answer all the questions promptly.\n\nI enjoyed this course tremendously, highly recommended!
I liked this course a lot as it gave me the opportunity to work doing the assignment, helping me to think as an executive team leader. It was very challenged but very rewarding at the end of it.
Instructors
Tom Collinger
Executive Director Spiegel Research CenterMedill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications
Ernest Duplessis
FacultyMedill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications
Hud Englehart
FacultyMedill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications
Candy Lee
ProfessorMedill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications
About Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research and teaching university with campuses in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, and Doha, Qatar. Northwestern combines innovative teaching and pioneering research in a highly collaborative environment that transcends traditional academic boundaries.
About the Organizational Leadership Specialization
Equip yourself to successfully lead organizations through clarity of purpose and effective collaboration — by building and motivating teams; designing and delivering powerful stories; developing strategies to appropriately influence; understanding underlying customer analytics and applying innovative approaches to deliver impact.
How do aspiring managers succeed in an ever-changing business environment? How do they lead different groups to action? This specialization equips aspiring managers to lead change and leverage different roles and functions within for-profit institutions to create lasting value in the marketplace. Throughout the five courses, we will explore how great leaders assess themselves and lead collaborative teams that effectively manage negotiations and conflict. We will discover how leaders communicate through storytelling and employ other communication strategies to influence. Furthermore, we will learn how organizations start with the clarity of purpose that comes from an understanding of customers’ needs, including leveraging data analytics, and use that focus to drive the design of products and services to meet those needs effectively. At the end of the coursework, students will create a capstone project that allows them to apply what they have learned.
Each of the individual courses can be audited for free: 1-High Performance Collaboration: Leadership, Teamwork, and Negotiation, 2-Leadership Communication for Maximum Impact: Storytelling, 3-Leadership Through Social Influence, 4-Leadership Through Marketing, 5-Leadership Through Design Innovation.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Once you enroll for a Certificate, you’ll have access to all videos, quizzes, and programming assignments (if applicable). Peer review assignments can only be submitted and reviewed once your session has begun. If you choose to explore the course without purchasing, you may not be able to access certain assignments.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
What is the refund policy?
Is financial aid available?
More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.