Applied Leadership Program

Industry partner will present a real life leadership dilemma facing their organization.

Date: April 24, 2025
Time: 5:00pm - 8:30pm
Instructor: Diana Sarkis

Instructor: Francine Durivage

Topics include:

• Phases of a Project Framework
• Successful Project Criteria
• Triple Constraints
• Developing a Project Charter and Schedule
• Risk Management Identification
• Managing Costs, Schedule and Scope
• Closing the Project

Instructor: Dr. Amir Talaei

Topics include:

• Communication Frameworks
• Ways Communications Can Fail
• Improving Listening Skills
• Virtual Communication
• Cultural Communication
• Communication with Difficult People

Instructor: Dr. Amir Talaei

Topics include:

• Three Main Phases of Change 
• 5-stage ADKAR Change Management Model 
• Tactics and Best Practices of Going Through Change 
• Resistance to Change and How to Overcome It 
• The Change Conversation 
• Understand the factors affecting organizational change 

Instructor: Diana Sarkis

Topics include:

• Defining Leadership
• Self-Reflection on Your Leadership Skills
• Growth Mindset
• Emotional Intelligence
• Qualities of a Good Leader
• Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership
• Understanding Your Followers and Adapting Your Leadership Style
• Determining Your Leadership Philosophy
• Creating a Leadership Development Plan

Instructor: Diana Sarkis

Topics include:

• Role of a Supervisor
• Supervisor vs. Coach
• Delegation
• Handling Complaints
• Coaching Guidelines
• Managing Performance
• Setting performance objectives
• Conducting performance reviews
• Giving constructive feedback
• Begin to develop a coaching plan for an individual

Instructor: Kyle Brykman

Topics include:

• Why Good Teamwork Matters
• Defining a Team vs. Group
• 6 Keys to a Resilient Team
• How to Build a Resilient Team
• Pros and Cons of Team Conflict
• Stages of Teamwork and When Conflict Happens
• Using Various Conflict Management Styles
• Setting S.M.A.R.T. goals
• Begin Your Plan to Build a Resilient Team

Instructor: Diana Sarkis 

Your industry guided capstone project allows you to practice communication, leadership, teamwork and planning skills learned throughout the program.  Working with a small team, you will strategize and develop a solution to a common leadership challenge.

Dr. Amir Talaei holds a Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology and has completed three Post-Doctoral Fellowships in the fields of leadership and organizational psychology focusing on leader counterproductive work behaviours, managing high conflict personalities in the workplace, and motivational processes in underperforming employees. He also holds certificates in Effective Workplace Communication, Supervision, Customer Service Management, Coaching, and Human Resources Management from the Universities of Waterloo, Toronto, and Calgary. Amir is currently a Partner and the Director of Applied Research at E.M. Vokes, Ph.D. & Associates, an organization development and change management consulting firm, based in Windsor, Ontario. He and his research team have been involved in the development and advancement of applied theories that have been used in training and coaching of organizational leaders at different levels in the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors. Amir’s passion is identifying and countermanding management pseudo-science, and translating the cutting-edge psychological science into practical solutions for organizational challenges leaders routinely face. He has presented his work at several national and international conferences across the globe in countries such as Canada, USA, Japan, France, Italy, and Czech Republic.

Diana Sarkis currently works as a Sessional Instructor at the Odette School of Business at the University of Windsor. She teaches courses at the Master of Business (MBA) and the undergraduate program in the Management and Labour areas. Diana operates as an HR Consultant, where she partners with organizations throughout Canada to provide expertise in compensation, training and development, recruitment and outplacement services. She previously worked in the field of human resources in a full-time capacity in various sectors, including manufacturing, professional services and the broader public sector. Through her employment experience, Diana has gained extensive experience in labour relations, recruitment, training and development and strategic human resources practices. Diana completed a Master of Industrial Relations (MIR), a specialized advanced degree in human resources and labour relations, at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. She completed a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree from the Odette School of Business at the University of Windsor. Diana also holds a Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) designation through the Human Resources Professional Association. She has served the HR community as the Chair of the Human Resources Professional Association of Windsor

Francine Durivage helps individuals, groups and industry leaders handle the often challenging landscape of Project Management in a practical and impactful way. She works with private and not for profit businesses domestically and internationally as well as all levels of government to create or enhance their project frameworks, project management offices and to upskill the project team’s abilities and execution.

In addition to providing a broad set of in-demand courses, Francine has created two university accredited certifications in the areas of Project Management and Business Process Improvement. For Francine it is the ability to positively impact results, make the project a more enjoyable experience and remove impediments by providing user friendly tools, techniques, tips, troubleshooting and tutorials that fuel her passion for project management.

A fluently bilingual instructor (English, French), Francine is the Founder and President of Durivage Management Solutions Limited where she and her team have worked in more than a dozen countries on three continents. She is a speaker, trainer, consultant, author and project manager. Francine holds a Master of Project Management (MPM), a Masters Certificate in Organizational Development (MCOD), and a B(Psychology), as well as having multiple industry credentials including certifications as a Project Management Professional (PMP) and PRINCE2 Practitioner (P2P) and has been using Agile project methods for the past 20 years.

Kyle Brykman is an Assistant Professor of Management at Odette School of Business at the University of Windsor. Kyle's research focuses on employee voice and interpersonal team dynamics, including team resilience and conflict. Kyle's mission is to help employees speak up with higher quality ideas and to assist leaders with creating and sustaining effective teamwork, such as by building their teams’ resilient capabilities and improving their conflict-experiences. As part of his research, Kyle has worked with large and small companies to diagnose and improve their human capital challenges. Kyle's research has been published in various prestigious academic journals, including the Journal of Organizational Behavior and Small Group Research, and presented at various international conferences, including the Academy of Management and Society of Industrial-Organizational Psychology. Kyle holds a PhD in Management (Organizational Behaviour) from Smith School of Business at Queen's University, an MSc in Management (Organizational Behaviour & Human Resource Management) from Wilfrid Laurier University, and an HBA from Ivey School of Business.   

• This program is eligible for the OSAP Micro-credential application (OSAPMC).
• Participants must be registered into the program prior to applying for OSAPMC.
• You now have the option to place a deposit during registration to secure your spot, which will provide documentation for you to submit an OSAPMC application.
  • Please note: Full payment must be made 1 week prior to the course start date regardless of OSAPMC approval.
• In the event that OSAPMC is not approved, please email us at continue@uwindsor.ca at least one 1 week prior to the course start date to request a refund.
• Register for this program accordingly to allow ample time for your application to be processed. It takes approximately 10-15 business days for the OSAPMC application to be processed.