The   success   story   of   an   organization   is   often   scripted   by   an   efficient   leader. Be   it   a   multinationalorganization or a start-up, an effective leader can add to an organization’s competitive advantage with theright strategy, expertise, and business outlook. However with the increasingly digital world and changingbusiness dynamics, professionals who look to grow as managers should consider improving their skillsthrough   leadership   programs   offered   by   leading   edtech   platforms   and   universities   to   emerge   assuccessful leaders. This  makes itimperative for professionals to equip themselves with relevant technical and managerial skills which theycan   obtain   through   various  offline/online   leadership   programmes. These programmes are designed to train professionals to improve their productivity, make better decisions,nurture teams and build future leaders to strategically drive the organization’s vision. Here are a fewreasons why one must enroll in a leadership program.

Assessing and building leadership qualities

A leader is expected to drive projects to completion, influence external stakeholders, empoweremployees, handle stressful situations, and delegate tasks. Therefore, it is important to not only develop soft skills like good communication, empathy, etc. but also managerial skills includingcritical and innovative thinking, defining and solving complex problems, and effective decisionmaking.

Practical skills

With the adoption of digital technology in most businesses, leaders have to develop both their managerial and technical skills to create solutions and strategies for their organisations.

Well-structured curriculum and hand-picked faculty

Leading institutions and successful edtech organizations offer proven pedagogy along with the right set of mentors to provide high quality education.

Flexibility to learn

A majority of working professionals and entrepreneurs who seek to learn about leadership and implement / test strategies within the safety of an academic setting, struggle to find time due to which they miss on pursuing important education.

Networking opportunities

It is crucial to establish and nurture long-term professional associations to stay abreast of new developments and industry changes. Leadership programmes help professionals in broadening their networks and learn from each other.

The writer is Arjun Nair, Co-founder, Great Learning