Adaptive Leadership Skills for First-Time Managers

Congratulations! You’ve been promoted to a people management role. You have a new title, new team, and new responsibilities.

Now what?

ONA’s Adaptive Leadership Skills for First-Time Managers course is designed for new managers in their first two years in a management role, but it can also be a good resource for more seasoned managers looking for a leadership reset and to return to basics. 

This is not your typical leadership program with stale business tropes and theory. It’s designed to help you build creative, collaborative and resilient teams ready to adapt to shifting conditions and environments facing the journalism field now and in the future. The course is full of practical advice and strategies you can put to use right away, including:

• Handling difficult conversations
• Developing resilience in the face of constant change
• Assessing and maximizing your own leadership style and understanding how it impacts your relationships with your team, peers and bosses
• Building and maintaining trust
• Creating collaborative and productive team environments, where everyone can do their best work
• Going from peer to boss

Sessions will be interactive and guide you through the process of crafting a leadership strategy designed just for you, with your skills and goals in mind.

You’ll leave the program with all these skills, plus a personal mission statement for yourself as a leader, a set of goals and a roadmap tailored to your next challenge, and a network of other managers in the same position you’re in, to share advice and camaraderie moving forward.

Logistics

The course will be held virtually, with two-hour sessions running once a week on Tuesdays starting Aug. 4 for four consecutive weeks via Zoom. Registration is capped to ensure everyone can participate in group discussions. Spots are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

What you'll get

• Exclusive access to session recordings, in case you miss or want to revisit a session
• All handouts, worksheets and homework assignments for each session
• Access to a private Slack group for course participants
• Access to community of other managers to get advice and support during and after the course
• A digital certificate of completion

Lead Trainer

Kathy Lu (she/her) is the founder of Audiencibility, a consulting business that thrives in helping journalists achieve personal and professional goals. She is currently the coordinator for ONA's Women's Leadership Accelerator and has served as an adjunct at Poynter Institute. She leads training on effective management and leadership strategies. She also works with Brevity & Wit, a leading consulting group in human-centered design around equity and inclusion. Kathy draws from more than two decades of experience in journalism as a leader and editor. She has worked in public media and at newspapers, and has seen many iterations of the digital transformation.