Who's this For?
Who's this For?

New & emerging leaders

Supervisors with less than 3 years of experience

Those identified in succession planning

Apply the Learning
Apply the Learning

To continue to enhance participants’ learning between each course, participants will be required to complete an ‘Apply the Learning’ assignment to reinforce the learnings from the previous session and to prepare them for the upcoming session.

Course Overviews
Course Overviews

Below you'll find an overview of each day of learning and what you'll gain from participation.
Day 1
Emotional Intelligence Foundations

Emotional Intelligence Foundations helps leaders understand what happens to our minds, bodies and emotions during moments of pressure and develop greater choice in how they respond.

  • How the brain responds to stress, pressure, and perceived threats.
  • How emotional needs and workplace situations can trigger strong reactions.
  • How your own behavioural tendencies may show up differently under pressure.
  • How to recognize early warning signs before a reaction escalates.
  • How to pause and consider the leadership impact you want to have in the moment.
Day 1
What You'll Gain
  • You will leave with greater awareness of your emotional patterns, practical language for recognizing what happens when you are triggered, and tools you can use to create space between what happens and how you respond.
  • The goal is not to eliminate emotional reactions. It is to notice them earlier, understand them more clearly, and choose a response that is more aligned with the leader you want to be.
Day 2
Own Your Role as a Leader

Own Your Role as a Leader helps leaders navigate the shift from being a peer to leading others, build clarity around what their role requires, and become more intentional about how they show up.

  • What changes when you move from peer to leader - including responsibilities, relationships, boundaries, and trust.
  • What leadership requires of you from four perspectives: yourself, your direct reports, your manager, and your organization.
  • The difference between leading yourself and leading others - and why both matter.
  • How clarity, confidence, communication, trust, and influence shape your leadership presence.
  • How to focus your time and energy on what you can control and influence, rather than what is outside your control.
Day 2
What You'll Gain
  • You will leave with greater clarity about your leadership role, greater awareness of how you show up, and practical strategies for leading with greater confidence and intention.
  • You'll have explored the expectations placed on you from different directions, identified opportunities to strengthen your leadership presence, and used the Circle of Control, Influence and Concern to consider where to focus your energy.
  • The goal is not to become a different kind of leader. It's to own your role, lead with intention, and make an impact - by becoming more deliberate about how you show up and the choices you make every day.
Day 3
Building Trust Through Feedback

Building Trust Through Feedback helps leaders build the confidence and skills to have feedback conversations that strengthen accountability, support growth, and protect working relationships.

  • What makes workplace conversations effective - and why some conversations become difficult, awkward, or avoided.
  • How to give feedback with Care, Clear & Impact-Focused communication, and Curiosity.
  • How to interrupt unwanted behaviour respectfully and confidently.
  • How to prepare for and discuss difficult feedback that supports accountability and growth.
  • How to receive feedback with curiosity, reflection, and openness rather than defensiveness.
  • How to navigate challenging situations and recognize when it's important to step in.
Day 3
What You'll Gain
  • You'll leave with a practical feedback framework, greater confidence in your ability to step into difficult conversations and strategies you can use immediately to create clearer expectations, stronger accountability, and more productive working relationships.
  • The goal isn't to have perfect conversations. It's to have conversations that matter - in a way that helps people grow, strengthens relationships, and builds trust.
Day 4
Performance Management Fundamentals

Performance Management is not about waiting until problems become serious. Performance Management Fundamentals helps leaders recognize performance concerns early, create clear expectations, have meaningful performance conversations, and follow through consistently to support improvement over time. ⁣

  • How to recognize and diagnose performance concerns before taking action.
  • How to distinguish between different types and levels of performance concerns.
  • How to create clear, specific, observable, and measurable expectations.
  • How to use practical tools such as the Performance Spectrum, SMARTER goals, and CLEAR Leadership Model.
  • How to lead timely performance conversations using the 3C Conversation Model.
  • How to respond when employees become defensive, emotional, or resistant.
  • How to reinforce accountability through follow-up, documentation, check-ins, and clear next steps.
Day 4
What You'll Gain
  • You will leave with greater confidence in recognizing performance concerns, clearer ways to establish expectations, and practical tools for leading difficult conversations.
  • The goal is not to have one perfect performance conversation. It is to build the consistency, clarity, trust, and follow-through that support strong performance over time.
Day 5
Union Management Relations

Leading in a unionized environment comes with its own responsibilities. Union Management Relations helps you understand the foundations of unions, collective agreements and management rights, and how your everyday decisions and communication can build or damage trust. It gives you practical ways to interpret agreement language, address concerns early, and approach labour-management relationships with collaboration instead of confrontation.

  • The purpose and structure of unions, collective agreements and management rights.
  • The leader’s role in building collaborative labour-management relationships.
  • How to interpret and apply collective agreement language with more confidence.
  • How to address workplace concerns early to reduce grievances and conflict escalation.
  • How communication, consistency and everyday decisions build or damage trust.
  • How grievance, negotiation and arbitration processes work.
  • How to balance operational needs with employee rights, working relationships and organizational expectations.
Day 5
What You'll Gain
  • You’ll leave with a clearer understanding of collective agreements and the processes around them, more confidence handling common challenges such as performance concerns, overtime and role clarity, and practical ways to lead fairly, consistently and professionally.
  • The goal isn’t to become a labour relations expert. It’s to lead with the fairness and consistency that build trust, and to handle difficult situations before they become formal ones.

I enjoyed the balance of interactions with the instructor and peers, as well as the material and instruction. Peer experience has enhanced the experience.

Steve Voulgaris Grid Operations & Modernization, GrandBridge Energy

I particularly liked the part where we all shared stories from our experiences on different topics we were assigned. Very interesting to see how the different people engage.

Carl Thall Operations Supervisor, Greater Sudbury Utilities

Bob is really knowledgeable and makes the learning enjoyable.

Shaun Wang Manager of Sys Planning & Cust Connections, Enova Power Corp

Training was very engaging and relevant for people in Utility sector and challenges faced by it.

Waqas Latif Manager Capital Planning & Analysis, Burlington Hydro

Thought it was great and engaging and really applies to everyday work life.

Ryan Anderson Manager of Metering Services, ERTH (Holdings) Inc.

Your MCE Business Development Officer

Business Development Officer for Southwestern Ontario - Brantford to Windsor Sue Buckley

Sue Buckley is a Business Development Officer with MCE, responsible for the Southwestern Ontario – Brantford to Windsor area.

During Sue’s career she has received a reputation for her excellent organizational skills, customer service focus, efficiency, accuracy, and outstanding interpersonal skills.

Sue has over 25 years of experience as a results-driven professional in business management. As a well-rounded professional, Sue has experience in project management, training, sales, marketing, strategic leadership, and human resources management. Sue's proven success and direct experience as a qualified Canadian Human Resources Leader (CHRL) have allowed her to partner with businesses in providing human resources expertise. Email or call Sue at 226.387.1985.