The Winning Edge - Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad

The Winning Edge:
Communication Strategies for
Leaders
September 14-19, 2009
You are a competent manager and the boss of dozens, scores, or
perhaps even hundreds of people. But do these people regard you as
a leader? Does your communication radiate leadership? Does it need
to? In the humdrum of the workplace, is there place for inspiration
and motivation?
If you are not perceived as a leader but only as a boss, you may
be constantly facing a battle that seems to not go your way despite
your great ideas and strategies. In our fast-changing times you can no
longer command compliance on the strength of your status alone.
Your colleagues and subordinates have to willingly concede that you
are their leader, and follow you. Your ideas need to be sold to others if
you want them to take ownership of implementing these and making
them successful. Working with people in a world where traditional
hierarchies have yielded place to more flat structures, our biggest
strength may turn out to be our ability to inspire trust, to establish
credibility, and to earn respect. In this battle for minds and hearts,
communicating like a leader is what will give you the winning edge.
What does it mean to communicate like a leader? There is no single,
clear definition, nor a magic formula to develop the necessary skills.
Yet, each of us can take the necessary steps to develop a communication
style that radiates leadership. But it cannot be a one-size-fits-all
solution. Each of us can develop a style that suits our personality,
strengths, values, and circumstances. The Winning Edge helps you
reflect systematically on your current communication strategies, and
refine them so that they fit your position as leader.
Why not take a week off and join us to reflect and ponder over
what it means to communicate like a leader? In the process, you
will sharpen your most important managerial tool and test it out on
highly accomplished peers from other functional areas and other
organizations. The experience could pave the way for a transformation
for you, your team, and perhaps your organization. With the right
communication strategies and well-honed skills, you may be able to
inspire your followers and persuade them to reach for goals that seem
impossible or at least uninteresting to them now.

Our promise
Our methodology
Our expectations
We will sensitize you to several leader communication strategies. We
will help you review your leadership style, and develop strategies for
meeting a range of communication challenges as a leader. We will
focus on:
• Communicating as a leader
• Leader as developer
• Delivering bad news well
• Persuasive speaking
• Taking people along
• Inspiring talks and presentations
• Writting with impact
We follow the participant-centred ‘workshop methodology’
throughout. There are several activities including group work, roleplays,
case analysis, and interactive lecturettes. The focus of the entire
programme is on helping you reflect on your styles and strategies
rather than teaching you concepts. Be prepared to be stretched. You
won’t have a dull moment any time during the programme.
We expect you to have substantial managerial experience as a senior
manager heading an organization, a division, or a department, with
people reporting to you. You may be from the private or public
sector, academics, politics, government, NGOs… from any kind
of organization, from any country. But you must be managing and
leading people.
We expect you to do some ‘homework’ before you arrive. We will
mail you the details of this once your nomination is accepted.
We expect you to arrive here on Sunday, September 13, 2009 and to
be ready for some pre-programme group activities starting about 9 pm.
The programme closes about 1.30 pm on Saturday, September 19. We
expect you to attend all the sessions including the valedictory one just
before lunch on the closing day because it is not an inconsequential
ceremony but a part of the collective reflection and action planning
that you cannot skip without compromising the value of your Winning
Edge experience.
We expect you not to lug your office along, bring your spouse or
children, or fix up client meetings in the evenings. There are planned
group activities every evening. (We did warn you about getting
stretched, didn’t we?)
“Winning edge has changed my life, it has had an everlasting effect on
me regarding the way of looking at things. Any job is drab, but success depends
on the attitude with which you are performing it. This programme transformed
me to love my job.”
Dipankar Bandyopadhyay
Asst. Vice President
Reliance Industries Ltd.
Gas Cracker Plant
Nagothane Manufacturing Div.

Facilitators
Venue and
Accommodation
Fee
The following IIM-A Professors are the core facilitators.
Deepti Bhatnagar
Asha Kaul
Smeeta Mishra
Matthukutty M Monippally
Meenakshi Sharma,
Coordinator: msharma@iimahd.ernet.in
Rajeev Sharma
Neharika Vohra
There are a couple of guest facilitators, too.
The programme will be held at Management Development Centre,
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Participants get full
board and air-conditioned, single room accommodation in the Institute
campus.
Rs. 70,000 per participant from SAARC countries including India and
US$ 2,400 for participants from other countries. The fee covers tuition
charges, teaching material, full board, and lodging.
Fee for the programme can be paid by Demand Draft, payable at
Ahmedabad, India or a pan India cheque payable at par. The cheque
or draft should be in favour of “Indian Institute of Management,
Ahmedabad.”
Fee can also be paid through Electronic fund transfer. The details are:
1. For credit to Savings Bank A/c No. 032010100040460, IIM, Ahmedabad
Axis Bank, Vastrapur Branch (RTGS Code: UTIB0000032)
2. Name of Remitter:________________ (Please mention the name
of the sponsoring organization)
3. Purpose of Remittance: The Winning Edge:
Communication Strategies for Leaders
4. IIMA Permanent Account Number (PAN): AAATI1247F
Please DO inform us the complete transaction details so that we
can connect the same.
In case of any cancellation, the fee will be refunded only if a request is
received at least 15 days prior to the programme commencement date.
Discount
Early Bird Discount: Nominations received with payments on or
before August 24, 2009 will be entitled to an early bird discount of
10%. Early submission of fee and nomination does not, however,
guarantee acceptance of application.
“The programme was especially useful in reiterating the importance and
pervasive influence that communication plays in the success of an organization.
The use of live examples and case studies helped to anchor classroom discussions
with practical issues.”
Thomas Abraham
Executive Manager, Assurance
Ernst & Young
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Group Discount: Any organization sponsoring five or more participants
to the programme will be entitled to a discount of 10% on total fee
payable, provided that at least five participants actually attend the
programme. At the time of submission of nomination forms, sponsors
are requested to pay the full fee. Applicable discounts will be given on
completion of programme through refund cheques.
Organizations can avail themselves of both the discounts subject to a
maximum overall discount of 15%.
Income-tax Exemption: The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, holds
income-tax exemption certificate No. ACIT/TDS Circle/IIM/2009-10/176 dated
16/06/2009 under section 197 of the I.T. Act, 1961, issued by Assistant Commisoner
of Income Tax, TDS Circle, Ahmedabad, which is valid up to March 31, 2010.
Therefore, tax on professional fee paid may not be deducted at source.
Nominations
and Inquiries
Alumni Association
Nominations should reach the Manager - MDP latest by August 31,
2009.
Organizational sponsorship is generally required, but can be waived in
case the participant is likely to gain significantly from the programme
for personal improvement, or greater job effectiveness. A formal
acceptance letter will be sent to nominees subject to selection and
approval by programme faculty.
For nomination forms and more information, please contact:
Manager - MDP
Indian Institute of Management, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad 380 015
Phone: 91-79-6632 4071-7, 91-79-6544 9057
Fax: 91-79-2630 0352 (MDP)/2630 6896 (General)
email: mdp@iimahd.ernet.in • website: www.iimahd.ernet.in/mdp
Participants become members of the IIMA Alumni Association on
completion of the programme. The alumni enjoy certain benefits with
regard to the Institute’s publications, facilities, and activities.
“As an American with an MBA from an American University, the Winning Edge
gave me invaluable insights on effective communication techniques specifically for
Indian etiquette, customs and culture. Of course the professors were world class,
but equally valuable was the opportunity to discuss practical communication
techniques from 30 other leading Indian managers and executives.”
Dan Huntington
Associate Principal - Corporate Structural Department Manager & India Operations Manager,
KJWW Engineering Consultants
“The Winning Edge was most useful in re-affirming the importance of people to
people communications at multiple levels in maintaining a healthy workplace
environment, when there is an overkill of multiple modes of communication.
It helped to bring in the human element in communication as opposed to the
bombardment of information, relevant and otherwise.”
Vijay Sukumar
Director - R&D, PepsiCo India

Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA), was set up by the Government of India in collaboration
with the Government of Gujarat and Indian industry as an autonomous institution in 1961. The Institute
provides education, training, consulting, and research facilities in management.
The Institute conducts the following major programmes:
• Two-Year Post-Graduate Programme in Management (equivalent to MBA)
• Two-Year Post-Graduate Programme in Agri-business Management (equivalent to MBA)
• Fellow Programme in Management (equivalent to Ph.D.)
• One-year Post-Graduate Programme in Management for Executives (PGPX, equivalent to MBA)
• One-year Post-Graduate Programme in Public Management and Policy (PGP-PMP, equivalent to MBA)
• Management Development Programmes (MDPs) for industry, business, agricultural and rural sectors,
and public systems covering education, health, transport, and population. In the last 48 years, over
44,000 managers have participated in various MDPs.
• Faculty Development Programme for teachers in universities and colleges.
The Institute has over 90 faculty members working in the following management areas and sectors:
Disciplinary Areas v Business Policy • Communications • Economics • Finance and Accounting •
Marketing • Organizational Behaviour • Personnel and Industrial Relations • Production and Quantitative
Methods
INTERDISCIPLINARY CENTRES AND GROUPS v Centre for Innovation, Incubation, and Entrepreneurship
• Centre for Infrastructure Policy and Regulation • Centre for Management in Agriculture • Centre for
Management of Health Services • Centre for Retailing • Computer and Information Systems Group • Faculty
Development Centre • Gender Resource Centre • IIMA-Idea Telecom Centre of Excellence • Insurance
Research Centre • Public Systems Group • Ravi J. Matthai Centre for Educational Innovation
Kasturbhai Lalbhai Management Development Centre (KLMDC) located on the IIMA main campus and
International Management Development Centre (IMDC), located on the new campus, provide an academic
and learning environment for participants of the Management Development Programmes. All rooms at
KLMDC and IMDC are furnished and air-conditioned. They have separate dining halls, a reading lounge,
well equipped classrooms, auditoriums, syndicate rooms, and computer labs. The Institutue’s campus is
wi-fi enabled. Fitness centre and facilities for indoor and outdoor games exist on the campus.
MDP/09-10/2K