Management Development Program - May 2025

• Seven modules of interactive coursework with reflection exercises, case studies, and management tools including corresponding participant workbooks.
• Experience, expertise, and guidance of three Management Development Program trainers.
• SLII® Concepts, and introduction to the most widely used leadership training program in the world (SLII® by the Ken Blanchard® Companies), including an online leadership skills self-assessment, workbook, self-paced coursework, and sessions facilitated by experienced IE managers and experts.
• Networking with fellow participants and trainers.

You have been elevated to a managerial role.

If you’re responsible for making critical decisions for your team or office, the MDP provides proven tools and frameworks to help you succeed. You’ll gain practical strategies for navigating performance management, managing change, and advocating successfully for your program or office’s needs.

You’re ready to build a network of peers in international education.

The MDP is designed to foster collaboration and connection. Through small group work, you’ll deepen your understanding of key concepts while exchanging ideas with fellow participants. You’ll also gain valuable insights from expert MDP trainers, building relationships that extend well beyond the program.

You value learning from a diverse group of leaders.

While the program uses a university setting for case studies and examples, its principles are widely applicable across the international education field. From scanning for opportunities and managing up to leveraging resources and addressing team performance for both under and over performing employees, the MDP equips you with skills to tackle challenges and seize opportunities in any context.

You thrive in an interactive and hands-on learning environment.

The MDP’s in-person format creates a vibrant space for collaboration, connection, and active learning. Through interactive case studies, group activities, and real-time discussions, you’ll engage directly with peers and trainers. This immersive environment allows for spontaneous idea-sharing, immediate feedback, and the opportunity to practice new skills in real-world scenarios. You’ll leave not only with practical tools but also with lasting connections to a supportive community of international education leaders.

The curriculum is reality-based, grounded in theory but focused on application. The content leverages participants' management experiences to illustrate concepts and identify solutions.

Module 1: Seeing Your Program in the Larger Context

• Anticipate and react to environmental factors.
• Conduct an environmental scan to assess external opportunities and triggering factors.
• Build capacity to manage the impact of environmental factors.

Module 2: Organizational Culture

• Examine the impact of organizational culture on your IE program.
• Analyze your own organization's politics.
• Assess and bridge gaps in financial responsibility.

Module 3: Your Managerial Style and the Needs of Your Staff

Building the skills of a situation leader through SLII® Concepts:

• Discover your preferred management style and explore management styles available to leaders.
• Identify the support needs of your staff regarding specific tasks.
• Match your managerial approach to individual needs.

Module 4: Performance Management

• Apply a performance management model to programs and staff.
• Identify opportunities to improve approaches to performance management.
• Develop a personal performance plan to manage both under-performing and high-performing employees.

Module 5: Managing Change

• Develop a systematic approach to managing change.
• Apply model to a past or an ongoing change effort.
• Determine the impact on your team.

Module 6: Increasing Support for Your Program

• Align program goals to institutional goals.
• Conduct a stakeholder analysis.
• Improve advocacy with stakeholders and decision-makers.

Module 7: Sustaining Yourself as a Manager

• Exchange insights and strategies for balancing work and life.
• Generate ideas and actions to manage stress more effectively.
• Review and identify the strategies and tools from MDP most likely to increase your effectiveness as an IE manager.

Closing

• Create an action plan to move forward

This program will take place in-person in San Diego, CA in conjunction with the 2025 NAFSA Annual Conference & Expo.

Sunday, May 25

8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Module 1: Seeing Your Program in the Larger Context

Module 2: Organizational Culture

Module 3: Your Managerial Style and the Needs of Your Staff

Monday, May 26

8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Module 4: Performance Management

Module 5: Managing Change

Tuesday, May 27

1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Module 6: Increasing Support for Your Program

Module 7: Sustaining Yourself as a Manager