Most leadership training is designed for supervisors who have direct reports. But in today’s newsrooms, leaders are just as often responsible for projects, products or people across departments. Demonstrating leadership without formal authority is its own skill, and it’s core to this online leadership workshop from Poynter.
Pulling from the best practices, feedback and application needs of Poynter’s flagship Leadership Academy for Women in Media, this four-session workshop was originally designed to help women and nonbinary journalists in the industry use their social capital to lead with influence. Due to industry-wide demand for this kind of leadership training, we’ve made this iteration of Lead With Influence open to all gender identities.
If you have the official title of project manager or product manager, or are in the position of being responsible for outcomes without formally supervising anyone (including those all-important bridge roles in audience, innovation and strategy), this program is for you.
You might oversee a big investigation, a rewrite of your standards and ethics policies, or the launch of a newsroom partnership. You might be in charge of a crucial element of getting the news out, like building a workflow to accommodate a new product, or making sure that the entire staff knows how to select visual elements, yet you have no team of your own. You have to discern the best way to get buy-in and collaboration across departments.
I gained a ton of useful and usable leadership skills through this class that have already helped me in the newsroom and even in volunteer organizing that I do … I also felt quite welcomed and seen in the group as a nonbinary person.
— Kit O’Connell, Digital Editor, Texas Observer, 2023 alum
In essence, you’re the driving force behind initiatives that are critical for the success of your news media organization. Lead With Influence gives informal but influential leaders like you the leadership training needed to be as effective and successful as possible. Apply by Friday, June 2.
Questions?
If you need assistance, email us at info@poynter.org. Some partial tuition scholarships are available. Let us know if you require financial aid in your application.