What is the Certified Leadership Strategist?

The Certified Leadership Strategist is a globally recognised professional certification by the Global Leadership Institute (GLI), designed to equip professionals with advanced competencies in Leadership & Management.

How long does this certification take?

The programme is 10 Weeks and can be completed at your own pace through our self-paced online option, or alongside live virtual sessions.

Is this certification globally recognised?

Yes. GLI certifications are internationally recognised and carry CPD credits, making them valuable for career advancement worldwide.

What level is this certification?

This is a Intermediate Level certification, suitable for professionals with relevant experience or background in the field.

You can enrol by emailing info@certifications.ac, contacting us via WhatsApp at +254 722 223 084, or filling the enrolment form below.

Certified Leadership Strategist in Belgium | CLES

Executive Summary

Certified Leadership Strategist

Designed for today’s high-impact professionals, the Certified Leadership Strategist (CLES) delivers a rigorous Intermediate-level curriculum that equips participants with the knowledge, tools and frameworks needed to excel in strategic leadership, organisational management and business transformation.

This 10 Weeks programme is structured around recognised global leadership and management competency frameworks, ensuring every graduate applies internationally validated methods to real-world challenges.

GLI’s CLES holders are recognised by leading organisations across Africa, the Gulf, Europe and the Americas as qualified, results-driven professionals. Whether you are advancing your current career or transitioning into new responsibilities, this certification provides the competitive edge you need in 2026 and beyond.

Programme Overview

Certification at a Glance

Certification

Certified Leadership Strategist

Acronym

CLES

Who Should Enrol?

Managers and Team Leaders
Heads of Department and Directors
Senior Executives and Aspiring Leaders
Business Owners and Entrepreneurs

Programme Inclusions

Everything Included in Your Enrolment

All study materials and study guide
Access to GLI online learning portal
Online examination and assessment
Digital certificate and digital badge
Physical certificate (shipped to you)
CPD credits for professional bodies
GLI alumni network membership
Facilitator and tutor support
Resource downloads and reference library
Automatic enrolment confirmation

Certification Benefits

Why This Certification Matters for Your Career

Leadership Capability

Develop the strategic and operational skills to lead complex strategic leadership functions

Career Advancement

Accelerate your career towards executive, director and C-suite leadership roles

Strategic Thinking

Build the strategic thinking, analysis and execution skills of world-class leaders

Organisational Impact

Design and implement strategic leadership systems that drive performance and measurable results

Personal Excellence

Develop emotional intelligence, resilience and authentic executive presence

Global Employability

Qualify for strategic leadership roles across corporates, public institutions, NGOs and enterprises worldwide

Competency Framework

Core Competencies You Will Develop

✦Strategic Thinking, Vision and Direction Setting

✦Leading Teams, People and High Performance

✦Decision-Making, Problem-Solving and Execution

✦Emotional Intelligence and Authentic Leadership

✦Organisational Strategy, Transformation and Growth

✦Professional Ethics and Governance

Course Curriculum

Programme Modules

Click any module to explore the detailed curriculum topics included in this certification.

Foundations and Strategic Context of Certified Leadership Strategist

Certified Leadership Strategist: industry context, trends and professional standards
Theories and models of leadership and management
The manager's roles, responsibilities and mindset
Leadership versus management and when each is needed
Situational and adaptive leadership
Values, purpose and authentic leadership
The organisational context and operating environment
Self-awareness and the leader's identity
Building credibility and executive presence
Ethics and responsible leadership
Personal leadership development planning

Leadership as a Strategic Instrument

Setting and communicating strategic direction
The executive transition: from function to enterprise
Building and running a top team
Working with a board and governance
Innovation and technology investment
Measuring IT value and performance
Executive presence and credibility
Communications strategy and planning
Category management and strategy
Leading in crisis and under scrutiny
Structural and strategic approaches
Investment strategy and allocation
Hedging strategies and instruments
Financial reporting frameworks (IFRS/GAAP)

Designing the Leadership System

Leading through other leaders
Executive time, attention and decision cadence
Succession and the leadership pipeline
Interpreting financial statements
Integrated and sustainability reporting
Management accounts and dashboards
Budget vs actual and variance
Cost and profitability analysis
Forecasting and planning
Decision support and insight
Communicating financial results
Professional roles, boundaries and settings
Ethical principles and codes of practice

Building the Top Team

Building and running a top team
Leading through other leaders
Managing boundaries and dual relationships
Peer support and consultation
Sustaining ethical, effective practice
Visualisation tools and design
KPIs and metric design
Data products and stakeholder value
Habits and behaviour design
Values-based living
Brand strategy, identity and architecture
Digital marketing strategy and channels
The role of IT in business and value creation

The Pipeline Behind the Strategy

Succession and the leadership pipeline
Leading through other leaders
Leading across cultures and geographies
Ethical frameworks and codes of practice
Corporate objectives and shareholder value
Financial strategy and capital allocation
Mergers, funding and growth strategy
Innovation and fintech partnerships
Cost-to-serve and value-for-money analysis
Time value of money and discounting
Pricing, contribution and product decisions
Duty of care and risk management
Complaints, accountability and fitness to practise

Culture as a Leadership Output

Executive ethics and the leader’s shadow
The strategic narrative
Setting and communicating strategic direction
Business model design and unit economics
Value innovation and uncontested market space
Innovation portfolio and the three horizons
Prototyping, experimentation and design thinking
Product launch and go-to-market sequencing
Intellectual property and defensibility of innovation
Innovation culture, incentives and psychological safety
Measuring innovation performance
Design review and quality
Blended and hybrid design

Measuring Leadership Effectiveness

Client feedback and satisfaction
Executive time, attention and decision cadence
Succession and the leadership pipeline
Instructional design models (ADDIE, SAM)
Learning strategy and business alignment
Blended and hybrid learning design
Managing risk and difficult cases
Sustainability, ESG and integrated value
Long-term value creation and stewardship
Real options and strategic investment
Governance and organisational value
Product safety and standards
Sustainability strategy and materiality
Lessons learned and development

Talent and Capability

Sales enablement and coaching
Driving effective, ethical outcomes
Psychoeducation and workshops
Quality monitoring and coaching
Coaching and quality monitoring
Training and capability building
Coaching for performance
Coaching for resilience and wellbeing
Advertising and creative development
Development banking and project finance
Message development and testing
Real estate development and project appraisal
Proposal development and donor reporting
Attachment and developmental theory
Working with organisations on wellbeing

Culture and Engagement

Service culture and brand promise
Building a customer-centric culture
Proactive engagement and success
Win-back and re-engagement
Building a service culture
Employee experience and engagement
Customer and community engagement
Building a culture of compliance
Assurance engagements and standards
Engagement and motivation
Measuring engagement and impact
Building a coaching culture
Cost concepts, classification and behaviour
Employee engagement models and drivers
HR's role in culture, values and employer brand

Enterprise Performance Management

Contract performance and exit
Retail performance metrics: sales densities, conversion and basket
Psychometric and screening tools
Project KPIs and performance metrics
Quality and delivery metrics
Managing schedule and budget performance
Agile metrics and velocity
Setting objectives and marketing KPIs
Funnel, pipeline and conversion metrics
Customer and brand health metrics
Dashboards and performance reporting
Net Promoter Score and satisfaction metrics
Performance management in service
Banking KPIs and branch scorecards
Service quality and turnaround metrics

Strategic Context for Executives

Vision, mission and strategic intent
Competitive strategy and positioning
Setting strategic priorities and choices
Aligning teams around strategy
Strategy execution and the balanced scorecard
Strategic decision-making under uncertainty
Measuring strategic progress
Turning strategy into results
Digital transformation and IT strategy
Procurement’s contribution to organisational strategy
Category management and strategy development
Brand strategy, identity and equity
Pricing strategy
Digital marketing strategy
Key account management strategy

Leading Change

Change talk and readiness
Habit change and behaviour design
Change control and configuration
Organisational change management
Change and adoption in projects
Agile and digital transformation projects
Measuring change and project impact
Baseline setting and change control
Sales and marketing transformation
Measuring growth and transformation impact
Designing an intervention or programme
Change management in finance
Measuring transformation impact
Regulatory change management
Ethical, risk and feasibility considerations

Executive Communication

Management reporting and decision support
Board reporting and information flows
Governance of ESG and reporting
Management and board reporting
Safety communication and campaigns
Environmental monitoring and reporting
Communicating risk to the workforce
Incident reporting and record-keeping
Professional case study and presentation
Toolbox talks and safety communication
Communicating vision and telling stories
Communication planning and management
Reporting and dashboards
Project data, reporting and analytics
Integrated marketing communications

Executive Decision Making

Turning insight into decisions
Prioritising experience investments
Problem loans, restructuring and recovery
Evidence, judgement and scepticism
Root-cause analysis and problem solving
Capital structure and financing decisions
Make-or-buy and outsourcing decisions
Investment and disinvestment decisions
Ethical decision-making under pressure
Structured problem-solving and root-cause analysis
Make, buy or ally: boundary decisions
Escalation and decision-making
Portfolio management and prioritisation
Decision-making and problem solving
Data-driven decision-making

Teams and Forums

Evidence-based practice
Risk assessment and safety planning
Designing and facilitating groups
Working with referrers and multidisciplinary teams
Collaboration and teamwork
Servant leadership and self-organising teams
Facilitation and workshops
Virtual and distributed teams
Team leadership and motivation
Leading project teams
Team development and effectiveness
Team leadership in sales and marketing
Team leadership in field and project settings
Treatment planning and review
Group dynamics, facilitation and community mobilisation

Stakeholder and Investor Relations

Stakeholder identification and analysis
Stakeholder engagement strategy
Managing expectations and influence
Building project relationships
Influencer and affiliate marketing
Managing complexity and comorbidity
Partnership building and multi-stakeholder platforms
Relationship management and retention
Influencing and presenting insights
Managing difficult stakeholders
Stakeholder mapping in banking
Stakeholder mapping and engagement
Stakeholders and users of financial information
Board reporting and investor relations
Stakeholders, agency and accountability

Evidence for Executive Judgement

Predictive safety analytics
Jobs to be done and customer insight
Data quality and master data management
Comparable sales analysis and market evidence
Measurement and analytics for media and social campaigns
Health records, data and confidentiality
Analytical techniques and bias
Data visualisation for finance
Psychodynamic and psychoanalytic approaches
Workplace and organisational contexts
Record-keeping and data protection
Goal setting and action planning
Dashboards and data storytelling
Self-service analytics
Predictive and prescriptive analytics

Risk, Governance and Assurance

Accountability and follow-through
Environmental legal compliance
Wellbeing and resilience coaching
Risk assessment methodology and matrices
Dynamic and site-specific risk assessment
Residual risk and ALARP
Risk registers and monitoring
Measuring coaching outcomes
Compliance monitoring and enforcement
Strengths, flow and engagement
Contract types and risk allocation
Asset-liability committee (ALCO) governance
Derivatives and risk instruments
IT governance frameworks (COBIT)
Enterprise architecture governance

Talent and Capability

Facilitation, coaching and mentoring
High-potential identification and talent reviews
Knowledge management and capability building
Delegating for development
Managing resistance and capability building
Supplier development and improvement
Coaching and developing team members
Continuing professional development
Career pathways and professional development
Measuring development impact
The learning and development profession
Nomination, succession and diversity
Leadership and management development
Coaching models and frameworks (GROW)
Competency framework development

Operating Model

Meaning, purpose and values
Productivity, collaboration and workflow tools
Process improvement and lean thinking
Productivity and efficiency improvement
The procurement cycle and operating models
Reinsurance and capacity management
The vehicle sales process from enquiry to delivery
Capacity planning and line balancing
In-process quality control and inspection
Industrial utilities, energy and process safety interfaces
Outcome and process measures
IT operating models and organisation
Process and control documentation
Competitive bidding processes
Business process mapping

Financial Stewardship

Data-driven and real-time finance
Finance KPIs and the finance scorecard
Benchmarking finance against best practice
Continuous improvement and lean finance
Finance maturity assessment
Driving measurable financial improvement
Costing methods: absorption, marginal and activity-based
Cost-volume-profit and break-even analysis
Standard costing and variance analysis
Budgeting techniques and the budgeting cycle
Flexible budgets and rolling forecasts
Capital and balance-sheet optimisation
SME lending and value-chain finance
Microfinance and group lending
Financial inclusion and agency banking

Technology at Enterprise Level

Ethics, responsibility and digital citizenship
Digital transformation roadmaps
Treasury technology and systems
The finance function and digital transformation
Digital finance and automation roadmaps
Evidence-based practice and research literacy
Digital permits and inspections
Automation and safety technology
Data, records and confidentiality tech
Digital procurement and the future of the profession
Bancassurance and digital insurance models
Email and marketing automation
Marketing technology stack
CRM and marketing automation platforms
Scaling technologies and business models

Market and Customer Perspective

Unified customer view
Customer loyalty and advocacy
Customer lifetime value
Voice of the customer to the business
Brand equity and positioning
Brand guidelines and consistency
Measuring brand health
Customer onboarding and lifecycle
Treating customers fairly and market conduct
Customer and employee satisfaction
Market and interest-rate risk
Customer journey mapping
Voice of the customer programmes
Reducing customer effort
Customer effort and sentiment analysis

Standards and Improvement

Data quality and governance
Professional standards and ethics
Continuous improvement and optimisation
Benchmarking against standards and best practice
Continuous improvement and lessons learned
Sustainability certification and standards
Traceability, recall and quality assurance systems
Quality management systems and audits
Practice management systems
Ethics of technology in practice
Roles, standards and professional conduct
Quality management on site: inspections, hold points and defects
Healthcare quality, safety and accreditation
Reporting quality and governance
Evidence-based improvement

Negotiation and Difficult Conversations

Conflict resolution and mediation
Difficult conversations and feedback
Negotiation and conflict resolution
Negotiation strategy and planning
Negotiation tactics and behaviours
Property viewings, offers and negotiation to close
Managing difficult conversations
Conflicts of interest and procurement ethics
Negotiation and conflict management
Conflict resolution and negotiation
Conflicts of interest and transparency
Working with conflict and change
Conflicts of interest management
Commercial negotiation and value capture
Sponsorship and negotiation selling

Operating Across Borders

Communicating with families and carers
Transfer pricing and international tax
Cross-border data and transfers
Cross-cultural and global inclusion
Global and comparative HR contexts
Global sourcing and international trade
International and cross-border tax
Professional writing and reports
Handling escalations as a leader
Working with product and operations
Integrated marketing communications (IMC)
Psychoeducation and public communication

Legal and Regulatory Environment

Regulation of transport: authorities, conventions and licensing
Tariffs, regulation and the economics of essential services
Building trust and engagement
Leading groups and workshops
Subcontractor and supplier management
Regulation, ethics and misinformation in media and telecoms
Legal responsibilities and professional bodies
Goal setting and contracting
The consulting mindset and trusted advisor positioning
Compliance and regulatory projects
Procurement and contract value
Regulatory capital and ratios
Diagnosing client problems before prescribing solutions
Accounting concepts, principles and the regulatory landscape
Regulatory reporting and disclosure

Portfolio and Delivery Oversight

Capstone scoping: a real project or programme
Designing the project plan and schedule
Project initiation and chartering
Integrated project planning
Project management software and tools
Portfolio and resource management systems
Automation in project delivery
AI and predictive project analytics
Emerging project technologies
Programme management principles
Programme governance and assurance
Corporate portfolio strategy and parenting advantage
Programme cycle management in NGOs
Structuring engagements: scope, deliverables and expectations
Projects and expansion: connecting the unserved

Ethics and Integrity

Ethics and duty of care
Professional ethics and duty of care
Sustainability and climate responsibility
Professional standards and ethics (CIPS)
Sustainability and responsible sourcing
Fair trade and responsible supply
Ethics and professional conduct in security
Corporate responsibility and community
Ethics in tax practice
Ethics, transparency and reputation
Ethics and treating customers fairly in insurance
Ethics in communications
Corporate social responsibility communications
Ethics and suitability
Ethics and professional standards in finance

Growth and Innovation Oversight

Data-driven growth
Discovery interviews and evidence gathering
Managing growth, risk and resilience
Root cause analysis frameworks in advisory work
Innovation in service delivery
Business model design and innovation
Emerging tools and innovation
Innovation and continuous delivery
Growth strategy and demand generation
Innovation and new product launch
Capstone scoping: a real growth or brand challenge
Writing advisory reports that drive decisions
Presenting recommendations to senior decision-makers

Learning Outcomes

What You Will Achieve

Establish a comprehensive understanding of Certified Leadership Strategist principles aligned with recognised global leadership and management competency frameworks
Apply evidence-based methods to improve strategic leadership, organisational management and business transformation
Master strategic thinking, vision and direction setting and leading teams, people and high performance
Apply decision-making, problem-solving and execution and emotional intelligence and authentic leadership in real-world settings
Lead risk management, quality and compliance relevant to your field
Design stakeholder engagement and professional communication strategies
Use data-driven decision-making and performance-measurement tools effectively
Apply internationally recognised best practice to advance your career in strategic leadership

Enrolment Process

How to Get Certified

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Step 1: Choose Your Certification

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Work through 15 structured modules and 150 lessons at your own pace, with downloadable resources and expert-designed content — all inside the LMS.

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Sit your final examination online, earn your certificate instantly, and receive a globally verifiable Certificate ID — plus GLI Alumni Network access.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common Questions

What is the CLES certification?

Yes. GLI certifications are recognised across 100+ countries and are aligned with recognised global leadership and management competency frameworks. Graduates receive a digital certificate, a physical certificate and CPD credits recognised by employers worldwide.

Who should enrol in the CLES?

This certification is ideal for Managers and Team Leaders, Heads of Department and Directors, Senior Executives and Aspiring Leaders and Business Owners and Entrepreneurs, and other professionals seeking to formalise their expertise in strategic leadership, organisational management and business transformation with a globally recognised credential.

How long does the CLES certification take to complete?

The programme is structured over 10 Weeks and offers flexible learning modes. Self-paced learners can progress at their own schedule, while live virtual participants follow a structured cohort schedule with facilitator-led sessions.

Is the CLES internationally recognised?

What is the cost of the CLES certification?

The Certified Leadership Strategist is offered in two formats: Self-Paced at USD 349 and Live Virtual at USD 549. Corporate group rates are available for organisations enrolling 5 or more participants. Contact GLI for a bespoke corporate training quotation.

What does the CLES certification include?

Enrolment includes all study materials and study guides, access to GLI's online learning portal, online examination, digital certificate and badge, physical certificate (posted), CPD credits, GLI alumni network membership, and ongoing facilitator support.

What is the assessment format for the CLES?

The Certified Leadership Strategist is assessed through an online examination consisting of multiple-choice questions, case study analysis, and practical application assignments. The assessment is designed to evaluate real-world competency, not just theoretical recall.

What CPD credits do I earn from the CLES?

The Certified Leadership Strategist carries Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credits, which can be applied towards professional body requirements including recognised international professional associations.

Can I study the CLES while working full-time?

Absolutely. The self-paced option is designed for busy working professionals and allows you to study when and where it suits you. Live virtual sessions are typically scheduled in the evenings or on weekends to accommodate professional commitments.

What career outcomes can I expect from the CLES?

Graduates progress towards executive, director and C-suite leadership roles. The CLES strengthens your expertise in strategic leadership, organisational management and business transformation and positions you for advancement across corporates, public institutions, NGOs and enterprises.

Certified Leadership Strategist

Certified Leadership Strategist

Certification at a Glance

Who Should Enrol?

Everything Included in Your Enrolment

Why This Certification Matters for Your Career

Core Competencies You Will Develop

Programme Modules

What You Will Achieve

How to Get Certified

Common Questions

What Our Alumni Say

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