What is the Certified Strategic Business Leader?

The Certified Strategic Business Leader 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 12 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 Advanced 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 Strategic Business Leader in Côte d'Ivoire

Course Curriculum

Programme Modules

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

Foundations and Strategic Context of Certified Strategic Business Leader

Certified Strategic Business Leader: 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

Taking the Enterprise View

The executive transition: from function to enterprise
Setting and communicating strategic direction
Building and running a top team
Executive presence and credibility
Manufacturing strategies: make-to-stock, make-to-order and batch versus flow
Maintenance in production: preventive, predictive and breakdown
Leading in crisis and under scrutiny
Preparing financial statements
Telecom products, tariffs and customer lifecycles
Content strategy across platforms
Creating content that performs: formats, hooks and production
Financial reporting frameworks (IFRS/GAAP)
Interpreting financial statements
Reporting quality and governance

Setting Direction People Can Use

Setting and communicating strategic direction
The strategic narrative
Leading through other leaders
Management accounts and dashboards
Growth, lactation and productivity
Feeding for reproduction and performance
Reproductive physiology and cycles
Artificial insemination and reproductive technologies
Value-chain and supply-chain finance
Measuring ERP value
Digital learning strategy
Innovation and experimentation in learning
Designing a learning programme or curriculum

Running the Business Through Leaders

Leading through other leaders
Executive time, attention and decision cadence
Building and running a top team
Budget vs actual and variance
Cost and profitability analysis
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
Forecasting and planning

Where Executive Attention Belongs

Executive time, attention and decision cadence
Data visualisation for finance
Decision support and insight
Design review and quality assurance
Communicating financial results
Psychodynamic and psychoanalytic approaches
Gamification and interactive design
Accessibility and universal design
Assessment design and methods
Data-driven learning design
Innovation in learning technology
Learning strategy and roadmaps
Onboarding and induction design
Professional roles, boundaries and settings

Building Successors and Depth

Succession and the leadership pipeline
Leading through other leaders
Executive ethics and the leader’s shadow
Communications strategy and planning
Category management and strategy
Supplier development and innovation
Financial inclusion strategy
The HR function: roles, operating models and value creation
Strategic analysis: PESTLE, SWOT and Porter’s Five Forces
The role of finance in organisations and value creation
Instructional design models (ADDIE, SAM)
Learning strategy and business alignment
Blended and hybrid learning design

Standing Up in Difficulty

Ethical principles and codes of practice
Managing boundaries and dual relationships
Working with a board and governance
Designing a service or experience improvement
Operational efficiency and productivity
Customer experience strategy
Touchpoint and channel design
Design thinking for service
Customer lifetime value
Growing value through service
Working with product and operations
Banking products, services and delivery channels
Innovation and fintech collaboration
Peer support and consultation
Sustaining ethical, effective practice

Strategic Context for Executives

Customer service and CX strategy
Sustaining strategic customer focus
Competitive bidding processes
Real options and strategic investment
Sustainability strategy and materiality
Training needs analysis and learning strategy
Strategic workforce planning and demand forecasting
Reward strategy and total reward frameworks
Wellbeing and holistic health strategy
Vision, mission and strategic intent
Competitive strategy and positioning
Strategic decision-making under uncertainty
Measuring strategic progress
Turning strategy into results
Digital transformation and IT strategy

Enterprise Performance Management

Metrics and reporting
Breed selection and breeding objectives
System performance and tuning
Performance management systems and cycles
Completion, engagement and impact metrics
Ethical frameworks and codes of practice
Aligning learning to performance
Finance KPIs and the finance scorecard
Process efficiency and cycle-time metrics
Performance measurement and KPI dashboards
Interpreting financial performance
Duty of care and risk management
Psychometric and screening tools
Project KPIs and performance metrics
Quality and delivery metrics

Financial Stewardship

Cost-volume-profit and break-even analysis
Standard costing and variance analysis
Budgeting techniques and the budgeting cycle
Flexible budgets and rolling forecasts
Responsibility accounting and cost centres
Cost reduction and efficiency programmes
Capital budgeting: NPV, IRR and payback
Cost of capital and WACC
Capital structure and financing decisions
Financial modelling and scenario analysis
Investment and disinvestment decisions
The finance function and digital transformation
Building a finance career and professional development
Financial risk: credit, market, liquidity, operational
Corporate governance and the finance role

Talent and Capability

High-potential identification and talent reviews
Knowledge management and capability building
Creating a coaching culture
Delegating for development
Managing resistance and capability building
Supplier development and improvement
Real estate development and project appraisal
Proposal development and donor reporting
Attachment and developmental theory
Record-keeping and data protection
Lessons learned and development
Measuring coaching outcomes
Scaling delivery capability
Project management plan development
Schedule development and optimisation

Executive Decision Making

Data-driven decision-making
Complaints, accountability and fitness to practise
Data-driven decision support and analytics
Prioritising experience investments
Problem loans, restructuring and recovery
Evidence, judgement and scepticism
Root-cause analysis and problem solving
Management reporting and decision support
Make-or-buy and outsourcing decisions
Ethical decision-making under pressure
Setting strategic priorities and choices
Writing advisory reports that drive decisions
Issue and problem management
Backlogs, user stories and prioritisation
Escalation and decision-making

Leading Change

Legal responsibilities and professional bodies
Digital and market transformation
Behaviour change and adoption of innovations
Customer experience transformation
Digital and self-service transformation
Measuring CX transformation impact
Digital transformation in banking
Foreign exchange and treasury operations
Technology governance and change control
Foreign exchange and hedging
Change management and adoption
Habit change and behaviour design
Change control and configuration
Organisational change management
Change and adoption in projects

Stakeholder and Investor Relations

Stakeholder and sponsor management
Stakeholder rights and fair treatment
Delivery, quality and stakeholder plan
Stakeholder identification and analysis
Stakeholder engagement strategy
Managing expectations and influence
Building project relationships
Influencer and affiliate marketing
Building strategic customer relationships
Client feedback and satisfaction
Partnership building and multi-stakeholder platforms
Stakeholders and users of financial information
Stakeholders, agency and accountability
Trends: ESG, transparency and stakeholder capitalism
Shareholder and stakeholder rights

Operating Model

Operating-model and process re-engineering
Designing a banking solution or process
Principles of credit and the lending process
Automation, RPA and straight-through processing
Process and control documentation
Business process mapping
Process optimisation and RPA
L&D operating models and governance
The finance operating model and business partnering
Process re-engineering and shared services
Continuous improvement of finance processes
Productivity and efficiency improvement
The procurement cycle and operating models
Reinsurance and capacity management
The vehicle sales process from enquiry to delivery

Risk, Governance and Assurance

Governance of ESG and reporting
Evidence-based improvement
Environmental legal compliance
Managing risk and difficult cases
Risk assessment methodology and matrices
Dynamic and site-specific risk assessment
Residual risk and ALARP
Risk registers and monitoring
Communicating risk to the workforce
Driving effective, ethical outcomes
Compliance monitoring and enforcement
Corporate governance principles and purpose
Quality assurance and standards
Technical and compliance training
Psychoeducation and workshops

Executive Communication

Reporting and enterprise analytics
Professional portfolio and presentation
Voice, communication and delivery
Dashboards and reporting
Language and communication training
Board reporting and information flows
Management and board reporting
Safety communication and campaigns
Environmental monitoring and reporting
Incident reporting and record-keeping
Working with organisations on wellbeing
Control monitoring and reporting
Crisis communications
Stakeholder communications
Ethics in communications

Culture and Engagement

Measuring engagement and impact
Stakeholder mapping and engagement
Learning cultures and the learning organisation
Engagement, motivation and energisers
Building a coaching culture
Leading across cultures and geographies
Cost concepts, classification and behaviour
Employee engagement models and drivers
HR's role in culture, values and employer brand
Safety culture and leadership
Managing resistance and engagement
Win-back and re-engagement
Building a service culture
Employee experience and engagement
Customer and community engagement

Market and Customer Perspective

Vehicle specifications, trims and options in customer language
Customer retention in the vehicle ownership cycle
Customer loyalty and repeat purchase in retail
Market analysis and environmental scanning
Customer personas and insight
Value proposition design and messaging
Go-to-market and channel strategy
The marketing concept and customer orientation
Brand and reputation as strategic assets
Brand safety and responsible marketing
Capstone scoping: a real growth or brand challenge
Know Your Customer and enhanced due diligence
Data protection and customer privacy
Data, analytics and customer insight
Customer segmentation and needs analysis

Evidence for Executive Judgement

Designing an intervention or programme
Baseline surveys and data collection tools
Data quality, analysis and reporting
Ethical, risk and feasibility considerations
Professional case study and presentation
Portfolio of evidence and reflective practice
Complaint data and learning
Service analytics and dashboards
Text and interaction analytics
Data privacy and consent
Influencing and presenting insights
Data migration and cleansing
Data governance in enterprise systems
Evidence-based practice
Feedback and learner analytics

Technology at Enterprise Level

Learning technology ecosystem
Risk assessment and safety planning
Digital permits and inspections
Automation and safety technology
Goal setting and contracting
Digital procurement and the future of the profession
Bancassurance and digital insurance models
Telehealth and digital care delivery
Treatment planning and review
Managing complexity and comorbidity
Workplace and organisational contexts
Payment technology and switches
Cybersecurity and fraud technology
Digital credit and alternative data
Digital and alternative-data credit

Teams and Forums

Virtual and hybrid facilitation
Social and collaborative learning
Managing resistance and upskilling teams
Facilitation, coaching and mentoring
Change talk and readiness
Aligning teams around strategy
Team formation and effectiveness models (Tuckman, Lencioni)
Managing team performance and dynamics
Cross-functional and matrix teams
Leading remote and hybrid teams
Team diversity and inclusion
Productivity, collaboration and workflow tools
Goal setting and action planning
Accountability and follow-through
Designing and facilitating groups

Portfolio and Delivery Oversight

Projects, programmes and portfolios
Project management standards (PMI, PRINCE2)
The project environment and stakeholders
Project roles and the project manager
Project governance and assurance
Project governance frameworks
Compliance and regulatory projects
Leading project governance
Innovation and continuous delivery
Building project management maturity
Sustainability and social impact in projects
Project management software and tools
Project data, reporting and analytics
Portfolio and resource management systems
AI and predictive project analytics

Standards and Improvement

Continuous environmental improvement
Management review and improvement
Integration with quality and environment
Certification and continual improvement
Design review and quality
Process improvement and lean thinking
Quality management and standards
Professional standards and ethics (CIPS)
Data quality and master data management
Sustainable procurement principles and standards
Service quality and the passenger experience in transport
Continuous improvement and optimisation
Benchmarking against standards and best practice
Continuous improvement and lessons learned
Sustainability certification and standards

Negotiation and Difficult Conversations

Conflicts of interest and procurement ethics
Negotiation and conflict management
Conflict resolution and negotiation
Conflicts of interest and transparency
Commercial negotiation and value capture
Sponsorship and negotiation selling
Negotiation with clients and partners
Negotiation with buyers, suppliers and financiers
Conflict resolution over land, water and resources
Negotiation and influencing
Integrity, confidentiality and conflicts
Property viewings, offers and negotiation to close
Managing difficult conversations
Conflicts of interest management
Conflict resolution and mediation

Legal and Regulatory Environment

Contract administration and variation
Contract performance and exit
Contract governance and compliance
Real estate regulation, licensing and professional conduct
Policy administration and customer service in insurance
Insurance regulation and consumer protection
Vendor, venue and supplier contracting for events
Regulation of transport: authorities, conventions and licensing
Tariffs, regulation and the economics of essential services
Wellbeing and resilience coaching
Strengths, flow and engagement
The regulatory landscape and central banking
Regulatory duty and accountability
Regulatory compliance and central-bank rules
Regulatory reporting and audits

Operating Across Borders

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
Meaning, purpose and values
Supply market analysis and Porter’s forces
Cost and price analysis
Contract types and risk allocation
Supply chain risk identification and mapping
Business continuity and contingency planning

Ethics and Integrity

Responsible and ethical service
Ethics and integrity in banking
Professional ethics and banking conduct
Anti-corruption and financial-crime ethics
Responsible and sustainable banking
Data ethics and customer privacy
Ethics and independence
Ethics and professional standards in finance
Responsible and sustainable governance
Digital ethics and responsible AI
Building trust through data governance
Professional ethics and responsibility (PMI)
Professional standards and ethics
Marketing and sales ethics
Sustainability and responsible marketing

Growth and Innovation Oversight

Growth strategy and demand generation
Innovation and new product launch
Data-driven growth
Outcome and process measures
Managing growth, risk and resilience
Innovation in service delivery
Innovation portfolio and the three horizons
Intellectual property and defensibility of innovation
Measuring innovation performance
Business model design and innovation
Emerging tools and innovation
Evidence-based practice and research literacy

Sustainability and Responsibility

Mine water, tailings and environmental management
Social media management: platforms, communities and algorithms
Measurement and analytics for media and social campaigns
Integrated and sustainability reporting
Data, records and confidentiality tech
Practice management systems
Monitoring sustainability outcomes
Monitoring, evaluation and sustainability plan
Social media customer care
Social performance and outreach
Sustainable and green banking
Sustainability and environmental duty
Environmental management systems (ISO 14001)
Sustainability and climate responsibility
Supply markets and the enabling environment

Frequently Asked Questions

Common Questions

What is the CSBL 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 CSBL?

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 CSBL certification take to complete?

The programme is structured over 12 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 CSBL internationally recognised?

What is the cost of the CSBL certification?

The Certified Strategic Business Leader is offered in two formats: Self-Paced at USD 449 and Live Virtual at USD 649. Corporate group rates are available for organisations enrolling 5 or more participants. Contact GLI for a bespoke corporate training quotation.

What does the CSBL 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 CSBL?

The Certified Strategic Business Leader 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 CSBL?

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

Can I study the CSBL 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 CSBL?

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

Certified Strategic Business Leader