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CII Executive Leadership Program

The next XLP will run May 11 - 20, 2027.


The CII Executive Leadership Program at The University of Texas at Austin is the premier industry program for the development of the future leaders for the capital projects industry. Master the art of exceptional leadership through this accelerated nine-day custom-designed program that will develop your capabilities to lead high-performing teams.

Work with award-winning, approachable faculty to find solutions for today’s business challenges and construct a comprehensive toolkit of the major functions that effective leaders own:
  • Develop leadership competencies around innovation and change management.
  • Recognize and enhance your political intelligence and persuasion acumen.
  • Discover methods to effectively participate in joint ventures and negotiations.
  • Benchmark on best practices and network with leaders from international corporations.
  • Learn leadership topics relevant to today's world - designed to benefit you as a professional and your organization in this competitive industry.
Professional development continuing education credits will be awarded.
The Construction Industry Institute collaborates with the Texas Executive Education at the McCombs School of Business to provide the world-renowned faculty who create and present this custom program.
 

Who Should Attend

Business unit leaders or potential rising leaders with 10+ years of experience.

To maximize benefits from this program, we encourage sending multiple participants to increase the impact across your organization.
 
Week 1
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
  Arrivals Breakfast: 7-8am Breakfast: 7-8am Breakfast: 7-8am Breakfast: 7-8am Breakfast: 8-9am
Class: 8am-5:30pm Class: 8am-5:30pm Class: 8am-5:30pm Class: 8am-5:30pm Class: 9am-12:30pm
Welcome Mixer: 5:45-6:45pm Free Evening Free Evening Free Evening Free Afternoon and Evening
 
 
Week 2
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Free Day Breakfast: 7-8am Breakfast: 7-8am Breakfast: 7-8am Breakfast: 7-8am Departures  
Class: 8am-5:30pm Class: 8am-5:30pm Class: 8am-5:30pm Class: 8am-5:30pm
Dinner: 5:45-7:45pm Free Evening Free Evening Graduation Dinner: 6:45-9:45pm
 
 

Who’s Registered

Coming Soon

 
Change Management
Dr. Doug Dierking


Grow as a leader.

  • Identify, optimize and adapt your personal leadership style.
  • Strengthen your leadership ability through a combination of classroom instruction in leadership concepts and frameworks, assessments, peer discussion, and outdoor experiential exercises, which will result in personal reflection, learning and action planning.
  • Achieve awareness and mastery of your own leadership approaches and expertise.
  • Improve your understanding of contextual demands and how different leadership styles and behaviors best meet those demands.
  • Draw out personal learning based on tangible opportunities to practice the art of leadership.

Communication Effectiveness
Dr. John Daly
 
  • Persuade busy audiences (focusing on brevity, familiarity, repetition, visual images, and pitching),
  • Navigate difficult situations (framing bad news, reframing tough situations, and staying positive through adversity), and
  • Address mistakes (public speaking mistake, personal mistake, common mistakes in question and answer sessions).

Creative Solutions to Complex Problems
Dr. Gaylen Paulson


Elegant solutions may appear obvious in hindsight, but are difficult to identify in the moment. During this interactive session we’ll learn very practical strategies for discovering creative solutions. Individual problem solving methods and tactics will be explored, along with ways to overcome barriers to innovative thinking. We then learn ways to approach interpersonal issues, emphasizing techniques for promoting collaboration and overcoming the emotional and psychological barriers of conflict. Finally, you’ll learn ways to better manage and solve problems as a member of a team or group. Going beyond brainstorming, we’ll explore tactics to harness the creative energy of the group while avoiding “analysis paralysis” and the dreaded “groupthink.”


Executive Negotiation Skills Workshop
Dr. Gaylen Paulson and Dr. Janet Dukerich


Negotiation:
The art and science of securing an agreement between two or more interdependent parties. The negotiated agreement will guide & regulate their future behavior.

  • Multiple Parties
  • Interaction Based
  • Seeking to Reach Agreement
  • Formally/Informally Guides & Regulates Behavior

Leadership Challenges and Advocacy
Dr. John Daly


Master the art of effective leadership. This course covers vital aspects such as personal branding, building trust, team dynamics, and gaining commitment. Develop the skills to overcome obstacles and thrive as a leader in today’s business world.

  • Personal Branding: Align your strengths with organizational goals.
  • Trust Building: Foster transparency, accountability, and collaboration.
  • Team Dynamics: Understand your team and maximize productivity.
  • Commitment: Inspire and align individuals with shared objectives.

In Advocacy for Leaders, you will develop and implement an internal strategy that will build your credibility, construct and deliver persuasive messages that work in any context, gain support from your alliances and networks, and inspire change throughout your organization to reach common goals.


Overcoming Cognitive Bias to Improve Decision Making
Prof. Don Ruse


They say the first step is always recognition of the issue. Participants in this session will enhance their ability to recognize cognitive biases, both their own and those of others. They will focus on overcoming these biases by acknowledgment and understanding of the tendency and developing the disciplines of thought and practice to overcome them to improve their leadership decision making.


Presentation Skills and Executive Presence
Prof. Melissa Murphy


This session will focus on physical and vocal delivery secrets to leadership presence, audience analysis techniques to customize content to maximize audience connection, incorporating figurative language and stories, as well as powerful PowerPoint design tips to create a visual complement to participant presentations. This session will focus on the types of audience participants need to reach, providing them with the confidence, knowledge, and skills required to present messages with clarity, confidence, and passion.


Situational Leadership
Prof. Melissa Murphy


Participants will have the opportunity to reflect on their results from their Big 5 Personality assessment in this session. Considering their tendencies, interaction style and types of situations they feel most comfortable or uncomfortable in they will gain ideas of how they can best lead, adjustments they may need to make, and behaviors they need to develop to best lead in any given situation. This session will also provide and activity-based opportunity for providing feedback in various situations.


Strategic Planning and Execution
Prof. Stephen Courter


Develop the skills to make strategic decisions and execute with confidence across your company. Establish a solid foundation in strategic management by reviewing current industry corporate, divisional, and product strategy frameworks. Enhance your ability to set and reach strategic and economic goals by equipping yourself with methods and frameworks that are proven to be successful. Gain in-depth knowledge of contemporary strategic frameworks and tools along with the skills to apply them immediately in your work environment. 

  • Examine the strategic management process and frameworks
  • Uncover how industry, corporate, and economic drivers affect strategy
  • Identify the strategic forces affecting your business and how to leverage them
  • Discuss the importance of keeping the strategy at the forefront of your decision making
  • Discover how to perceive products, processes, and firms to enhance your competitive advantage
  • Utilize strategy management tools for successful implementation

Stakeholder Relationships
Prof. Christopher Meakin


To better understand:

  • History and rationale of CSR activities
  • Best practices in Stakeholder Relations
  • The context (legal, political, cultural) in which companies interact with stakeholders on issues related to CSR, particularly recurring and sensitive issues

Performance Management
Prof. Brian Lendecky


Analyze performance management and control systems, including structured measurement models, analytical techniques, and system biases to discover impact on the behaviors of your team. Establish a grounding in proven measurement techniques while addressing cost-benefit issues. Employ better performance measurement systems to create a culture of planning, execution, and accountability.
 
OPERATIONAL CONTROL
Performance management systems
Identify the elements of effective performance management and control systems
Evaluate the output of systems that report cost and profitability performance in a moderately complex operation
 
EFFECTIVE BUDGETING SYSTEMS
Describe the operation of an effective master budgeting system
Analyze and interpret budget-actual variances and assess responsibility for them
Human dynamics of budgeting
Design a balanced scorecard performance management system for a business unit
 
METRICS RELATED TO PERFORMANCE
Analysis of variances
Effective performance metrics
What gets measured is what gets done
Challenge ineffective or inefficient metrics
Evaluate effective and ineffective KPIs your organization uses and discover how they affect the behaviors of your team, good and bad

Program Questions

How many Professional Development Hours will I earn by attending this program? When will I receive a certificate?
Approximately 65 hours will be awarded for this program. After the program is complete, each attendee will be mailed a certificate for the PDH hours.
 

Registration Questions 

How much does this program cost? Is there a discount for multiple attendees from the same company? (All figures are given in U.S. dollars.)
The fee for a single registration from a CII member company is $19,900.
Each additional registration from the same member company is $17,900.
The fee for a single registration from a non-member company is $20,900.
Each additional registration from the same non-member company is $18,900.
 
I registered but can’t attend this year due to a last-minute work conflict. Can I transfer my registration fee to someone else in my organization? If so, what is the cutoff date?
Yes, your registration may be transferred to an associate in your company. Please notify us of this need by January 14, 2026.
 
What provisions are being made if a personal matter or medical issue arises? What cancellation options are available?
If a cancellation needs to occur and no substitute from your organization is available to attend, then a slot will be reserved in your company’s name for the next program offering.
Please notify us of this need by April 27, 2027. 

Once you’re registered, you’ll receive a welcome letter with details on how to prepare for the program and what to expect during your time in Austin, TX.
If you have questions before deciding to register, please contact Heather Beal.

 

Reserve Your Spot Now!

For more information

Contact us

Heather Beal's headshot
Heather Beal
Project Manager for Deployment
Bio + Contact
Heather Beal's headshot
Heather Beal
Project Manager for Deployment
512-475-9586
Heather came to CII with varied experience in the retail space, from team manager to project management for an e-commerce marketing department. In these positions she created work flow standards, and put in place processes where there weren't any and is now putting that knowledge into practice by supporting our Deployment efforts.
Erika Corbell's headshot
Erika Corbell
Associate Director for Deployment
Bio + Contact
Erika Corbell's headshot
Erika Corbell
Associate Director for Deployment
512-232-3016
Originally hired to manage CII publications in 2009, Erika quickly transitioned to supporting various CII initiatives and committees over the years. Most recently, she served as the Project Manager for Deployment.

Before joining CII, Erika was the Director of Volunteer Services with Special Olympics Texas, managing its state-wide volunteer program requiring thousands of short-term and long-term volunteers each year.

Erika brings this same passion to CII volunteers, helping them get the most out of CII’s research through our professional development and implementation programs.

She holds a Master’s in Education from Texas State University at San Marcos.