Leading EDGE Certificate Series

You can be a leader, regardless of your title or role.

Parkland College's Leading EDGE Certificate Series equips professionals with the skills and confidence to lead, communicate, and collaborate more effectively. Whether you're a new supervisor or experienced manager, this program helps you build the leadership foundation needed to succeed. 

This 12-course series will help you build extraordinary leadership skills. To qualify for the certificate, participants must complete a minimum of 44 hours, consisting of 5 required courses and at least 6 of the 7 electives. Price per class is $299. 

Why register for Leading EDGE courses? 

• Proven program trusted by employers and professionals across Central Illinois 
• Practical, hands-on training that can be immediately applied at work 
• Networking with peers from a variety of industries 
• Experienced instructor who understands workplace challenges 

Employers see higher retention, stronger leadership pipelines, and immediate ROI. 

What you'll learn: 

Across 11 sessions, participants strengthen their leadership toolkit: 

• Building trust and credibility as a leader 
• Effective communication and conflict resolution 
• Problem-solving and decision-making skills 
• Team dynamics and collaboration 
• Managing change with resilience 

Course topics in the series include: 

• Coaching: Developing Others*
• Communicating for Superior Teamwork: Managing Your Communication Style*
• Communication Excellence: Managing Performance with DiSC*
• Delegating for Success
• Giving Recognition That Gets Results
• Leading Change at Every Level
• Mastering Conflict
• Negotiating Priorities and How to Say No
• Principles of Authentic Leadership*
• Providing Feedback That Works*
• Take Control: Reducing Email Stress and Overload
• Time Mastery Skills

* denotes required class

Who should attend? 

• New and emerging leaders 
• Current supervisors and managers 
• Professionals preparing for leadership roles 
• Organizations seeking to invest in staff development

What does the EDGE in Leading EDGE stand for? 
engage. discover. grow. empower.

• Engage with peers and explore effective communication strategies
• Discover critical skills for success
• Gain valuable and relevant knowledge through practical exercises
• Empower and transform your team

Hear From Past Participants 

“I’m not currently in an official leadership position, but I’m a firm believer that anyone can be a leader at any level. I have coworkers who have completed the Leading EDGE Series in the past, and I have only heard them say great things about it. Plus, I absolutely love Parkland – my experiences have been so positive. Instructor Steve Welland was personable, knowledgeable on all the class topics, had clear communication, and created an inclusive environment that made it comfortable for us to open up and share personal/work examples. I’ve already begun using and sharing some of the knowledge I’ve learned in my day-to-day work and personal life.” – Bree Smith, Talent Management Coordinator | University of Illinois System 

“My experience participating in the Parkland Leading EDGE Series has been nothing short of impactful. I have learned, and continue to learn, new things each class. The best part is the caliber of the content I am learning; every class highlights significant skills I can use not only professionally but in my personal life as well. These skills are ones I didn’t realize I was missing but are true game-changers, crucial to success regardless of your industry or job title. I am so grateful to have been offered this opportunity by my employer, and I would highly recommend this series to anyone looking to learn and develop new skills that will continue to benefit them far beyond the classroom.” —Sierra Smith Rose, Learning & Development Manager | Christie Clinic 

“Being a part of the Leading EDGE series has been a major benefit for the development of our team at Illinois Grain & Seed Equipment. Being able to understand other employees’ and my own communication style has helped us to make better business decisions and focus more on the things that benefit our organization. It has been a good experience to prioritize communication, time management, delegating successfully, and building trust with our team—Parkland has been an incredible asset in this. The staff and instructors have been great at understanding our needs and helped us achieve them. We will be using Parkland for the future development of our employees.” —Justin Kaeb, HR and Operations Manager | Illinois Grain & Seed Equipment

“Steve Welland did a great job explaining the materials provided for each individual course, while using examples and exercises to demonstrate how to implement each of the key actions.” —Wade Lagle, Operations Supervisor | Urbana & Champaign Sanitary District

"Participating in the Leadership Certificate Series has given our staff a common language to use in talking about management and leadership issues. It has also helped us appreciate different styles of communication, arrive at shared expectations and improve teamwork. We’ve seen improvements in how some of our managers communicate with their teams and with one another. We definitely feel like the insights our staff bring back from these classes are creating a positive and lasting influence on our culture." —John Melchi

"There is truly no substitute for the invaluable benefit of learning how to better relate to housemates, classmates, instructors, supervisors, and colleagues. Striving to increase one’s ability to work effectively as part of a team will enhance the likelihood of both personal and professional success. Moving forward in my professional capacity, I am grateful that the Parkland Leadership Certification Series has afforded me the opportunity to better manage priorities, time, and others, recognize talents in others, resolve conflicts, and delegate for shared success. I will definitely take more personal and professional development classes at Parkland." —Debra Robinson, Quality Assurance Manager | ESS Clean 

"One of the tenets of servant leadership is that as leaders, we have the privilege to serve others. That philosophy is at the core of Leading EDGE. They’ve helped me to hone my skills and network with other like-minded servant leaders in our community.” — Lisa Cheely, Director of People Development | Christie Clinic