ethical leadership | business ethics | corporate culture | diversity and inclusion | risk management | dei | empathy
What You Will Learn:
- Describe a culture through observable behaviour instead of through abstract values
- Run the eight-step model: behaviour, rituals, selection, onboarding, communication, example
- Build a diversity programme with a needs assessment, a design and an evaluation model
- Map people risk with heat maps, the fraud triangle and the 4I model
- Apply ISO 31000 to human risk: find it, assess it, reduce it, escalate it
- Read the warning signs in a senior team before the incident rather than after
- Set up the three lines of defence and a decision-making checklist that catches bias
- Lead with emotional intelligence: resonance, empathy-based coaching, shared vision
- Learn alongside Mike’s 1.6 million students from 185 countries
- Get the author’s experience from Preply, Wargaming, iDeals and Alfa-Bank
Overview
Let’s be real for a second: most “leadership” courses are absolute fluff. They’re filled with buzzwords like “synergy” and “integrity” that look great on a poster but mean nothing when a project is spiraling or your best engineer is about to quit. I’ve spent years in the tech trenches, and I’ve seen how “corporate culture” usually ends up being a collection of abstract values written on a wall while the actual office environment is a disaster. That’s why Ethical Leadership: Culture, Inclusion and People Risk caught my eye. It takes a sledgehammer to the typical HR-driven approach and replaces it with something hands-on and actually job-ready.
Instead of talking about “values,” Mike—who brings massive street cred from his time at Preply, Wargaming, and iDeals—teaches you how to describe a culture through observable behavior. This is a game-changer for anyone in a scaling startup or a high-pressure corporate environment. We’re moving from “we value transparency” to “how do we actually handle onboarding and rituals to ensure transparency is unavoidable?” The course shifts the focus from “being a good person” to a systematic risk management framework. It’s about building a shared vision while spotting the warning signs of a toxic senior team before the proverbial hit the fan. It’s one of the few courses I’ve found that treats people risk with the same technical rigor we apply to cybersecurity or product roadmaps.
Prerequisites
- A basic understanding of management structures or a desire to move into career growth roles.
- No specific certification prep required, though it’s ideal for those aiming for C-suite or HR leadership.
- An open mind—you’ll need to ditch the “culture is a vibe” mindset for a data-driven one.
- Experience working in a team environment (even if you weren’t the lead).
Skills & Tools
This isn’t just a lecture series; it’s a toolkit for real-world projects. You get deep into the ISO 31000 framework but specifically applied to human risk. This involves finding the risk, assessing it, and—crucially—knowing when to escalate it. You’ll learn how to map people risk using heat maps, the fraud triangle, and the 4I model. This is industry-standard stuff that most managers don’t even know exists.
On the DEI front, you aren’t just learning “why diversity matters.” You are building a diversity programme from scratch, starting with a needs assessment, moving into design, and finishing with an evaluation model that actually measures ROI. You’ll also walk away with a decision-making checklist designed to catch unconscious bias in real-time. Finally, you’ll master the eight-step model of culture: shifting behavior, rituals, selection, onboarding, and communication. It’s a beginner to advanced journey that equips you with empathy-based coaching and emotional intelligence tools like resonance to keep a team aligned.
Career Benefits & Job Roles
If you’re looking for job-ready skills that separate you from the pack of generic “managers,” this is it. In the current market, companies are terrified of people risk—whether that’s a PR nightmare or a mass exodus of talent. Being able to put “Expert in ISO 31000 Human Risk” or “DEI Programme Design” on your resume provides a massive boost to career growth.
This course is perfect for:
- Engineering Managers who need to handle corporate culture without losing their technical edge.
- HR Professionals looking for hands-on labs style frameworks to prove their impact.
- Operations Leads who want to mitigate fraud and internal risk.
- Aspiring Executives who need to demonstrate ethical leadership during certification prep or interview rounds.
Pros
- No Fluff, All Frameworks: Mike skips the “be nice” speeches and goes straight into heat maps and ISO standards. It feels like a risk management course for the human soul.
- Global Perspective: You’re learning alongside 1.6 million students from 185 countries. The community insights are as valuable as the lessons.
- Instructor Credibility: The real-world experience from Alfa-Bank and Wargaming means the advice isn’t academic—it’s battle-tested in high-stakes industries.
- Actionable DEI: Finally, a diversity and inclusion module that focuses on design and evaluation rather than just awareness.
Cons
- Intensity: Because this covers people risk with a technical lens, it can be a bit overwhelming if you’re looking for a “light” weekend watch. You’ll actually need to pause and apply these decision-making checklists to your own workplace to get the full value.