Leadership Essentials Courses
Big Skills. Small Investment.
SFNet's live online Leadership Essentials Courses are designed for secured finance professionals who want focused, concentrated learning. Each 2- to 4-hour course delivers time-tested techniques you can apply the moment you log off. Led by Ann M. Butera, CRP, President of The Whole Person Project, Inc., these practical sessions offer high-impact training at an accessible $295 per course. These courses can be applied toward our Secured Finance Certified Professionals (SFCP) program.
Click the course title for details and upcoming dates.
Effective leaders aren't born, they're made. But building a high-performing team takes more than directing people to work together. It requires self-awareness, adaptability, and a clear understanding of how your leadership style shapes the people around you.
You'll walk away from this course able to:
- Distinguish between the roles of leaders and managers, and why both matter
- Recognize the benefits and limitations of four distinct leadership styles
- Apply situational leadership principles to adapt your approach to any team dynamic or circumstance
- Assess your own preferred leadership style with honesty and clarity
- Determine whether your natural style is the right fit for your specific team and work environment
SCHEDULED SESSIONS OF THIS COURSE WILL APPEAR BELOW.
October 6, 2026
Description
This 4‐hour session will enable participants to:
- Explain the benefits and liabilities of four different leadership styles.
- Discuss the importance of “situational” leadership (i.e., varying one’s leadership style to suit the circumstances)
- Assess their preferred leadership style.
- Draw conclusions as to whether their preferred leadership style is the most suitable for their specific team and work situations.
Before the session, participants will complete a leadership style self-assessment, which will be discussed during the session. The session will include breakout discussions for participants to evaluate whether their preferred leadership style is beneficial or detrimental and how they can apply their understanding of different leadership styles.
Instructor
Ann Butera, President
The Whole Person Project, Inc.
This event is eligible for SFNet's Continuing Education (CEU) credits in order to maintain a Secured Finance Certified Professional (SFCP) certificate. SFCP s are expected to remain active in the industry and to complete at least 18 units of continuing education ("CEUs") for each 2-year reporting period. To learn more about SFNet's Secured Finance Certified Professional Program click here and start your journey of becoming a certified CSFP today.
Refund/Cancellation Policy
The Secured Finance Network reserves the right to cancel any program due to insufficient enrollment.
We recognize that plans can change due to business priorities, and we will work with you to find another workshop date that better suits your schedule. In order to receive a refund, you must submit written notification no less than five business days prior to the program start date.
Registration
Member Price: $295
Non-Member Price: $325
Register
What separates a good advisor from an indispensable one isn't what they know, it's how they communicate, connect, and inspire confidence in the people they serve. The ability to influence outcomes and navigate critical conversations are what make you a person whose ideas and counsel are genuinely sought out.
You'll walk away from this course able to:
- Define the attributes that make someone a trusted advisor in their organization
- Explain the four factors that shape how others perceive your trustworthiness
- Demonstrate the behaviors that build trust consistently, and recognize and eliminate the ones
SCHEDULED SESSIONS OF THIS COURSE WILL APPEAR BELOW.
October 6, 2026
Description
This 4‐hour session will enable participants to:
- Explain the benefits and liabilities of four different leadership styles.
- Discuss the importance of “situational” leadership (i.e., varying one’s leadership style to suit the circumstances)
- Assess their preferred leadership style.
- Draw conclusions as to whether their preferred leadership style is the most suitable for their specific team and work situations.
Before the session, participants will complete a leadership style self-assessment, which will be discussed during the session. The session will include breakout discussions for participants to evaluate whether their preferred leadership style is beneficial or detrimental and how they can apply their understanding of different leadership styles.
Instructor
Ann Butera, President
The Whole Person Project, Inc.
This event is eligible for SFNet's Continuing Education (CEU) credits in order to maintain a Secured Finance Certified Professional (SFCP) certificate. SFCP s are expected to remain active in the industry and to complete at least 18 units of continuing education ("CEUs") for each 2-year reporting period. To learn more about SFNet's Secured Finance Certified Professional Program click here and start your journey of becoming a certified CSFP today.
Refund/Cancellation Policy
The Secured Finance Network reserves the right to cancel any program due to insufficient enrollment.
We recognize that plans can change due to business priorities, and we will work with you to find another workshop date that better suits your schedule. In order to receive a refund, you must submit written notification no less than five business days prior to the program start date.
Registration
Member Price: $295
Non-Member Price: $325
Register
If no one ever pushes back on your ideas, they probably haven't been listening. But when objections do come, having a confident, repeatable way to respond separates effective leaders from frustrated ones.
You'll walk away from this course able to:
- Use a repeatable framework to prevent and minimize pushback before it escalates
- Tell the difference between delaying tactics and genuine objections and respond accordingly
- Address the objections others raise with confidence and precision
- Employ ready-made responses to the pushback you face most often
SCHEDULED SESSIONS OF THIS COURSE WILL APPEAR BELOW.
October 6, 2026
Description
This 4‐hour session will enable participants to:
- Explain the benefits and liabilities of four different leadership styles.
- Discuss the importance of “situational” leadership (i.e., varying one’s leadership style to suit the circumstances)
- Assess their preferred leadership style.
- Draw conclusions as to whether their preferred leadership style is the most suitable for their specific team and work situations.
Before the session, participants will complete a leadership style self-assessment, which will be discussed during the session. The session will include breakout discussions for participants to evaluate whether their preferred leadership style is beneficial or detrimental and how they can apply their understanding of different leadership styles.
Instructor
Ann Butera, President
The Whole Person Project, Inc.
This event is eligible for SFNet's Continuing Education (CEU) credits in order to maintain a Secured Finance Certified Professional (SFCP) certificate. SFCP s are expected to remain active in the industry and to complete at least 18 units of continuing education ("CEUs") for each 2-year reporting period. To learn more about SFNet's Secured Finance Certified Professional Program click here and start your journey of becoming a certified CSFP today.
Refund/Cancellation Policy
The Secured Finance Network reserves the right to cancel any program due to insufficient enrollment.
We recognize that plans can change due to business priorities, and we will work with you to find another workshop date that better suits your schedule. In order to receive a refund, you must submit written notification no less than five business days prior to the program start date.
Registration
Member Price: $295
Non-Member Price: $325
Register
Ann M. Butera, CRP is President of The Whole Person Project, Inc., an organizational development consulting firm focused on helping professionals improve change management and risk practices and achieve measurable results. A corporate trainer, instructional designer, and sought-after speaker, Ann is the author of Mastering the Five Tiers of Audit Competency: The Essence of Effective Auditing and Say What!? Communicate with Tact and Impact, both grounded in time-tested approaches to creating positive behavioral change.
With more than 30 years of experience training thousands of professionals, her practical, immediately applicable advice benefits leaders at every career stage. Ann holds an MBA in Organizational Development from Adelphi University and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Long Island University/C.W. Post College.
