It has been observed that a synonym for leadership is "influence." This course focuses on the interpersonal dimensions of leadership and the essential role of communication in influencing, motivating, and developing others. Students will examine how trust, emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and communication competence contribute to effective leadership across organizational levels. Topics include relational dynamics between leaders and followers, ethical and persuasive communication, and the challenges of navigating feedback, conflict, and change. Students will gain insight into a range of interpersonal leadership practices, including managing up, coaching, and mentoring, while developing the confidence and clarity to lead with purpose in both formal and informal roles. 

High-performing teams are essential to organizational success, and effective leadership at the team level is a core competency for today's business leaders. This course equips students to lead diverse, agile, and results-driven teams in a variety of contexts, from cross-functional project groups to executive teams and globally dispersed virtual collaborations. Students will examine how team composition, development stages, group dynamics, and leadership structures influence performance and cohesion. Students will also explore how leaders use performance management tools, including metrics, feedback systems, and KPIs, to assess team effectiveness, drive improvement, and align efforts with organizational goals. 

This course examines how leaders influence the behavior, structure, and culture of organizations to foster alignment, accountability, and long-term effectiveness. Drawing from foundational organizational behavior and design theory, students will study how individual motivation, group dynamics, and structural choices interact to shape performance. The course focuses on how leaders make intentional decisions about organizational systems to support mission, values, and strategy. Students will learn to assess organizational environments, uncover underlying cultural norms, and evaluate design trade-offs that affect decision-making, innovation, and employee engagement. 

In an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world, effective leadership requires a shift from providing all the answers to facilitating adaptive learning and collective problem-solving. This course examines how leaders cultivate innovation and lead change by fostering environments that support experimentation, feedback, and continuous learning. Students will examine emerging models of leadership development, innovation frameworks that distinguish between incremental and disruptive innovation, the evolution of organizational design, and the rise of strategic networks. Emphasis is placed on building the mindsets and practices leaders need to navigate uncertainty, mobilize teams, and drive meaningful transformation.