Leadership skills can help you gain the respect and admiration of others, while also allowing you to enjoy success in your career and more control over your destiny. Contrary to popular belief, leadership skills can be learned and developed. Even if you don't hold a leadership position, this course will teach you how to use the principles of great leaders to achieve success in almost every aspect of your daily life.

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Syllabus:

All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when the lesson is released, but you must complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.

A new section of each course starts on the second or third Wednesday of each month. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.

Week One

Wednesday - Lesson 01

Leadership Qualities and Models: Do you think you know what leadership is? In our first lesson, you'll see how many ways there are to answer that question. And you'll start to get a sense of what leaders really do. We'll begin to share our thoughts and use roles models as ways to showcase the kinds of behavior that we'll work at together. This lesson always generates lots of discussion!

Friday - Lesson 02

Leadership Responsibilities: In this thought-provoking lesson, we'll look at the responsibilities leaders have to individuals and to organizations. And you'll begin to look at some of the leadership tools we'll use in this course—readings, ideas from great leaders, and your journal—to get you thinking about what you can do to behave like a leader.

Week Two

Wednesday - Lesson 03

Value-Centered Leadership: We do what we believe in, don't we? In today's lesson, we'll look at two important aspects of leadership: Its relationship with principles and its relationship with emotional intelligence. If you've ever known someone whose behavior seemed out of touch, you'll find out why in this lesson.

Friday - Lesson 04

Leadership Self-Assessment: Leaders know themselves well, so in this lesson we'll talk about methods you can use to get to know yourself better. We'll learn about personality type assessments and behavioral assessments. This study will be particularly fun and will have an impact on your behavior in all aspects of your life.

Week Three

Wednesday - Lesson 05

Teambuilding: You probably already know that successful leaders are teambuilders, but do you know what types of teams are possible or how to build them? We'll take a closer look in today's lesson. Every one of us has been on some kind of a team, so this lesson has guidance and insights for us all.

Friday - Lesson 06

Communication: Leaders are often differentiated from others by the power of their communication skills. Today you'll get a sense of why and how when I guide you through some simple but insightful methods you can use to improve your communication skills. This lesson helps many students start changing their behavior right away!

Week Four

Wednesday - Lesson 07

Coaching or Mentoring: Today we'll begin to explore the types of behavior that successful leaders portray—leaders guide and support others by asking questions, providing advice and feedback, supporting others and building morale. This lesson will provide you with plenty of practical tips and much to think about.

Friday - Lesson 08

Behavioral Styles: If you're wondering how leaders can balance being themselves and being a public figure, this lesson will help! We'll look at something called Situational Leadership, as well as how leaders relate to organizations. This lesson will be an eye-opener!

Week Five

Wednesday - Lesson 09

Influence and Collaboration: Ready to learn more about your own behavior? Today we'll look at how leaders make decisions and influence others without forcing them. We'll answer some challenging questions, and explore some insightful guidelines, as well.

Friday - Lesson 10

Providing Strategic Vision: Everyone turns to a leader for strategic vision, but do you know how to think strategically? This is an important lesson because it takes some of the mystery out of the terms strategy and vision.

Week Six

Wednesday - Lesson 11

Creating/Changing Culture: Today we'll discuss another big topic: How leaders affect change. In this lesson, we'll look at some very specific things that leaders—and you—can do to affect change. As in all our lessons, you'll read quotes from famous writers about change and leadership that will help stimulate your own ideas.

Friday - Lesson 12

Facilitating Creative Thinking: Leaders aren't the only ones who have great new ideas, and so our course will end with a look at how leaders inspire creative thinking in others. It's a logical and fun way to end—pointing you in the direction of your own new ideas. The last thing we'll do is take a thought-provoking look at what it means to be creative.

This course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Lynne Morton.

Lynne Morton is a management consultant and executive coach with 20 years of experience helping individuals and organizations improve their performance. Her professional experience includes having served as an Associate Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers, a Vice President at Seabury & Smith (Marsh & McLennan), and an Account Supervisor at Burson-Marsteller.

Requirements:

Internet access, e-mail, and and the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser.

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