Executive Leadership

Catalog description

The purpose of this course is to help students understand the current theories and effective practices of executive leadership, and through this understanding, to help enhance their own leadership practices and capabilities. We will examine the methods, challenges, trade-offs, and frontiers of executive leadership through application of leadership concepts to actual case studies. Student teams will identify and conduct at-a-distance and in-depth projects studying executive leaders. The course aims at answering questions such as: Who are leaders? Are leaders different from managers? How do the most effective leaders think and act? What are the recent trends in the practices of executive leadership? What competencies do leaders need to lead in a complex, global, and interdependent world? What situations create leaders or foster their emergence? How are leaders developed? What makes us want to follow leaders? How can executive leaders most effectively relate with their teams and stakeholders? How do leaders engage positively with their authority, power, and influence? What are the personal costs of being a leader?