Empathic Leadership

Catalog description

Leadership can be challenging. A good leader not only keeps their team on task, but also uses empathy and emotional intelligence to inspire, motivate, create a sense of psychological safety, and help team members develop. The course has two goals: 1) Students experience a development leadership role by acting in the role of a trainee facilitator and coach who guides and supports others as they engage in a variety of personal development exercises. 2) Students reflect on their leadership experiences, compare them to the experiences of others, and integrate it with academic scholarship relating to empathy, coaching, and emotionally intelligent leadership. The first goal is performative. Grading is based on engagement in the role and impact on coachees. The second goal combines personal reflection and academic scholarship, culminating in an essay. This course will be of value to those who are interested in developing their skills in helping professions and roles, including those of: coach, therapist, teacher, nurse, doctor, manager, and parent. Counts as a Full-Semester Wellness/Non-movement course. Counts as a Moral & Ethical Reasoning course.