Course description
This course is designed for 3rd-year and 4th-year students committed to further developing their leadership skills and potential for sustained impact in the future. The course will be substantive and engaging, while also ideally thought provoking, edifying, and enjoyable.
The course will build on the foundation of six key leadership pillars, identified to hone each student’s professional and personal development to serve others, and to seek out and nurture opportunities to heighten one’s capacity as a person and leader who is:
VISIONARY, with clear goals for yourself, your organizations and communities, and others in whose lives you are a part, including the broader society;
ETHICAL, with core values and steadfastness in the face of competing objectives, and the resilience to deal with conflicts without moral compromise;
ENGAGING, with empathy, attentive interpersonal attributes, outstanding formal and informal communication skills, and the capacity to inspire;
TACTICAL, with an ability to operationalize big ideas and bring them to fruition, creating the ideal environment for individual and group success;
TECHNICAL, based on your own high-level skill set and the ego strength for inclusion of others with complementary realms of expertise;
REFLECTIVE, manifesting in the honest appraisal of personal and organizational success against metrics, and the ability to redirect based on assessment.
Learning outcomes
Students, by virtue of actively engaging throughout this course, should be able to:
- Understand key concepts of leadership, influence, collaboration, and organizational behavior;
- Embrace a personal philosophy of leadership and teamwork, aligning concepts of strategic planning;
- Develop a refined, systematic model for inspiring and leading positive change, whether to solve existing problems or to forge new opportunities for advancement;
- Understand the internal and external environment, expectations, opportunities and risks inherent in any diverse collective, consistent with one’s evolving role in society;
- Explore a variety of personal and professional development domains, including an integrated service and development model founded on tenets of leadership;
- Advance one’s own professional and personal development through application of the concepts developed throughout the course.
Course structure
Students in the class can anticipate seven core components: class meetings (remote or in-person, depending on university protocols), required readings/video/podcast material, reflective writing assignments, experiential opportunities, examinations, periodic (four) one:one meetings with the faculty member, and the final presentation drawn primarily from the sum of the course activities.
Summary
Class Meetings (remote or in-person): 3 hours (160 minutes) per week
Assigned Preparation: 2 hours per week
Experiential Opportunities (inc. one:one’s): 2 hours per week
Reflective Journals: 2 hours per week
Class Meetings. We will have approximately 29 class meetings, representing approximately one-third of the expected time allocation for the course. Attendance and participation will both be factors, with the critical variable being the level of preparedness, completion of required readings/videos, experiential opportunities and writing, and contribution to the progress of the class.
Required Readings/Videos/Podcasts. The level of required readings/video/podcast material is calibrated to represent generally no more than 2 hours per week, including note-taking, or 22% of the effort for the course. It is essential that this is undertaken every week, prior to the Tuesday class meeting, per the detailed course outline provided each week on Canvas. While other optional readings/videos/podcasts will be possible (see experiential opportunities below), an understanding of the content of the required readings/videos/podcasts will be essential to active participation in the class discussions. It is expected that all required readings/videos/podcasts, and potentially some optional ones, will be provided without student expense, where applicable.
Experiential Opportunities. The experiential opportunities portion of the course may include an array of primarily self-directed activities building on each student's individual needs and interests. There will also be opportunities for joint small-group in-person EO’s for those in Pittsburgh. Fairly-wide latitude will be given in the nature of these activities, consistent with the expectation that they will also entail approximately 2 hours/week, or 22% of total effort for the course. Examples of such activities include interviewing a professional in the field, conducting a web-based benchmark study of one facet of leadership, attending a relevant on-campus or off-campus program or lecture (in-person or on-line), taking on an optional reading, reviewing a case study or other professional activities in small groups, or other self-selected activities* to bolster one's exposure to issues of leadership development. While the core benefit of these opportunities will accrue to the individual student, there will an opportunity in class each week to discuss the experiences. (Note that the four required one:one meetings with the instructor—noted above and further referenced below—will each count toward the EO for those weeks.)
*”Other self-selected activities” may include up to three engagements by virtue of campus organization involvement, current employment, or other otherwise-planned activities that test and inform one’s leadership skills. It is critical that such activities be engaged in with the course objectives in mind, to allow for intentional engagement and thoughtful reflection. (Put bluntly, reflecting on such activities after the fact, absent this intentionality during engagement, will profoundly lessen the learning opportunity desired.)
Writing Assignments. There will be a formal writing assignment of 1,200± words (4± pages) each week. The overarching objective for each writing assignment will be reflecting on the prior week, answering a subset or all of several questions proffered in the detailed agenda for that week, ideally informed by assignments (ARVP), Special Guests, EO’s and class discussion. Writing should also take approximately 2.0 hours per week, or 22% of effort. (Writing assignments are due via Canvas--not later than midnight on Sunday, with late submission by request for religious observance or other personal priority, health and welfare.)
Examinations. Two take-home examinations, mid-term and final, may be given to track understanding of core concepts and to assess progress with course objectives. The examinations will generally be brief in nature--no more than 90 minutes--with expected dates noted below. They should not require any special preparation beyond the outlined assignments, and will generally be more in the vein of thought pieces rather than tests in the traditional sense. (The examinations will likely take the place of assigned readings in the relevant weeks.)
Reflections Finale Presentation. Each student will have the opportunity to guide the class through a reflective presentation on an area of interest during the designated exam period. This may be drawn from a particular writing assignment, from a culminating interest in a particular topic, or from an abiding sense that the topic of the reflective piece will be of interest and value to the class. Each presentation will be five minutes in length, during the assigned final exam period, with five minutes for facilitated class discussion. It is expected that each presentation will be guided by a modest (5-10 slide) powerpoint deck.
Course ethics
The course is guided by high expectations, framed by a nine-hour per week load (including class sessions), open communications and support for one another, and absolute standards of integrity. A collaborative, team-oriented approach is prized in class and in assignments, where relevant. As there is every expectation of the highest standards of integrity, any lapse in this regard will result minimally in course failure.
Where relevant, work should include a notation of any external or peer support, and students are expected to commit to standard protocols with respect to citation of the work of others. The APA (American Psychological Association) citation format should be used in all written work. If a student is unsure if some manner of assistance is appropriate, they should make a reasonable effort to contact the instructor prior to the assistance rendered. If a student does receive assistance with a clear conscience that is later deemed inappropriate by the instructor, but duly notes it in the submitted assignment, this will not constitute a violation of any standard of integrity, and will be resolved without penalty to the student.
Given the weekly class schedule, it is expected that students will attend all class sessions, ideally making a subordinate attendance policy unnecessary. A single missed session with a valid medical, religious or equivalent rationale and notification will be allowed without penalty. Any unapproved missed session will result in a loss of class participation credit for that session. For any missed class session, there will be an additional requirement to write a two-page paper (equivalent to 80-minutes of effort) analyzing the assigned readings/videos/podcasts for the missed class period. A missed class session without valid rationale should prompt consideration of dropping the course outright, in consultation with the instructor.
It is extremely unlikely that an integrity or attendance issue will come into play, but it is important that the communication between the instructor and each student be open, just as in any partnership, and that both parties commit to standard academic and professional ethics.
Final note
While it is important to have the operations of any joint endeavor documented, such as through this syllabus, it is critical that the ultimate meaning does not get lost in the words.
It is my ambition that this course will prove to be a valuable experience for each of you, individually and collectively. To that end, if there are any issues that arise for you during the course of the semester for which my action or redirection will be meaningful, don’t hesitate to reach out to me or to the seminar Ombudsperson, whether on matters referenced in these pages or otherwise.
If there are needs, preferences or concerns that arise over the semester for which you are not comfortable approaching me directly, feel free to contact the course Ombudsperson, as noted above.
I am looking forward to our shared leadership of this experience, and I am grateful to you for committing to this course!