The required foundations course, LEAD 1000 - Becoming a Leader will begin preparing you to exercise leadership in a variety of settings including business, government, non-profit organizations, and community and civic activities. The course will help you to:

  • Raise self-awareness and recognize your individual strengths and weaknesses
  • Understand multiple theories and apply them to enhance leadership effectiveness
  • Emphasize the importance of moral courage and ethical leadership
  • Sharpen your ability to think strategically about leadership challenges
  • Build analytic and critical thinking skills to support decision making
  • Adapt your leadership practices to differences among individuals, cultures and situations
  • Enhance your ability to speak and write clearly, concisely, and convincingly

The course will introduce some leadership and management theories, but throughout we will emphasize how to apply them in the real world. We will also discuss why demographic changes in our society and globalization require leaders who are culturally intelligent and inclusive in their leadership patterns. By combining theory with practical examples, the course will provide useful guidelines for students who want to be leaders of the future.

Becoming a Leader is organized around five major themes:

  1. Leadership of Self

  2. Leadership of Others

  3. Purposes and Expressions of Leadership in Different Contexts

  4. Leadership in Practice

  5. Diversity and Inclusion in Leadership

Each theme involves several specific topics which will be addressed through lectures, class discussions, guest lectures, case studies, and student team presentations. There are assigned readings, videos, written papers, and other related activities, both individual and team-oriented.