The objective of this course is to enhance your personal and professional development, and to help you fully realize your leadership potential. The course builds on your work in Organizational Behavior and Leadership during your first semester in the EMBA, and of course, on the entire course of study you have mastered during the program.
A principal focus of the course is discovering the wellsprings of your authentic leadership. We’ll also discuss a variety of approaches to leadership theories and practice, and several unique and useful perspectives on challenges leaders often face. And we’ll welcome a number of guest speakers to class, to share their insights about what makes an effective leader.
The course involves exercises and assignments spread over 12 class meetings on 12 different days, beginning on January 13 and continuing through March 16.
The texts for this course include
Leadership: Theory and Practice, by Peter Northouse (9th edition, Sage Publishing, 2021). The chapter PowerPoints and leadership instruments from it are on Laulima and the text website. E-text and multimedia resources can be accessed with a code from the book that the UH bookstore and Kai Tang can provide. Logon at:
https://vantage.sagepub.com/DANIEL-6195/JoinCourse
And Bill George’s leadership series (hardcopies – please coordinate with Kai Tang)
True North: Leading Authentically in Today’s Workplace, Emerging Leader Edition, 2022
And two companion volumes:
True North FieldBook, Emerging Leader Edition: The Emerging Leader’s Guide to Leading Authentically in Today’s Workplace 2022
Lead True; Authentic Leadership Rediscovered (free e-book on laulima online) by Bill George and online blog and video resources at https://www.billgeorge.org/
Several classes will reference other works on leadership that students are welcome to consult if they want more depth on a particular topic.
Several deliverables related to the development of your authentic leadership are due at the beginning of various class meetings; use the assignments tab feature on Laulima to submit each deliverable.
In class, we will discuss individual chapters of the Northouse text and of True North book and field guide. These discussions will be an important influence – but not the only influence – on your class participation grade.
In addition, in classes starting January 25 students will take a turn in making presentations based on a leader interview you have personally conducted or from David Gelles’ interviews of leaders profiled in the “Corner Office” columns of The New York Times. Each student will present the story of a leader of their choice. For each leader interviewed, the presentation should take about 10-15 minutes, should present (a) the highlights of the interview, and should include (b) some research on the background of the leader profiled and (c) the leader’s company or organization. See http://projects.nytimes.com/corner-office?8qa
Finally, you are required to read and review a current leadership book of your choosing (approved by the professor). Your book review should be 5-6 pages double-spaced (about 1500-2000 words) and – to receive full credit – is due on March 16. Please refer to the list of suggested books provided on GoogleDocs by Kai Tang.
Your course grade will be based on a curve over a total of 1000 possible points, distributed as follows:
Class Participation and online Northouse assignments 250 points
Intro & Current challenge essay – (January 18) – written 50 points
Your “Path of Life” Drawing (completed in class Feb. 1) - written 100 points
The Story of Your Life’s Crucible (due February 15) - written 150 points
The Purpose of Your Leadership (due February 29) - written 100 points
Your Personal Leadership Development Plan (due Mar 14) - written 150 points
Leadership Book Review – (due Mar 16) - written 100 points
Contemporary Leaders Presentation (CLP) (various dates) - oral 100 points
Total 1000 points
The curve will reflect the following spectrum of mastery of topics and their application:
A = high achievement B = meets expectations
C = below expectations
D = inadequate performance F = grossly inadequate
Plus or minus grades will be used to distinguish performance within letter grades.