The art of successfully leading a team, a department, or an organization is often underestimated and even misunderstood. As Monique Valcour points out in the Harvard Business Review, occupying a leadership position and actually leading well are not equivalent.
What’s more, success as an individual employee, which can often result in attaining a leadership position, relies on a completely different toolkit than success in leading a team, especially during times of change and turbulence. “To lead, you must be able to connect, motivate, and inspire a sense of ownership of shared objectives,” notes Valcour. “Heightening your capacity to lead others requires being able to see how you think and act, and how your behavior affects others.”
In creating the Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership program, Wilmington University looked closely at emerging trends, innovations and best practices in the field of leadership and devised a comprehensive leadership program with an interdisciplinary twist and an emphasis on humanity.
By combining coursework from the College of Business and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, this degree program gives students a strong foundation in both business and psychology. As a result, graduates will have developed the hard business skills needed to manage projects and initiatives, and will have cultivated the interpersonal soft skills necessary to foster teamwork and effectively lead an employee-centered culture.
“This degree is designed to develop leaders with the empathy to keep employees engaged and productive and to develop the leadership skills that will influence an employee’s well-being and productivity,” says Dr. Mary Pat Braudis, program chair. “The emphasis on the intersection of business and psychology will help students break down complex ideas and behaviors that transfer into leading others.”
Key areas of development focus on leadership in a diverse and multicultural environment, decision-making, interpersonal relations, change management, and team facilitation. The program will prepare students for a range of leadership positions in the public and private sector, including business, healthcare, nonprofit agencies, and the service industry.
While leaders are often called upon to guide employees through organizational change, the recent challenge of managing through a global pandemic with its associated traumas of isolation, health issues, and possible loss of loved ones carries a new and significant impact. Even experienced leaders will need to integrate trauma-informed approaches into their management toolkits as their company policies, procedures, and practices respond to current events.
“This leadership program recognizes the prevalence and impact of trauma and stress within organizations, and incorporates the six principles of a trauma-informed approach,” says Braudis. WilmU’s BS in Organizational Leadership is the only online degree program of its kind to feature the study of trauma-informed approaches.
Another unique facet of this undergraduate leadership degree is the opportunity it provides to simultaneously earn an additional credential. Students can use elective credits in the degree program to earn a Dual-Credit Certificate® in a related field of study, such as Nonprofit Management, Human Resource Management, or Conflict Resolution. These standalone credentials enhance graduates’ knowledge and skills, resumés, and marketability, without requiring extra time or tuition dollars.
Learn more about the innovative BS in Organizational Leadership, its benefits and curriculum, so you can get started on a degree that meets today’s leadership challenges exactly where they stand.
Sources: https://hbr.org/2020/11/anyone-can-learn-to-be-a-better-lead
