Syllabus in 60: Leadership & Personal Development
Friday, April 5, 2024
By Gene Rebeck
MGMT 6465: Leadership & Personal Development
Experts and books can be vague about what “leadership” means. For Associate Professor of Work and Organizations and organizational psychologist Beth Campbell, leadership development can benefit from a data-driven approach. “I want to help students shape, improve, and expand the scope and quality of their influence,” she says. “I center the course around the measurable, observable behaviors they’re demonstrating to the world—and how those behaviors could be more intentional and goal-oriented.”
The course is currently taught in two compressed formats—three Fridays or Saturdays, and a week-long residency. “A compressed format enables students to get into a reflective headspace, where they can get data about themselves and better absorb the information,” Campbell says. Students can focus on who they are as people and how they lead, without distractions or interruptions.
Takeaways
The course uses several measurement tools, including self-assessments and anonymous 360 feedback from colleagues and others with whom a student regularly interacts. “We give students a large amount of data to help them understand where they are right now and to serve as an evidence-based launch point to where they want to go,” Campbell says. Leading doesn’t require having direct reports: “Leadership really happens in everyday moments of interaction with others.”
Campbell says strong leaders recognize that continuous personal development and leadership development go hand in hand. “How you impact and lead others can’t be separated from your own personal growth,” she adds.
“The class taught me a lot about how to navigate different situations in the workplace and how to stand out as a leader. [I learned it’s] about how you want to lead.”
—Henneh Kota, current MBA student
“Beth provided a dynamic working environment where everyone felt comfortable and engaged to ask questions, to be vulnerable, and to learn from each other as well as from her.”
—Jack Grignano, ’20 MBA
Illustration: Sjoerd Van Leeuwen
This article appeared in the Spring 2024 alumni magazine
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