Two Year MBA Leadership Coursework

The goal of managers and leaders is to get things done in organizations, and most of that work is accomplished by effectively managing other people. This course applies cutting-edge behavioral science findings to develop students’ managerial and leadership capabilities. The course is designed to provide students with concepts and competencies to help them throughout their managerial careers. The Leading Teams course will work in conjunction with Core Team Practicum (NBA 5700) and Critical and Strategic Thinking (NCC 5050) to develop your leadership skills on multiple levels. Overall the course has two goals: To make each student a more effective leader and to successfully launch students’ Johnson careers.

This course is designed to provide you with training and experience in leading and contributing to high-performing teams that: (1) set clear goals and objectives; (2) develop, implement, and enforce appropriate internal team norms; (3) effectively collaborate, taking maximum advantage of diverse strengths and backgrounds; (4) produce well-reasoned analyses of complex business problems; and, (5) provide team members with appropriate constructive feedback from which further growth and development can occur. Core teams work together on assignments throughout the first semester and are supported by second year Johnson Leadership Fellows (JLFs), who support both individual and team development.

This course is based on the proposition that leading well requires thinking well. Succeeding in any business leadership role requires thinking critically, and making quality decisions, even in the face of challenges such as imperfect/incomplete information, changing and unforeseen circumstances, and human nature in all of its complexity and unpredictability. Major content themes of this course focus on constructing a persuasive argument and deconstructing arguments made by others; recognizing and avoiding reasoning flaws and the forces that make us most susceptible to such flaws; approaching business problems systematically and thoroughly; and producing a problem solution that is (a) well-reasoned; (b) likely to be well-received by ultimate decision makers; and (c) able to be implemented successfully. Students will be introduced to, and then practice using, frameworks that they can apply to any leadership challenge or opportunity – regardless of company or job function – in order to solve problems and communicate proposed solutions effectively.

This course teaches leadership and coaching skills to Johnson Leadership Fellows (JLFs), who are chosen from the second-year MBA class to coach first-year students’ Core Teams. As a part of this experiential course, students inventory their leadership values, strengths, and challenges; develop an advanced personal leadership development plan; build skills for team coaching and conflict resolution; and regularly apply coaching and conflict resolution skills to their work with first-year Core Teams.

Additional Leadership Electives are offered for students to take throughout their MBA. These courses include:

Advanced Critical Thinking for Business Leaders

Core Leadership Skills for a VUCA World

Crisis Communications for Business Leaders

Ethical Decision Making in Management

Interpersonal Communications

Johnson Experiential Leadership Expedition

Leading Across Differences

Managerial Decision Making

Negotiations 1: Negotiation Essentials

Negotiations 2: Advanced Negotiation for Global Leaders

Power and Politics in Organizations

Women and Leadership