The Organizational Leadership CAGS focuses on developing the leadership competencies needed to function effectively in organizational settings. The strategically crafted courses serve to enhance Learner’s commitment to the understanding and practice of leadership. The CAGS opportunity of study is designed for those who aspire to become collaborative change agents. This CAGS is aligned to the Organizational Leadership specialization.

OL7001 - Conflict Resolution and Mediation

Dealing with conflict is an inevitable part of any leader's role in any type of organization. Timely and relevant, this course examines conflict management processes and skills with emphasis on interaction patterns, interpersonal relationships, and communication skills. Learners will examine the nature of conflict - it's origins, sources, and types - as well as the concepts and skills of proactive intervention, conflict resolution and utilizing various conflict resolution strategies in organizational settings. Issues such as dealing with diversity and ethical issues in multiple contexts, fostering creativity in problem solving and process design, and strategy and skills for successful mediation will be examined.

OL7002 - Building Organizational Capacity

There are numerous definitions and usages for the phrase, "capacity building" in the education and leadership literature. For the purpose of this course, the term, "building organizational capacity," will be used to describe a parallel "universe," where both the Learner's capacity AND the organization's capacity must be developed to achieve the organization's mission and goals. When demand exceeds personal capacity, it is impossible to tap into personal talents and skills to help the organization. Personal and professional performance, health, and potential success are all compromised. The critical element for high performance at work and effectiveness in life requires sufficient capacity. A Learner interested in building organizational capacity must also understand how to build their own capacity for achieving these organizational goals. Learners will analyze (audit) their own organization to assess internal and external capacity - looking at all the individual parts of the organization (tangible and intangible) to understand their individual and collective impact on achieving maximium effectiveness and productivity. Simultaneously, Learners will also critically evaluate their own role in their organization as it relates to building capacity.

OL7003 - Leadership for Excellence

This course is for learners who understand that striving for leadership excellence is a journey. It is a life journey predicated upon studying, practicing, and developing leadership skills and competencies. This process involves an intensive examination of their personal and organizational leadership abilities and capacities. It is also highly recommended that Learners take OL7003 as their first course of study if they are pursuing a specialization in OL. In this course, Learners will deepen their philosophy of leadership which serves as the “touchstone” for applying the knowledge and skill sets they acquire through this course and other courses within the OL specialization. The development and implementation of leadership concepts, applications, and frameworks to drive leadership performance for excellence are highlighted. The continued and increasingly successful application of the knowledge, tools, skill sets, and perspectives that have been learned will be emphasized.

OL7004 - Theory and Practice of Organizational Leadership

Leadership theory spans academic disciplines and draws as much from artistry of relationships as it does from writings and reflections of leadership as an applied science. Students of leadership gain as much from the experiences of others, as they do from studies of attributes of successful leaders and organizations. Through coursework, course readings, case analyses and personal reflection, Learners will examine in-depth leadership theories and their applications in current organizational settings. This course incorporates the Learner's experiences and observations regarding leadership from their personal and professional experiences and current work setting.

OL7005 - Ethical Leadership

Leadership is not an event, but is a process that takes time. It involves not thinking, acting, and communicating in an ethical fashion. Likewise, there is no one single absolute point of view to be uncritically adopted and unquestioningly followed. Regardless of what type of organization a person serves, frequently they find themselves having to make tough decisions that may be in conflict with their own set of values. Schools for example, are dedicated to the well being of children, yet students have virtually no voice in what happens there. For this reason, the leader's conduct must be deliberately moral and ethical. In this course, Learners gain a deep understanding of the complexity of such moral dilemmas through critical analysis and application of ethical principles. Both hypothetical and real ethical scenarios and decisions will be critically considered and discussed with the focus on the Learner building practical decision making skills in the organizational environment and the understanding the criteria by which the soundness of those decisions are to be judged. Interpersonal dynamics operating within an organizational structure and the systemic nature of such structures is examined. Students examine their own ethical profile, and how it impacts their communication with individuals and groups. This includes oral, print and electronic communications.

OL7009 - Strategic Planning for Leaders

This course provides educators, leaders of non-profit service and community outreach organizations, and perspective organizational consultants, the necessary knowledge, understanding, tools, and skills through which to assume leadership roles in strategic planning and form critical linkages among effective planning, budgeting, and the principles of organizational effectiveness. Demands for organizational and programmatic planning, in tandem with the demands for high levels of organizational success, often present leaders of educational and non-profit organizations with more questions than answers: How does one create a positive organizational future in a time of rapid change? Where does the process essential to creating responsive, transformational change in organizations begin? Who within our organizations should be entrusted with guiding the deep, transformative change and expected responsiveness that both internal and external constituents have come to expect? How does one take on new programmatic initiatives without losing sight of the traditional strengths and values of the organizations we lead? How does one cultivate an organization that does not make absolute loyalty to tradition a precondition for experimentation and action? And how does one both stay the course and modify chosen strategic directions through the employment of assessment and quality assurance measures that ultimately foster high levels of organizational effectiveness. In short, this course will provide leaders with practice-tested tools and processes through which to nurture strategically-oriented, innovative, adaptive, and effective organizations.