The course "Foundations of Leadership" explores foundational leadership principles to help you develop the skills and traits necessary for senior technical leadership roles. Through engaging modules, you’ll analyze leadership approaches, including traits and skills-based theories, ethical practices, and modern leadership styles like transformational, servant, and adaptive leadership. You’ll gain critical thinking skills using Paul and Elder’s model, assess your leadership strengths, and learn to navigate ethical dilemmas effectively.
Foundations of Leadership
Foundations of Leadership
This course is part of Leading Technical Organizations Specialization
Instructors: Alton Harris
Included with 
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
Intermediate level
Recommended experience
36 hours to complete
3 weeks at 12 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace
What you'll learn
Explore critical thinking models and apply them to assess senior leader characteristics for effective decision-making and leadership.
Analyze leadership traits using feedback from peers and evaluate technical, human, and conceptual skills in leadership.
Learn how to apply ethical decision-making frameworks, and evaluate task vs. relationship orientations in leadership practices.
Cover leadership theories like Path-Goal, Leader-Member Exchange, and Transformational Leadership to enhance team dynamics and motivation.
Skills you'll gain
Details to know
Shareable certificate
Add to your LinkedIn profile
Recently updated!
December 2024
Assessments
12 assignments
Taught in English
See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills
Build your subject-matter expertise
This course is part of the Leading Technical Organizations Specialization
When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.
- Learn new concepts from industry experts
- Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
- Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
- Earn a shareable career certificate
Earn a career certificate
Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV
Share it on social media and in your performance review
There are 6 modules in this course
This course provides a comprehensive exploration of essential leadership theories and styles, focusing on senior leader traits, critical thinking, and various approaches to leadership, including ethical, behavioral, and transformational. You will develop a solid foundation in both traditional and contemporary leadership models to effectively guide and inspire teams.
What's included
1 video3 readings
This module focuses on developing key senior leader traits and critical thinking skills essential for effective leadership. You will learn to apply the Paul and Elder’s critical thinking model, assess your leadership characteristics, and analyze the experiences of senior technical leaders to enhance your leadership approach.
What's included
2 videos5 readings3 assignments1 plugin
This module explores how to define and perceive leadership, helping you analyze the gap between your self-assessment and feedback from five peers on your leadership traits. Additionally, you will examine measures of technical, human, and conceptual leadership skills to refine your leadership effectiveness.
What's included
3 videos6 readings2 assignments
This module examines preferred ethical styles for addressing ethical dilemmas and evaluates task versus relationship orientations in leadership. You will also explore how the SLII Model informs your understanding and interpretation of your leadership style at the mid-term point.
What's included
3 videos6 readings3 assignments3 plugins
This module delves into the directive, supportive, participative, and achievement-oriented leadership behaviors, assessing their impact on team dynamics. Additionally, you'll analyze the quality of leader-member relationships from a leadership perspective and explore your preferences for transformational versus transactional leadership styles.
What's included
3 videos6 readings2 assignments
This module explores various dimensions of authentic leadership, evaluates servant leadership behaviors, and assesses the strengths and weaknesses of adaptive leadership. You will gain insights into how these leadership styles can be effectively applied in different organizational contexts.
What's included
3 videos4 readings2 assignments
Instructors
Offered by
Recommended if you're interested in Leadership and Management
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
Why people choose Coursera for their career
Felipe M.
Learner since 2018
"To be able to take courses at my own pace and rhythm has been an amazing experience. I can learn whenever it fits my schedule and mood."
Jennifer J.
Learner since 2020
"I directly applied the concepts and skills I learned from my courses to an exciting new project at work."
Larry W.
Learner since 2021
"When I need courses on topics that my university doesn't offer, Coursera is one of the best places to go."
Chaitanya A.
"Learning isn't just about being better at your job: it's so much more than that. Coursera allows me to learn without limits."
New to Leadership and Management? Start here.
Open new doors with Coursera Plus
Unlimited access to 7,000+ world-class courses, hands-on projects, and job-ready certificate programs - all included in your subscription
Advance your career with an online degree
Earn a degree from world-class universities - 100% online
Join over 3,400 global companies that choose Coursera for Business
Upskill your employees to excel in the digital economy
Frequently asked questions
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
If you subscribed, you get a 7-day free trial during which you can cancel at no penalty. After that, we don’t give refunds, but you can cancel your subscription at any time. See our full refund policy.