Course Description and Prerequisites

Explore how to accelerate organizational change by focusing on and leveraging the core strengths of individuals and the collective system, as well as enhancing shared leadership. Discover tools and methods for how systems can leverage its collective strengths, thus enabling leadership to truly be distributed beyond assigned positions, supported by independent decision making and reflection. Learn how to challenge the traditional deficit model and individualistic mindset that pervades organizations, and how to use evidence-based appreciative practices to cultivate strengths and shared leadership across a system.

Pre-requisite: None.

Student-Centered Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Explain the benefits of a strengths-based & collective approach to leadership
• Explore the tools and methods for identifying, magnifying, and leveraging strengths within an organizational system
• Apply a distributed model of leadership to an existing organization
• Design a process to impact organizational change from a strength-based perspective

Textbook(s) and Technology Requirements

Required Texts

• The eBook for this course is:  Raelin, J. (2003). Creating Leaderful Organizations, 1st Edition (Links to an external site.). Berrett-Koehler Publishers. It can be accessed through the Champlain library.
• Gallup’s CliftonStrengths 34 Assessment (Links to an external site.) will be an online assessment that has a fee associated with it. Students are responsible for payment of the assessment fee which is around $50. The assessment will be used in Module 4.
• Other readings and videos as assigned in weekly materials.

Technology Requirements

Please review the Technology Requirements (Links to an external site.) for Champlain College Online.

Topic Outline

• Week 1:  The Leaderful Paradigm
• Week 2:  Traditions of Leaderful Practice
• Week 3:  The Science of Strengths
• Week 4:  The Elevation of Strengths Individually & Collectively
• Week 5:  Magnifying Strengths To Create Leaderful Organizations That Bring Out The Best In Everyone
• Week 6:  Methodologies For Creating Strengths-Based Leaderful Organizations
• Week 7:  Exploring Cases From Others As We Create Our Own
• Week 8:  Bringing Our Leadership Learning to Life

Methods of Assessment

Your final grade will be determined based on:

Discussions

Weekly discussions are an integral part of learning at Champlain College and represent a significant portion of a student’s overall grade. In order to be successful, students should:

1. Post a thorough, well-crafted initial response that fully addresses and develops all aspects of the prompt by the due date.
2. Engage substantively throughout the discussion period by responding to others with questions or comments that demonstrate interest, build upon the ideas of others, and encourage elaboration.
3. Apply and integrate concepts from this course as well as from quality resources including journals, websites, readings from another class, relevant work or life experience, etc.
4. Demonstrate attention to style, structure, grammar, etiquette, and proper citation of references to maintain academic integrity.

Discussion grades are determined using the rubric below. The descriptions show what exemplary work looks like for each aspect of an overall discussion.

Assignments

All written assignments are due no later than 11:59 pm (your time zone) on the stated due date. If you find you need to turn in your work late, communicate ahead of time with the instructor.

• Given time zone differences, all submissions deadlines are for your timezone.
• Extenuating circumstances: Sometimes significant life events happen (i.e., serious illness, family death, etc.) that interfere with our best efforts to meet expectations. if this is the case, you must communicate with your instructor for clarification on the way late submissions can be handled and how any late submissions may affect your assessment. If you know of an issue ahead of time, it is important to communicate with the instructor prior to the situation.

Students often have questions regarding the length of assignments and papers. The assignment and paper lengths are noted in each module.