Stepping Up: Preparing Yourself for Leadership

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/stepping-up-preparing-yourself-for-leadership

Introduction

### Course Review: Stepping Up: Preparing Yourself for Leadership In today’s fast-paced and ever-evolving work environment, leadership skills are more crucial than ever. The Coursera course **"Stepping Up: Preparing Yourself for Leadership"** provides a comprehensive framework for individuals looking to enhance their leadership qualities and develop a deeper understanding of their roles as leaders. This course is perfect for aspiring leaders or anyone who wants to refine their leadership skills and capabilities. #### Course Overview "Stepping Up" recognizes that effective leadership isn't just about management; it's about self-awareness, personal growth, and the ability to inspire and influence others. Throughout the course, you will explore critical themes such as **self-awareness**, the significance of **feedback**, the impact of **bias**, and the challenges of **imposter syndrome**. This course is designed to help you navigate the complexities of leadership by equipping you with essential skills such as conflict resolution, boundary setting, and resilience enhancement. The course is structured around four main modules that progressively build upon each other, fostering a comprehensive understanding of leadership. #### Syllabus Breakdown 1. **Understanding Yourself as a Leader** The journey begins with self-reflection, focusing on your leadership identity. This week’s activities encourage participants to recognize their strengths and confront the common challenges of imposter syndrome. The emphasis on delegation and time management helps future leaders learn the importance of empowering others. 2. **Stepping In, Setting Boundaries and Productive Conflict** In this module, you will explore when and how to step into a leadership role effectively. You will learn adaptive leadership styles, boundary setting, and how to address and resolve conflicts constructively. By engaging with various leadership tools, you can tailor your approach based on the context and the needs of your team. 3. **Leading and Influencing Your Boss** Understanding the dynamics of your relationship with your superiors is essential for effective leadership. This week dives into aligning your goals with those of your boss while learning to influence their decisions. Utilizing the "Authority-Presence-Impact" framework, you will develop the skills necessary for tackling challenging conversations and gaining buy-in for your initiatives. 4. **Managing Energy and Motivations** The final week focuses on sustaining your energy and motivating others. You will discover how self-care practices enhance your leadership effectiveness and explore motivational techniques that resonate with your team. Understanding what drives you and your colleagues can lead to a more engaged and productive working environment. #### Recommendation If you are looking to advance your leadership capabilities, **"Stepping Up: Preparing Yourself for Leadership"** comes highly recommended. The course is thoughtfully crafted, progresses logically, and challenges participants to engage on both an intellectual and emotional level. Here are a few reasons why you should consider taking this course: - **Practical Relevance**: The insights and strategies provided can be immediately applied in real-world leadership scenarios, ensuring that you don't just learn but also implement what you’ve learned. - **Interactive Learning**: The course encourages self-reflection and peer feedback, fostering an environment of collaborative learning that is beneficial for personal growth. - **Expert Instruction**: Taught by experienced professionals, the content is well-researched, relevant, and designed to address contemporary leadership challenges. - **Flexibility**: As an online course, it allows for learning at your own pace, making it easier to fit into a busy schedule. In conclusion, "Stepping Up: Preparing Yourself for Leadership" is a must-take course for anyone looking to invest in their leadership journey. It encourages you to step out of your comfort zone, develop critical skills, and prepare effectively for the challenges that lie ahead. Whether you're already in a leadership role or aspiring to one, this course will provide you with the tools and confidence to lead more effectively.

Syllabus

Understanding Yourself as a Leader

This week we are going to be focusing on you and your understanding of your leadership identity. We shall be asking you to reflect on who you are and to consider some of your strengths before exploring two of the biggest challenges for many leaders: imposter syndrome as you build your identity as a leader, and also the need to leverage your time by learning to let go and using delegation to “achieve through others”. We are going to encourage you to step outside your comfort zone, stretch your leadership potential, and consider the types of activity you need to be focussing on to become the leader you want to be.

This week we will be looking at how you can know when to “step in” as a leader and how to do this effectively. We shall explore some of the leadership tools and styles that are available to you and consider how you might adapt your approach in response to your context. We will also discuss boundaries and how you might go about setting these, as well as conflict, looking at how you can constructively respond to conflict and how to find the value in such interactions.

This week we shall be focussing on your boss’s or leader’s agenda and considering how you can best align yourself with it whilst also pursuing your own leadership goals. We look at how you can better understand your boss’s motives and aims, as well as how you can influence your boss. We will use the “Authority-Presence-Impact” frame of thinking to help you to further develop your ability to lead, and will take you through the process of having challenging, but invaluable, conversations with your leader or boss.

This week we are going to focus on how you can maintain your own energy levels whilst also energising and motivating those around you. We will look at how you can embed self-care and wellbeing into your leadership practices and ways in which you can radiate energy to others. We shall explore what motivates you as well as those you lead, and think about how you can use language to achieve your leadership goals and motivate your team.