Foundations of Leadership

Foundations of Leadership

This course is part of Leading Technical Organizations Specialization

Instructors: Alton Harris

3,164 already enrolled

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6 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

16 reviews

Intermediate level

Recommended experience

3 weeks to complete

at 10 hours a week

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

6 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

16 reviews

Intermediate level

Recommended experience

3 weeks to complete

at 10 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

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Assessments

12 assignments

Taught in English

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This course is part of the Leading Technical Organizations Specialization

When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.

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Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
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There are 6 modules in this course

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.

What sets this course apart is its focus on practical, self-reflective learning. By bridging theory and practice, you’ll evaluate your leadership characteristics, compare them with peer feedback, and apply leadership theories to real-world challenges. You’ll also explore diverse leadership models, from Path-Goal Theory to Authentic Leadership, tailored to enhance your ability to lead in complex, dynamic environments. By the end, you’ll have a comprehensive understanding of leadership theories, styles, and critical thinking techniques to drive team performance and foster organizational growth.

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

2 videosTotal 24 minutes

Senior Leader Characteristics 16 minutes
Critical Thinking 8 minutes

5 readingsTotal 420 minutes

Readings References180 minutes
Supplemental Readings10 minutes
Readings References180 minutes
Supplemental Readings10 minutes
Self-Reflective Reading: Values in Action Character Strengths40 minutes

3 assignmentsTotal 90 minutes

Senior Leader Characteristics & Critical Thinking60 minutes
Senior Leader Characteristics 15 minutes
Critical Thinking 15 minutes

1 pluginTotal 6 minutes

Video: Using the Tools of Critical Thinking for Effective Decision Making6 minutes

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

3 videosTotal 30 minutes

Leadership Theory and Practice Overview13 minutes
Trait Approach8 minutes
Skills Approach9 minutes

6 readingsTotal 260 minutes

Reading References100 minutes
Self-Reflective Reading: Traits & Skills Approach40 minutes
Self-Reflective Reading: Leadership Traits & Skills of Bill Nelson60 minutes
Leadership Assessment: Conceptualizing Leadership20 minutes
Leadership Assessment: Leadership Traits20 minutes
Leadership Assessment: Skills Inventory20 minutes

2 assignmentsTotal 75 minutes

Trait & Skills Approach to Leadership60 minutes
Introduction to Trait and Skills Approach to Leadership15 minutes

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

3 videosTotal 34 minutes

Behavioral Approach11 minutes
Situational Approach11 minutes
Ethical Leadership12 minutes

6 readingsTotal 310 minutes

Reading References90 minutes
Reading References90 minutes
Self-Reflective Reading: Leadership Approaches - A Task-Oriented vs. Relationship-Oriented Leader40 minutes
Leadership Assessments: Leadership Behavior 20 minutes
Leadership Assessments: Ethical Leadership Style50 minutes
Leadership Assessments: Ethical Leadership Style20 minutes

3 assignmentsTotal 90 minutes

Behavioral & Situational Approaches to Leadership & Ethical Leadership60 minutes
Behavioral and Situational Approach15 minutes
Ethical Leadership Insights and Challenge15 minutes

3 pluginsTotal 24 minutes

Video: Apple CEO Tim Cook on Ethical Leadership3 minutes
Video: Ethical Leadership by Notre Dame Deloitte Center for Ethical Leadership5 minutes
Video: [Q&A] What are the ethical and practical challenges of ChatGPT? 16 minutes

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

3 videosTotal 34 minutes

Path-Goal Theory12 minutes
Leader-Member Exchange Theory 12 minutes
Transformational Leadership9 minutes

6 readingsTotal 270 minutes

Reading References110 minutes
Self-Reflective Reading: Leadership Patterns – Understanding How to Influence Followers40 minutes
Self-Reflective Reading: Leadership Ethics, Behaviors, and Ability to Transform People – The Case of Elon Musk60 minutes
Leadership Assessments: Path-Goal Leadership20 minutes
Leadership Assessments: LMX-720 minutes
Leadership Assessments: Transformational Leadership Inventory20 minutes

2 assignmentsTotal 75 minutes

Path-Goal Theory, Leader-Member Exchange Theory & Transformational Leadership60 minutes
Core Leadership Theories: Path-Goal, LMX, and Transformational15 minutes

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

3 videosTotal 34 minutes

Authentic Leadership12 minutes
Servant Leadership13 minutes
Adaptive Leadership8 minutes

4 readingsTotal 183 minutes

Reading References120 minutes
Leadership Assessments: Authentic Leadership20 minutes
Leadership Assessments: Servant Leadership3 minutes
Leadership Assessments: Adaptive Leadership40 minutes

2 assignmentsTotal 75 minutes

Authentic, Servant, and Adaptive Leadership60 minutes
Authentic, Servant and Adaptive Leadership15 minutes

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Instructors

Instructor ratings

(8 ratings)

Alton Harris

Johns Hopkins University

3 Courses4,652 learners

Barton Michelson

Johns Hopkins University

3 Courses4,652 learners

Offered by

Johns Hopkins University

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Reviewed on Sep 3, 2025

Hello I would like to thank for doing this course, I learnt alot of things in this course

Reviewed on Mar 25, 2026

I really learned a lot from this course ,it was very informative.

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