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This course is part of the Leadership & Management track.
Organizational Leadership
woman speaking to her team

Organizational Leadership

Elevate Your Leadership Skills to Take Your Organization to the Next Level

Organizational Leadership equips experienced team leaders and aspiring executives with the skills, strategies, and tools to rise to expanded leadership responsibilities and guide their organizations effectively. Learn how to set and communicate direction, influence through other managers, generate organizational alignment, drive innovation, and engineer change.

Apply Now

What You'll Learn

Play an Introduction to Organizational Leadership
Play an Introduction to Organizational Leadership
Go to Course Syllabus
  • Identify any misalignments between the dynamics of your organization and external market conditions
  • Communicate purpose and vision, and inspire your organization to execute on that vision
  • Extend the reach of your influence by leading through other managers
  • Elevate your leadership style to meet the distinct challenges of leading larger, more dispersed teams
  • Shape your organizational culture and architecture to maximize talent, leverage diversity, and drive performance
  • Develop strategies for planning and engineering organizational change and innovation initiatives

About the Professors

Professor Joshua Margolis - Organizational Leadership

Joshua Margolis is the James Dinan and Elizabeth Miller Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, Unit Head of the School’s Organizational Behavior Unit, and Faculty Chair of the Program for Leadership Development and the Christensen Center for Teaching and Learning. He is co-author of the book People and Profits: The Search for a Link between a Company’s Social and Financial Performance, and has won numerous awards, including the Robert F. Greenhill Award and the Apgar Award for Innovation in Teaching.

Professor Anthony Mayo - Organizational Leadership

Anthony Mayo is the Thomas S. Murphy Senior Lecturer of Business Administration and C. Roland Christensen Distinguished Management Educator in the Organizational Behavior Unit at Harvard Business School. He served as director of the School’s Leadership Initiative for 16 years and was previously the course head for FIELD, a required experiential, field-based course in the first year of the MBA program. He is co-editor of the volume Race, Work, and Leadership: New Perspectives on the Black Experience.

Who Will Benefit

Leader

Experienced Team Leaders

Prepare for the next phase of your leadership journey, whether you’re expanding your overall scope of responsibilities or taking over a larger department or organization.

Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs

Learn to lead at scale and mobilize your employees as you transition your business from a startup into a growth-stage company.

Laptop

Leadership Principles Past Participants

If you’ve completed Leadership Principles, this course will help you expand your leadership toolkit and prepare you to run a division, department, or organization.

Program Structure

Organizational Leadership consists of approximately 45 to 50 hours of material delivered over seven weeks. You can complete the coursework on your own time while meeting regular deadlines.

At the beginning of the course, you’ll be asked to complete a self-assessment and solicit feedback from colleagues, such as direct reports, clients, or managers, for the Learning Path Tool (LPT) assessment. The LPT is a 360-degree assessment developed at Harvard Business School to provide leaders with insights into key areas of competence essential for effective leadership. Upon successful completion of the LPT—which requires obtaining ratings from at least two colleagues (and ideally at least six)—you will receive a detailed report that provides insight into your leadership and how others experience you.

Midway through the course, you’ll participate in a project week. You’ll be asked to collaborate with colleagues or individuals in your network on a challenge or opportunity facing your organization. You’ll then connect with a peer in Organizational Leadership to share what you’ve learned and receive feedback.

The course also features a video upload exercise in which you’ll practice communication techniques taught in the course and provide feedback to fellow learners. You can record yourself on a phone, computer, or other video recording device and will be asked to upload the video to the course.

August 2022
  • Length: 7 Weeks
  • Program Dates: 8/17/22–10/5/22
  • Cost: $1,750
  • Application Deadline: August 8
  • Detailed Calendar
  • Course Platform
  • Certificate Program
Apply Now
October 2022
  • Length: 7 Weeks
  • Program Dates: 10/19/22–12/7/22
  • Cost: $1,750
  • Application Deadline: October 10
  • Detailed Calendar
  • Course Platform
  • Certificate Program
Apply Now

Organizational Leadership is part of the Leadership and Management Learning Track. If you’re interested in developing deeper insights and expertise, you can choose to complete three leadership and management courses within 18 months to earn a Certificate of Specialization.

Syllabus

Organizational Leadership explores the roles leaders must embrace to run a division, department, or organization: as a beacon who sets direction; an architect who aligns talent, systems and structure, and culture; and a catalyst who drives innovation and change. Through self-assessments, peer feedback, and projects applied to your own work, you'll gain a clearer understanding of your leadership style and how to prepare for the next phase of your leadership journey.

Learning requirements: In order to earn a Certificate of Completion, participants must thoughtfully complete Modules 1-7 and exercises therein by stated deadlines. The Bonus Module 8: Leading Self at Scale and Scope is not required for course completion, but will be available for participants as optional content at the end of the course.

Leaders interviewed:

  • Erasmo Nuzzi, Managing Director of European Emerging Markets, General Mills
  • Chris Young, CEO, McAfee (2017-2020)
  • Kweli Thompson, VP and GM, Cardiac Resynchronization Therapies, Medtronic
  • Rakefet Russak-Aminoach, CEO, Bank Leumi (2012-2019)
  • Chip Bergh, CEO, Levi Strauss & Co.
  • Mia Mends, CAO, Sodexo North America & SodexoMAGIC
  • Johan Lundgren, CEO, easyjet
  • Bethany Quam, Group President, Blue Buffalo, General Mills

Download Syllabus

Modules Takeaways Key Exercises
Module 1: Leading at Scale and Scope
  • Understand the "double helix" of leadership—the intertwined work of delivering on organizational responsibilities and developing yourself personally—to lead divisions, units, or organizations effectively
  • Describe the key imperatives of transitioning to a new organizational leadership role and identify common dangers to avoid
  • Learning Path Tool assessment: Complete a self-assessment and solicit feedback from colleagues
  • Time allocation exercise: Evaluate current priorities and gauge how to reallocate them as roles and responsibilities change
Module 2: Leader as Beacon: Understanding the Context and Setting Direction
  • Assess the external context in which your organization operates and its impact
  • Develop a direction for your division, unit, or organization, informed by your analysis of the external context
  • Identify key contextual factors shaping your organization today and in the future
Module 3: Leader as Beacon: Communicating Direction
  • Use vision, purpose, strategy, and identity to craft a statement of direction
  • Apply techniques to communicate direction to every level of the organization and evaluate your effectiveness
  • Video upload: Record yourself communicating direction and evaluate the effectiveness of your and your peers’ communication techniques
Module 4: Leader as Architect: Designing to Deliver Value
  • Assess your organization’s capacity to deliver on key tasks that create value
  • Diagnose and solve for challenges with organizational motivation, competence, and coordination to drive value creation
  • Experiment with making the critical design choices to align the people, systems and structure, and culture in your division, unit, or organization to deliver value
  • Generate a three-year value creation plan for your division, unit, or organization
  • Align your organizational architecture to your three-year value creation plan
Module 5: Project Week
  • Identify a performance or opportunity gap within your division, unit, or organization, drawing on lessons from Leader as Beacon and Leader as Architect
  • Develop an action plan to address the root causes of a performance or opportunity gap
  • Identify personal leadership development opportunities using feedback from the Learning Path Tool assessment
  • Perform a root cause analysis in partnership with others in your organization and generate an action plan to address your findings
  • Networking activity (optional): Share your action plan with a peer in the course and receive feedback
  • Reflect on your Learning Path Tool assessment results and identify opportunities for growth
Module 6: Leader as Catalyst of Change
  • Diagnose the need for organizational change in response to external shifts or internal challenges
  • Utilize the CHANGE model to implement organizational change successfully
  • Appreciate how to overcome resistance to change
  • Reflect on key change initiatives within your organization and analyze their effectiveness using the CHANGE model
Module 7: Leader as Catalyst of Innovation
  • Describe the steps for driving innovation within established organizations
  • Explain how to shape organizational culture into a culture of innovation
  • Explore the value of learning from mistakes or failures to develop a culture of innovation
  • Reflect on what you have learned about leading organizations—and yourself—throughout the course
Bonus Module 8: Leading Self at Scale and Scope
  • Examine the personal and organizational challenges of leading through inflection points and adversity
  • Assess your capacity to rise to new leadership responsibilities while attending to self-care and personal development
  • Reflect on your experiences facing uncertainty and adversity as a leader

The HBS Online Advantage

Play an Introduction to the HBS Online Platform video
Play an Introduction to the HBS Online Platform video
  • World-class faculty
  • Edge-of-your-seat online learning
  • Global peer collaboration and networking
  • Real-world, case-based learning

Harvard Business School Online offers a unique and highly engaging way to learn vital business concepts. Immerse yourself in real challenges faced by a diverse group of business leaders whose experience spans various industries, organizational sizes, geographies, and professional backgrounds. You’ll step into the shoes of experts from General Mills, Medtronic, Bank Leumi, Levi Strauss & Co., EasyJet, and other organizations, and wrestle with the issues they faced, all while engaging with fellow learners from around the world.

Play students explain their experience an HBS Online course video
Play students explain their experience an HBS Online course video

Stories from Our Learners

  • The platform was engaging, innovative, and allowed me to interact with the material in a way I never expected from an online course.
    Bethany Larson,
    HBS Online Participant
  • I had never experienced such an immersive platform online, and could argue that it was more effective at building and solidifying knowledge than some of the in-class courses I took in college.
    Ryan Dumlao,
    HBS Online Participant


Request More Information

Sign up to receive additional information about this course. Find out what other learners are doing with the skills they gained, and evaluate if this course is the right fit for you.

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Learn More


Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to log in at a set time? How does the grading process work? At this point, you probably have a few questions, and we’ve got answers.

Learn More

Learn More


Enrollment Eligibility

Our easy online application is free, and no special documentation is required. All applicants must be at least 18 years of age, proficient in English, and committed to learning and engaging with fellow participants throughout the course. We confirm enrollment eligibility within one week of your application.

Apply Now

Apply Now


Organizational Leadership Certificate of Completion from Harvard Online
Earn Your Certificate

Enroll today in Harvard Online's Organizational Leadership course.

Apply Now
 
All FAQs

Top FAQs

How are HBS Online courses delivered?

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We offer self-paced programs (with weekly deadlines) on the HBS Online course platform.

Our platform features short, highly produced videos of HBS faculty and guest business experts, interactive graphs and exercises, cold calls to keep you engaged, and opportunities to contribute to a vibrant online community.

Do I need to come to campus to participate in HBS Online programs?

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No, all of our programs are 100 percent online, and available to participants regardless of their location.

How do I enroll in a course?

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All programs require the completion of a brief application. The applications vary slightly from program to program, but all ask for some personal background information. You can apply for and enroll in programs here. If you are new to HBS Online, you will be required to set up an account before starting an application for the program of your choice.

Our easy online application is free, and no special documentation is required. All applicants must be at least 18 years of age, proficient in English, and committed to learning and engaging with fellow participants throughout the program.

After submitting your application, you should receive an email confirmation from HBS Online. If you do not receive this email, please check your junk email folders and double-check your account to make sure the application was successfully submitted.

Updates to your application and enrollment status will be shown on your Dashboard. We confirm enrollment eligibility within one week of your application.

Does Harvard Business School Online offer an online MBA?

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No, Harvard Business School Online offers business certificate programs.

What are my payment options?

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We accept payments via credit card, Western Union, and (when available) bank loan. Some candidates may qualify for scholarships or financial aid, which will be credited against the Program Fee once eligibility is determined. Please refer to the Payment & Financial Aid page for further information.

We also allow you to split your payment across 2 separate credit card transactions or send a payment link email to another person on your behalf. If splitting your payment into 2 transactions, a minimum payment of $350 is required for the first transaction.

In all cases, net Program Fees must be paid in full (in US Dollars) to complete registration.

What are the policies for refunds and deferrals?

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After enrolling in a program, you may request a withdrawal with refund (minus a $100 nonrefundable enrollment fee) up until 24 hours after the start of your program. Please review the Program Policies page for more details on refunds and deferrals. If your employer has contracted with HBS Online for participation in a program, or if you elect to enroll in the undergraduate credit option of the Credential of Readiness (CORe) program, note that policies for these options may differ.

 

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