This course is part of the CLIMB program and Leadership & Management track.
Introduction to Organizational Leadership

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Organizational Leadership

$1,850
Next 7-week session starts May 28th
Elevate your leadership skills to drive organizational success and effectively implement transformative change.
7
weeks
6-8
hours per week
7
modules
Self-Paced

 This course earns you a Certificate of Completion from HBS Online. What you earn.

Overview
Syllabus
Enrollment
Stories
FAQs

Key Concepts

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
Develop strategies for planning and engineering organizational change and innovation initiatives
Shape your organizational culture and architecture to maximize talent, leverage diversity, and drive performance

Who Will Benefit

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.
I'm now more mindful of how my colleagues are experiencing me, and less averse to having difficult conversations.
Juliana Casale
Head of Marketing at Crazy Egg
Learn to lead at scale and mobilize your employees as you transition your business from a startup into a growth-stage company.
"HBS Online courses are excellent for anyone who wishes to learn more about a particular subject area or further develop their career."
Corina Cristea Lavoie
Corporate Services Manager at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
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.
"I found the content of the course to be extremely informative and applicable to the real challenges of being a leader. I loved the frameworks and the case study model of the course, and I thought the course was very manageable on top of a full-time job."
Abby Katz
Senior Marketing Manager at Mavrck

What You Earn

Certificate of Completion

Certificate of Completion

Boost your resume with a Certificate of Completion from HBS Online

Earn by: completing this course

Certificate of Specialization

Certificate of Specialization

Prove your mastery of leadership and management

Earn by: completing any three courses within this subject area to earn a Certificate of Specialization

Syllabus

7 Modules, 45-50 Hours
Download full syllabus
6-8
hrs
Module 1

Leading at Scale and Scope

Understand the key imperatives of transitioning to a new organizational leadership role, including common dangers to avoid.

Highlights

The T-Shaped Leader
Time Allocation Exercise
Transitioning to a New Role
ShowHide Details

Concepts

  1. Capital "L" Leadership
  2. Transitioning to a New Role

Featured Exercises

  • Learning Path Tool assessment
  • Time allocation exercise
6-8
hrs
Module 2

Leader as Beacon: Understanding the Context and Setting Direction

Develop a direction for your division, unit, or organization, informed by the external context in which your organization operates.

Highlights

Leader as Beacon
Understanding the Context
Developing Contextual Intelligence
ShowHide Details

Concepts

  1. Contextual Intelligence
  2. Developing Contextual Intelligence
  3. Direction

Featured Exercises

  • Identify key contextual factors shaping your organization
6-8
hrs
Module 3

Leader as Beacon: Communicating Direction

Use vision, purpose, strategy, and identity to craft a statement of direction and apply techniques to communicate that direction to every level of the organization.

Highlights

Setting Direction
Motivating Others Through a Setback
ShowHide Details

Concepts

  1. Setting Direction
  2. Communicating Direction
  3. Types of Communication

Featured Exercises

  • Video upload: Record yourself communicating direction and evaluate the effectiveness of your and your peers’ communication techniques
6-8
hrs
Module 4

Leader as Architect: Designing to Deliver Value

Understand the critical design choices to align the people, systems and structure, and culture in your division, unit, or organization to deliver value.

Highlights

Follow the Orange
Value Creation at Medtronic
ShowHide Details

Concepts

  1. Introduction to the Architect Model
  2. Creating Value as an Organization
  3. Organizational Design Levers: The Conditions
  4. Organizational Design Levers: The Components

Featured Exercises

  • Generate a three-year value-creation plan
  • Align your organizational architecture to your three-year value-creation plan
6-8
hrs
Module 5

Project Week

Identify a performance or opportunity gap within your division, unit, or organization and develop an action plan to address it. Identify personal leadership development opportunities using feedback from the Learning Path Tool assessment.

Highlights

Conducting a Root Cause Analysis
Learning from 360-degree Feedback
Stepping in as CEO
ShowHide Details

Concepts

  1. Introduction to Project Week
  2. Bank Leumi Case Study
  3. Organizational Challenge Conclusion

Featured Exercises

  • Perform a root cause analysis
  • Networking activity (optional): Share your action plan with a classmate and receive feedback
  • Reflect on your Learning Path Tool assessment
6-8
hrs
Module 6

Leader as Catalyst of Change

Diagnose the need for organizational change in response to external shifts or internal challenges, and utilize the CHANGE model to implement organizational change successfully.

Highlights

Leader as Catalyst Role
Stepping into a Messy Situation
The CHANGE Model
ShowHide Details

Concepts

  1. Catalyst of Change
  2. Conceptualize and Hear
  3. Agenda and Nexus
  4. Guide & Govern and Engage & Execute

Featured Exercises

  • Reflect on key change initiatives within your organization and analyze their effectiveness using the CHANGE model
6-8
hrs
Module 7

Leader as Catalyst of Innovation

Describe the steps for driving innovation within established organizations and explain how to transform your organization's culture into one of innovation.

Highlights

Driving Innovation
Handling Resistance
ShowHide Details

Concepts

  1. Catalyst of Innovation
  2. Creating a Culture of Innovation

Featured Exercises

  • Explore the value of learning from mistakes to develop a culture of innovation
  • Reflect on what you've learned about leading organizations—and yourself—throughout the course
6-8
hrs
Bonus Module 8

Leading Self at Scale and Scope

Examine the personal and organizational challenges of leading through inflection points and adversity and assess your capacity to rise to new leadership responsibilities.

Module 8—Leading Self at Scale and Scope—is a bonus module and not required for course completion. It will be available for participants as optional content at the end of the course.
ShowHide Details

Concepts

  1. Leading During Crisis
  2. Bethany Quam
  3. Johan Lundgren
  4. Mia Mends
  5. Leading Self

Featured Exercises

  • Reflect on your experiences facing uncertainty and adversity as a leader
Free E-Book

How to Become a More Effective Leader

Learn about the difference between leadership and management, uncover the qualities and skills that characterize an effective leader, gain an understanding of common leadership styles, and explore how you can unleash the potential in yourself and others.

Upskill Your Team, Transform Your Organization

Whether you represent a large multinational corporation or a small local business, we have a solution for your learning and development needs.

Our Difference

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.
Stay active by engaging in a new activity every three to five minutes and applying your knowledge through peer feedback, self-assessments, and a project.
Stay active by engaging in a new activity every three to five minutes and applying your knowledge through peer feedback, self-assessments, and a project.
Get social by collaborating with a global community of peers before, during, and after your course. Learners who successfully complete an HBS Online program will be added to the HBS Online Community's Official Networking Group and gain exclusive access to events and other networking opportunities.
Get social by collaborating with a global community of peers before, during, and after your course. Learners who successfully complete an HBS Online program will be added to the HBS Online Community's Official Networking Group and gain exclusive access to events and other networking opportunities.
Immerse yourself in real-world, case-based examples brought to life by industry-leading experts from companies like General Mills, Medtronic, and Levi Strauss & Co.
Immerse yourself in real-world, case-based examples brought to life by industry-leading experts from companies like General Mills, Medtronic, and Levi Strauss & Co.

About the Professors

Joshua Margolis
Organizational Leadership

James Dinan and Elizabeth Miller Professor of Business Administration
"Organizational Leadership is an online course that equips experienced team leaders with the skills, strategies, and tools to guide their organizations effectively."

Anthony Mayo
Organizational Leadership

Thomas S. Murphy Senior Lecturer of Business Administration
"This course will prepare you to set and communicate direction, influence through other managers, drive innovation, and engineer change."

Dates & Eligibility

Starting
May
28
7 Weeks  $1850 + applicable international taxes
Enrollment deadline May 22
View weekly calendar
Enroll Now
Starting
Aug
20
7 Weeks  $1850 + applicable international taxes
Enrollment deadline August 14
View weekly calendar
Enroll Now
Starting
Oct
08
7 Weeks  $1850 + applicable international taxes
Enrollment deadline October 2
View weekly calendar
Enroll Now
  • No documentation required

All learners must be at least 18 years of age, proficient in English, and committed to learning and engaging with fellow participants throughout the course.

Learn about bringing this course to your organization.

Learner Stories

84%
have more confidence making business decisions
Participating in the student discussions was empowering. It ignited a drive within me to learn and absorb as much as I could.
Leslie Pico
A small business owner and tech entrepreneur from Arizona
Programming & System Analysis, Biomedical Engineering, Estrella Mountain Community College
Small Business Administration, Northern Arizona University
Getting the perspective of a problem from various departments brought more solutions to the forefront that could be explored.
Shovna Panigrahi
Vice President of Asset Management at RMZ Corp
* Source: 2022 surveys and course data
 
All FAQs

Organizational Leadership FAQs

Participants in Organizational Leadership are eligible for a Certificate of Completion from Harvard Business School Online.

Participants are expected to fully complete all coursework in a thoughtful and timely manner. This will mean meeting each week’s course module deadlines and fully answering questions posed therein. This helps ensure participants proceed through the course at a similar pace and can take full advantage of social learning opportunities. In addition to module and assignment completion, we expect you to offer feedback on others’ reflections and contribute to conversations on the platform. Participants who fail to complete the course requirements will not receive a certificate and will not be eligible to retake the course.

More detailed information on course requirements will be communicated at the start of the course. No grades are assigned for Organizational Leadership. Participants will either be evaluated as complete or not complete.

The Learning Path Tool (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. At the beginning of Organizational Leadership, you’ll be asked to complete a self-assessment and solicit feedback from colleagues, such as direct reports, clients, or managers, for the assessment. 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.

Please note that Qualtrics—the tool used in the delivery of the Learning Path Tool—​does not provide services to individuals in Russia and Belarus. If you take Organizational Leadership from any of these countries, you won't be able to complete the Learning Path Tool. However, you'll still be eligible to complete the course successfully. Please contact the HBS Online Support Team for more information.

You will have access to the materials in every prior module as you progress through the program. Access to course materials and the course platform ends 60 days after the final deadline in the program.

At the end of each course module, you will be able to download a PDF summary highlighting key concepts used throughout the course. At the end of the program, you will receive a PDF compilation of all of the module summary documents. We hope the module summary documents will serve as a helpful resource after you finish the course.

Harvard Business School Online

Certificate in Organizational Leadership

[Cohort Start Month and Year]

List your certificate on your LinkedIn profile under "Education" with the language from the Credential Verification page:

School: Harvard Business School Online
Dates Attended: [The year you participated in the program]
Degree: Other; Certificate in Organizational Leadership
Field of Study: Leave blank
Grade: "Complete"
Activities and Societies: Leave blank

For the program description on LinkedIn, please use the following:

Organizational Leadership is a 7-week, 40-hour online certificate program from Harvard Business School. Organizational Leadership equips experienced team leaders with the skills, strategies, and tools to set and communicate direction, influence through other managers, generate organizational alignment, drive innovation, and engineer change.

The program was developed by leading Harvard Business School faculty and is delivered in an active learning environment based on the HBS signature case-based learning model.

 

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