This course is an introduction to the ODL program. It describes the genesis of organization development and how it has evolved over the last 50 years. Students address the importance of using themselves as an instrument of change by creating their own development program that they will use throughout the entire ODL program. The course introduces a consulting model and models of organizational change that can be applied immediately to the student’s work setting.

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This course provides a broad overview of different types of teams in the workplace; discusses the necessary elements ofsuccessful teamwork and how to develop these elements; explores various team roles with a particular focus on team leadership; and exposes students to real-time team dynamics and provides opportunities for practicing diagnosis and intervention skills.

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This course describes the theories of leadership with a focus on practitioner models. Effective leadership skills for organizational change in virtual and networked organizations are evaluated using assessment tools. Leadership values (core and peripheral), perceptions, assumptions, expectations and management style are some of the critical issues discussed and evaluated.

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The Capstone course is taken in the last year of the student’s master’s degree work. Working with the program director as her/his advisor, the student demonstrates her/his competence in leading organizational change. Students write an action research paper from an actual or theoretical practice perspective describing how they would engage in organizational diagnosis to clarify the current organizational or business challenge, design an intervention(s) appropriately aligned with the organization diagnosis, and practice use of self as an instrument of change to achieve the desired individual and organizational results.

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The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of project management and its role in strategic management. It will cover the history of strategy development at the organizational level and apply department-level project management. Additionally, the course will address the implications of strategic project management for team dynamics and organizational development. A text isoffered as a guide for project completion. Selected articles will be provided as supplemental reading as well as tools for discussion. Upon successful completion of the course, students will have a basic understanding of strategy and a practical comprehension of project management.

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The organizational workshop focuses on helping people “see” the systematic conditions in which they live and work. It is a day-long group simulation followed by three days of debriefing. This rich learning experience provides an understanding of what is needed to create powerful human systems – systems with outstanding capacity to perform their functions and carry out their mission. This experience and the related frameworks demonstrate what is now understood about systems. They cast a powerful light on organizations.

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This course introduces a comprehensive set of communication skills available to leaders including theoretical background, practical applications and on-camera practice sessions delivering critical messages to diverse audiences. Students will examine core components of messaging and powerful presentations in organizational settings, including media applications. Students will learn how to effectively communicate from organizational and individual settings, including creating an organizational communication plan.

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Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a method for discovering, understanding and fostering innovation in systems. AI uses incisive questions to gather positive stories and images, leading to the construction of positive possibilities. AI seeks out the very best of “what is” to help ignite the imagination of “what could be.” The aim is to generate knowledge in such a way as to surface important values, expand the “realm of the possible,” help the system envision a desired future, and encourage the successful translation of these values into practice and these images into reality. One way the principles and practices of AI will come alive is by students applying the methodology to their own growth and development as leaders of change.

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Meetings are where collaboration happens. Well-planned, designed and facilitated meetings tap a variety of different perspectives, expand everyone’s understanding of the situation, and increase the likelihood of good, effective decisions that benefit the system – the common good. The purpose of the course is to become familiar with basic concepts, to practice the skills and methods, and to develop the habits of mind essential to designing and facilitating task-focused, collaborative meetings.

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This course provides an introduction to coaching for leaders. We will explore the definition and framework for leadership coaching, learn coaching approaches and provide opportunities to practice, utilizing workplace situations. We will emphasize learning how to be fully present when coaching and how to focus attention to maximize the coaching interaction. Course objectives include direct competency development in the following areas: 1) Learn and practice coaching techniques that will improve reflective practice and deliver key learnings to enhance the impact of leaders in their diverse organizational cultures; 2) Develop an in-depth awareness and understanding of managing polarities that surface in an organization’s culture that will enable the leader to effectively develop and collaboratively engage others in the process of change; 3) Learn and practice data collection processes through the intentional use of self as a participant/observer to enhance individual and organizational results; and 4) Enhance communication skills by learning and applying non-verbal movement- based approaches as a holistic framework for data collection and intervention design for leaders. No movement or dance experience is necessary.

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This course provides an opportunity for adult learners to engage in a community consulting project wherein they can advance their consulting and intervention skills and enhance PCOM’s presence and commitment to the community. The project will demonstrate the leaders’ ability to: think strategically, manage projects, behave ethically, develop self, and build teams employing the following elements: 1) Demonstrate understanding of how to build core inclusion skills critical for building relationships and effective teams to create an environment where all parties feel respected and able to work up to individual potential; 2) Model organizational principles and values to leverage them for creativity, risk taking, decision making, and enhanced organizational performance; 3) Create action steps to identify and build skills that increase the effectiveness of team interactions and overall organizational performance; and 4) Analyze organization culture and see the connection between leadership behavior and the impact on teams and organizational goals.

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This course is an exploration of development from three viewpoints – personal, interpersonal and organization. Students will examine their own preferences, strengths and motivations as well as the role these play in their relationships and leadership style for managing change. Students discover their own patterns of reactivity and identify how they can diffuse a toxic situation by changing their own behavior.

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This course gives students an awareness, understanding, and practice of how to diagnose organizational effectiveness and then plan and implement complex change. Students will explore a range of diagnostic models for evaluating the performance and effectiveness of the organization at the individual, group and system levels. Students will learn tools and approaches for implementing change initiatives that range from developmental to transformational in scope, and will understand what is needed from various constituencies (leaders, change agents, and other stakeholders) for effective realization of results. Students will also learn the importance of: use of self as an instrument for organizational diagnosis and change; engaging the whole system to promote system-wide understanding of the issues; and assessing system change readiness.

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This virtual in-depth leadership learning lab experience will cover the theory and practice of diversity, equity and inclusion (D.E.I.) in a leadership and organizational context. As a learning community, we will explore our experience of systems dynamics at the individual, group, and organizational levels to strengthen our D.E.I. lenses while centering race. Our current experiences of the pandemic and the uprisings and protests about racial injustice will provide a critical arena for discussion and exploration in our work together. In addition, we will examine the historical and current use of power and privilege, the construction of social identities and the tensions within ourselves to manage the dominant and subordinated roles we are born into/step into and manage in our lives. Included in our learning journey together, we will explore what “belonging” means and what it means to “co-construct community” where people with different social identities experience “equity and inclusion” as an everyday practice.

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In this course, leaders will gain a greater understanding of how relationships and the network-based opportunities inherent in the interactions we have with everyone we meet is an important part of leading organizations. Leaders will learn that recognizing transactional possibilities in a variety of settings is a competency that can tremendously enrich a leader’s capacity to be successful.

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The field of organization development, change and leadership continues to evolve and grow through a spirit of action research inquiry yielding new discovery by global scholar practitioners. This course explores emergent theory and practice in the field of organization development, change and leadership and the implications for improving individual and organizational performance and results. Actual topics will be chosen by the professor(s) and may vary from term to term.

Adaptive challenges differ from technical challenges. They are characterized by complexity, ambiguity and require a sustained effort over time. They require shifts in relationships and shifts in mindsets. Leaders need to be equipped with frameworks and practical tools to utilize the thinking, skills, and experiences of others. They need to be able to do this by shaping a culture that fosters learning, self-awareness, and creativity. This lab provides a practice field for cultivating these capabilities. (Given that our own growth and development as leaders is an “adaptive challenge”, this course can also serve as an integrating experience for this leg of your journey.) It is an opportunity to tap into and cultivate your own creativity.

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The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of Emotional Intelligence. You will have the opportunity to learn the neuro- science of emotions that drives your behavior under pressure. As a result of participating in this class, your self-awareness around the four components of Emotional Intelligence and the impact of EQ on leading, influencing and engaging with others will be enhanced. You will learn practical strategies to help you respond more skillfully as pressure, tension and complexity increase as a leader and/or consultant and/or clinician.

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The purpose of this course is to transform thinking and practice about leadership and leadership development across generations. As we learn and experiment together we will engage the skills and talents of multiple generations, delivering enhanced individual and collective results.

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The Capstone Project provides an opportunity for students to engage in high-level inquiry focusing on Leadership in Educational Psychology. Capstone projects will be inquiry and practice-centered and will draw upon areas of interest to the student and focus from the program. All capstones aim to bridge theory and practice and are aimed to have an impact on the professional life of students. The aim of the course is to facilitate the development of your Capstone Projects. Students are encouraged to apply and expend knowledge gained on teaching and learning throughout the program as part of this process.

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