Free Leadership Skills Course

This post is sponsored by Markley and I was compensated for reviewing this online leadership course.

Do your New Year’s resolutions include being more in control of your life, achieving goals and bettering yourself? If you are like me those are the kinds of things you always resolve to do – with the hope that this year will be different. Well I recently learned of a free online course, How to Function Above Entry Level, from Concordia University in Wisconsin that is designed to jump start the process, develop a strategic vision and make sure you are functioning at your highest capacity.

When the course talks about “entry level” it doesn’t mean literally starting at bottom, it means starting right where you are and moving higher. If you learn to improve and expand upon your leadership skills you can move forward from where you are. Leadership is one of those things that few people are really born with, but everyone can learn. This course is a great way to help identify and work on your self-imposed limitations.

Personally, I enjoy taking online courses. I don’t have time to fit an in person class into my busy schedule, but that doesn’t mean that I still don’t have stuff I need to learn! The internet has made so many classes available online, and it is so convenient to be able to take a class when I want to, and learn from experts.

This class from Concordia is run by Dr. Ken Harris, and  the content is taken from the school’s online one year Master’s in Organizational Leadership and Administration program. The course is delivered to your inbox, and it takes about 3-4 hours spread over about 1 week to finish, so it is not a big time commitment. Each lesson consists of a video with Dr. Harris, online reading and a downloadable worksheet.  There are also interactive polls so you can compare your strengths with others. Here are the lessons covered:

Lesson 1: Emotional and Social Intelligence – This lesson focuses on figuring out what your emotional intelligence strengths are, so you can focus on them. With this knowledge you can see what kind of self imposed limitations you have, and decide how to improve your social intelligence. So much of our lives are dependent on social intelligence and knowing how to interact with others, that it is a key skill.

Lesson 2: Internal Forces – This lesson is the one that resonated the most with me. I have so many things I want to do, but having the internal drive to actually accomplish some of these things is tough. When you decide to do or not do something it is usually in response to internal forces, some of which you aren’t even consciously aware of. So learning to think about these forces and the natural rewards that make you persistent is is a great way to figure out what really drives you.

Lesson 3: External Forces – External forces also can drive you to succeed and push personal growth, so understanding these forces can be another key to success.

Overall I found this course to be beneficial to me. It really made me think and be more deliberate in my decision making, which can only benefit me in the future. It was very easy to go through the videos and do the reading. The worksheets ask some though provoking questions and helped me apply the lessons from the videos to specific situations in my life and things I need to change.

A free course like How to Function Above Entry Level is an excellent way to get a great start on the new year so that some of this year’s resolutions will stick and actually get accomplished. I love the fact that it is free, and so easy to do when it works in your busy schedule. So check it out if you are ready to take steps to reach the next level!