Take a self-paced version of this course now! Navigate through the course modules using the tabs above, beginning with “Getting Started.”
This course will help you discover and leverage your strengths to successfully lead an activism campaign. You will develop an understanding of your leadership style and learn how you can best inspire action and commitment in others.
You can apply for the unique opportunity to securely and anonymously attend an online course offered by The George Washington University’s (GWU) Graduate School of Political Management, one of the leading academic programs in the United States on politics and government.
Tavaana’s offering of the Leadership Development curriculum is adapted from the course taught to all Masters-level students at the George Washington University. In this intensive course taught by leadership expert and GWU Professor Kathleen Schafer, you will tap into your own leadership abilities and learn the best leadership practices from some of the most effective leaders in the world.
Please note that this course is focused on strengthening leadership skills in a live setting with an experienced leadership coach. However, a self-paced “outline” version of the course and suggested readings are also available for independent learners.
Learn to Lead
Even if you don’t think of yourself as a leader now, this course will help you discover how to identify and use your strengths to successfully inspire action and commitment in others. This is a Master’s level course; participants in the instructor-led sessions will have homework and other assignments to be completed outside of class. At the end of this course, they will receive a certificate of completion from the GWU Graduate School of Political Management.
Course Outline
Taught by leadership expert Kathleen Schafer, this graduate-level course will help you leverage your strengths to successfully lead a civic campaign. You will develop an understanding of your leadership style and learn how you can best inspire action and commitment in others.
Tavaana educator Kathleen Schafer teaches the Leadership Course at George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management. Ms. Schafer provides students with one-on-one political leadership coaching, helping them identify their leadership talents and advising them how to put these skills to use in civil society and the political arena. In 1995, she founded Leadership Connection, where she trains individuals to become more effective leaders. Her clients include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank, the United Nations, as well as individual executives and public officials.
Lecture 1: Getting Started
Start by identifying your core values. Then, using the Myers-Briggs Personality Test, gain insights into your personality and leadership style.
Lecture 2: Planning
Learn the importance of knowing and believing in your unique abilities. Identify strategic ways to develop your leadership plan and track your progress.
Lecture 3: Taking Action
With an understanding of your leadership style and abilities, explore ways to facilitate change on local, regional and national levels. Engage your community by giving local citizens opportunities for direct action, and through your example as a leader, help others get in touch with their own strengths.
Lecture 4: Team Building
In the process of empowering others to join a campaign for change, it is important to identify the talent of others and respect their contributions to the team or civic movement. Explore ways to coordinate everyone on your team so that each person brings their skills to the table, and so that conflict is easily mitigated when it arises.
