Leading Oneself with Personal Excellence from Coursera

Before we can lead others well, we must first learn to lead ourselves well. Knowing personal excellence is the culmination of this journey. In this course, you will describe how and why to set goals and create action plans, increase your focus and reduce distraction, harness motivation and flow state for performance, build self-efficacy and agency, and redefine your relationship with stress, anxiety, fear and adversity.

This course can be taken for academic credit as part of CU Boulder’s Master of Engineering in Engineering Management (ME-EM) degree offered on the Coursera platform. The ME-EM is designed to help engineers, scientists, and technical professionals move into leadership and management roles in the engineering and technical sectors. With performance-based admissions and no application process, the ME-EM is ideal for individuals with a broad range of undergraduate education and/or professional experience. Learn more about the ME-EM program at https://www.coursera.org/degrees/me-engineering-management-boulder.Happiness

What's inside

Syllabus

Pursuit of Happiness

Kicking off our first week in this course, we will examine our pursuit of happiness and how it may be a flawed pursuit. Many people, when asked what they want from their life, will state they want to be happy. But are we happy? Unfortunately, statistics show most of us are struggling to find true happiness. We will explore ideas like the paradoxical pursuit of happiness, happiness models and the hedonic treadmill to help us develop a better approach to finding subjective wellbeing.

Staying on Course

In a world that is doing its best to steal our attention, focus is rare, distraction the norm. This week we take a look at how to maximize our focus when it matters most. You will come away with a better understanding of how our brains are designed for instant gratification. This often does not serve us well. Delayed gratification, patience and focus can become superpowers.

Keep Moving Forward

Building on the work we did in the last module, we now turn our attention to motivation, procrastination and flow state. Each of them is intertwined and often overlapping each other. You will learn what causes procrastination, which will surely surprise you. What happens when motivation fails us? What is flow state and how can we achieve it more often for superior motivation.

Steering the Ship

In a society where it seems “shaming, blaming and complaining” have become endemic. It is imperative to learn to practice personal accountability, agency and self-efficacy. All of which have been shown to increase our sense of wellbeing. Distress levels increase when we feel like we have lost control of our lives. We will discuss the dichotomy of control to understand what we control, and that which we don’t. This week we will discuss how you can become the captain of your ship.

Navigating the Storms of Life

Wrapping up the course, we come to one of my favorite topics. How can we better navigate the storms of life? When adversity strikes, and it will, how do we respond? Topics like resilience, grit, fortitude and mental toughness will be examined and contrasted. These are skills that can be developed and you will gain knowledge about how to do just that. Increased mental toughness may sound hard, but it paradoxically often makes our lives easier.

Good to know

Know what's good

, what to watch for

, and possible dealbreakers

Explores how to set meaningful goals and create action plans

Provides strategies to increase focus and enhance productivity

Guides the development of motivation and flow, promoting optimal performance

Builds self-efficacy, leadership, and agency, empowering individuals to navigate challenges

Promotes resilience, grit, and fortitude, fostering mental toughness and a positive mindset

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Leading Oneself with Personal Excellence with these activities:

Review core concepts in psychology and human behavior

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Build a solid foundation for the course by refreshing your knowledge of key psychological concepts and theories.

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Review your notes from previous psychology courses
Read introductory articles or textbooks on psychology
Attend a workshop or lecture on a specific psychological topic

Review Goal Setting principles

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Ensure you are ready to hit the ground running in this course by refreshing your understanding of the fundamentals of goal setting.

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Review the SMART goal setting framework
Read an article on the psychology of goal setting
Reflect on your own past experiences with goal setting

Organize your course notes and materials

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Stay organized throughout the course by creating a system for managing your notes, assignments, and other materials.

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Create a dedicated folder or notebook for the course
Regularly review your notes and highlight key concepts
Organize assignments and readings by topic or module
Use a note-taking app or software to enhance organization
Periodically purge unnecessary or outdated materials

Six other activities

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Practice focusing techniques

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Develop your ability to focus and minimize distractions, a key skill for excelling in this course and beyond.

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Try the Pomodoro Technique for focused study sessions
Practice mindfulness meditation to improve attention

Create a digital planner

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Enhance your time management skills by creating a digital planner that suits your needs and preferences.

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Choose a digital planning tool that fits your workflow
Set up your planner with custom sections and templates
Experiment with different planning methods to find what works best for you
Use your digital planner regularly to stay organized and on track
Refine your planner over time as needed

Read 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People'

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Gain valuable insights into personal leadership and effectiveness by reading this classic book.

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Read one chapter per week and reflect on its key principles
Apply the habits in your own life and observe the impact

Contribute to an Open Source project related to personal development

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Gain hands-on experience and make a meaningful contribution to the community while enhancing your skills.

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Identify an Open Source project that aligns with your interests and skills
Join the project community and introduce yourself
Review the project's documentation and codebase
Identify an issue or feature that you can contribute to
Submit a pull request with your proposed changes

Facilitate a peer discussion on goal setting

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Enhance your communication and leadership skills while deepening your understanding of goal setting through peer discussions.

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Prepare discussion questions based on course materials
Lead a group of peers in a discussion on goal setting
Facilitate a productive and engaging discussion
Summarize key points and insights from the discussion
Reflect on your experience as a discussion leader

Develop a personal action plan

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Solidify your learning and take action by creating a comprehensive personal action plan that aligns with your goals.

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Review your goals and identify specific actions to achieve them
Prioritize actions based on importance and urgency
Create a timeline for completing each action
Identify potential obstacles and develop strategies to overcome them
Track your progress and make adjustments as needed

Career center

Learners who complete Leading Oneself with Personal Excellence will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Life Coach

Life coaches help individuals identify and achieve their personal and professional goals. Through this course, learners will develop the skills necessary to set goals, increase focus, build self-efficacy, and navigate challenges. These skills are essential for life coaches to effectively guide their clients towards success.

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Leadership Coach

Leadership coaches help individuals develop their leadership skills and reach their full potential. This course provides learners with the tools and techniques to increase focus, improve motivation, build self-efficacy, and navigate adversity. These skills are highly valuable for leadership coaches as they help their clients become more effective and successful leaders.

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Organizational Development Consultant

Organizational development consultants help organizations improve their performance and achieve their strategic goals. This course provides learners with the skills necessary to understand the pursuit of happiness, increase focus, improve motivation, build self-efficacy, and navigate adversity. These skills are essential for organizational development consultants to effectively consult with clients and help them achieve their desired outcomes.

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Change Management Consultant

Change management consultants help organizations implement and manage change effectively. This course provides learners with the tools and techniques to increase focus, improve motivation, build self-efficacy, and navigate adversity. These skills are highly valuable for change management consultants as they help their clients navigate the challenges of change and achieve their desired outcomes.

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Human Resources Manager

Human resources managers oversee the employee life cycle, from recruitment and hiring to training and development. This course provides learners with the skills to increase focus, improve motivation, build self-efficacy, and navigate challenges. These skills are essential for human resources managers to effectively manage their teams and create a positive and productive work environment.

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Counselor

Counselors help individuals overcome personal challenges and achieve their goals. This course provides learners with the tools and techniques to increase focus, improve motivation, build self-efficacy, and navigate adversity. These skills are highly valuable for counselors as they help their clients overcome challenges and improve their overall well-being.

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Social Worker

Social workers help individuals and families overcome social and economic challenges. This course provides learners with the skills to increase focus, improve motivation, build self-efficacy, and navigate adversity. These skills are essential for social workers to effectively serve their clients and help them achieve their goals.

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Psychologist

Psychologists help individuals understand and overcome mental health challenges. This course provides learners with the tools and techniques to increase focus, improve motivation, build self-efficacy, and navigate adversity. These skills are highly valuable for psychologists as they help their clients improve their mental health and overall well-being.

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Teacher

Teachers help students learn and grow, both academically and personally. This course provides learners with the skills to increase focus, improve motivation, build self-efficacy, and navigate adversity. These skills are essential for teachers to create a positive and engaging learning environment for their students.

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Researcher

Researchers conduct studies to advance knowledge and understanding. This course provides learners with the skills to increase focus, improve motivation, build self-efficacy, and navigate adversity. These skills are essential for researchers to successfully conduct their research and make meaningful contributions to their field.

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Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurs start and run their own businesses. This course provides learners with the skills to set goals, increase focus, improve motivation, build self-efficacy, and navigate adversity. These skills are essential for entrepreneurs to succeed in the competitive business world.

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Consultant

Consultants provide expert advice and guidance to organizations. This course provides learners with the skills to increase focus, improve motivation, build self-efficacy, and navigate adversity. These skills are essential for consultants to effectively serve their clients and help them achieve their goals.

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Project Manager

Project managers plan and execute projects to achieve specific goals. This course provides learners with the skills to set goals, increase focus, improve motivation, build self-efficacy, and navigate adversity. These skills are essential for project managers to successfully manage their projects and achieve their desired outcomes.

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Manager

Managers oversee teams and projects to achieve organizational goals. This course provides learners with the skills to increase focus, improve motivation, build self-efficacy, and navigate adversity. These skills are essential for managers to effectively lead their teams and achieve their desired outcomes.

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Analyst

Analysts gather and interpret data to provide insights and recommendations. This course provides learners with the skills to increase focus, improve motivation, build self-efficacy, and navigate adversity. These skills are essential for analysts to effectively conduct their research and provide valuable insights to their clients.

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