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Self Awareness and the Effective Leader

Part of being an effective leader is learning how to play to your strengths and overcome characteristics that don't lend to good leadership practices. During the course, you will examine your own strengths and learn ways to use them in a leadership role. Learn to manage stress and solve problems creatively. Throughout the course, you will also build a tool kit of useful techniques that you can begin using right away in your engineering career.

This course is designed for engineers who are interested in and have the desire to advance into leadership and management roles. You don't need any leadership experience to do well in this course. We ask you to reflect on your personal experiences pretty often, so some work experience will help you in that aspect, but we hope that most of what you learn here will be applicable to many areas of your life.

Looking to advance even further as an engineering manager & leader for Industry 4.0? Rice University's top-ranked School of Engineering now offers a Master of Engineering Management & Leadership, 100% online for your convenience. Visit www.rice.edu/engineeringleaders to learn more.

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What's inside

Syllabus

Welcome

Introduction to Leadership

Outline a leadership competency framework, explain a methodology for assessing skill level and begin developing your leadership toolbox with an introduction to networking.

Engineering Profession

Discuss the challenges that engineers will face in the future and continue developing your toolbox with strategies for managing your time and how to prioritize.

Self Awareness

An introduction to self-assessment tools that allow you to identify strengths and weaknesses and how they could impact your leadership style. This week's tool for your leadership toolkit is developing your statement of life purpose.

Stress Management

Develop strategies for limiting or leveraging stress to improve your leadership style. The tool of the week teaches you to practice effective techniques for controlling stress.

Creative Problem Solving

Discuss the differences between analytical and creative problem solving. Develop techniques for encouraging creativity in solving problems while recognizing and overcoming conceptual blocks. We add mind mapping to your toolbox this week for a way to foster personal creativity.

Good to know

Know what's good

, what to watch for

, and possible dealbreakers

Provides practical tools and techniques for improving leadership skills in engineering

Examines the challenges engineers will face in the future

Suitable for engineers with no prior leadership experience

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Reviews summary

Engaging course on self-awareness for effective leaders

Learners say this highly-rated course emphasizes self-awareness as a key component of effective leadership. By understanding their strengths, weaknesses, and motivations, students can develop their emotional intelligence and communication skills. The course also explores decision-making, adaptability, and conflict resolution in the context of self-awareness, providing learners with a well-rounded approach to leadership development.

The course has received largely positive feedback from students, with many praising its content and relevance to leadership development.

"Nice"

Students engage in self-reflection to understand their behaviors and thought patterns, fostering personal and professional growth.

"Self-Reflection: Effective leaders engage in regular self-reflection to gain insights into their behaviors, reactions, and thought patterns, fostering personal and professional growth."

Self-aware leaders approach conflicts with empathy and an open mind, facilitating effective resolution.

"Conflict Resolution: Self-aware leaders approach conflicts with empathy and an open mind, facilitating effective resolution."

Leaders adjust their communication style to different situations, leading to clearer and more impactful interactions.

"Communication Skills: Self-aware leaders adjust their communication style to different situations, leading to clearer and more impactful interactions."

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 Self Awareness and the Effective Leader with these activities:

Volunteer in Engineering Organizations

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Provides opportunities to practice leadership skills while contributing to the community.

Browse courses on Volunteering

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Identify organizations aligned with interests.
Reach out and express interest in volunteering.
Participate in activities and take on leadership roles.

Follow Online Courses on Leadership

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Provides additional learning resources and frameworks for developing leadership skills.

Browse courses on Leadership

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Identify relevant online courses.
Enroll in and complete the courses.
Apply learnings to personal and professional settings.

Identify Industry Leaders as Mentors

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Provides access to guidance and insights from experienced professionals.

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Identify potential mentors within the industry.
Reach out and introduce yourself.
Set up regular meetings or calls.

Five other activities

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Review: The Leadership Challenge

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Provides foundational concepts of leadership that connect to how the topics are discussed in the course.

View The Leadership Challenge Workbook on Amazon

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Read Chapters 1-5.
Summarize the key takeaways from each chapter.

Leadership Discussion Group

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Provides opportunities to share perspectives, learn from others, and develop leadership skills.

Browse courses on Leadership

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Organize a group of 4-6 peers.
Establish meeting times and agendas.
Facilitate discussions on leadership topics.
Provide feedback and support to group members.

Develop a Personal Leadership Philosophy

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Provides a structured to reflect and create a personal leadership strategy.

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Reflect on personal values and experiences.
Identify leadership strengths and weaknesses.
Articulate a personal leadership philosophy.

Problem-Solving Case Studies

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Provides practice in applying problem-solving techniques to engineering challenges.

Browse courses on Problem Solving

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Review case study materials.
Identify key issues and challenges.
Develop and evaluate potential solutions.
Present findings and recommendations.

Engineering Leadership Project

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Provides hands-on experience in leading and managing a real-world engineering project.

Browse courses on Leadership

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Define project scope and goals.
Develop a project plan.
Build and lead a team.
Execute the project and monitor progress.
Deliver project成果and evaluate outcomes.

Career center

Learners who complete Self Awareness and the Effective Leader will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Project Manager

Project Managers plan, execute, and close projects. They also manage teams of project staff and other resources. This course may be useful for Project Managers because it teaches them how to lead effectively, manage stress, and solve problems creatively. This is important because Project Managers need to be able to lead their teams effectively in order to complete projects successfully while also managing their own stress levels.

See salaries and explore the career path for Project Manager

Engineering Manager

Engineering Managers oversee engineering projects and ensure that they are completed on time and within budget. They also manage teams of engineers and other technical staff. This course may be useful for Engineering Managers because it teaches them how to lead effectively, manage stress, and solve problems creatively. This is important because Engineering Managers need to be able to lead their teams effectively in order to complete projects successfully while also managing their own stress levels.

See salaries and explore the career path for Engineering Manager

Engineering Consultant

Engineering Consultants provide engineering advice and services to clients. They may work on a variety of projects, such as designing new products, improving manufacturing processes, or developing new technologies. This course may be useful for Engineering Consultants because it teaches them how to lead effectively, manage stress, and solve problems creatively. This is important because Engineering Consultants need to be able to lead their teams effectively in order to complete projects successfully while also managing their own stress levels.

See salaries and explore the career path for Engineering Consultant

Engineering Researcher

Engineering Researchers conduct research in various fields of engineering. They may develop new technologies, improve existing technologies, or study the behavior of engineering systems. This course may be useful for Engineering Researchers because it teaches them how to lead effectively, manage stress, and solve problems creatively. This is important because Engineering Researchers need to be able to lead their research teams effectively in order to achieve their research goals while also managing their own stress levels.

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Engineering Director

Engineering Directors oversee the engineering department of a company. They are responsible for setting the engineering vision and strategy, as well as for managing the engineering team. This course may be useful for Engineering Directors because it teaches them how to lead effectively, manage stress, and solve problems creatively. This is important because Engineering Directors need to be able to lead their teams effectively in order to achieve the company's engineering goals while also managing their own stress levels.

See salaries and explore the career path for Engineering Director

Engineering Leadership

Engineering Leaders are responsible for leading engineering teams and projects. They develop and implement engineering strategies and ensure that projects are completed on time and within budget. This course may be useful for Engineering Leaders because it teaches them how to lead effectively, manage stress, and solve problems creatively. This is important because Engineering Leaders need to be able to lead their teams effectively in order to achieve the company's engineering goals while also managing their own stress levels.

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Engineering Educator

Engineering Educators teach engineering courses at colleges and universities. They also conduct research and publish papers in academic journals. This course may be useful for Engineering Educators because it teaches them how to lead effectively, manage stress, and solve problems creatively. This is important because Engineering Educators need to be able to lead their students effectively in order to help them learn engineering concepts while also managing their own stress levels.

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Reading list

We've selected 14 books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Self Awareness and the Effective Leader.

Leadership and Self-Deception

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Valuable read for those looking to understand their own leadership style and how to improve it. CEOs, business leaders and coaches use this book as a reference to help teams improve.

Self Awareness and the Effective Leader

What's inside

Syllabus

Good to know

Save this course

Reviews summary

Engaging course on self-awareness for effective leaders

Activities

Career center

Reading list

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