Do you have leadership abilities in business management and the drive to take that skill set to the next level? If so, the online Master of Business Administration (MBA) – Leadership Emphasis program from Southern Utah University (SUU) may interest you. This specialized leadership MBA program focuses on developing and expanding a student’s natural leadership style. The program’s leadership coursework helps students enhance competency for management functions across a wide array of business operations.
The Value of Leadership Skills
Employers, institutions and organizations across the global business community recognize that advanced leadership skills are essential to effective business management and development. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International) — a globally respected business school accrediting body — reflects the importance of leadership development in the most recent iteration of the Guiding Principles and Standards for AACSB Business Accreditation. AACSB states that the shared goal of the association and its members is “to create the next generation of great leaders.” As an AACSB-accredited program, SUU’s online MBA in Leadership closely aligns with this goal, working to improve the future of business leadership.
Leadership skills and associated soft skills like communication, the ability to work in a team and creative problem-solving often top many employers’ wish lists for employee and B-school graduate traits. Reports and surveys from the likes of the Graduate Management Admission Council, the National Association of Colleges and Employers and Monster consistently substantiate the value employers place on leadership and leadership-related skills.
The Importance of Authentic Leadership
SUU’s approach to leadership skill development expands on the foundation of topical business management studies by focusing on the personal development of authentic leadership. In essence, authentic leadership refers to an individual’s genuine, natural style of leadership based on factors that include a person’s core values, motivations, intents and personality.
Whereas people can learn many attributes of effective leadership, like communication and conflict resolution, the core aspects of an individual’s natural leadership style tend to be inherent or intrinsic. Thus, they are not something a leader learns or unlearns. Rather, someone can explore their authentic leadership qualities through reflection and experience and build upon those traits. The genuine feel of a leader’s style fosters trust and open relationships with their team members. Leadership methodologies, therefore, are treated more as tactics and differentiated techniques to apply according to variances in context and individual needs and situations.
Building Effective Teams
Another central component of studies in SUU’s online MBA in Leadership program is the role of leaders in nurturing collaboration in the workplace and building effective, productive teams. Employee engagement, conflict resolution and collaborative innovation rely on constructive interactions between workers. This emphasis on team leadership skill development can be invaluable to leadership and management education.
In focusing on developing one’s authentic leadership style and the importance of team building and collaboration, the online MBA program from SUU takes a unique approach to leadership studies. This approach can help students master the soft leadership skills deemed most valuable by modern employers and the wider business community, preparing those students for success in any leadership role.
Learn more about Southern Utah University’s online MBA – Leadership Emphasis program.
