Getting everyone on the same page at work can be challenging, especially if you are working with a large team. However, using leadership skills can make this task much easier. And there are leadership and management classes you can take to acquire these skills.
Trained leaders and managers help individuals and teams reach ambitious goals, create fantastic products, and think up winning ideas. These skills can result in countless successes in business.
If you’re looking for the perfect leadership and management course, you’ve come to the right place. But first, let’s explore what it takes to learn leadership and management.
What Are Leadership and Management Skills?
While you can certainly pair these two concepts together, there are some key differences between them.
Leadership describes an individual’s ability to lead teams, complete projects, and execute successful business strategies. Authentic leaders can motivate team members to resounding success. They can also bring team members together using different team-building methods and communication.
Management, on the other hand, has a much more concrete set of duties and responsibilities. Managers take the reins on projects, organize co-workers, and work to accomplish goals within their business’s framework. Like leaders, they have useful traits like effective communication, advanced emotional intelligence, and problem-solving skills.
You can be a leader without being a manager, but rarely can you be an effective manager without effective leadership skills.
What Are Leadership and Management Skills Used For?
Here are some major uses for leadership and management knowledge.
- Leading a team. First and foremost, effective leadership helps you manage a team. This requires emotional intelligence, dedication, and attention to detail. Remember, the best leaders usually lead by example.
- Executing winning strategies. With strategic management, an individual can successfully lead challenging business campaigns. An ideal leader can also recognize their team members’ unique skills and push them to success.
- Teaching valuable skills. Being a leader or manager is more than ordering people around. A fantastic leader imbues their co-workers with new skills and perspectives. Ideally, these fresh outlooks benefit projects and help team members thrive personally and professionally. Having excellent project management skills can only help on your path to leadership success.
Types of Leadership and Management
Not every manager or leader undertakes projects in the same way. There are quite a few different leadership styles out there. Let’s look at some of the more prevalent types below.
Democratic Leadership
Democracies are forms of government that emphasize the will of the people. That’s why it’s only fitting that a democratic leader defers to different team members for their thoughts, concerns, and potential business approaches.
Democratic leaders and managers concern themselves with the thoughts of others. This makes individuals feel valued and can lead to great success.
Autocratic Leadership
Quite different from the democratic style, autocratic managers and leaders are more authoritarian in their approach. This means that they lay down the law, placing great weight on their own decisions.
For more experienced leaders, this may work out well. However, creative input and output can be stifled with this approach. This is a style, ironically, which may require effective managers to monitor the thoughts and feelings of their team to ensure they still feel valued.
Coaching Leadership
The coaching style of leadership emphasizes equality among employees and managers. A coach is a manager who works alongside their employees in the trenches. Coaches will encourage as well as assist workers in projects.
This is a more positive style than autocratic leadership and allows for more creative freedom. Having a manager work alongside you can be an inspiring and positive experience.
Learning Leadership and Management Skills
Learning leadership and management skills is no easy process. However, with the right training programs and courses, anyone can become an effective leader. Let’s examine how long it takes to learn to lead and manage effectively.
How Long Does It Take to Learn Leadership and Management?
There is no concrete timeline to learn leadership and management skills. For some, these concepts come quickly. For others, it may be more of a challenge.
But no matter the difficulties, if you are in business it will be beneficial to learn technical leadership, project management, and other skills to effectively manage.
Keep in mind that there’s always more to learn. Whether it’s agile project management, better communication skills, or how to resolve team conflicts, leadership and management skills cover many areas.
How to Learn Leadership and Management: Step-by-Step
Although everyone’s journey to gain business skills is unique, there are some sure-fire ways to improve your chances at thriving in leadership and developing useful managerial skills.
- Try school. While this step isn’t for everyone, it could help. For example, you can take leadership and management classes. And partaking in hands-on projects can help hone your skills.
- Explore leadership styles. We briefly went over some of these. Check them out and determine which works best for you. Some managers and leaders like the democratic type while others love the coaching style.
- Act like a leader. Within reason, try to exhibit leadership skills. At work or in school, demonstrating these skills is a great way to practice.
- Continue learning. No matter how comfortable you may be with your set of managerial skills, there’s always more to learn. With the constant evolution of technology, work requirements, and goals comes a constant supply of new knowledge.
The Best Leadership and Management Training Courses
It doesn’t take long to stumble upon excellent management and leadership training courses. As of right now, many in-person classes are entirely online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As you wait for institutions to return to hybrid and in-person instruction, let’s look at some of the most notable strategic management and leadership courses that can give you essential skills for the job market from the comfort of your own home.
Online Leadership Management Courses
Learning how to be an authentic leader in online courses is one of the easiest, most efficient ways of gaining this education. And with flexible programs, these classes are a sure bet for busy schedules.
Gain Global Leadership, Management, and Business Skills
- Provider: edX
- Duration: Six months
- Prerequisites: None
- Price: $897
Arizona State University offers these comprehensive courses in leadership and management. Students will explore various aspects of modern leadership skills, specifically in the digital landscape. Participants will learn the effects of global connectivity, how it impacts management, and how to motivate individuals on the other side of the globe.
Instructors lead students in learning the ins and outs of political, economic, and logical skills to capitalize on a diverse business world.
The Science of Leadership
- Provider: Udemy
- Duration: 3 hours
- Prerequisites: None
- Price: $130
For something a little different, students of this bestselling online course learn how the functions of the human brain impact our everyday lives.
Learn all there is about thought patterns, positive thinking, hiring processes, bullying, sexism, prejudice, self-control, and more. It’s quite an impressive list of concepts to cover in only three hours. However, it’s a fantastic place to begin a leadership journey. Knowing how to flip the proverbial switch in your own brain to channel your leadership potential is extremely helpful.
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Free Leadership Management Courses
You don’t need to spend a ton of money on online courses. In fact, there are lots of great free options out there. Below are two of the best ones.
Leadership and Influence
- Provider: edX
- Duration: Seven weeks
- Prerequisites: None
- Price: FREE
In this University of Maryland course, students learn how to motivate people. A great leader and manager knows how to persuade team members effectively.
Specifically, students focus on engagement, collaboration, conflict resolution, and productivity. What leadership strategy works for you? Can you find your niche as a leader?
This free class is perfect whether you have excellent social skills or none at all. It’s a fantastic starting point.
Conflict Resolution
- Provider: edX
- Duration: Five weeks
- Prerequisites: None
- Price: FREE
Sometimes overlooked in business, conflict resolution is crucial to success. While minor disagreements are natural, if a conflict gets out of hand, it could affect the team’s goals.
First, you need to understand what conflict is. This free online course shows you the roots of potential disputes and then assesses various scenarios, teaching you how to act appropriately and engage in effective resolution. Not only is conflict resolution an excellent business management skill, but it is also essential in life.
Leadership and Management Books
Leadership and management are always hot topics. It takes effort to browse a bookstore or Amazon and not come across the latest book on effective leadership, managerial skills, or persuasion techniques.
Find some of the best choices below.
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead, Brené Brown
Some are inclined to lead without hesitation. However, many of us will struggle at one time or another with undertaking difficult problems. Author Brené Brown offers valuable insight into the human condition. Namely, this text covers why we take risks, how fear and hesitation can affect good leadership and management, and more.
This is an essential book for leadership, management, and practical thinking. Brown’s work challenges readers to overcome obstacles to become better leaders, managers, and people.
How to Win Friends & Influence People, Dale Carnegie
This is essentially the Bible of leadership.
The iconic guide from 1936 is still one of the best books on communication. One of the book’s first examples is Abraham Lincoln showing restraint in the Civil War. Lincoln is furious with General George Meade after disobeying direct orders. What follows is a timeless lesson in empathy, restraint, and being a fair leader.
Readers will see real, proven skills that can assist them in their struggles and obstacles.
Carnegie offers a multitude of paths to success. There are six ways to gain admiration, twelve ways to persuade people to see your point of view, and nine ways to peacefully convince others.
Leadership and Management Certifications
A certification program is designed to put your effective leadership skills to the test. Here are some great courses and certificates to help pad your resume with impressive skills.
Leading People and Teams Specialization
Offered through the University of Michigan, this certification course shows you how to lead groups of people. Participants learn various leadership strategies over the course of five units:
- Inspiring and Motivating Individuals
- Managing Talent
- Influencing People
- Leading Teams
- Leading People and Teams Capstone
The capstone project is an in-depth, hands-on project conducted at the end of the program.
Leadership and Management Certificate Program
The fantastic Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania gives eager leaders the chance to earn a certification in its Leadership and Management Certificate Program.
This certification course aims to assist executives and managers in enhancing their skills and methods. Leaders learn how to motivate employees, delegate responsibilities, and more.
The course lasts between 4 and 6 months, with an entirely flexible online schedule.
Online Leadership and Management Resources
Luckily for those looking for great leadership and management resources, there are plenty of blogs, websites, and podcasts on the topic. Let’s see where to get some supplemental knowledge and assistance below.
Motivational Speaker Simon Sinek
Simon Sinek is an accomplished motivational speaker and author. His books, The Infinite Game, Leaders Eat Last, and Start With Why are fantastic resources for leadership and management.
Sinek offers excellent advice on how to lead, live a more positive and focused life, and succeed in any endeavor. Sinek also hosts his own podcast, A Bit of Optimism. He has a fantastic TED Talk, How Great Leaders Inspire Action, and offers tidbits of info and insight via Twitter and his live online classes.
Harvard Business Review
Harvard Business Review is a fantastic and comprehensive resource for any effective leader. It offers informative articles, books, posts, podcasts, and more. Their podcasts include HBR IdeaCast, Women at Work, Dear HBR, and The Anxious Achiever.
Be sure to browse their Most Popular section for an impressive array of insights regarding business, leadership, and management. There’s something here for everyone. Whether you’re a manager or a team member, the Harvard Business Review has you covered.
Should You Study Leadership and Management?
What kind of leader or manager will you be? No matter your position or experience, everyone has the opportunity to transform themselves into a leader.
Some individuals take to these concepts easier than others. But it’s possible for anyone to learn the subject. Many people acquire skills through raw experiences, failures, losses, and successes. For the rest, there are a number of fantastic resources and classes available.
Once you choose a path towards leadership, you’ll have a ton of help.
About us: Career Karma is a platform designed to help job seekers find, research, and connect with job training programs to advance their careers. Learn about the CK publication.
