Foundations of Leadership

Foundations of Leadership is a leadership development course available to supervisors, managers or team leads who 

  • Are new to the university and in a leadership position
  • Are new to supervision
  • Have up to three years of supervisory or management experience and at least one direct report

The content focuses on expanding the capacity of individuals to perform in leadership roles by focusing on five key University of Michigan expectations:

  • Communication
  • Coach and Develop Talent
  • Foster and Promote Diverse Teams
  • Lead Innovation and Change
  • Solve Problems

The course will consist of six facilitator led webinar sessions and multiple e-learning components. The sessions are designed to increase awareness of leadership models and time-tested principles as well as provide several skill building opportunities to ensure they can easily be applied in the workplace.

You will learn to:

  • Develop strategies to solve common challenges leaders may encounter in their new role
  • Adapt business insights to assess and support consistent delivery of exceptional quality service
  • Modify your communication style to assist with conflict management and commitment levels amongst employees
  • Employ foundational aspects of change management concepts to facilitate change and mitigate resistance

You will benefit by:

  • Having the ability to foster a collaborative environment that utilizes the strengths and resources of your entire team to create a positive culture
  • Becoming a more successful leader by leading with purpose and managing with practice
  • Gaining strategies to integrate a coaching mindset to help grow the capabilities of others

Audience:

U-M leaders who are new to the organization or their leadership role with up to three years of supervisory or management experience and at least one direct report

Program Notes:

Due to the way that the course is structured, attendance is closely monitored. You will be able to miss one live Zoom session and complete a makeup assignment. If you think you will miss more than one session, we recommend that you register for a different session or join the Course Interest List to be notified when new dates are available. 

To continue your professional development you can check out the Leadership 101 Curriculum or our New Leaders collection on LinkedIn Learning. LinkedIn Learning is available at no cost to all active faculty, staff and students. You can also view more information about LinkedIn Learning at U-M.

We have created a page with additional development resources for Foundations of Supervision I or Foundations of Leadership alumni. Any questions about the Foundations of Leadership program can be emailed to FOL-Admin@umich.edu.

Topic Area

  • Leadership and Management
  • Leading People and Teams

Domain and Expectation

  • Mission
    • Create value for the diverse communities we serve
    • Create a shared vision
  • People
    • Foster and promote diverse teams
    • Collaborate and build inclusive relationships
    • Coach and develop others
  • Self
    • Communicate
  • Execution
    • Build positive culture

Role

  • Leading a Team

Level

  • Level 2: Skill building