- …→
- Harvard Business School→
- HBS Online→
- →
Online Business Certificate Courses
- Online Business Certificate Courses
- Business Essentials
- Business in Society
- Business Strategy
- Digital Transformation
- Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability
- Marketing
- Strategy
This course is part of the CLIMB program and track.
Learn to bring out the best in others by applying and adapting your leadership style and managing the conditions that drive team performance.
6
weeks
7-9
hours per week
4
modules
Self-Paced
with regular deadlines
This course earns you a Certificate of Completion from HBS Online. What you earn.
Overview
Syllabus
Enrollment
Stories
FAQs
Key Concepts
Who Will Benefit
Prepare for leadership roles after working as an individual contributor or functional specialist.
"I found the content of the course to be extremely informative and applicable to the real challenges of being a leader. I loved the frameworks and the case study model of the course, and I thought the course was very manageable on top of a full-time job."
Abby Katz
Senior Marketing Manager at Mavrck
Build greater self-awareness and explore how you can adapt your leadership style to meet specific organizational challenges.
"Leadership Principles has helped shape my unique leadership style. One of the most influential lessons for my leadership development was the HBS four-step process for delivering effective feedback and coaching—a process that I now apply on a daily basis."
Dr. Patricia Hewston
Post-Doctoral Fellow at GERAS Centre for Aging Research, Department of Medicine, McMaster University
Develop techniques for building high-performing teams, coaching, delivering feedback, and handling stressful leadership situations.
I'm now more mindful of how my colleagues are experiencing me, and less averse to having difficult conversations.
Juliana Casale
Head of Marketing at Crazy Egg
What You Earn
Certificate of Completion
Certificate of Specialization
Learn More about what you earn
Syllabus
Download full syllabus
1
hrs
Prework
360° Emotional and Social Competency Inventory
In the first two weeks after the course start date, complete a self-assessment and ask colleagues, managers, and/or direct reports to rate you on dimensions of emotional and social intelligence.
7-9
hrs
Module 1
Taking Charge
Appreciate how a leader’s self-perception and mindset must change to bring out the best in others and the importance of emotional intelligence in transitioning to a leadership position.
- ShowHide Details
-
Concepts
-
Stepping into a New Leadership Role
-
The Work of Leadership Is Different
-
The Necessary Change
-
Building Self-Awareness
Featured Exercises
-
Build a foundation of self-awareness through a 360° assessment (Emotional and Social Competency Inventory)
-
Video upload: Record yourself reacting to leadership scenarios
-
7-9
hrs
Module 2
Leading Your Team
Learn how to manage the conditions that drive team performance through team purpose, composition, processes, and launch.
- ShowHide Details
-
Concepts
-
Setting Up Your Team for Success
-
Model of Team Effectiveness
-
Key Challenges to Teams
-
7-9
hrs
Module 3
Unleashing Potential in Yourself and Others
Understand the dimensions, functions, and drivers of your leadership style and how to apply or expand them to meet specific challenges and motivate your team.
- ShowHide Details
-
Concepts
-
Developing Your Leadership Imprint
-
Core Functions of Your Leadership Style
-
Personal Values Questionnaire Self-Assessment
-
Motivating and Unleashing Capability
Featured Exercises
-
Explore the internal drivers of your motivations as a leader through the Personal Values Questionnaire self-assessment
-
Video upload: Deepen your understanding of how others experience you as a leader through recording yourself and learning from the peer assessment exercise
-
7-9
hrs
Module 4
Your Network
Learn techniques for coaching and delivering feedback and how to influence with and without authority. Leverage strategic, operational, and developmental networks, and explore ways to expand and develop them.
- ShowHide Details
-
Concepts
-
Your Network
-
Managing Up and Down
-
Managing Your Direct Reports (Coaching)
-
Adversity and Stress
-
Rising to Leadership Responsibility
Featured Exercises
-
Video upload: Practice giving feedback and coaching, and apply dimensions of your leadership style to evaluate effectiveness
-
Create a diagram of your professional network in order to visualize, reflect on, and better utilize professional relationships
-
Reflect on what you’ve learned throughout the course, and consider your personal leadership development plan
-
Free E-Book
How to Become a More Effective Leader
Access Your Free E-Book
Our Difference
Leadership Principles is designed to help new and aspiring leaders unleash the potential in themselves and others, and cultivate high-performing teams.
Stay active by engaging in a new activity every three to five minutes, including self-assessments and 360-degree feedback from colleagues and peers before, during, and after the course.
Stay active by engaging in a new activity every three to five minutes, including self-assessments and 360-degree feedback from colleagues and peers before, during, and after the course.
Description of silent animated video above: Learner completes an interactive question by dragging and dropping choices into two different categories
Get social by collaborating with a global community of peers before, during, and after your course. Learners who successfully complete an HBS Online program will be added to the HBS Online Community's Official Networking Group and gain exclusive access to events and other networking opportunities.
Get social by collaborating with a global community of peers before, during, and after your course. Learners who successfully complete an HBS Online program will be added to the HBS Online Community's Official Networking Group and gain exclusive access to events and other networking opportunities.
Description of silent animated video above: Learner types an answer in the discussion board in response to a peer's question
Immerse yourself in real-world, case-based examples brought to life by industry-leading experts from companies like Amadeus North America, Udemy for Business, and M33 Growth
Immerse yourself in real-world, case-based examples brought to life by industry-leading experts from companies like Amadeus North America, Udemy for Business, and M33 Growth
Description of silent animated video above: Learner scrolls through video interviews from prominent business leaders
About the Professors
Joshua Margolis
Leadership Principles
James Dinan and Elizabeth Miller Professor of Business Administration
"Leadership Principles is designed to help new and aspiring leaders unleash the potential in themselves and others, and cultivate high-performing teams."
Anthony Mayo
Leadership Principles
Thomas S. Murphy Senior Lecturer of Business Administration and C. Roland Christensen Distinguished Management Educator
"Become a more versatile leader who can mobilize others by immersing yourself in real-world leadership challenges, self-assessments, and 360-degree feedback from colleagues and peers."
Dates & Eligibility
Starting
Jul
24
6 Weeks $1,850 + applicable international taxes
Application deadline July 15th
View weekly calendar
Starting
Sep
04
6 Weeks $1,850 + applicable international taxes
Application deadline August 26th
View weekly calendar
Starting
Oct
30
6 Weeks $1,850 + applicable international taxes
Application deadline August 26th
-
- Free application
-
- No documentation required
-
- Confirmation within one week
All applicants must be at least 18 years of age, proficient in English, and committed to learning and engaging with fellow participants throughout the course.
Learn about bringing this course to your organization.
Learner Stories
84%
have more confidence making business decisions
HBS Online courses are excellent for anyone who wishes to learn more about a particular subject area or further develop their career.
Corina Cristea Lavoie
Corporate Services Manager at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
I got promoted to a senior project coordinator role just weeks after finishing the course, so I have had the chance to apply many of the topics covered.
Aranzazú Martínez Galeana
Senior Project Coordinator, Social Performance Division at ERM
Read more learner stories
* Source: 2022 surveys and course data
All FAQs
Leadership Principles FAQs
Leadership Principles begins with a two-week prework period in which you’ll be asked to complete a self-assessment and invite colleagues, such as managers, peers, and direct reports, to complete a survey rating you on dimensions of emotional and social intelligence. The prework will take approximately one hour of your time and roughly 30 minutes for each colleague who participates. Your colleagues’ ratings will be kept confidential and anonymous.
The goal of this 360° assessment—and one of Leadership Principles’ primary learning objectives—is to help you gain greater self-awareness and insight into how peers and direct reports experience you along certain dimensions and how to adjust behavior along those dimensions for desired outcomes.
The 360° assessment is called the Emotional and Social Competency Inventory (ESCI), and it is administered by Korn Ferry. The assessment provides insight into core interpersonal competencies that can be observed and assessed by others, and has been taken by more than 160,000 executives. These competencies can be developed and enhanced with practice, coaching, and feedback. Please note that, in response to recent sanctions, Korn Ferry will no longer provide services to individuals in Russia, starting in July 2022. If you take Leadership Principles from Russia, you won't be able to complete the ESCI or Personal Values Questionnaire. However, you'll still be eligible to complete the course successfully. Please contact the HBS Online Support Team for more information.
Upon successful completion of the prework—which requires obtaining ratings from at least two colleagues in addition to the self-assessment—you’ll receive a detailed report that provides insight into your emotional intelligence and how you’re perceived by others. Emotional intelligence is a central theme of the Leadership Principles course, and successfully completing the prework will greatly enhance your knowledge of both the course materials and your personal leadership.
Upon enrolling in Leadership Principles, we will provide more information on the prework process.
The two-week prework period begins on the first day of the course. You don’t need to do anything to prepare prior to then, but you may wish to begin thinking about which colleagues you’ll ask to participate in the assessment. When you log in for the first time, you will be provided with the prework instructions.
The course begins with a two-week prework period in which you’ll be asked to complete a self-assessment and invite colleagues to rate you on dimensions of emotional and social intelligence. The prework will take approximately one hour of your time and roughly 30 minutes for each colleague who participates.
The course content is delivered over a four-week period after the prework concludes. You should expect to spend approximately seven to nine hours per week on the course content during the last four weeks of the program.
Participants in Leadership Principles are eligible for a Certificate of Completion from Harvard Business School Online.
Participants are expected to fully complete all coursework in a thoughtful and timely manner. This will mean meeting each week’s course module deadlines and fully answering questions posed therein. This helps ensure participants proceed through the course at a similar pace and can take full advantage of social learning opportunities. In addition to module and assignment completion, we expect you to offer feedback on others’ reflections and contribute to conversations on the platform. Participants who fail to complete the course requirements will not receive a certificate and will not be eligible to retake the course.
More detailed information on course requirements will be communicated at the start of the course. No grades are assigned for Leadership Principles. Participants will either be evaluated as complete or not complete.
At several points in Leadership Principles, you'll be presented with scenarios and asked to video record yourself reacting to various leadership challenges. These exercises have been developed to let you step into the shoes of decision-makers, gain insight into your leadership style, and practice techniques taught in the course. In these exercises, you'll have an opportunity to watch and reflect on your approach. For some of these exercises, you'll also participate in peer assessment, which will enable you to see how two fellow learners approached the same challenge and how two others viewed your leadership style. You can record yourself on a phone, computer, or other video recording device and will be asked to upload the video to the course.
You will have access to the materials in every prior module as you progress through the program. Access to course materials and the course platform ends 60 days after the final deadline in the program.
Once you've earned your Certificate of Completion, list it on your resume along with the date of completion:
Harvard Business School Online
Certificate in Leadership Principles
[Cohort Start Month and Year]
List your certificate on your LinkedIn profile under "Education" with the language from the Credential Verification page:
School: Harvard Business School Online
Dates Attended: [The year you participated in the program]
Degree: Other; Certificate in Leadership Principles
Field of Study: Leave blank
Grade: Complete
Activities and Societies: Leave blank
For the program description on LinkedIn, please use the following:
Leadership Principles is a 6-week, 25-hour online certificate program from Harvard Business School. Leadership Principles is designed to help individuals thrive as leaders, unleash the capabilities of others, and cultivate high-performing teams. This course leverages self-assessments, 360° feedback from colleagues, and the perspectives of fellow learners to enable participants to build greater self-awareness and enhance the versatility of their leadership style and approach. The program was developed by leading Harvard Business School faculty and is delivered in an active learning environment based on the HBS signature case-based learning model.
Related Program
7 Courses
Credential of Leadership, Impact, and Management in Business (CLIMB)
CLIMB enables new and experienced leaders to ignite their careers with a combination of vital and forward-looking business skills, self-reflection, and an immersive cohort-based learning experience with a diverse global network.
1 year, 5-9 hrs/week
Apply by August 21st & 28th$15,000 (four installments of $3,750)Credential