There are four courses within the certificate program, all of which are required. These are taken over 3 semesters.

An Introduction to Social Construction

This course introduces cutting edge ideas on the collaborative construction of realities, reason, and value in the workplace. The course is especially important in demonstrating how the process of meaning making is central to organizational functioning. Featured topics will include the use of narrative in giving direction to the organization, meaning and motivation, thriving on diversity, reframing and creative problem solving, and the building of organizational culture.This course provides the groundwork for understanding how an organization can work more effectively in the global context of continuous change.The concepts from this course are further developed and applied in Applications of Knowledge to Work Settings.

Collaborative Practices in the Workplace

Effective leading in today’s organizations requires an ability to work collaboratively and to implement relational practices within the organization. This course will introduce a wide range of practices currently employed in organizations great and small. Special attention will be given to appreciative practices as implemented around the world. Skills for engaging in dialogue will be sharpened, with a particular focus on the use of dialogue in building and leading teams, enhancing morale, reducing conflict, and inspiring innovation. Practices for developing leadership potentials throughout the organization will also receive attention.

Systemic Relational Process

While practices of collaboration are essential to relational leading, attention must also be directed to the organization as a whole and how it functions within its surrounding context. Systemic concepts of the organization are introduced, with special attention to the shift from structurally oriented to process oriented concepts of the system. Complexity theory, along with concepts and practices useful for coordinating sectors of the organization will receive attention. Relational concepts in communication will be introduced, which will open discussion on the potentials and perils of consensus building. Enhancing reflexive improvisational skills and building the capacity for ethical action across multiple contexts will be explored.

Relational Leading

This course expands the idea of leadership beyond the individual’s traits and competencies to focus on leading as a collaborative process. Exploring current images of leadership, we will examine their underlying assumptions and open up new ways to see leading as relational coordination. New practices for fostering collaboration and coordinated action will be discussed and applied to current organizational challenges. Through discussion and case studies, real work challenges will be examined, such as how to engage employees and stakeholders, inspire initiative and innovation, and resolve conflict in diverse and global contexts. Attention will also be given to the challenge of meeting organizational goals while also meeting the wider needs of communities and the environment.