Do you have what it takes to become an executive leader? While you may have an innate ability to lead, leadership is not always something that already exists inside. Rather, it’s something that can be learned.

When it comes to education, we’re not interested in fairy-tales. Even the highest leaders in the most successful positions weren’t just born executives – and you don’t have to be, either. Executive leadership courses, coupled with accumulated experience, are a proven way for aspiring leaders to reach the executive level.

It gets even better: there’s a master’s program for ambitious executives like you. It’s called the Master of Science in Organizational Leadership (MSOL).

Here, we outline three big tips and some of the most important leadership courses that apply to them, which are found in Goodwin University’s executive program curriculum. Let us help you hone every facet of your capacity to be a well-understood, fair, and smart leader for your organization or business.

Tip 1: It’s not about you…
Harvard Business Review consultants agree that the power of an executive leader is nothing without a strong team, from department managers down to customer service agents. Corporate culture has changed. No longer does upper leadership sit in a quiet, private corner office, lined with mahogany and in a fancy tall-backed swivel chair. Open door policies and open floor plans are the way of the future. They symbolize transparency – which is a top business priority in this day and age – and allow for increased and efficient collaboration across a company.

In a New York Times article, the author encourages that to achieve a diverse and vibrant workplace, you should “create a culture that enables ‘interruption’ and provides incentives for action.” Empowered employees are happy employees. And if you’re going to be an executive leader and set the tone for your organization, you’re going to need to build your team-building know-how.

Talent and Performance Management is one executive leadership course that will help you bring value to the workplace, because you’ll know how to increase productivity through development of the business’ most valuable asset: its employees! This course will show you effective onboarding, coaching, mentoring, and shadowing strategies for your future team.

Tip 2: Speak many languages.
No, we don’t mean that you should pick up Mandarin and Portuguese. While it’s never a bad idea to become bi-or tri-lingual, there’s a different kind of multi-lingual talent that will serve you well as a business executive. Think of all the communicating you’re going to need to do. You’ll have to use written and oral language skills to present historical, data-driven, vision-oriented, and testimonial information successfully to audiences as diverse as:

• The entire organization’s workforce
• Thousands of members or clients
• Board members
• Stake or stockholders
• Fellow C-suite executives
• Members of the press
• Family of employees

And, you’ll be reporting news that might be good or bad, depending on the audience. This requires great listening skills, as well as a careful understanding of nuance. How do you develop these language skills?

You need executive-level leadership courses like Leadership Practices in Organizational Communications, Leading Organizational Change, and Negotiating & Conflict Response.

These courses will help you gain experience in, and knowledge of, delivering persuasive presentations to earn and keep the confidence of all audiences within and outside of the organization. Major organizational changes like mergers and acquisitions, company restructuring, achievements and benchmarks reached, or even data breaches will all be news that comes from you, a top executive.

You’ll also have to choose the right avenue for your message. The Forbes article, Leadership Communication Through Layers: A Simple Approach, breaks down your modern communication options in a helpful way, offering tips for which channel to choose: e-mail, video, or in-person. It’s a tall order, but these skills are true essentials to your success as an executive leader.

Tip 3: Measure twice, cut once.
This age-old wisdom stands the test of time, and applies not just to physical building or creating, but also to leadership. It speaks to both resource management and careful planning. The executive leadership seat is not the place to make decisions without sound research and data behind them. Your choices will affect employees’ livelihoods, your organization’s reputation, and also your bottom line profitability.

Executive leadership courses like Sustainability of Innovation and Strategic Advantage, and Leading Organizational Change can help you learn to calculate trajectories, balance resources, and create a reasonable, flexible roadmap that sets the tone for your company’s road ahead. Learn how to think into the future and plan pathways to get there, while sailing straight and flourishing on the way there.

It takes experience to become a well-seasoned executive leader, but there’s no time like the present to engage your skillset. With just a little bit of planning, you can get where you want to be. A program like Goodwin University’s 30-credit MSOL program can lead you to a master’s in leadership in as few as 20 months, part-time. The full program is available either fully online or in a hybrid format, which combines classroom and online learning to give you flexibility and fit your lifestyle. Why?

Because Goodwin University cares about your success, and we don’t want to put barriers between you and access to a great education. You can continue working, while studying on your own time, and taking advantage of the convenience of an online executive leadership program. Learn more by calling 800-889-3282, or by visiting us online today.