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Certificate in Leadership Development (Online at your own pace)


Adult Enrichment / Business & Consumer -
Online Certificates and Courses 2025

Especially geared for future leaders in the Gen Y generation (born 1980-1999), the certificate provides how-to practical information on advancing your leadership potential and making a difference in both the workplace and in society. Find out what it takes to become an effective leader. Discover your style of leadership. Discuss task completion, building relationships with your subordinates, becoming socially perceptive to changes in the workplace, utilizing your emotions in a positive and effective manner, and addressing challenging goals. Then learn the unspoken secrets that leaders know and the strategies they employ/exhibit in for influencing others. Leadership skills are acquired and learned. You can become a leader if you know the do’s and don’ts; what to say, what not to say; what to do, what not to do. At the end of completing the three course certificate, come away with a new understanding, new toolbox of leadership skills, and the information to move your leadership development into high gear.

Courses (click links for course details):

  • Leadership Principles
  • Developing Your Leadership Skills
  • Developing Your Professional Career

Courses are online and asynchronous, meaning students may login to the classroom anytime during the course session, day or night, 24/7. For more information, go to our Online Professional Development Certificates & Courses FAQ


Class details:

Leadership Principles
Unit 1: What leaders do and believe
    What leaders do, and don’t do
    What Leaders Believe
    Attributes of leaders: what characteristics leaders have that others don’t
    What leadership experts say about leadership
Unit 2: Recognizing your leadership style
    Leadership Traits
    The Philosophy of Leadership
    Leadership Models
    Leadership is made, not born
Unit 3: The vision thing
    Leadership vision in the 21st Century
    Deciding where you want to go
    Creating your vision
    Making others believe in your vision
Unit 4: The power of empowerment
    What empowerment is, and is not
    Why Gen Y and Z demand empowerment
    The risks and rewards of empowerment
    Ways to empower others
Developing Your Leadership Skills
Unit 1: Making leadership happen
    What leaders do, and don’t do
    What Leaders Believe
    Attributes of leaders: what characteristics leaders have that others don’t
    Making it happen: becoming a leader
    Leadership procedures and processes, how leaders work
Unit 2: Attending meetings: Where the action is
    How to attend a meeting when you are not the leader
    The dynamics of meetings
    Recognizing the players in a meeting
    How to study. The unspoken cues of body language, silence, objections
    Studying/Reading the leader in a meeting
Unit 3: The secrets of leading successful meetings
    Creating your meeting agenda and objective
    The 5 Secrets of leading an outcome oriented meeting
    Getting something passed
    Understanding meeting procedures: Bob’s Process Model
Unit 4: Change: How to influence others
    Creating the argument
    Delivering the case
    Gaining support, before, during, and after meetings
    Taking leadership
Developing Your Professional Career
Unit 1: Mapping your career for success
    Defining where you want to be in your career in 5, 10, 15 years
    Setting and monitoring your career goals
    Establishing a mentor partnership as a start in your professional career
Unit 2: Developing your professional career through non-verbal communication
    The difference between verbal and non-verbal communication
    Conveying the right message with your body language
    Writing what you think
    Haptics – Using touch to convey non-verbal communication
    How to understand others non-verbal communication
Unit 3: Image is everything
    You are your brand
    What you wear can determine where you go
    How to determine if your image is headed in the right direction
    How your communication and your image should agree with each other
Unit 4: Using social media to help developing your professional career
    The purpose of Social Media
    How to use Social Media to create a professional online presence
    How to avoid negative images trap that many people fall victim to on Social Media
Instructor

William A Draves


William A. Draves is one of the foremost authorities in the world on teaching online. More than 6,000 faculty and teachers have taken this course. He did his graduate work in education, with an emphasis on adult education, from The George Washington University in Washington DC.

Draves has taught for over thirty years, including teaching at the graduate level. His books include "How to Teach Adults," the most popular book ever written on the subject, and "Energizing the Learning Environment."

He has been interviewed by Wired.com, The New York Times, NPR, NBC Nightly News, Washington Post, Virtual University News, Chronicle of Higher Education and other national media.

Draves is author of the book, "Advanced Teaching Online," which is used as the text book for this course. This course is part of the Certified Online Instructor (COI) designation, the most recognized certification for online teaching in higher education.

Tawanda McLaurin


Tawanda McLaurin is a dynamic leader serving in leadership positions in education and as a facilitator of Professional Development and IT courses at the local college. She believes that each individual has what it takes to reach their goals and helps individuals create roadmaps for success.

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  William A Draves , Tawanda McLaurin


Online
Sun-Sat, Feb 3 - May 2
12:01 AM - 11:59 PM

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Tu
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Min Age   18 yr.

Price: $ 395 00
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  William A Draves , Tawanda McLaurin


Online
Sun-Sat, Apr 7 - Jun 27
12:01 AM - 11:59 PM

Su
M
Tu
W
Th
F
Sa

Min Age   18 yr.

Price: $ 395 00
Registration begins  
Jan. 7th at 9:00 AM
OE-21210c-ugc

  William A Draves , Tawanda McLaurin


Online
Sun-Sat, Jun 2 - Aug 29
12:01 AM - 11:59 PM

Su
M
Tu
W
Th
F
Sa

Min Age   18 yr.

Price: $ 395 00
Registration begins  
Jan. 7th at 9:00 AM
OE-21210d-ugc

  William A Draves , Tawanda McLaurin


Online
Sun-Sat, Sep 2 - Nov 28
12:01 AM - 11:59 PM

Su
M
Tu
W
Th
F
Sa

Min Age   18 yr.

Price: $ 395 00
Registration begins  
Jan. 7th at 9:00 AM