%% #🗺️ #🟢 %% [[Educational Programs]] # MA, ORGL ![[calendar-plus.svg]] <small>Nov 27, 2021</small> | ![[calendar-clock.svg]] <small>Nov 26, 2022</small> I enrolled in the Master's in Organizational Leadership at Gonzaga University in Fall 2020 and will be finished with the program in December 2022. I chose to pursue the concentration in Change Management. This is a map of the courses I took. Each course number links to a page with further information about the content and competencies learned, including artifacts🧩 demonstrating my understanding and application of the materials. --- ### ORGL Courses ##### [[ORGL 600]] - Foundations of Leadership This is the first class I took in Fall 2020 with Dr. Summer Armstrong. We explored various leadership styles and wrote a draft of a personal [[My Leadership Philosophy|Leadership Philosophy]]. ##### [[ORGL 605]] - Imagine, Create, Lead The second class I took was also the first to have a 3-day virtual immersion. My primary instructor was Dr. Popa, but we had a chance to interact with Dr. Josh Armstrong and Dr. Kristine Hoover as well. In addition to the content of the course, we got a little orientation to the ORGL program and the portfolio we're required to create for our capstone class. This was also the class where we had to create an artifact integrating and synthesizing our understanding of creative leadership - I designed and made a pair of earrings. ##### [[ORGL 615]] - Organizational Behavior & Theory This was one of the hardest classes in the program and the first with a group project. This course included the simulated group climb up Everest, keeping a Systems Thinking journal, a group presentation re: the MindTree case study, and an individual executive report on the EU Design case study. While it was quite challenging, this was one of my favorite classes in the program. It was the first time I really connected with some of my classmates and the material was very engaging. ##### [[ORGL 517]] - Organizational Change & Transformation This was my second experience with a virtual immersion and another favorite class. The professor, Chris Crosby, was very engaging and held weekly class check-ins where I was able to once again connect with some of my classmates. This class also included a group project in which my group presented on [[Kotter's 8-Step Change Proccess]]. We also had to use what we learned about the SATA theory and create a plan for leading/facilitating a change process in our organization. ##### [[ORGL 518]] - Transforming Leadership This was my only class with Dr. Carey as the primary professor, which I'm sort of disappointed about. I would have liked to work with him more. There was a lot of reading, and films to watch, for this class. Throughout the course we had to reflect and write about our own experience as a transforming leader. This was the first class where I felt challenged not just by the workload, but by the content itself. The weekly check-ins with Dr. Carey were very helpful in working through difficulties. ##### [[ORGL 515]] - Leadership & Human Potential Although I had already had many interactions with her through the ORGL Third Thursday discussions and her role in the ORGL 517 immersion, this was my first official class with Dr. Kristine Hoover. I really connected with her and appreciated our conversations about the ORGL program and my future career plans. The course itself was another favorite in terms of the content. I was very drawn to all the main areas of focus: [[Appreciative Inquiry]], [[Design Thinking]], and [[Action Research]]. This helped solidify my interest in a Dialogic OD practice. ##### [[ORGL 610]] - Communication & Leadership Ethics This was my second class in a row with Dr. Kristine Hoover and it kicked my butt. While I understood the content fairly well, it was very dense and the sheer volume of material to read and reflect on was overwhelming. This course focused on developing skills in ethical communication and decision making. We learned to recognize ethical issues and understand the importance of ethics in leadership to support human flourishing and discourage personal, organizational, and societal harm. ##### [[ORGL 550]] - Team Building and Leadership I was very eager to participate in this class and was grateful to transfer in at the last minute to take advantage of a virtual immersion. While I would have loved to participate in person, the virtual offering was a better fit. I was a little unsure of how well this kind of class would work in a virtual setting and was pleasantly surprised at how thoroughly engaging and meaningful it was. We had wonderful, deep interactions with one another, both in the discussion boards and during our 3-day virtual immersion. This course was a much needed break from some of the more demanding classes and provided a whole set of practical tools that could be directly applied in our work and personal lives. ##### [[ORGL 516]] - Relational Dynamics & Organizational Development As I suspected, this ended up being another of my favorite classes in terms of the content. It's no wonder I chose the change leadership concentration. Reflecting back on this course, I almost thought there was a virtual immersion, but it was just the depth of interaction on the discussion boards that brought the material to life. This was also another class with a group project, and once again I had an incredible experience. We worked together to review [[The Coaching Habit|The Coaching Habit - MBS]] by Michael Bungay Stanier and put together a creative presentation using [Powtoon](http://www.powtoon.com) that we were very proud of. ##### [[ORGL 535]] - Listen, Discern, Decide I added this as an extra course because I had heard so many great things about both the curriculum and the professor, Larry Spears. It was another of the more challenging courses in terms of workload, but also one of the most personally rewarding. This was the only course I took that had a Servant Leader focus and it really helped me gain a better understanding of this leadership philosophy. We explored various practices of listening and discerning to enhance decision-making. I appreciated the progression of focus from the individual, to the group, to the organization or society. ##### ORGL 620 - Leadership Seminar This final course in the program offered an opportunity to reflect on our journey through the ORGL program and assess our understanding and growth in the various leadership competencies. There were three main components to demonstrating our competencies: writing a final [[My Leadership Philosophy|leadership philosophy]], designing and implementing a [[ORGL Capstone Portfolio#Leadership Project|leadership project]] and creating a [[ORGL Capstone Portfolio|portfolio]] to share our learnings.