组织领导硕士毕业生产生积极影响

The Master of Science in Organizational Leadership (MSOL) prepares graduates to become intelligent, ethical, supportive leaders in a variety of roles, organizations and industries. Program director Tom Sechrest explains how this St. 爱德华大学的研究生课程准备领导者茁壮成长，并产生积极的组织影响. 

What does a student learn in a Master’s Program in Leadership at St. Edward’s?

Our program delivers a mission-driven, 广泛而全面的领导力教育侧重于包括几个关键概念的领导力模型. 领导者是清晰的思考者，他们了解自己的工作背景和周围的世界. 领导者通过不断学习和照顾自己来领导自己. They lead others which may be the part most people think about, and leaders are authentic with each having their own style.

领导力不仅仅来自于拥有领导角色或头衔的人. 好的领导者明白组织中较低层次的人, closest to the work, have valuable perspectives that should be considered. 我们的课程包括讲座和高度互动的讨论，学生将他们所学的知识与工作场所发生的事情联系起来.

为什么除了白宫和华尔街之外，优秀的领导力也很重要? 

研究表明，近年来人们对工作的投入有所下降. People are looking for meaning in their work. 如果他们在工作中找不到意义，他们就不会留在工作岗位上，也不会高效地工作. 领导者的部分职责是帮助同事发现他们工作的意义，并了解他们如何为组织的使命和愿景做出贡献. 对组织有清晰愿景的领导者可以向员工传达他们的工作如何服务于更大的使命.

How does the St. Edward’s University mission influence the MSOL curriculum? 

我们圣十字使命的一部分是发展批判性和创造性思维, 所以MSOL课程包括批判性思维课程和创造与创新课程. Our mission states that we 鼓励个人面对社会的关键问题，寻求正义与和平. 这反映在领导力和社会正义以及组织中的倡导和包容性课程中. 

St. 爱德华学院也非常重视思想和心灵的教育，我们培养的领导者采用“全人”的领导方式. A whole-person approach means that, if you’re a supervisor, you understand that your employees have lives outside of work, and they can’t truly leave family or health issues “at the door.“而不是要求员工的工作生活和他们的个人或文化身份之间存在那种严格的分离, 领导者应该创造一种环境，让人们感到自己作为个体得到了足够的支持，以完成手头上的专业任务.

为什么组织领导理学硕士的毕业生觉得它如此有价值?

他们接受了领导力方面的培训，并培养了一些特定的技能，这些技能是通过阅读几本有关领导力的书籍或参加为期一周的培训无法获得的. 学位的名称向其他人表明，学生已经研究了组织的这一特定而重要的方面. Students learn critical and creative thinking, individual strengths and weaknesses, the building blocks of leadership, communication, data analytics, and ethics. Program graduates have a leadership skill set that others don't have.

What kind of student is a good fit for the MSOL program?

一些学生正在努力进入他们的第一个管理或领导角色. 其他人已经处于领导地位，正在寻求进入下一个层次. 我们也有人想把领导技能带到他们的岗位上, even if they are not supervisors. 

我们的一些学生已经发起或负责领导组织变革, such as creating a sustainability program, implementing a diversity, equity and inclusion initiative, or restructuring. We also have students who are reskilling to make a career transition — 这包括正在学习平民领导方式的退伍军人. Our graduates are leaders in local, state and federal government, the private sector, nonprofits and consultancies.

Students choose St. 因为他们想要小班授课，这样他们就能了解他们的教授和同事. 他们正在寻求一种以实践为基础的教育，他们正在寻找一所以使命为导向的大学.

What is practice-based education and how does it relate to the St. Edward’s University location in Austin?

理解领导力的理论和模型是很重要的, 但在现实世界中实践应用这一理论也很重要. 人们在课堂上学到的东西和他们在工作中做的事情之间存在着一种持续的相互作用. For two decades, I’ve heard students say, “What I learned in class last night, I was able to use at work the next day.” And it goes the other way, too — 我们鼓励学生从他们的工作场所中举出课堂上讨论的问题的例子. 这些可能是性别如何影响领导力或工作中出现的道德挑战的例子.

学生们最后要上的是战略领导力课程，这是他们在整个课程中学到的所有概念和技能的应用. In consultation with Austin leaders, 他们选择一个“棘手的问题”——一个复杂的问题，他们肯定不会在七周的课程中解决——比如无家可归, or food insecurity, or mental health support. Then they work in groups to read the literature on this problem, explore the local data, interview local experts, 并就未来如何处理这个问题提出建议. We have students take on a problem like this, instead of a problem they need to solve at work, because it challenges their creative thinking.

What do leaders need to understand about data analytics?

无论在哪个领域，领导者都需要培养数据视角和衡量思维. 他们需要了解他们的组织产生了什么类型的信息，以及如何理解这些信息. They don’t need to generate the data or run the queries themselves, but they need to understand what data is important to capture, 以及如何整合这些数据来做出有效的领导决策. It's about asking the right questions to inform decision-making.