Application deadline: Each month – please check website for further details
Start date: Monthly - please check website for further details
This certificate programme in social and voluntary sector leadership is offered by the Red Cross Red Crescent Learning Network of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in partnership with Thunderbird Online, the online professional development division of the Thunderbird School of Global Management.
About the course:
The increasing number of voluntary leaders in the social sector makes social sector leadership even more relevant today. Leadership development in this sector is more important than ever today because it enables an organization to continue to respond to the social needs of people, and leads to overall social development. This online certificate focuses on enhancing strategic knowledge and on leadership techniques to help participants succeed and lead on various levels in their organizations. The structure and content of the course are tailored to the specific needs and context of the Red Cross Red Crescent National Societies.
To achieve its objectives, the online certificate will:
- Familiarize participants with the knowledge required to successfully lead a team in an ever-changing social sector.
- Develop the participants’ understanding of the fundamental principles of human behavior and communication to engage team members in serving the overall organization’s goals.
- Enhance critical thinking skills to focus participants on addressing the right problems and to identify acceptable risks in alternative decisions.
- Focus on creating, developing and leading high-performance teams, by aligning individuals around group goals and by understanding the importance of overall team dynamics.
- Teach participants how to handle ethical challenges so that they can lead their team with integrity through difficult situations.
By the end of this online certificate, participants will be able to:
- Analyse and prioritise the day-to-day challenges facing the National Society and propose possible solutions.
- Reinvigorate their leadership skills to lead their organization with effective strategies for increased success.
- Lead with a clear vision by communicating and evaluating a strategy of how to build and strengthen a commitment to the organization’s vision.
- Understand the requirements of effective leadership and decision-making to continue to empower their team.
- Define the fundamental principles of communication that engage and develop employees to recognize and build upon their individual motivators.
- Understand the importance of leading through turbulent times by evaluating and handling difficult situations.
- Recognize the global impact of ethical challenges, and understand the importance of leading a team with integrity.
- Develop their global mindset to further understand how to successfully lead and make a continually positive impact in the global social sector.
Course Outline: The course is worth 1.5 Thunderbird granted continuing education units and is comprised of the following 8 modules:
Module 1 – The role, trends and global realities for social sector leaders
Explore the landscape of how the social sector relates to and affects global and local business environments. Focus on understanding global trends that are transforming the social sector. Learn to further recognize the challenges that leaders face every day in our ever-changing global environment by examining unique challenges that are encountered by Red Cross Red Crescent leaders.
Module 2 – Leading with vision
Learn to lead with vision by evaluating and implementing your organization’s vision, while examining the visions of other organizations. Focus on what it means to apply your vision, and evaluate your strategy of building team commitment to your organization’s overall goals. Case studies from humanitarian and corporate sectors will be used in this module.
Module 3 - Managing difference: The “G‐local” perspective
Examine the perspective of others through a variety of frameworks to understand how to manage a variety of differences. Focus on the value of continually developing your global mindset to better influence others, groups and organizations. Enhance your cross-cultural communication effectiveness and learn how to attract and retain leaders from different cultures / communities.
Module 4 – Influencing different people
Understand the importance of a global skill set, and how to enhance your individual global mindset to achieve the greatest impact for your organization. Through a self-assessment, understand your global mindset through social capital, psychological capital and intellectual capital. Using this information, begin to develop your personal action plan to develop who you are as an effective leader.
Module 5 – Leading at Level 5
Level 5 leadership combines personal humility with professional will. Participants will gain an introduction to Level 5 leadership, and see examples of its use. Participants will also develop a firm understanding of the behaviors of successful level 5 leaders, and learn how to achieve this level of outstanding leadership. Several level 5 leaders will be profiled including a Red Cross Red Crescent National Society leader to provide insight into their journey and success.
Module 6 – Learning to lead through crucibles
Understanding what crucibles are, and learning how to handle them in a leadership role are critical to success when leading a team. Examples from the humanitarian and corporate sectors are used to show how leaders lead their teams through crucibles. You will also follow the experience of two leaders through crucibles, and explore their strategies of leading and managing their teams through turbulent times.
Module 7 – Leading across boundaries
Learn the fundamentals of leading and managing key stakeholders across borders. Define and understand how to utilize tools for stakeholder alignment and analysis. Focus on developing your understanding of the logic of successful partnerships. See examples of IFRC’s code of good partnerships, and how you can use that to successfully lead across boundaries.
Module 8 – Leading and governing with integrity
Recognize the impact of ethical challenges to your team’s success in the field. Examine a framework for ethical decision-making that will better prepare you to make these decisions in the future. Further develop your understanding of the value and importance of leading with integrity through real-life scenarios and lessons learned. In this module, you will finalize your personal development action plan.
Period of Study: 8 weeks in length. 2-4 hours per week of provided online course content.
Faculty for the course
Professor Mary Teagarden, Ph.D.
Professor Mary Teagarden, Ph.D., is a Professor of Global Strategy at Thunderbird School of Global Management and leads the Thunderbird Social Sector Emerging Leader Consortia. Mary Teagarden, Ph.D., is a world-renowned thought leader and educator in the areas of global strategic management and strategic human resource management. She is recognized and sought after in academic, corporate and government sectors for her teaching, executive training and consulting. She has published more than 70 articles, book chapters, and case studies in the area of strategic management and her current research projects focus on business dynamics in the Asian Pacific Rim, Latin America and emerging market economies, including the People’s Republic of China and India –and developing leaders' global mindsets. Dr. Teagarden has lived and worked in 11 Latin American countries, five European countries and eight Asian countries – in addition to the United States and Canada. Her expertise is called on regularly by top media outlets, including CNN, MSNBC, Fox Business, CCTV, ABC, the Financial Times, Harvard Business School Working Knowledge for Business Leaders, CIO and IEEE Spectrum. Dr. Teagarden received her Ph.D. in Global Strategic Management from the University of Southern California.
Professor Christine Pearson, Ph.D.
Professor Christine Pearson, Ph.D., Professor of Management at Thunderbird School of Global Management has built a worldwide reputation as one of the foremost authorities on the role of strategic preparation in heading off workplace crises. She has studied and developed causation theories as well as solutions with respect to problems that can boil over due to incivility and aggression in the workplace. As an expert on dysfunctional workplace behaviour, she has also studied and developed insights into and solutions for problems that escalate from incivility and aggression in the workplace. Dr. Pearson is the co-author of The Cost of Bad Behaviour: How Incivility is Damaging Your Business and What to Do About It, which makes a business case for workplace civility. The book explores the causes and outcomes of incivility and shares strategies for resolving minor situations before they spiral into something major. Dr. Pearson earned her Ph.D. in business from the University of Southern California, her MS in organizational psychology from California State University, and her BA in French and economics from the City University of New York.
Structure and methodology
This 8-week online certificate programme is conducted entirely online using Thunderbird Online’s Learning Management System. It allows for a flexible schedule. The course development includes top-ranked Thunderbird School of Global Management faculty and interviews with a wide variety of Red Cross Red Crescent leaders throughout the globe.
The programme includes an optional online introduction course that shows how content is presented and how you can interact with others.
The participant’s online experience will consists of video lectures from Thunderbird faculty and audio interviews with IFRC leaders, interactive multi-media activities and downloadable podcasts. Each week, participants will read case studies that enable them to apply what they have learned as concepts from the week’s material, and see how they will utilize that information to benefit and enhance their leadership strengths. Each participant will be able to communicate with fellow students from around the globe using Thunderbird Online’s facilitated discussion forums. Participants will have weekly checkpoint questions to assess their understanding of the course material, and to further apply the course material and strategies in their daily activities.
Course assessment
To receive the Thunderbird Certificate in Social and Voluntary Sector Leadership, each participant will be required to:
- submit two discussion board postings in specific weeks throughout the course,
- complete the end-of-course assessment with a score of 70% or higher, and
- complete the end-of-course survey. All assessments will take place online. Students will also receive feedback and guidance throughout the programme which will enable them to progress and develop their confidence and analytical skills.
Practical information
Who can apply?
- Red Cross and Red Crescent National Society governance, senior management, staff and volunteers at different levels of leadership.
- IFRC and ICRC staff.
- Other professionals who need to employ social and voluntary sector leadership knowledge and expertise.
Before you apply, please consider whether you can commit the necessary time in order to fully complete the course. Where appropriate, please make sure you obtain the endorsement of your supervisor to participate in this programme.
Language of instruction
The language of instruction is English.
Thunderbird cohorts begin the first Monday of every month. IFRC members are welcome to participate in any of these months following the same selection process.
Fees:
$990 per participant, to be paid directly to Thunderbird Online. Red Cross Red Crescent Movement applicants: Use promotional code, “RCRCLearn” upon registration. online.thunderbird.edu/IFRC
Qualification received:
Successful completion of the online certificate will result in a certificate issued by Thunderbird School of Global Management. Successful students will also receive 1.5 Thunderbird granted continuing education units.
Prerequisites:
- Sufficient knowledge of the English language including reading academic texts, discussing complex concepts with other course participants, and writing.
- Use of a computer with unrestricted access to the Internet using Firefox or Internet Explorer web browsers. Visit Thunderbird Online for a list of full system requirements. (http://online.thunderbird.edu/thunderbird-online-learning-environment/)
Selection process:
Up to 35 qualified participants will be selected in each IFRC cohort. The online registration process includes submission of a motivation letter to the program. Candidates from developing countries and those working in humanitarian development are strongly encouraged to apply. Selected participants will be notified directly by Thunderbird Online of their acceptance into the program.
How to apply
Please visit Thunderbird Online’s website at http://online.thunderbird.edu/IFRC to read more about this course and to register online. If you have any questions, please contact a Thunderbird Online Enrolment Counsellor at thunderbirdonline@thunderbird.edu