What are the Signature Leadership Courses like?

Leadership is a running theme throughout all three years of Ascend, and it kicks off strong in the first year. In order to successfully complete Ascend Foundations (year 1), students take three courses aimed at understanding the principles of Christian leadership and building real actionable skills in leadership practice and application. These college-level courses are designed to challenge your perception of what it means to be a leader, in any circumstance you might find yourself in.

When I took these courses in my first year of Ascend, I was able to see in real time how much the content pushed me to grow in skills that I had been neglecting up until that point. Today, I’d like to share with you a brief summary of the courses, how to prepare for them, and what taking them is like for a student.

Leadership Theory & Practice

The first of the three courses is Leadership Theory & Practice, and it is all about building a foundation for the next two. It aims to build an understanding of the history of leadership, helps students analyze their own leadership gifts and abilities, as well as moves students from theory to practice with real-world application.

The running theme through this course is stewardship, which is reflected in the lectures as well as the assignments. When I took the course, we wrote one paper every week, reflecting on reading we’d done or sharing thoughts on an assignment. Throughout the course, we would also write sections of a personal leadership plan, aimed at showcasing our current leadership gifts and creating a plan to grow into those skills and form new ones.

This course really changed my perspective on what it means to be a leader, and encouraged me to work on those skills now even though I’m not in many traditional leadership positions. It also vastly improved my writing skills and gave me a huge boost of confidence in that area.

Something to keep in mind for this course and the ones after it is that they are college-level classes and the work reflects that. If you have not taken any writing courses before, it might be helpful to take a class such as English Composition 1 before taking these courses. It is not required, but it could be useful if you are less confident in your writing abilities.

Leadership & Management Communication

The second course, Leadership & Management Communication, has a heavy focus on communication in leadership. It builds an awareness of the importance of effective communication in leadership, equips students with practical organizational communication skills, and familiarizes students with best practices on using those skills.

For this course, the theme of servanthood is very apparent throughout. Students will tackle the question of what being a “servant leader” really means, which was very eye-opening for me. There are also weekly papers, but this time they are focused on helping students identify ways to practice effective leadership communication in organizations they are involved in or have good knowledge of. These all build off of each other and form a complete study by the end of the course.

Something that really stood out to me in a good way from this course was the way it encouraged you to think more critically and intentionally about how I can and should be practicing leadership in my own life, especially at my place of work.

Leadership Learning & Execution

The third and final of the Signature Leadership Courses is Leadership Learning & Execution, which ties all the threads together. Students will ask the question, “how does one grow wise as a leader?” This course explores wisdom in scripture and how that relates to leadership, how to effectively put into practice strategic plans, and best practices for wise and effective mentorship/coaching.

As the final installment of the Signature Leadership Courses, this course draws from both of the ones before it. Students will reflect on what they’ve learned about themselves in relation to leadership, create a learning plan that is personalized to their skills and what they believe they need to grow in, and write out a Capstone Project Plan detailing a long-term project that draws on what they’ve learned over the year.

What stood out to me most from this course was what I learned about mentorship. As part of the learning plan, students will reach out to two people they know, one as a potential mentor and one as a potential mentee. This is to give some real-world perspective on what it is like to be in a mentoring relationship on both sides. I wasn’t sure what to expect going in, but those meetings turned out to be some of my favorite memories from the course. To this day, I still regularly meet with the mentor I connected with as a result of this assignment.

What Should You Know Before Starting This Course?

The Signature Leadership Courses will challenge your way of thinking about leadership as a whole, and especially how you view your own unique opportunities for leadership. These courses follow a common theme in Ascend, which is you will get out of them what you put into them. Being intentional about your work and taking time to reflect on the assignments will go a long way in getting the most out of this course. I can say from experience that the wisdom and practical strategies you will gain from this are worth the effort!