If you want to take your professional qualifications to the next level, then you should try leadership courses. Regardless of your area of expertise, knowing how to lead a group will definitely work to your advantage.

Taking the courses online will make it extremely accessible and you will be able to integrate the classes in your free time. We are going to present you the best online leadership courses out there so that you know exactly what your options are. Take a look!

Preparing for Leadership Courses

If you have never had leadership training before, the notion might be rather difficult to grasp. Will a leadership course help you become the boss overnight? Or is it all corporate nonsense? These are the two extreme standpoints on the matter.

In reality, neither one is actually true. A leadership training course will help you get a better understanding of the relationships between the people in your team. It will teach you how to stimulate them to give their best, with the ultimate goal of helping the team achieve its objectives.

Whether or not this will recommend you as the ideal candidate for a management position depends on a wide range of factors. The course cannot guarantee that you will be employed in such a position, but they will be useful.

10 Reasons to Take Leadership Courses

If you are still undecided whether or not you want to take a leadership course, let us tell you about the most important reasons why it would be worthwhile.

1. They will teach you how to influence people – This is actually one of the core principles of leadership, so a lot of the courses will be focused on it. This is quite the valuable asset to have because it can help you get heard in any group you might find yourself in.
2. They will encourage self-analysis – One of the fundamental prerequisites of strong leadership is being emotionally stable. So during your classes, you will be encouraged to identify your setbacks and to begin resolving them.
3. They will boost your self-confidence – The simple fact that you know the main steps that your team needs to go through in order to achieve its goals will provide you with a sense of self-assurance.
4. They will help you set your goals – Setting the right goals is one of the most important attributes of a strong leader. These courses will teach how to choose your goals so that they can be achieved with a minimum amount of effort.
5. They will teach you how to build a team – You will learn what you have to do in order to choose the best possible team members and then coordinate them towards achieving the goals of the team. You will learn how to make your teammates feel empowered and how to increase your influence on them.
6. They will help you make some important professional connections – During leadership training courses you will meet influential figures from this field and you will get to establish valuable professional relationships. Most online courses provide a forum where the students can communicate with the teacher and among themselves.
7. They will be a better strategist – Having the responsibility of developing plans for the entire team will provide you with the sufficient motivation to improve your strategy skills.
8. They will teach you to anticipate and avoid mistakes – Learning how to coordinate a team will help you predict certain sequences of events that might lead to a mistake. Furthermore, you will learn what to do and when to act so as to prevent them.
9. They will teach you how to achieve your own goals – Learning how to coordinate an entire team will directly enable you to plan your own professional endeavors well enough to achieve your objectives.
10. They will give weight to your resume – Earning a certificate in leadership will complete your resume and it will prove to employers that you have the necessary skills to lead a team.

How To Choose the Right Leadership Course for You

In order to get the best experience with an online leadership course, you will need to conduct a thorough selection process. Here are some of the factors that you should bear in mind:

• Choosing the appropriate course level – This is a crucial aspect because it determines the type of information you will receive in the course. A program that is below your skill level will prove to be monotonous and one that is too advanced will be difficult to follow and it will discourage you from participating to the full extent.
• Finding a course that is within you price range – This is one of the defining factors that you will need to take into account. If leadership is a new territory for you, our advice is to start with a free course, as there are quite a few available that you can choose from. If you enjoy it, you can proceed to enroll in a paid course that will offer you a certificate at the end.
• Finding a course that includes the best material for your needs – Online courses come in written, audio and video form. Choose the ideal teaching method for your needs to be able to understand the content as best as possible.

The 5 Best Leadership Courses

If you are looking to try an online leadership course, then you will find a multitude of options on the World Wide Web. We have selected 5 of the most impressive ones out there to help guide your search.

1. Leadership Courses Offered by Dale Carnegie

Dale Carnegie Training offers some amazing online courses that are guaranteed to help you improve your leadership skills. You are required to pay a participation fee to access them, but they are definitely going to be worth every cent.

Take a look at some of your options:

• Analyze Problems and Make Decisions
• Getting Results with Authority
• How to Communicate with Diplomacy and Tact
• Secrets to Leading with Assertiveness
• Trusted Advisor Bootcamp
• Leading Across Generations
• Leading Virtual Teams
• Set up to Leadership
• Time Management
• Coaching for Improved Performance
• Powerful Conversations to Engage Your Workforce

2. Leadership Courses offered by eCornell

Get your Certificate in Executive Leadership from Cornell University by going through their six-course online plan. Each course takes two weeks, so it will take you three months to complete the entire plan. All the courses are conducted by Cornell professors and therefore, you will get the chance to learn from the some of the best in the field. Here are the courses you will have to go through:

• Managing Strategic Change
• Tactics and Skills for Negotiating
• The Coaching Mindset for Engaging and Developing Others
• The Coaching Process for Engaging and Developing Others
• Executive Decision-Making
• Leading Through Creativity

3. Leadership Courses from ALISON

This online leadership course is completely free, so it is an excellent opportunity for you to acquire some valuable skills. If you successfully pass through all the course assessments with a minimum score of 80%, you will be able to earn your ALISON Diploma in Leadership.

All you have to do is register on their page and you can begin your course. You can register via e-mail or you can log in with a social media account, such as Facebook, Google+ or LinkedIn. Here are the main courses you can enroll in:

• Leading an Entrepreneurial Venture
• Selecting Your Team
• Managing Your Team – Staff Training and Appraisal
• Managing Your Team – Job Design and Staff Play
• Business Ethics
• Leadership in Business Assessment

4. Leadership Courses from Stanford University

Earning a leadership certificate from Stanford University will give great weight to your resume and it will actively improve your chances of getting hired in your dream job. The online version of their courses is extremely useful because you will be able to set your own study plan.

You will have access to the material for a preset period during which you can go through it at your own pace. At the end of this period you will take an exam and if you complete it successfully, you will be presented with a digital record of completion via e-mail.

Here are some of the courses conducted by Stanford University:

• Leadership in Strategic Execution
• Managing Without Authority
• Leading Change from the Middle
• Leading Strategic Decision-Making
• Decision Analysis

5. Leadership Courses from MIT

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) offers a wide range of free leadership courses via the Sloan School of Management.This is an amazing learning opportunity because you will get to learn from highly trained professionals who have an extensive experience in the fields of Leadership, Management and Business.

Take a look at the school’s course list and select those that best fit your professional curiosity. Here are some of the most attractive ones:

• Building and Leading Effective Teams
• Team Project
• Leading Organizations I and II
• Leadership Tools and Teams: A Product Development Lab
• Cross-Culture Leadership
• Dynamic Leadership: Using Improvisation in Business

We hope that the information we have provided you about leadership courses will prove to be useful for your learning process. These classes will challenge your professionally and intellectually and they will enable your development. Good luck!

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