Certificate in Leadership and Organizational Coaching

This five-and-a-half-day intensive is the first in a cohort program in Leadership and Executive Coaching. During this course, students will experience the formation of a learning cohort, explore the foundational elements of helping relationships and the adult developmental journey, observe and respond to the dynamics that commonly affect groups, and begin applying coaching concepts and skills through interactive live coaching sessions. Foundations of Leadership Coaching is wholly experiential, meaning learning will occur through students’ direct interaction with course exercises, and with peers in the class. The core requirement is a willingness and courage to “be yourself” and to be open to the impact your being has on others.

This course builds on foundational coaching knowledge through guided practice and experience. You will have an opportunity to experience and reflect on a complete peer coaching engagement as both coach and client. You will also explore and gain familiarity with common tools used in assessment (360 feedback, psychometric assessments, etc.), various coaching career paths and business models, and professional credentialing bodies for coach certification. By the end of the course, you will possess a complete coaching toolkit—as well as insight into the appropriateness and impact of specific tools for a variety of client contexts. The course provides an in-depth introduction to the entire coaching process to accelerate your journey toward coaching proficiency.

The territory of professional coaching spans four distinct provinces: The Coaching Context, The Coaching Relationship, The Coaching Process, and the Coaching Self. Each of these provinces represents a special area of interest and responsibility for practitioners, as well as an area of intellectual inquiry. This course continues to build on the foundational skills established in DYNM 7200 and DYNM 7230 through a practical exploration of the core theoretical perspectives that underlie and inform coaching practice. Knowledge of coaching theory serves to illuminate complex social phenomena, provides a sense of direction for your actions and choices in coaching, and helps you evaluate the results of your efforts in terms of client outcomes and progress. DYNM 7220 culminates with cohort members working together in small groups to research and execute a high-level presentation of the theoretical perspectives underlying each of the Four Provinces, as well as their applications in practice.

This course explores the application of coaching principles, models, and techniques in the context of groups and teams. While most coaching is dyadic in nature, coaching in group or team settings requires an understanding of the complex social dynamics that shape learning and change in groups, as well as the levers and mechanisms that enable collective action toward common goals. The course is designed to build on and complement your growing base of scholarship and practice from previous certificate coursework. This course blends synchronous virtual class sessions and team meetings with asynchronous learning opportunities, in-depth readings, and other self-study activities. It is a highly experiential course combining conceptual knowledge, integrated practice, and interactive sessions that serve the development of group and team coaching competency, capability, and capacity. Learners will participate in group coaching sessions as both group member and coach to gain an understanding of the unique benefits of group work—as well as the innate challenges coaches must navigate when working in the group domain. Individual one-on-one meetings with the instructor will complement these group experiences in further support of the course learning objectives. Participants in the course will demonstrate their learning through scholarly and reflective writing, live coaching, in-class discussion, and other assignments.

Complete and submit the online application. There is a $95 non-refundable application fee. You may submit your application fee online by credit/debit card.

Submit your current resume, which should highlight your professional, academic, and service experiences and interests. We encourage applications to include all positions held (including recent internships), degree and non-degree coursework completed (including certificates and MOOCs), as well as volunteer or community activities.

Coaching involves helping others reflect on their experiences, clarify purpose, and take meaningful action. In a concise essay between 500 and 700 words, describe a moment in your professional life when you helped someone think differently, grow, or navigate a challenge. What did that experience teach you about the role of reflective conversation in leadership, and how do you hope to deepen or expand that capacity through this certificate?

Unofficial transcripts from each post-secondary school you have attended need to be uploaded through the online application system.

Note: If you don’t yet have your transcripts and wish to work on other parts of the application while you wait, you can temporarily bypass the transcript section. To do so, upload something in each transcript slot such as a simple Word document that briefly indicates why the transcript isn’t there (such as “official transcripts have been sent to Penn” or “waiting for unofficial transcripts to arrive”).

Each applicant will submit one letter of recommendation. The letter should come from an individual in a position to evaluate your professional and/or academic work, such as a supervisor or professor, and who knows of your desire to enter the Organizational Dynamics Certificate in Leadership and Organizational Coaching program. Recommendations may be submitted online (preferred) or by mail. For online recommendations, please follow the instructions in the Recommendations section of the online application.