Yale School of Management

Leadership Development

The mission of the Yale School of Management is to educate leaders for business and society. Leadership is a process, a set of skills that develop throughout your life. 

Leadership Development

There is no effortless path to excellence and accomplishment in this domain, nor is there any magic formula. At Yale SOM, the Leadership Development Curriculum is integrated throughout the MBA for Executives program, providing many opportunities to hone and build your leadership knowledge and experience to better lead teams and organizations. Our students explore theories and new research about leadership in the classroom, practice leadership skills in our Leadership Development Practicum and master these skills in a series of hands-on workshops specially designed for students in the MBA for Executives program.

Student Leadership at Yale SOM EMBA Program

Leadership Thinking and Practice

Through a curriculum of mandatory core courses coupled with optional sessions on leadership topics and hands-on training in various workshops, the Leadership Development Curriculum develops skills on four levels:

  1. Individual Level
    Values and leadership commitments, knowledge of personal strengths and weaknesses
  2. Interpersonal/Team Level
    Giving/receiving feedback, emotional intelligence, communication, diversity and inclusion
  3. Organizational Level
    Developing and implementing vision and strategy, organizational design and organizational culture
  4. Global Level
    Building and sustaining community, ethics, social responsibility and accountability, cultural awareness

How it Works

Over the 22-month long span of the program, mandatory courses, electives, optional sessions and workshops, along with executive coaching, colloquia speakers, and other experiences help build advanced leadership knowledge and skills.

During the first residence weeks in July, you will study conceptual frameworks for analyzing group dynamics, diagnosing performance problems and designing appropriate interventions in Managing Groups and Teams. In the spring, you will explore how to understand and utilize the dynamics of power, organization, and decision-making to achieve objectives in Power & Politics and you will practice the interpersonal and communication skills in Introduction to Negotiation.

In the second year, you’ll start the Leadership Practicum course, where you’ll practice delivering and receiving feedback, access professional coaching and learn the skills to coach others. You’ll also take additional required courses including Designing and Leading Organizations and Business Ethics.

The Leadership Development Curriculum is Designed to:


Advance your leadership goals 

You make use of unique assessment tools that allow you to learn more about your strengths and weaknesses. You can opt to take elective courses or participate in hands-on workshops to further hone your skills.

Integrate with your studies 

The leadership curriculum advances in step with the academic curriculum, providing you with opportunities to reflect on the leadership questions and lessons encountered in the integrated core curriculum and your area of focus.

Be applicable to all focus areas 

Leadership demands and practices vary across cultures, whether defined by national boundaries or by different industries. The highly customized nature of the leadership development curriculum enables you to prepare yourself to lead in different types of situations and challenges.

The EMBA curriculum is subject to final faculty approval and may change from time to time.