Leadership Development

Kristin Conklin Manager, Financial Analysis Havi Global Solutions "The desire to make an impact, ardor for the intensity of competition and love for an intellectual challenge are only a few reasons why I participated in the USC Global Case Competition. My team of fellow Kellogg part-time students, along with seven other teams from around the world, was tasked with a business problem currently facing the sponsoring company." Read More

From the moment students begin the MBA program, they participate in a series of leadership and professional development programs. These interactive series are offered at key stages throughout the student’s tenure to build on the classroom experiences. These programs and workshops enhance the academic experience and help students to continue to excel in the marketplace.

With world-class academics and unmatched programming beyond the classroom, Kellogg offers students the tools they need to succeed. From their first quarter, students are exposed to leadership tools they can use while at Kellogg and to advance professionally. Where the students take their careers is up to them — Kellogg makes sure its students are equipped to compete in the marketplace and develop to their fullest potential.

Leadership Core Series
Leadership Core Series (LCS) is a required program designed for all students in the Part-Time MBA Program. The series is a foundational leadership experience that helps students cultivate their leadership skills. Through a series of short academic workshops, discussion and feedback sessions, and leadership self-assessment, students begin to formulate a plan so they can broaden their own leadership qualities throughout their academic career at Kellogg.

The first LCS session begins the very first quarter of a student’s enrollment at Kellogg. This section comprises workshops in which students are exposed to leadership qualities that will anchor their Kellogg experience.

In High Performance Teamwork, students learn about types of high-performing teams, team performance evaluation, the key challenges and threats to effective teamwork, and how to overcome these challenges. The Cross-Cultural Negotiations workshop covers the fundamental concepts for planning negotiations, managing the negotiation process, and evaluating the quality of negotiation outcomes. This workshop also includes a simulation exercise that highlights the concepts that underlie negotiation strategy with cultural implications.

About two weeks after the LCS One session, students provide information for a critical assessment tool— the 360 Degree Leadership Self-Assessment. The 360 Degree Leadership Self-Assessment tool queries students, as well as their managers and work colleagues, on several aspects of leadership and will ultimately provide concrete feedback for the students to develop their own leadership plans.

In the second quarter at Kellogg, students participate in LCS Two. This session focuses on leadership and how it relates to students as they progress at Kellogg and as a professionals. Students spend time understanding the key attributes of leadership and work on defining leadership goals.

Symposium on Managerial Leadership
The Symposium on Managerial Leadership builds on students’ leadership training by way of interactive workshops and seminars that feature leading faculty and local business leaders. Through interaction, students learn others’ perspectives on leadership as they continue to develop their own leadership tool kit.

Professional Development Series
The Professional Development Series helps students build their career development skills. This series of workshops is specifically designed to provide students with a variety of essential professional skills taught beyond the classroom, and to increase students’ success and advancement within their careers. The areas of focus for the Professional Development Series include:

• career development
• self-assessment with CareerLeader ™
• skills for interviewing, and
• résumé writing and critique.

Colloquium on Thought Leadership
The Colloquium on Thought Leadership is a capstone program of optional lectures for students in their final year of study. The lectures, taught by the Kellogg School’s leading faculty members, address finance, marketing, strategy, globalization and other advanced management topics.

Career Development
Students have access to one-on-one career coaching at any phase of their Kellogg experience. Career coaching at Kellogg means more than just networking tips, résumé review and interview techniques. Students are challenged to examine their immediate and long-term career goals, and our professional career coaches will give students assignments and work with them throughout their time as students at Kellogg.

Kellogg provides access for part-time students to enroll in the formal career management process during their final year at Kellogg. These students are eligible for the same career development assistance as the full-time MBA students, including individual career counseling, access to the Career Management Center and participation in on-campus recruiting. To qualify to use the Career Management Center services, a student must be graduating in the current academic year, remain working full-time, and not have received any tuition reimbursement from his or her present employer. Exceptions are made for those students who have written authorization from their employers.

Because the part-time program is designed for fully employed students who are pursuing the MBA degree while they continue their careers in the Chicago area, the program has a policy related to formal job placement services for current evening students. The policy was developed because many of our students receive some tuition benefits and other forms of financial assistance from their employers and it would raise ethical problems for Kellogg to provide direct career management services to students in these circumstances. The policy on the use of Career Management Center services is reviewed by the faculty, students and administration and is subject to change without notice.