Bridging the Gap
Helping early-career MBA students become more confident leaders and communicators.
The Challenge
The Dean of the Lucas Graduate School of Business came to me with a simple problem: MBA students were learning the business fundamentals, but many felt unprepared for the messy human side of leadership. They needed practical skills like how to influence without authority, negotiate, manage up, give difficult feedback, and navigate workplace politics.
The Dean had seen my award-winning undergraduate course and asked me to build something similar for graduate students, with one big difference: make it immediately useful on the job.
Approach
I built the course around one idea: you learn leadership by practicing it.
Every class included hands-on business simulations where students had to navigate real-world situations. They practiced giving tough feedback, coaching an underperforming employee, influencing a colleague, and even delivering the news of a layoff.
It gave students a safe place to try, stumble, get feedback, and try again—before having to do it for real.
Outcome
I taught the inaugural semester, using student feedback along the way to refine the course before handing the program off. The result was a practical leadership curriculum that helped students build confidence, sharpen their communication skills, and feel better prepared for the complicated human side of their careers.
Course Syllabus
A look at the curriculum, topics, and hands-on exercises behind the program.
Note
Samples from my career as a lecturer are included here to show how I think and approach my work. Please respect the time and thought behind them by not copying, sharing, or reusing without my written permission. Thank you.