Brown School Announces New Certificate in Developing and Leading Teams

Professionals who want to hone their leadership skills have the opportunity to learn from local experts with the new Developing and Leading Effective Teams certificate, offered by the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.

The program is ideal for anyone who aims to increase their effectiveness at leading individuals and groups in social service agencies and related fields. Applicants must have a master’s degree, but can be at any stage in their career. Both emerging leaders and seasoned professionals without significant previous leadership instruction are encouraged to apply by January 18, 2019.

Over the course of six full-day meetings during Spring 2019, participants will identify their own leadership philosophy and strategy in order to amplify their strengths and deepen their knowledge, capacities, and insights. Participants will work together to build their collaborative skills across diverse groups, leaving with increased confidence in their ability to build and lead a team or organization.

Course instructor Orvin Kimbrough, president & CEO of the United Way of Greater St. Louis, believes that participants at all levels of seniority can benefit. “Effective leadership is all about helping people come together and work in a coordinated way to a shared vision,” explained Kimbrough. “I’m very excited to work with the group we’re forming and inspired to encourage all their efforts to make our community stronger.”

The course has been designed to teach participants the theoretical framework of effective leadership and how to create a strong team, and also provide the opportunity to practice their new-found skills with others in the cohort.

“Together, we are smarter and more creative than any one of us alone. Cultivating effective teams in the workplace is a win-win situation for the individuals, the work groups, and the entire organization,” said co-instructor Jill Stratton, associate dean for undergraduate residential learning at Washington University. “Harnessing the strengths of each individual creates more opportunities and possibilities for the organization to positively impact society for good.”

Both Kimbrough and Stratton envision this program as a space for people in the social services sector to develop important relationships and plant seeds for future collaboration.

This offering is one in a series of post-master’s certificate programs at the Brown School. Certificates offer instruction on a wide variety of topics. Other cohorts are forming now to increase skills in program evaluation, addressing depression in adults, and family strengthening to improve child well-being.

Learn more or apply

Developing and Leading Effective Teams will occur over three 2-day sessions in February, March, and April of 2019. 45 social work CEU credits are available. Tuition is $1995. Applications are now open, and admissions decisions will be made on a rolling basis until the January 2019 deadline. Applicants are not required to be Brown School graduates to be considered.