Bob Morley, a management faculty member and the course lead, shared a behind-the-scenes look into the redevelopment of the Organizational Leadership Course at BYU-Idaho.
The Organizational Leadership Course is designed for students seeking applicable leadership principles based on Jesus Christ's teachings. Over the past four years, this course has been improved and redesigned to focus on Christ's example as a leader.
Some future careers may not have anything to do with religion, but the goal of this course is to prepare students to use leadership principles that can be used in any job.
"(The) ultimate goal is to try more and more to be like (Christ) and lead like Him," Morley said.
Various professors, TAs and the former BYU-I president, Kim B. Clark, have all contributed to the development and success of this class.
Throughout the semester-long course, students will learn from case studies, discussions and an end-of-the-semester leadership toolkit. The toolkit consists of weekly tools students learn from their reading by acquiring and applying principles.
One of the main ways the readings and case studies influence students' leadership skills is by answering questions like, "What is the overall problem that needs to be solved? How can these problems be solved using principles learned in class?"
One of Morley's favorite parts about this class includes the students' commitments and discussions about becoming a leader through Christ's example. Even though it is not a religion class, Morley has witnessed his students' testimonies of Christ grow.
"The insights (the students) come up with and the conversations we have are really blessed by the Holy Ghost and by a lot of really great people," Morley said. "And there's a lot of light in the room, and we learn a lot together. I love it."
A unique part of this class is the personal projects. Each student is paired with another student in the class, and, at the end of the week, they have to get together and teach one another for an hour. This allows students to get to know their peers and learn from them, an integral part of BYU-I's learning model.
"I would encourage (students) to take the class, and to test the Savior, and try (His way), and see if they try learning to lead like Him in their life and help lead others in a way that He would lead them," Morley said. "I think that they'll find that they come closer to Christ and learn to love and honor Him more ... the greatest leader that there ever was and ever will be is Jesus Christ ... He is the backbone of everything we do."
Morley encourages and welcomes all students to take this class whether they are business majors or not.
Visit the registration pageto learn more or register for this class.