Teaching Leadership: The Art of the Possible

This paper presents a model course outline for an introductory course in leadership. It addresses the concept of leadership from the perspective of the liberal arts, drawing from the disciplines of history, literature, political science, philosophy, psychology, and anthropology, as well as from management studies and organizational behavior. It proceeds from a consideration of the concept of leadership to an analysis of its essential elements--leader, followers and context. The proposed course of study next turns to a consideration of the process of leadership, and an introduction to some of the skills needed to operate effectively in a leadership situation. The course ends with a discussion of the moral and ethical obligations of leadership.