The Making of an Inclusive Leader

The future of leadership isn’t only about technical expertise or strategy—it’s about the ability to engage across difference and create environments where people and ideas thrive. In a world where AI and technology are moving faster than ever, whether you want to start a business or lead a nonprofit or develop new tech, the leaders who will succeed are those who can leverage the most from others. Inclusive leadership is what separates "good enough" managers from transformational leaders. This course is designed for MBA students who want to deepen their leadership capacity and understand how inclusion can drive their performance, innovation, and long-term success. It is taught at the highest level by a professor with scientific expertise in this field, ensuring that students engage with the very best and most recent research. We approach inclusion as a working hypothesis, not a given—open to exploring both its benefits and its challenges. At its heart, this course is about leadership: how you grow as a leader and how you can apply practical strategies from your very first day on the job. Distinctive features of the course include an executive coaching component, where each student meets one-on-one with the instructor to review their leadership profile and identify concrete strategies for growth; collaborative learning teams that design tools and metrics to quantify inclusive leadership; and applied cases, simulations, and reflective exercises that link inclusion directly to your personal leadership capacity. Along the way, you may find yourself engaging with peers in ways you never thought possible at CBS.