Leadership and Democracy: Leaders Who Listen as a Dialogic Process and the Practice of Freedom

Course Description

Summary

Effective leadership today, at a moment when democratic institutions and structures are being challenged, requires more than authority, expertise, or charisma. It requires the ability to listen deeply, convene diverse voices, and guide groups through complex challenges where no single solution is obvious. This course introduces leadership as a facilitative, dialogic practice grounded in trust-building, shared understanding, and collaborative decision-making. In this context, each of us needs to build the skills to be a leader when called upon and also the capacity to know how to support a leader and be an active participant in a group.

Using the L.I.S.T.E.N. framework—Launch the container, Introduce the lens, Surface perspectives, Track tensions, Establish guiding principles, and Next steps with accountability—students learn practical tools for leading conversations, managing conflict constructively, and aligning teams around a common purpose. Through case studies, simulations, reflective exercises, and applied projects, participants practice creating psychologically safe environments, navigating competing values, and translating dialogue into action.

Designed for both traditional students preparing for professional leadership roles and nontraditional learners bringing workplace experience, the course emphasizes real-world application across nonprofit, arts, education, business, and civic contexts. Students leave with immediately usable facilitation skills and a leadership philosophy rooted in listening, inclusion, and shared responsibility.

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Facilitate productive group dialogue across differences
• Diagnose complex, systemic challenges
• Surface assumptions and stakeholder perspectives
• Manage tension and conflict constructively
• Develop principled decision-making processes
• Lead teams from conversation to accountable action

This course is ideal for aspiring and current leaders, managers, educators, nonprofit professionals, and anyone seeking to lead more effectively in collaborative environments. A Certificate of Training will be issued for completion of 15 hours.

Course dates: March 27, 28, & 29

Friday, March 27: 7:00PM- 9:00 PM
Saturday, March 28: 9:00AM-12:00PM & 1:00PM-5:00 PM
Sunday, March 29: 9:00AM-12:00 PM