COURSE NUMBER: MBA291T.1B
COURSE TITLE: Interpersonal Skills
and Embodied Leadership
UNITS OF CREDIT: 1
INSTRUCTOR: Erica Peng
E-MAIL ADDRESS: erica_peng@haas.berkeley.edu
MEETING DATES: Spring B only (3/15-5/3)
CLASS WEB PAGE LOCATION: TBD
PREREQUISITE(S): None.
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS: Attendance
at the first class is mandatory! In our first meeting, we
immediately begin laying a foundation of skills, shared experience, and
safety that we will build upon in subsequent classes. If you are
unable to make the first class, this will result in being dropped from the
course.
Participation in all seven classes is
also required. If you know you will be missing a class due to a prior
commitment, please inform me now so I can plan accordingly for your absence in
the class. Note there is a grade penalty for absences.
CLASS FORMAT: In-class lecture,
experiential exercises, “Partner Practice” skill-building, “Reflection
Journals” to capture learning and developmental progress.
REQUIRED READINGS: Articles and
several short videos on interpersonal development topics and research.
BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE: Attendance to
every class session, class participation, weekly assignments, final reflection
paper and assessment
ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND
OBJECTIVES:
Whether you lead organizations,
teams, or even just your individual self, the underlying skills of leadership need
to be developed, practiced, and ultimately embodied. This takes concrete
practice, which occurs over time and in distinct stages. To that end, in a
spirit of fun and discovery, this course 1) facilitates your developing
self-awareness and interpersonal skills and 2) improves your ability to
cultivate rapport and influence—as an individual contributor, team member, or
leader—during your time at Haas and beyond.
CORE ELEMENTS OF COURSE:
Experiential activities and skill-building through weekly “Partner
Practice”
Increase your awareness about your own reactions and tendencies,
as well as how your verbal and non-verbal behavior impacts others.
Whole-body
approaches and practices
Viscerally
experience grounded presence that you can integrate and embody over time.
Feedback from the
teaching team and classmates
Assess your
impact and consider what skills and behaviors to focus on for practice and
application.
Readings and materials grounded in empirical research
Topics include neuroscience, emotions and emotional
intelligence, cultural differences, interpersonal communication, bias, and
leadership.
Weekly “Reflection Journal”: Deepen your
self-awareness and integrate insights from readings, partner practice sessions,
other experiences from life and at Haas.
INVENTORY OF SKILLS
The skills and competencies
introduced in each class build upon each other. They include the following:
Awareness of Self
and Others
Physical and
emotional reactions
Stories and
assumptions I hold
How social context
shapes what I’m aware of and what I’m “blind” to
Interdependency
with systems, including organizational, ecological, etc.
Influence of Self
and Others
Grounded presence
Empathic listening
Self-regulation (managing
emotional “triggers” and “hot buttons”)
Comfort with discomfort
Personal disclosure / building trust
and rapport
Taking generative risks towards
learning
Acknowledging appreciation and
positive influence
Expressing curiosity and
openness
Learning from Feedback
Giving: assessing and communicating
how I am impacted by others
Receiving: acknowledging and owning
the impact I have on others
Requesting: proactively seeking
feedback for learning and growth
CAREER FIELD: Developing
interpersonal skills is foundational to being more effective and successful
across all career fields, and in both personal and professional arenas.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: As a
leadership development consultant, instructor, and coach, Erica’s expertise is
cultivating "internal" grounded presence, along with
"external" skills and competencies.
She incorporates somatic/whole body
practices that transform internal barriers (i.e. self-criticism, insecurity,
perfectionism, etc.), into embodied interpersonal and leadership behaviors.
Having lived, worked, and traveled extensively in Asia, Latin America and
Europe, Erica brings nuanced awareness and skill in navigating leadership and
performance issues across language, culture and other dimensions of difference.
Erica facilitates and delivers
interpersonal development courses at Haas School of Business, Stanford Graduate
School of Business (GSB), and University of San Francisco School of Law. Erica coaches senior executives through Stanford’s Executive
Education Leadership Programs as well as women’s leadership groups. At Haas, Erica
also works with students as a career coach, helping them clarify core
skills, purpose, and values.
Through her coaching and consulting
firm, Deep Stream Leadership (www.deepstreamleadership.com),
Erica partners with teams and emerging leaders to senior executives, and has a
deep commitment to supporting women and Asian leaders. She offers
high-impact leadership development workshops based on the interpersonal
dynamics "T Group" course at Stanford GSB. Erica also brings her
skills and sensibility as an award-winning digital storyteller, and performing
singer and dancer, to support students and clients to convey compelling
personal leadership stories with engaging and grounded presence.