COURSE NUMBER: MBA291T.1

COURSE TITLE: Interpersonal Skills and Embodied Leadership

UNITS OF CREDIT: 2 

INSTRUCTOR: Erica Peng

E-MAIL ADDRESS: erica_peng@haas.berkeley.edu

MEETING DATES: 1/31, 2/7, 2/14, 2/21, 2/28, 3/7, and 3/14 

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 on January 31, 2018, you will need to take the course a different time.

Participation in all seven classes is required; there is a grade penalty for absences.

CLASS FORMAT: In-class lectures introduce concepts and frameworks. Experiential exercises, core skills practice facilitates experiential learning (1:1 and in a small group learning lab called T Group for “training group”). Weekly written work deepens self-awareness, integrates insights, and captures learning and developmental progress.

REQUIRED READINGS: Articles and short videos on interpersonal development topics and research: neuroscience, emotions and emotional intelligence, cultural differences, interpersonal communication, social identity and stereotypes, management theory.

BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE: Attendance to every class session and T Group, class participation, Partner Practice, weekly readings and written assignments, and final self- and peer-assessment. Expect and plan for 6-8 hours of work outside class each week.

ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:
As you lead organizations, teams, and your own life and career progression, core self-awareness and interpersonal skills are critical to your effectiveness and ability to influence individuals who represent many dimensions of diversity and difference, in a wide range of situations.
In a spirit of fun and discovery, this class supports your development as you 1) practice and improve self-awareness and interpersonal skills and behaviors, 2) learn how to manage internal emotional reactivity, and 3) cultivate safety, trust, rapport, and influence, as an individual contributor, team member, or leader, during your time at Haas and beyond. These skills are critical to building environments where people feel engaged, appreciated, and motivated to contribute, especially within the complexity of our diverse and dynamic global context.
Developing and embodying these foundational leadership skills takes concrete practice over time with supportive coaching and feedback in a safe learning environment. The cornerstone of this course is building skills through weekly practice – 1:1 “Partner Practice” and a small group learning lab called T Group, the experiential format used in the most popular elective leadership course at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Professional T Group facilitator/coaches
support your learning and development through modeling behaviors, coaching, and giving and receiving feedback.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

·         Learn through risk-taking that generates learning and growth: personal sharing, empathetic listening, giving and receiving feedback, etc..

·         Develop self-awareness and interpersonal skills to align impact with intention, and to build more open and trusting personal and professional relationships that are successful at reaching shared goals.

·         Learn how to manage and “self-regulate” strong emotional triggers that can derail you from being present and effective.

·         Better understand how social identity, power, and status impact reactions and behavior, as well as individual, interpersonal, and team dynamics.

·         ”Show up” in your leadership with greater awareness of interdependency and impact within a global system and context. 

 

INVENTORY OF SKILLS:
Each class will introduce core interpersonal and leadership skills and competencies that build upon each other. They include the following:

Self-awareness

Physiological sensations and emotional reactions

Stories and assumptions I hold about myself and others

My strengths

Internal barriers to growth and development (inner critic, perfectionist, etc.)

How social context shapes what I’m aware of and what I’m unconscious to

My interdependency with greater systems, including team, organizational, ecological systems

 

Interpersonal Influence

Grounded presence (being comfortable in my own skin, embodied “Dignity”)
Self-regulation (managing emotional “hot buttons” and “triggers”)
Comfort with discomfort and uncertainty
Personal sharing / building trust and rapport
Empathetic listening
Be willing to be vulnerable and take risks that generate learning 
Acknowledge others’ positive influence on me through appreciation and gratitude
Express curiosity, openness, and inquiry (vs. advocacy) 
Be willing to be influenced by others, especially those with less status

Learning from Feedback
Give: Assess how I am impacted by others and communicate that effectively
Receive: Acknowledge and own the impact I have on others
Request: Proactively seek feedback for learning and growth

CAREER FIELD: Developing interpersonal skills is foundational to being more effective and successful  in personal and professional arenas and in all career fields.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:
As a leadership development coach, consultant, and instructor, Erica’s expertise is supporting others to develop both internal grounded presence, along with external skills and competencies. She incorporates somatic* awareness and whole body practices that transform internal barriers (i.e. self-criticism, insecurity, perfectionism, etc.), into embodied interpersonal and leadership behaviors and presence.

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 also brings sensibility as an award-winning digital storyteller to support students and clients to convey compelling leadership with engaging and grounded presence.

Erica facilitates and delivers interpersonal development courses at Haas School of Business, Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB), and coaches senior executives through Stanford GSB Executive Education Leadership Programs. Through her coaching and consulting practice, Deep Stream Leadership, Erica partners with teams and emerging leaders to senior executives and offers high-impact leadership development workshops based on the most popular interpersonal dynamics "T Group" course at Stanford GSB, taught for over fifty years. At Haas, Erica also works with students as a career coach, helping them clarify core skills, purpose, and values.

*The Greek root of somatic is “soma” which means body. Somatic refers to the body of an individual in contrast to the mind and psyche.