The master of business administration program, with its courses in accounting and finance, may not add up as the right course of study for a person charged with managing or leading others. “The MBA manages the tangible assets of the corporation, not the human assets. Without humans, there’s no corporation,” says Michael Reilly, college chair for graduate business and management at the University of Phoenix San Diego campus.

University of Phoenix is among the campuses offering a master of science in business, the traditional MBA, and a business-related master of arts degree. Most campuses offer courses that focus on business leadership and some even have leadership institutes.

While an MBA program concentrates on the financial side of business, leadership and management programs focus on soft skills like negotiating and team-building. For example, curriculum in the University of Phoenix’s master of arts in organizational management covers subjects including leadership and ethics, managerial communication, decision-making, budgeting and conflict management.

Reilly says the program prepares students to manage people in private industry, nonprofit organizations and the military. A similar emphasis is seen at other campuses offering leadership and management graduate degrees.

The Leadership Track

A promotion to management often is what brings people ranging from engineers to health care professionals to these programs. Many already have business backgrounds. Reilly gives the example of a person with a bachelor’s degree who, through promotions, becomes responsible for 20 employees. That manager needs new skills to improve the group’s performance.

In leadership programs and courses, students are apt to discuss author Daniel Goleman’s concept in his book, “Emotional Intelligence.” He defines EQ as the ability to control and perceive emotions. Goleman views empathy, the ability to recognize another’s perspective, as a crucial management skill that can be taught.

Goleman’s principles are reflected in the University of Redlands’ master of arts in management program. Assistant professor James Spee and colleague Don McCormick designed course work that includes management and leadership courses and a self-directed learning plan. Courses focus on self and social awareness and working with and developing groups.

During the program, leadership skills are evaluated in various ways. In addition to self-assessment, peers and managers evaluate the students. Goals are set. As the classes proceed, materials are examined to see if a student’s self-assessment matches the evaluations from others. “It’s fun data,” says Spee. “The program is like a research project.”

Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Conrad Washington started the program with some concrete leadership concepts. “Being a Marine, we’re taught to follow early on — that’s part of leadership,” says Washington, who is stationed at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot and attends classes at 32nd Street Naval Station.

Washington enjoys the mix of military and civilians in his classes. “Everyone brings something to the table,” he says. His experience is with “a structured way of leadership based on bureaucracy and red tape. You follow certain steps to get to Point B.” Through the program, he learned about active listening and emotional intelligence.

Students taking the organizational behavior course in Chapman University College’s graduate organizational leadership program examine their lives to discover their ethical foundation, which consists of convictions, values and beliefs. The effort reflects the importance of character in the business world, says Christine Cecil, organizational leadership program chair. “Arrogant people don’t work well in teams,” she says.

The convictions translate into behavior. Values are driven by beliefs that are below the emotional surface, says Cecil. For example, the unwillingness to delegate may be related to a fear of failure. After students determine aspects of their character they want to change, they work on modifications.

Chapman also offers a servant leadership certificate through the San Diego Leadership Initiative. The focus is on the development of self to serve others, says Bob Hertel, initiative executive director and Chapman program manager. He says in this form of “contagious leadership” the leader’s place is shifted from the top of the hierarchal pyramid to the base. “It’s more focused on, ‘How do I support you?’” he says. “You develop others to be leaders when you’re not there.”

National University has a master of arts in management, and the university will offer a master of science in organizational leadership in May. The former is targeted at people in mid-management and professional careers who may not have an undergraduate business degree, says Kenneth Goldberg, an assistant professor who serves as faculty adviser.

Courses include “Managing Human Resources in Multicultural Environments,” “Leadership in a Global Environment” and “Ethical Concerns in Business and Management.” Says Goldberg, “Ethics is tied into almost every course in the business program.”

National’s new organizational leadership program is aimed at mid- and senior-level executives. Goldberg says the degree will provide more tools for managing and leading companies. Topics to be covered include creative thinking and how to address change.

Those seeking an executive MBA at San Diego State University will find leadership an essential part of the curriculum, says Candace Williams, program director. “Leadership/management issues are discussed in every EMBA course, more so in the accounting courses than prior to Enron,” she says.

SDSU instructor Sanford Ehrlich calls leadership “a journey of becoming self-aware.” Students in his leadership course go through a “360-degree appraisal” of themselves. The appraisal starts on the job. Students learn how they are seen by executives and employees. Peers at their level are asked to provide input. This information provides a baseline for the student to set leadership goals.

Tools in the course include the leadership practices inventory. During the course, students work on issues such as how to motivate other people. “We’re building someone’s knowledge base about leadership. Where they learn is on the job,” says Ehrlich, who’s also the Qualcomm executive director of entrepreneurship for SDSU’s Entrepreneurial Management Center.

At Keller Graduate School of Management/De Vry University, a 10-week leadership class is a core part of graduate management programs for degrees including business administration and project management. Thomas Horstmann, center director, says the course covers organizational behavior such as group dynamics, leadership and team-building. “Usually, one of the goals of pursuing a master’s is to get into leadership,” he says.

The University of San Diego highlights its efforts on leadership with a mission statement that declares the business school is “committed to the development of socially responsible leaders through innovative, personalized education and applied research.”

“As an independent Roman Catholic institution, we strive to develop business leaders who make ethical decisions that impact their world at large,” says Stephani Richards-Wilson, director of MBA/MSIT Student Affairs. “All of our graduate business programs include a required ethics course and stress the importance of social responsibility.”

Richards-Wilson says the diverse curriculum allows students to develop their leadership skills at all levels. Courses are developed in association with business leaders. USD recently added two related electives, “Leadership: Theory, Practice and Ethical Foundations” and “Business Leadership and Spirituality.” In the latter class, topics include “What challenges to spirituality are posed by the power and wealth that accompany successful leadership?”

In addition, two degree programs target advancing leadership skills for more senior executives. These are the master of science in global leadership and the master of science in executive leadership that are offered in partnership with Ken Blanchard Cos.

Leadership is woven through the MBA program at California State University San Marcos, says Keith Butler, program operations manager. “Leadership cannot be isolated,” he says. The program includes an “Effective Leadership” course that is one of the most popular with students, says Butler.

At Alliant International University, leadership is incorporated into all courses, says Ali Abu-Rhama, assistant dean of the business college. Also, the Alliant Leadership Institute schedules workshops on the subject and discussions are under way to host a leadership conference, reports Christine Shine, director of career services.

University of California Irvine’s Center for Leadership Development opened in 1998 to enhance nonacademic business skills for students enrolled in the graduate school of management, says Shaheen Husain, executive director. Center programs include professional skills development and managing in a networked economy.

The UCI center’s executive speaker series brings to campus professionals like Tara Balfour, Bank of America president of California commercial banking. Husain says speakers discuss topics such as “skills that served them well, challenges they faced, their career path and what advice they have for MBAs.”

At UCSD, graduate management school classes begin in 2004. Founding Dean Robert Sullivan says the school will focus on four aspects of leadership. First is working with “good raw material.” This is determined by interviewing every student. “We assess whether they have leadership skills,” says Sullivan, formerly dean of the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Sullivan says the school “recognizes there are skills and attributes of leaders,” and that people skills such as communication, team-building and negotiation are skills that are taught and learned.

Leadership also will be taught by example. Students will interact with professionals who demonstrate top leadership skills. “It’s pretty typical of top business schools,” says Sullivan. In the past, he brought in leaders like Irwin Jacobs of Qualcomm and Michael Dell of Dell Corp. as guest speakers.

The fourth aspect of leadership is immersion, with students placed in environments such as outreach programs. Students at UCSD will work as a team or a group on a community action project and “exercise their leadership” skills.

While campuses can provide instruction in leadership, school representatives emphasize that students must apply their lessons both on the job and away from work. “What can you learn in the school tonight that you can take to the job tomorrow?” asks Goldberg.