Leadership Foundations
Build core leadership skills to lead teams with confidence
Leadership Foundations, taught by Dr. Shirley Davis, introduces practical leadership concepts focused on building trust, communicating with impact, and fostering an inclusive workplace. The course pairs concise lessons with real-world conversations to make leadership skills directly actionable.
It frames outcomes as measurable competencies—emotional intelligence, strategic thinking, influence, conflict management, and leading change with agility and resilience—and emphasizes application over theory. Interactive elements like AI-powered Role Play let learners practice difficult conversations and accelerate on-the-job skill transfer.
At a Glance
Leadership Foundations is a concise, practical course that outlines core leadership competencies and best practices for leading yourself and others. Dr. Shirley Davis guides learners through topics such as building trust, leading across differences, communicating with impact, and leading change with agility and resilience.
| Level | Beginner |
| Rating | 4.8 out of 5 |
| Duration | 1+ hours |
| Languages | English |
| Learners | Not disclosed by platform |
| Certificate | Certificate of Completion |
| Access | Access while subscription is active (free trial available) |
| Course includes |
|
| Price | Subscription-based; monthly or annual plans (free trial often available) |
What This Course Teaches
This course defines outcomes as measurable leadership competencies learners can apply directly in workplace settings. Participants will practice and demonstrate skills such as self-leadership, emotional intelligence, inclusive team building, strategic thinking, influencing, and managing change and conflict.
How the Course Is Structured
Leadership Foundations is organized as a short, module-based course composed of 21 video lessons grouped under six thematic sections, with a total runtime of about 1 hour 56 minutes. The syllabus runs from a brief introduction through core competency modules to real-world leadership conversations and a final action-planning conclusion.
Curriculum overview
01 Welcome to leadership foundations ▾
Introduces the course goals and how to approach the material for practical application.
02 Leading yourself ▾
Covers practices for self-leadership, prioritization, and modeling accountability.
03 Demonstrating emotional intelligence ▾
Explains how to recognize and regulate emotions to improve interpersonal effectiveness.
04 Building a diverse team and maximizing performance ▾
Outlines approaches for assembling diverse teams and aligning them for higher performance.
05 Leadership styles ▾
Summarizes common leadership styles and when each is appropriate.
06 Strategic thinking ▾
Introduces strategic thinking techniques to align team actions with organizational priorities.
07 Establishing trust ▾
Describes concrete behaviors that build trust across teams and reporting lines.
08 Communicating with impact and influence ▾
Covers communication techniques to increase clarity and persuade stakeholders.
09 Building relationships ▾
Focuses on practical steps to create and sustain productive professional relationships.
10 Developing business acumen ▾
Introduces foundational business concepts leaders should understand to make informed decisions.
11 Influencing others ▾
Presents influence strategies for gaining alignment without formal authority.
12 Demonstrating empathy ▾
Explains how to apply empathy to understand and respond to team member needs.
13 Leading change through agility and resilience ▾
Addresses methods to lead teams through change while maintaining momentum and morale.
14 Managing conflict ▾
Outlines approaches to diagnose and de-escalate interpersonal and team conflict.
15 Having uncomfortable conversations ▾
Provides a framework for preparing and conducting difficult but necessary discussions.
16 Cultivating inclusion, equity, and belonging ▾
Explores practices to foster inclusion and a sense of belonging within teams.
17 Introducing Richard Davis and Steve Miranda ▾
Briefly introduces guest contributors and the real-world context for their lessons.
18 Leadership lessons from Dr. Shirley and Richard Davis, part 1 ▾
Longer interview-style segment sharing practical leadership stories and takeaways.
19 Leadership lessons from Dr. Shirley and Steve Miranda, part 2 ▾
Continues the real-world discussion with additional examples and leadership insights.
20 Summary of learnings ▾
Recaps the course’s main points and suggested next steps for continued practice.
21 Action planning and next steps to becoming a leader ▾
Offers an action-planning prompt and guidance for applying course lessons in the workplace.
Audience & Requirements
Leadership Foundations targets people who are stepping into leadership roles or who regularly influence others within an organization. It is especially suited to new managers, experienced individual contributors preparing for leadership, and HR or L&D professionals seeking a concise leadership framework.
- New managers transitioning from individual contributor roles.
- Individual contributors aiming to take on formal leadership responsibilities.
- Team leads seeking better trust-building, communication, and inclusion skills.
- HR, talent development, and L&D practitioners wanting a compact leadership curriculum.
- No special prerequisites — the course is beginner-friendly.
- A LinkedIn Learning subscription or access via the platform’s free trial to view the course.
- Microphone (recommended) for participating in AI-powered Role Play simulations.
Final Verdict
Given its concise, applied syllabus, practical AI role-play feature, and a strong platform rating, Leadership Foundations is a worthwhile, low‑risk option for professionals building core leadership skills. It is particularly valuable for new managers, aspiring leaders, and HR/L&D practitioners seeking a compact, career-relevant credential.
Access through the platform’s subscription model and the availability of a completion certificate increase its utility for ongoing professional development, while the short format keeps time commitment minimal. Those seeking deep, long-form leadership training should treat this course as a practical primer rather than a comprehensive career program.
Pluralsight