In our rapidly changing world, one thing is clear: Smart and savvy leaders are needed now more than ever. At the Gabelli School, we not only teach you the skills you need to succeed in the business world, we teach you how to lead and act with thoughtfulness and empathy.
- Donna Rapaccioli, Dean of Gabelli School of Business

At this critical moment in history, the world needs thoughtful leaders to guide our businesses, schools, and communities through the complex challenges we face. Thoughtful leaders are committed to making a positive and lasting impact. Anchored in personal values and self-awareness, they relate to others with intention and purpose. Developing this leadership style is the focus and goal of the Thoughtful Leadership Certificate program.

Grounded in the Jesuit ethos of cura personalis (care for the whole person), this program will help you identify your core values and build skillsets to face unexpected challenges with clarity and purpose. You will cultivate a growth mindset through introspection and learn to better understand the perspectives of others to support an inclusive and innovative business culture. The certification will set you apart in the job market and help you become the kind of dynamic and thoughtful leader the world needs right now.

Your leadership is called for and your vision needed. Earn your Thoughtful Leadership Certification and inspire positive change on a global scale.

Corporate Tested

We have field-tested this program with senior executives from a collection of prestigious Fortune 500 companies and have received enthusiastic feedback about the practical value of the program and the degree of engagement participants felt.

Certificate Requirements

Upon successfully completing the following requirements of this program, you will receive an official Thoughtful Leadership Certification and be recognized at the school’s annual Graduate Diploma Ceremony.

Become a thoughtful leader

Leadership Assessment

During this hands-on laboratory, you will discover how your personality informs your leadership style and further develop your interpersonal skills.

How You Will Benefit:

• Discover how to maximize your leadership potential, even if you do not have a formal leadership title.
• Uncover hidden techniques for influencing and persuading a diverse range of stakeholders - up, down, and sideways in any organization.
• Practice advantageous strategies for communicating assertively, boldly and confidently.
• Gain valuable, personalized feedback about your communication strengths and improvement opportunities.

Leadership Coaching

During this in-depth one-hour session, you will meet with a certified leadership coach to target your strengths and craft practical, ready-to-implement strategies that will help you enhance your effectiveness as a leader during your academic and professional careers.

How You Will Benefit:

• Develop skills that foster a growth mindset
• Reflect critically on your personal leadership journey, including your past successes and your biggest recurring obstacles.
• Receive candid and deeply individualized coaching feedback for improving your impact and influence.
• Walk away with a unique and personalized leadership action plan that you can put into practice immediately to improve your leadership competence.

Leadership Simulation

This intense experiential workshop will give you the opportunity to put into practice what you’ve learned in this certification program. A certified leadership coach will observe your performance and give you actionable feedback for improving your ability to make an impact.

How You Will Benefit:

• Walk away with practical strategies that you can use to improve how you collaborate with others and unleash a team’s collective creativity.
• Practice invaluable strategies that will increase your ability to give candid and specific performance-focused feedback that motivates others and helps them achieve their goals.
• Discover ways to truly listen to others’ difficult feedback about you, without becoming defensive.
• Implement techniques for rallying others around a shared vision, securing their commitment, and maximizing teamwork
• Master skills that can help you celebrate others’ big and small wins and inspire them to be even bolder in the future.

Leadership Networking

The connections you make today will have a long and lasting impact on your career path in the future. Throughout the academic year, we will host various networking events where you will have the opportunity to build valuable relationships with successful Fordham alumni and other influential leaders in your target industry.

Fordham’s Legacy:

Some of our successful alums include:

• Ellen Alemany, CEO & Chairwoman of CIT Group
• Victor Blake, CEO of Escape the Room NYC
• Mary Ann C. Bartels, Managing Director & CIO of Portfolio Solutions for Merrill Lynch International
• Cheryl Callan, EVP/CMO of New York & Company
• Andrew Cuomo, 56th Governor of New York
• Mario Gabelli, Founder & CEO of GAMCO Investors
• Stephen J. Hemsley, CEO of UnitedHealth Group
• Fran Horowitz, President & CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch
• Eileen Howard Boone, Senior VP of Corporate Social Responsibility & Philanthropy of CVS Health
• Jack Keane, Co-Founder & Senior Managing Director of Keane Advisors (Former Vice Chief of Staff for the US Army)
• Maria Elena Lagomasino, Former CEO of JP Morgan & Board of Directors of Coca-Cola
• Lorenzo Mendoza, CEO of Empresas Polar