10 Best Leadership Courses, Training & Classes Online 2022

Leadership training is extremely important in every industry and business. All workplaces need effective leaders to empower and influence teams to achieve business goals. While people in management job roles in a company may have the desired educational background and work experience, they may still lack the leadership skills that are needed to effectively lead the business, create efficiencies and engage the employees to deliver best results. This is where leadership skills training becomes crucial. Professional leadership training programs can help to create and groom employees to become the best possible leaders.

Whether you have a large team to lead or just got your first hire, leadership development training can hone the skills necessary to succeed and prepare you for the challenges that lie ahead. You learn how to mentor and engage others and do your best work both individually and on a team. You gain valuable skills like project management, communication, critical and strategic thinking abilities that benefit you throughout your leadership career. The best part is that you gain a better understanding of your own strengths and weaknesses so you know where and how to improve.

If you are interested in obtaining or continuing your leadership education, online leadership courses and certification programs are a great choice. They can help you learn the latest leadership skills and techniques to apply to your industry and organization. These online leadership classes and training programs are much cheaper alternates to full-time leadership degree programs and offer excellent opportunities to gain the leadership essentials and also acquire hands-on experience in facing corporate challenges using the existing and learned traits. Another benefit is that you can take these at your own pace and schedule.

Some of the highly sought after leadership courses are in the areas of executive leadership, inclusive leadership, women’s leadership, non-profit leadership, strategic leadership, and management skills development.

We’ve rounded up below a list of best leadership training, courses, classes and certification programs that you can take online. These are effective, affordable and some are even free. Duration of these leadership courses and certificate programs may vary from a few weeks to several months depending on how intensive the program is. So take your pick from these and start working towards building your leadership skills right away.

This leadership certificate program is offered by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is a part of their iMBA degree program. It teaches practical strategies for becoming an effective organizational leader. Participants learn the business fundamentals to effectively lead people and teams, manage organizations through organizational design, tools to analyze business situations and competition, and formulate and implement strategies both within a business and across a portfolio of businesses.

There are 7 courses in the specialization that cover the strategic, human resource, and organizational foundations for creating and capturing value for sustainable competitive advantage. The courses are:

Foundations of Everyday Leadership
Applications of Everyday Leadership
Designing the Organization
Managing the Organization
Business Strategy
Corporate Strategy
Strategic Leadership and Management Capstone

The capstone project is a strategic leadership and management plan where learners apply the foundations of leadership to an actual business situation faced by leaders.

Key Highlights

Get business and leadership training from world-class faculty at University of Illinois
Understand how organizations are designed and managed
Learn to lead people and teams, manage conflict and lead change in an organization
Learn the skills to negotiate effectively and influence others
Learn how to think like a CEO, entrepreneur, or general manager
Understand how corporations create and capture value as multi-business enterprises
Understand the role of corporate governance and stakeholder management in modern companies
Learn to coordinate different functional areas, resources, and systems inside a company and align them with the external environment to enhance overall performance

Duration : 8 months, 3 hours per week
Rating : 4.7
Sign up Here

This Business Leadership MicroMasters program by University of Queensland bridges the knowledge gap between higher education and the workplace. It is designed to prepare emerging and experienced leaders for facing complexities and challenges in modern business environment. The program propels learners to the next level by helping them better understand their own leadership capabilities and recognize points for personal development, while at the same time empowering them with knowledge and skill to act effectively as leaders.

The program comprises of four courses followed by business leadership capstone assessment. These courses combine academic theories with knowledge from UQs team of experts, the accumulated wisdom of industry experts, engaging activities and practical tools for leadership development. Each of the four courses approaches leadership from a different perspective, building a diverse but complementary set of competencies. They focus on the following key competencies with the aim to help develop well-rounded future leaders:

Ability to lead teams
Direct the vision of the organisation
Navigate broader social and economic influences on the business
Engage in constructive self-reflection

Learners who successfully earn the MicroMasters program certificate in Business Leadership receive 8 credits towards UQ’s on-campus Masters of Business program.

Key Highlights

Learning directly from internationally renowned academics and researchers at The University of Queensland, one of the world’s premier teaching and research institutions
Understand the strengths and weaknesses of various leadership styles, and gain insight into your own leader tendencies
Learn how to motivate, engage and empower people to build effective and high performing teams
Be prepared to lead more effective change initiatives in your organization
Develop your decision-making skills
Series of in-depth assessments to apply the leadership skills learnt
No leadership experience is required to enrol for the program

Duration : 11 months, 8-10 hours per week
Rating : 4.7
Sign up Here

This leadership development program has been created by experts from University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. It imparts essential leadership skills, such as inspiring and motivating individuals, managing talent, influencing without authority, and leading teams. It is full of real-life stories and interviews with exceptional leaders from the industry, so the students end up learning leadership practices and techniques which would otherwise not be accessible to them.

The specialization is structured as 5 comprehensive courses, each of which contains a series of practical leadership assignments that gives learners the opportunity to apply the new leadership traits to real life scenarios. The courses are as follows:

Inspiring and Motivating Individuals – Learn how to create a shared vision for your team and effectively communicate it to your teammates.
Managing Talent – Learn the best practices for selecting, recruiting, and onboarding talent.
Influencing People – Learn tactics and strategies that are proven to work for gaining power and influencing people.
Leading Teams – Learn best practices for composing a team and aligning individual and team goals.
Leading People and Teams Capstone – The Capstone project involves either working with senior-level executives to help them solve their most pressing leadership challenges or identifying your own leadership challenge and developing a coherent set of solutions for overcoming it.

Key Highlights

One of the most popular and highly-rated Coursera leadership program with more than 77,000 students enrolled
Gain insights into how to lead people and teams effectively and understand how to apply them to your own teams and leadership
Learn the Michigan Model of Leadership to define organizational goals
Learn to create a high-quality team charter that enhances team performance
Learn directly from Michigan faculty and several prolific industry leaders
No prerequisite to take the courses. Anybody interested in pursuing leadership and management training can enrol

Duration : 5 months, 3 hours per week
Rating : 4.7
Sign up Here

Coursera offers a multitude of options for developing leadership and management skills. These include Courses on leadership, Specializations, Professional Certificates, MasterTrack certificates and Degree programs. These programs are created by experts and renowned faculty at top universities and institutions across the world, such as University of California, University of Virginia, University of Michigan, Northwestern University and University of Pennsylvania.

These Coursera leadership courses and certificate programs are for both new and seasoned leaders who want to become more adept at skills such as employee engagement, developing collaborative teams, inspiring and influencing people, managing organizational change, and effectively influencing stakeholders across an organization.

Here’re some of the top choices in Coursera leadership training courses and specializations:

Key Highlights

Prepare to become a more inclusive and self-confident leader, who can also effectively coach others
Learn practical leadership skills and strategies that make an immediate impact
Understand major challenges facing modern businesses and corporates, and how to address them with the disciplined use of design thinking
Understand how to leverage data analytics and customer analytics to drive effective design of products and services
Learn about frameworks to adjust team behaviors and get the best performance out of your people
Learn to cultivate an open leadership based on trust and sense
Audit the course material for free, pay to earn a university backed certificate
Take the courses at your own schedule without committing full-time

Duration : Self-Paced
Rating : 4.6
Sign up Here

edX provides a wide range of free online courses in leadership and management. These present an excellent choice for professionals to build the right skills to be an effective and successful leader in their organizations. The leadership training and certification programs on offer are developed by globally recognized business schools at top universities, including Harvard, University of Queensland, RIT, University of Washington, and University of Maryland etc. They delve into the subjects of inclusive leadership, communication and management helping learners to build skills around goal setting, negotiation, decision making, problem solving, team building, inspiring and motivating and coaching others, and change management.

These programs can be pursued both by individuals seeking new leadership roles and positions and those who are already in leadership roles and want to enhance their skills. Most programs do not require prior leadership experience and are free to take. But free course option does not include access to graded assignments and completion certificate. If you want these, you need to pay for the program.

There are four MicroMasters programs in leadership that you may take:

Following Professional Certificate programs in leadership are also good choices:

Here are a few other popular edX leadership courses:

Key Highlights

edX Leadership training programs and courses are especially designed to help you take your career to the next level
Develop skills in leadership, critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, collaboration, conflict management, and other critical group dynamics
Opportunity to learn directly from industry experts and world-class instructors
University backed programs with verified certificates that are industry recognized
Learn Inclusive leadership skills that enable work-life effectiveness
Learn the est practices for performing a strategic analysis of a problem in the workplace
Learn through case studies, assessments, and discussion with a global group of learners

Duration : Self-Paced
Rating : 4.6
Sign up Here

Udemy offers hundreds of courses and classes in leadership on its platform. These help learners gain the skills needed to be effective and impactful as leaders. These courses cover a range of topics like management skills, business communication, emotional intelligence, project management, teamwork, influence skills, coaching, decision making, change management, agile, team building, employee engagement, time management, business strategy, entrepreneurship fundamentals and many more. All these essential skills help in developing well-rounded leadership traits in learners.

Udemy courses are categorised into beginner, intermediate and expert levels. They include on-demand video content along with assignments, case studies, articles and other downloadable resources. These are generally very affordable; on top of it Udemy provides a 30 day refund guarantee on all its courses, so you may try them risk free.

We’ve listed below some of the most popular Udemy leadership courses and trainings.

Key Highlights

Learn skills to become an authentic, impactful leader that inspires progression, change and growth
Courses created by top instructors and industry experts around the globe
Understand academic theories surrounding leadership styles and techniques
Build a vast array of practical tools to be a successful and effective leader
Courses include video lectures, downloadable resources, assignments and articles
Lifetime access to courses along with access to future updates
Flexible learning at your own pace and timeline
30-day money back guarantee offered by Udemy for all course purchases

Duration : Self-Paced
Rating : 4.5
Sign up Here

FutureLearn platform offers courses and training programs on a diverse range of subjects. These are offered in partnership with top universities and educators globally. Options available include short courses, ExpertTracks (series of specialist courses), Microcredentials and Online Degrees.

They have several management and leadership courses that deal with a range of skills required by leaders across organizations and industries. These cater to people who may just be starting a management role, through to seasoned leaders who would like specific support or to hone their skills. These programs are perfect for learners at any stage of their career.

Some of the Leadership training options available on FutureLearn are:

International Leadership Skills for the Workplace by Coventry University – Develop expert leadership skills by studying leadership theories and cultural management in an international context.

Business Strategy and Decision Making Skills by Coventry University – Gain a sound working knowledge of business strategy, decision-making, business models and the pros and cons of strategic choices.

Communication and Interpersonal Skills at Work by University of Leeds – Improve your communication skills at work and learn how to navigate positive collaboration in the modern workplace.

Leading Strategic Innovation: How to Lead with Purpose by Coventry University – Discover the importance of strategic thinking, innovation, and purposeful leadership when dealing with change.

What is Leadership? by Deakin University – Learn what being a leader means and how you can practice leadership.

Decision Making in a Complex and Uncertain World by University of Groningen – This course will teach you the first principles of complexity, uncertainty and how to make decisions in a complex world.

Introduction to Management and Leadership in Health Services by University of Glasgow – Develop your understanding of management and leadership theory to meet the demands of a career in health services management.

International Leadership: Politics and Philosophy in Leadership by Coventry University – Evaluate leadership philosophies and identify and distinguish these characteristics in various political leaders and scenarios.

Key Highlights

Learn the principles of leadership and improve your effectiveness as a leader
Learn 100% online with educators from world class universities
Courses include videos, articles, quizzes and discussions
Flexible monthly subscription and a 7-day free trial
Receive shareable certificates validated by the educating university or organisation

Duration : Self-Paced
Rating : 4.5
Sign up Here

LinkedIn Learning has a huge catalogue of courses and classes on leadership and management. With over thousands of resources on topics related to leadership skills, there is something useful for everyone irrespective of their experience and current skill levels. Whether you are a manager progressing to new leadership position or a seasoned leader who wants to add more to their leadership skills arsenal, each can use LinkedIn Learning platform to find the best suitable leadership course and benefit from it.

The courses are short (from under an hour to a couple of hours), crisp, packed with useful, practical information that can push your skills to the next level. They help learners to prepare for the challenging leadership responsibilities such as establishing and executing a strategic vision, executing against that vision, and harnessing the most powerful competitive advantage, the people.

Some of the top leadership training classes available on LinkedIn Learning platform are:

Leadership Foundations
By: Dr. Shirley Davis
Duration: 40m

Leadership: Practical Skills
By: Chris Croft
Duration: 2h 30m

Strategic Thinking
By: Dorie Clark
Duration: 36m

Developing Your Emotional Intelligence
By: Gemma Leigh Roberts
Duration: 1h 8m

Communicating with Confidence
By: Jeff Ansell
Duration: 1h 16m

Critical Thinking
By: Mike Figliuolo
Duration: 59m

Communicating with Empathy
By: Sharon Steed
Duration: 37m

Communicating in Times of Change
By: Brenda Bailey-Hughes
Duration: 51m

Make the Move from Individual Contributor to Manager
By: Carolyn Goerner
Duration: 40m

Management Tips
By: Todd Dewett
Duration: 7h 50m

Teamwork Foundations
By: Chris Croft
Duration: 1h 25m

Leading Productive Meetings
By: Dave Crenshaw
Duration: 1h 4m

Key Highlights

Learn the mindset, perspective, and skills required to move from management to a formal leadership role
Courses developed by leadership trainers and experts
Hands-on courses with quizzes, assignments and case studies
All courses available for free during 30-day trial period
Earn completion certificates on completing the course and assignments
Option to download the courses and watch them on the go without internet connection

Duration : Self-Paced
Rating : 4.4
Sign up Here

MasterClass is a streaming platform that provides hundreds of classes across various categories such as business and leadership, cooking, arts, writing, photography etc. These video classes are taught by the world’s best in their field, and are available for anyone to watch or listen to. Each class includes around 20 video lessons (each about 10 minutes long on average) and an in-depth workbook.

Below, let us look at the best Leadership classes available online on MasterClass. These leadership tutorials can be accessed by both advanced students and those with little to no prior experience in leadership.

Business Leadership by Howard Schultz
Howard Schultz is Former Starbucks CEO who revolutionized the way the world drinks coffee. He grew a 13-store chain into a global brand with more than 250,000 employees. In his 90-minute video series, Howard shares what he’s learned about business leadership and being an entrepreneur.

Business Strategy and Leadership by Bob Iger
Bog Iger is former Disney CEO who led Walt Disney to the peak of success. He also helped Disney in acquiring Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm making it the biggest entertainment and media corporate. In this class Bob uses case studies and lessons from his 45 years in media, to teach you how to evolve your business and career. He focuses on strategies for expanding a brand, leading with integrity, and making big moves—from risk management to the art of negotiation.

Creativity and Leadership by Anna Wintour
Anna Wintour is a fashion and media icon. She’s the Vogue Editor-in-Chief and Artistic Director of Condé Nast. In this class, Anna teaches how to lead with impact, nurture talent, make bold decisions, and evolve a brand.

Key Highlights

Learn from the masters in the field of business and leadership
Get PDF workbooks for every class
Option of audio-only lessons, so you can hear them on the go
Access to a dynamic community of members around the world
Option to download the video tutorials and watch them offline

Duration : Self-Paced
Rating : 4.4
Sign up Here

Another excellent choice for developing leadership skills is to take online courses in leadership by Harvard University on their Harvard Business School online website or Harvard Extension school website. There is a plethora of management and leadership courses that can help emerging leaders and mid-level managers to take on significant leadership roles in their organizations. Some of the most sought-after Harvard leadership courses include:

Become a More Resilient Leader in Turbulent Times – This is a free 35-minute online lesson to help develop the skills to lead with courage and conviction through challenging times.

Essential Management Skills for Emerging Leaders – This is a 3-months program that is designed to help new managers master core business concepts and build key skills in six subject areas, including leadership, strategy, marketing, communication, and negotiation.

Women in Leadership: Online Program for Emerging Leaders – This interactive program helps to foster leadership, professional growth, and gender equity in the workplace.

Becoming a Leader: Developing Your Style and Making Sound Decisions – This program equips learners with tools and strategies to expand their ability to become more confident leader and decision makers.

Emotional Intelligence in Leadership – This is a 2-day intensive online program that expands your leadership capacity and helps you to create an environment that fosters emotional intelligence.

Leading Change and Organizational Renewal – This week long program imparts learners athe ability to drive the changes their organization needs to thrive.

Leadership Principles – This program helps new and aspiring leaders unleash the potential in themselves and others, and cultivate high-performing teams.

Managing Yourself and Leading Others – This 2-day program delves into the fundamentals of managing yourself, leading teams, and motivating others.

Key Highlights

Gain leadership insights that you can apply to your work
Build organizational, team management, collaboration and networking skills
Prepare to be a leader who can connect and communicate with clarity, conviction, and compassion
Leverage group discussions, reflective exercises, activities, and assessments to cement your learning
Prepare for expanded management responsibilities
Get a Certificate on completing the coursework and graded assignments

Duration : Self-Paced
Rating : 4.5
Sign up Here