ALA 170 Leading Without Authority

Leadership isn’t about titles, it’s about action, connection and collaboration. This course helps students discover how meaningful leadership often happens without formal authority. Through real-world case studies, peer interaction, and systems-focused thinking, students will learn how to influence outcomes, build trust, and initiate change even when they’re not “in charge.” This course is especially valuable for students leading from less visible roles or within systems that feel rigid. It culminates in the creation of a personal influence plan tailored to a real-life context they care about. By the end of this course, students will be able to: Define leadership as influence, not position, and identify real-life opportunities to lead without formal authority, Develop strategies for initiating change in complex systems or groups where they lack direct power, Build policy and systems awareness, recognizing how informal power, credibility, and networks can be used to shape outcomes, Explore their identity and confidence in stepping into leadership roles that are less visible, less central, or less traditional, and Create a personal influence plan that outlines how they will take initiative and create impact in a specific area of their life.