What Can I Do With a Master’s in Organizational Leadership?
The skills learned in an organizational leadership degree program are transferable by design: They’re intended to be useful across a wide variety of industries and business contexts, from large corporations to nonprofits. The utility of an organizational leadership degree is even higher for those who pursue an advanced degree, fostering skills at a postgraduate level.
When pursuing this educational trajectory, students may wonder what they can do with a master’s in organizational leadership. Discover just some of the career paths that can be unlocked with advanced training in the organizational leadership field.
What Is an Organizational Leadership Degree?
Organizational leadership focuses on motivating and guiding teams or individual employees to perform at a high level and to work together toward setting and accomplishing organizational goals.
Students who enroll in a graduate-level degree program cultivate a wide range of skills, such as team building, problem-solving, analytical thinking, and leadership. These skills can lead to long-lasting impacts in many different roles.
Organizational Leadership Career Options
A host of options are available to professionals with an advanced education in organizational leadership.
1. Organizational Leadership Consultant
Organizational leadership consultants work as third-party contractors, going into different businesses or nonprofits to help them identify bottlenecks, overcome challenges, and allocate their resources more effectively. The goal is to help these organizations be more efficient and productive. This can be an excellent opportunity for those who wish to see the inside of many different organizations as opposed to working for one organization day in and day out.
2. Training and Development Manager
The role of a training and development manager is to help companies make the most of their personnel and to ensure that personnel are properly equipped to do their jobs well. A training and development manager may work to educate employees about organizational goals or procedures, something they may do through lectures and seminars, hands-on exercises, video resources, and beyond. This role also entails helping companies develop staffing and recruitment plans and creating budgets for employee training.
3. Community Service Manager
An advanced degree in organizational leadership may also provide the skills needed to succeed as a community service manager. This role involves the coordination and direction of social services and community service programs. Professionals in this role may coordinate a program’s budget, recruit and direct volunteers, and ensure that the program’s goals are clearly defined and measured. This role can be especially well suited for those who prefer to use their organizational leadership skills on behalf of a nonprofit, as opposed to a for-profit enterprise.
4. Healthcare Manager
The skills mastered in an advanced organizational leadership degree program can lead to success in many different fields, including healthcare. Healthcare managers oversee the daily operations of a healthcare facility; this can include managing patient care plans, creating budgets, and hiring and training staff members.
5. Operations Manager
Every business benefits from having a well-coordinated staff. The role of the operations manager is to oversee all staffing, recruitment, and personnel planning functions. This is considered a senior-level human resources position and can involve creating staffing plans, developing an employee-focused company culture, and actively promoting staff engagement and morale. This can be a highly rewarding career path for those who have a master’s degree education in organizational leadership.
6. School Principal
For those who are passionate about education or simply want to work in a less corporate setting, earning a degree in organizational leadership can provide a firm foundation for success in school administration. For example, school principals can draw on their organizational leadership principles to motivate faculty and staff while also resolving issues that arise among the student body. This is an often overlooked career possibility for those who obtain an organizational leadership degree.
Explore Career Paths in Organizational Leadership
Organizational leadership is a versatile degree path, and there are many potential opportunities for professionals curious about what they can do with a master’s in organizational leadership. The skills gained can lead to real impact across a range of different fields. By earning an advanced degree in this field, you can position yourself as a leader, problem-solver, and subject matter expert in virtually any business or nonprofit.
Claremont Lincoln University’s online Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership (MOL) equips students with broad theoretical knowledge as well as in-depth practical skills. Students may choose from concentrations in healthcare, human resources, management, professional studies, or sustainability. Each concentration develops leaders who can navigate diversity, think critically, manage complexity, and help their organizations meet strategic goals. The program also offers the flexibility of online learning, allowing students to complete their degree according to their own timeline — in just 13 months for full-time students and 26 months for part-time students.
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Claremont Lincoln University is a non-profit university offering affordable online degrees, graduate certificates, and professional development programs. Through a socially conscious education framework, CLU’s mission is to create a new leadership ecosystem through its proprietary Claremont Core®, a distinctive model that encompasses the knowledge needed to become an effective leader of positive change in the workplace or community. CLU is regionally accredited by the highly regarded WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), which ensures institutions meet strict standards and fulfill their missions to serve their students and the public good. Degree programs at CLU focus on healthcare administration, human resources, organizational leadership, management, professional studies, public administration, social impact, and sustainability leadership.
Claremont Lincoln University is the university of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a non-profit global thought leader solving social, environmental, and economic challenges. Together, we are mobilizing leaders worldwide to tackle the most pressing climate, land, water, finance, housing, infrastructure, and other issues.
