Howard University takes diversity & inclusion to executive education

Howard University takes its responsibility in executive education beyond just upskilling and businesses practices. The historically black university also wants to give professionals the tools to address diversity and inclusion issues that permeate corporate structures the world over.

In collaboration with the CoachDiversity Institute, a coaching institute serving minority communities, Howard University’s School of Business (HUSB) launched the Executive Certification in Diversity Coaching (ECDC) programme.

The course aims to provide high-value, industry-relevant tools that disrupt how executive coaching is practiced and executed. Participants will learn best practices for the workplace and market-ready strategies that can start to make a real impact in their communities and organisations.

“As a global leader in business education, HUSB is not only interested in the development of world-class leaders and executives, but also in the development of skilled coaches who are equipped to support the success of diverse talent, and also lead the evolution of diversity and inclusion in the modern workplace,” said Executive Director of Executive Education, Kim R. Wells.

Diversity and inclusion are at the forefront of hiring practices and workplace behaviour these days and managers and corporate leaders are in desperate need of catching up.

According to a INC.com article, diversity and inclusion lead to better business outcomes for five overarching reasons: increased creativity, fostering of innovation, better consumer understanding, richer brainstorming, and better decision making.

Consequently, organisations are in dire need of capable and top-skilled leaders who can navigate an inclusive workforce through cultural competencies, workplace challenges, performance improvements and career decisions.

This is exactly what the new course from Howard hopes to instill. It is an “exclusive programme for executives and professionals who want to develop successful coaching competencies, diversity and inclusion integration, and leadership skills for use with individuals, teams, or an entire organisation.”

Students learn the International Coaching Federation’s core coaching competencies and CoachDiversity model for leadership and inclusion.

The executive education for diversity curriculum is not afraid to tackle the tough issues, leading participants to engage with and discuss issues of identity, race, class, gender, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, and ability that underlie many 21st-century workforce challenges.

The course is a four-month programme of study that includes five days of on-campus instruction, together with 12 hours of peer coaching, three hours of mentor coaching, and 10 hours of self-study.

Upon successful completion, graduates will receive a designation of Associate Diversity Coach from CoachDiversity Institute documenting 60 hours of coach-specific training.