LEADERSHIP MBA &
GRADUATE PROGRAMSÂ Â Â Â
Our passion lies in helping you achieve your professional goals and maximize your leadership impact.
You don't have to wait until you've completed your program, or even your first course, to experience an impact. Our courses are designed and taught by our Business Leader Faculty® -- successful leaders who incorporate their real-world experience to enable you to take what you learn in class and apply it the next day.
Our live video conferencing format provides you the flexibility to join class from anywhere while still benefiting from our interactive classroom environment.

Our Leadership Model
We’ve built a leadership model over decades that has taken proven business practices and turned them into real-world, practical applications. You can take what you learn today and execute on it tomorrow.
Our model is comprised of five leadership attributes:
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- Self-Awareness
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- Engaging Others
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- Agility
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- Innovation
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- Strategic Vision
MBA Program Overview
Our program is focused on providing working professionals with the business skills and acumen required of today's leaders - taught by today's leaders - so you can navigate your career with the confidence and competence you need to succeed.
PROGRAM CURRICULUMÂ
(Click here to download MBA core and elective course details)
• Core Courses (12 including Capstone)
Core courses consist of table stakes business leadership competencies designed to address today's essential leadership opportunities and challenges. Our Leadership Foundations Graduate Certificate consists of three of these courses.
• Elective Courses (4 courses)
Elective courses consist of subject matter specializations and are designed to tailor the MBA program to your goals. These courses may be selected individually across multiple areas of interest or in one area as a pre-designated specialization.
• Capstone Course
During the Capstone course, all of your coursework is tied together to build a comprehensive personal leadership brand and portfolio of work.
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Course Format Options
As our Leadership MBA program is designed for working professionals, courses are held one weeknight per week, and are delivered in-person on campus, via live-virtual classroom or a hybrid of the two.
**PLEASE NOTE, DUE TO COVID-19 SAFETY PROTOCOL AND RESTRICTIONS, ALL CLASSES ARE CURRENTLY BEING HELD VIA LIVE VIRTUAL CLASSROOM**Â
IN PERSON
Our in-person classes are held in our beautiful campus in Lake Forest, Illinois, directly off I-94. Parking is complimentary and students can enjoy access to our break-out rooms and state-of-the-art video conferencing technology before, during and after class.
LIVE VIRTUAL CLASSROOM
We've offered a hybrid virtual classroom course format since 2016 and spent years honing the most effective means of holding class in this context. Our courses have been intentionally designed to be delivered this way, which allows for flexibility without compromising quality.
Leadership Foundations Graduate Certificate
Overview
Our Leadership Foundations Graduate Certificate program provides a firm foundation from which you can guide your team and company in the contemporary business ecosystem. Dive deep into your own leadership style using the Hogan Leadership Assessment to identify strengths and weaknesses, and then take a fresh look at business strategy and learn how to navigate complex, shifting landscapes. As a certificate student, you will be commingled with degree seeking students and all three certificate courses (Effective Leadership, Strategic Thinking and Leading Organizational Change) may be applied to our MBA Program.
Certificate Courses
- Effective Leadership
- This course is the starting block to developing your unique skills as an effective leader. You will discover LFGSM’s five Leadership Attributes and what it means to create a followership. As you engage in this personal journey, you will create your leadership philosophy, grow in your self-awareness of how you relate to others, and identify opportunities to develop as a leader worth following. With a Personal Leadership Plan to guide your development and growth, you will be on your way to becoming a strong leader who excels at rallying, connecting, and supporting others to uphold the organization’s vision and achieve results.
- Strategic Thinking
- Learn to apply strategic concepts to the fundamental functions and processes necessary to lead a business in a dynamic, highly competitive environment while demonstrating your ability to convert initial analysis into logical, persuasive recommendations. Challenge yourself to improve your ability to resolve complex business issues, identify underlying problems, be open to new ideas that lead to innovative but feasible alternatives, and take actions that will meet the needs of your organization’s stakeholders.
- Leading Organizational Change
- Learn how to lead organizational change and effectively execute change strategies in dynamic environments. You will be introduced to the frameworks and competencies required to identify change opportunities and determine the problem that needs to be solved. Prepare yourself to lead small, medium or large-scale change initiatives with or without formal authority. You will also have an opportunity to create a comprehensive change management action plan and establish timelines for executing change initiatives.
Academic Calendar and Student Network

Academic Calendar
For optimal flexibility, LFGSM offers six terms per year. Each term lasts eight weeks, and courses meet once weekly during the evening hours. To learn more about our upcoming course schedule or to inquire about how your own schedule might look within this structure, please schedule a quick 15-Minute Chat or use the same Information Request Form to email us your question.
2021-2022 ACADEMIC CALENDAR TERM DATES
- Summer | June 28 - August 21
- Fall | August 23 - Oct 16
- Winter 1 | October 18 - Dec 11
- Winter 2 | Jan 3 - Feb 26
- Spring 1 | Feb 28 - Apr 23
- Spring 2 | April 25 - June 18
Our Students
Our student body is a network of career-oriented professionals with years of experience in real-world businesses. Students that thrive at LFGSM are determined, focused and driven professionals looking to grow into or branch out into the world of business strategy within their existing organizations or career paths.
Bringing smart, strong, and ambitious leaders together in a classroom adds even more value and insight within each course and group of classmates. In addition to the support of their classmates, our students receive one-on-one support, career planning concierge services, subject matter tutoring, access to mentors within our network, and multiple resources that are a phone call away. We are steadfastly committed to making each student's MBA experience successful, inspiring, and impactful.