The trans-disciplinary Organizational Leadership Minor complements any major; providing students with the opportunity to enhance the ?soft skills? most sought after by employers. Soft skills include things like effective communicating, critical thinking, complex problem solving, ethical judgment, leadership, teamwork, and intercultural skills. Such skills are needed in every type of industry and organization.

A recent survey of 318 organizations showed that nearly all of the employers believed that certain soft skills were more critical to career success than a student?s major area of study. Additionally, Forbes magazine identified critical thinking, complex problem solving, active listening, and judgment and decision-making as the most in-demand skill-sets for the top jobs of 2013.

The Organizational Leadership Minor will help you stand out from other job applicants by providing real-world experiences to enhance your skills. For example, one team from the Psychology of Leadership class recently developed and implemented a video captioning system for the Office of Disability Services here at WOU. The captioning system increased the accessibility of classroom material for students who are deaf or hard of hearing at virtually no cost for the organization. Potential employers will love to hear about how you developed innovative solutions to significant problems in a team setting.