General Information
Promotional Video
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Instructor Bio
Stéphane Côté is Geoffrey Conway Chair in Business Ethics, Professor of Organizational Behaviour, and Director of Faculty Recruiting at Rotman. He earned his PhD in psychology at the University of Michigan, and joined Rotman in 2001. He teaches social intelligence in Rotman’s MBA and Commerce programs. His research examines how people leverage social intelligence to enhance their performance and well-being, and how social class and economic inequality relates to prosocial behavior. He has written in media outlets such as the New York Times, Washington Post, and Harvard Business Review. He won the Dean’s award for excellence in teaching in 2012, and the Dean’s award for excellence in research in 2006.
Target Audience
Students interested in accelerating their careers by better understanding the role of social skills at work, receiving numerical feedback on their social skills (via a 360 assessment and experimental exercises), improving their social skills, and learning how to improve the social skills of the people they work with and manage.
Format
Intensive format. See the Elective Schedule for specific dates and times.
Course Mission
Students will gain knowledge of what comprises social intelligence and how these skills affect their own professional activities. Students will appreciate the importance of social intelligence to their own leadership and decision making, and in such diverse organizational experiences as coaching, decision-making, customer service, and marketing. The course adopts a People Analytics approach. As such, students will receive and analyze confidential, numerical feedback about their strengths and weaknesses. Students will develop their own social skills and learn how to develop the social skills of other people.
Course Scope
This course provides students with models, skills, and tools needed identify the role of social intelligence—the ability to navigate complex social relationship and environments—in organizational life. First, we learn about models of social intelligence. Then, we apply this knowledge and develop our social skills through a series of experiential exercises, assessments, lectures, case studies, and examples. Students will receive considerable confidential, numerical feedback—consistent with a People Analytics approach. The course will cover topics such as:
- How good are we at knowing how others are feeling, and if others are lying?
- How well do we understand the impressions that we make on others?
- What are the most effective strategies to manage one’s own emotions?
- How do emotions change creativity, decision-making, and performance?
- How do we boost positive emotions to make work more enjoyable and more productive?
Evaluation and Grade Breakdown
| Component | Due Date | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Class Participation | Ongoing | 20% |
| Self-Assessment Analysis and Personal Development Plan | Approximately two weeks after last class | 80% |
Required Resources
Required and suggested academic and business articles will be posted on Quercus.