Articles / Leadership Skills Course by IIM Ahmedabad: Complete Guide
Development, Training & CoachingExplore IIM Ahmedabad's acclaimed leadership skills course. Learn frameworks, modules, and career benefits from India's premier business school.
Written by Laura Bouttell • Tue 7th October 2025
In an era where only 28% of employees report satisfaction with their immediate leaders, the question isn't whether leadership training matters—it's which programme truly transforms capabilities. IIM Ahmedabad's Leadership Skills course has enrolled more than 200,000 learners worldwide and ranks amongst the platform's top three leadership courses of all time.
This comprehensive guide examines the architecture of a programme that bridges ancient wisdom with contemporary leadership science, taught by one of India's foremost organisational behaviour scholars at the nation's most prestigious business school.
The Leadership Skills course is an online certificate programme delivered by the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad through Coursera, designed to provide a foundation for leadership practice through a journey of self-discovery and skill development. Unlike conventional leadership training that focuses solely on tactical management, this programme integrates mindfulness, emotional intelligence, and cross-cultural wisdom into a scientifically rigorous framework.
Quick Overview:
The course stands apart through its evidence-based approach, drawing from business management, philosophy, spirituality, history, literature, and psychology to create leaders capable of navigating complexity.
The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad is a premier global management institute recognised for exemplary contributions to scholarship, practice, and policy through distinctive teaching, high-quality research, and nurturing future leaders. With over six decades of excellence, IIMA consistently ranks as India's number one business school and features prominently in global rankings.
Institutional Credentials:
Professor Vishal Gupta serves as Professor in the Organisational Behaviour Area at IIMA and chairs the Ashank Desai Centre for Leadership and Organisational Development. His credentials establish both academic rigour and practical applicability:
Academic Distinctions:
Research Impact:
Teaching Excellence:
The programme comprises seven meticulously designed modules that progress from self-awareness to organisational transformation. Each module integrates video lectures, case studies, readings, quizzes, and peer-reviewed assignments to ensure comprehensive learning.
This foundational module explores mindfulness and self-awareness as prerequisites for effective leadership. You'll learn to cultivate inner stability through present-moment awareness and develop a growth mindset that transforms challenges into opportunities.
Key Learning Outcomes:
This module introduces the TREAT leadership framework, highlighting five behavioural competencies: task orientation, relationship orientation, empowerment, authenticity, and team building.
The TREAT Leadership Competencies:
Task Orientation: Setting clear objectives, monitoring progress, and driving results whilst maintaining quality standards.
Relationship Orientation: Building sustainable professional relationships through supportive communication and genuine concern for team members' development.
Empowerment: Delegating authority effectively, providing autonomy, and creating conditions for team members to excel independently.
Authenticity: Leading with integrity, consistency between values and actions, and transparent communication that builds trust.
Team Building: Fostering collaboration, managing diversity, and creating psychological safety that enables peak performance.
The framework synthesises decades of leadership research into actionable competencies that distinguish effective leaders in knowledge-based organisations.
This module focuses on enabling you to create sustainable and positive relationships through understanding communication biases and decision-making patterns.
Critical Skills Developed:
Many leadership programmes overlook the art of influence without formal authority. This module addresses the reality that effective leaders must influence peers, senior executives, and cross-functional stakeholders.
Topics Covered:
The content draws from real corporate case studies where leaders successfully influenced outcomes despite lacking positional power.
This module explores managing ethical dilemmas, developing organisational culture through the LEAP framework, and leading change initiatives.
The LEAP Cultural Framework:
Learning Mindset: Fostering curiosity, continuous improvement, and knowledge sharing throughout the organisation.
Enjoyment: Creating an environment where work provides fulfilment beyond compensation, engaging intrinsic motivation.
Autonomy: Granting individuals meaningful control over how they accomplish objectives, increasing ownership and creativity.
Performance: Establishing clear metrics whilst maintaining focus on sustainable excellence rather than short-term gains.
You'll examine how leaders navigate ethical quandaries, choosing between competing values rather than clear right and wrong. The module uses corporate and public sector examples to illustrate change management principles.
This distinctive module sets the programme apart from Western-centric leadership courses. The module examines leadership wisdom from the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata, analysing characters including Bhishma, Karna, Shakuni, Kunti, and Krishna to extract timeless leadership principles.
Why Ancient Wisdom Matters:
The Mahabharata presents leaders navigating impossible dilemmas—circumstances where every choice carries significant consequences. By studying how these characters demonstrated values, decision-making, integrity, and principles under constraint, contemporary leaders gain frameworks for their own challenges.
Consider Krishna's approach to the Kurukshetra war: he exemplified principled pragmatism, balancing dharma (righteousness) with strategic necessities. This paradoxical leadership—holding seemingly opposing values simultaneously—proves increasingly relevant as modern leaders face competing stakeholder demands.
Key Insights:
The capstone module synthesises learning through peer-reviewed assignments where you apply frameworks to your own leadership context. You'll analyse real situations you've encountered, receiving feedback from fellow participants globally.
The course employs several teaching methods that research shows significantly enhance learning retention:
Case-Based Learning: Every concept connects to real corporate examples, enabling immediate practical application rather than abstract theory.
Peer Review Assignments: Evaluating fellow participants' work deepens your own understanding whilst building a global network of leadership practitioners.
Interdisciplinary Integration: Drawing from psychology, philosophy, history, and business creates mental models that persist beyond individual techniques.
Incremental Complexity: Starting with self-leadership before progressing to team, organisational, and cultural leadership ensures solid foundations.
Research demonstrates that leadership training delivers measurable returns. Studies show leadership training produces a 28% increase in leadership behaviours, 25% improvement in learning, and 20% enhancement in job performance.
Specific Career Advantages:
Enhanced Promotion Readiness: Leadership training that focuses on employee development helps create clear paths for career progression, with participants significantly more likely to advance to management and executive roles.
Increased Earning Potential: Leadership skills position individuals for rapid career progression and enhanced earning potential by equipping them with strategic decision-making capabilities and understanding of organisational dynamics.
Professional Credibility: A certificate from India's premier business school signals commitment to excellence and provides third-party validation of your capabilities.
Global Network: With over 200,000 participants worldwide, you join a community of ambitious professionals across industries and geographies.
Certificate courses from IIM hold substantial weight in industry, validating expertise and commitment to professional growth whilst carrying the prestigious branding of a globally recognised institution.
Beyond the certificate itself, employers increasingly value the specific competencies this programme develops:
IIM Ahmedabad offers several leadership development pathways, each serving distinct needs:
Online Certificate Course (Coursera)
Senior Management Programme
Leadership and Change Management Programme
The Coursera programme provides exceptional value for professionals seeking rigorous leadership foundations without disrupting careers or making significant financial investment.
Research-Grounded Frameworks: Unlike motivational content, the TREAT framework emerged from rigorous research and highlights competencies essential for leaders of knowledge-based organisations.
Cultural Breadth: Most leadership programmes draw exclusively from Western business examples. This course integrates Indian philosophy, providing cognitive diversity that enhances problem-solving capabilities.
Academic Rigour with Practical Application: Professor Gupta bridges theory and practice through consulting experience with organisations like DRDO, Tata, L&T, and Ambuja Cements.
Continuous Evolution: Course content updates regularly to reflect emerging research and contemporary business challenges.
The course suits professionals from diverse work backgrounds with a basic understanding of working in organisations who wish to strengthen their capacity to lead across boundaries, from any political or organisational position, with or without authority.
You'll benefit significantly if you are:
Aspiring Managers: Individual contributors preparing for team leadership responsibilities who need structured frameworks before assuming formal authority.
New Managers: Recently promoted supervisors navigating the transition from peer to leader, requiring tools for delegation, motivation, and performance management.
Mid-Career Professionals: Experienced managers seeking to refresh capabilities, fill knowledge gaps, or prepare for senior leadership roles.
Entrepreneurs and Founders: Business owners who must lead organisations through growth phases without formal management training.
Career Changers: Professionals transitioning into leadership roles from technical or specialist positions.
HR Professionals: Those responsible for developing leaders within their organisations who need comprehensive understanding of leadership frameworks.
Global Professionals: Individuals working across cultures who benefit from leadership perspectives beyond Western paradigms.
The programme assumes no prior management education but benefits from professional experience. Having navigated workplace dynamics—even without formal authority—provides context for applying frameworks. The self-paced format accommodates varying skill levels, allowing experienced leaders to accelerate through familiar content whilst providing depth for those new to leadership concepts.
The course is available to audit for free on Coursera, allowing access to all video content and readings. To earn the professional certificate and access graded assignments, a course certificate purchase is required. Financial aid options exist for those who cannot afford the enrollment fee. This pricing structure makes world-class leadership education accessible regardless of financial circumstances.
The course spans 15 weeks with approximately 45 total hours of content. However, the self-paced format allows completion faster or slower based on your schedule. Most participants complete the programme within 3-4 months whilst balancing full-time work commitments. The flexible structure means you can pause and resume learning as professional demands require.
Yes, the certificate carries the credibility of IIM Ahmedabad, India's premier business school. Whilst it's not equivalent to a degree programme, it demonstrates initiative in professional development and validates acquisition of specific leadership competencies. Many participants report that the certificate strengthened applications for promotions and new positions.
Upon completion, you retain access to course materials for reference, allowing you to revisit frameworks as leadership challenges evolve throughout your career. This enduring resource proves particularly valuable when facing new situations that require fresh application of learned principles.
The course is taught in English, and readings assume professional-level language skills. However, the clear presentation style and visual aids make content accessible to non-native speakers. Subtitles are available in multiple languages for video content, enhancing comprehension for global participants.
As a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course), direct interaction with Professor Gupta is limited. However, the programme includes peer discussions, allowing you to engage with fellow participants worldwide. The discussion forums provide opportunity to ask questions, share insights, and learn from diverse perspectives.
This certificate is standalone and doesn't provide course credits towards IIMA degree programmes. However, it serves as excellent preparation for executive education programmes, demonstrating readiness for more advanced leadership development.
Participants consistently rate Professor Gupta's teaching quality at 4.9 out of 5, with learners praising the clear presentation, comprehensive coverage, and contemporary relevance of topics.
Common Themes in Reviews:
"The TREAT and LEAP frameworks transformed how I approach team management. Within weeks of completing the course, I implemented changes that measurably improved team engagement." — Mid-level manager, technology sector
"The Mahabharata module was unexpectedly profound. Examining ancient leaders navigating impossible choices provided frameworks I've applied repeatedly in strategic decisions." — Senior executive, manufacturing
"As someone without formal business education, this course filled critical gaps in my leadership understanding. The interdisciplinary approach—psychology, philosophy, management—created lasting mental models." — Entrepreneur, professional services
Several participants report specific outcomes including promotions, successful navigation of organisational change initiatives, improved team performance metrics, and enhanced confidence in leadership capabilities. The peer-review assignments particularly receive praise for providing perspective on how leaders in different industries and cultures approach similar challenges.
Create a Learning Schedule: Whilst self-paced, structured weekly commitments (e.g., 3-4 hours every Saturday) maintain momentum and ensure consistent progress rather than sporadic engagement.
Apply Immediately: For each module, identify one concept to implement in your current role within 48 hours. This immediate application transforms abstract knowledge into embodied capability.
Engage in Discussions: The forum discussions expose you to diverse perspectives and real-world applications you wouldn't encounter through lectures alone. Contribute actively rather than passively consuming content.
Form a Study Group: If colleagues are also taking the course, meet regularly to discuss applications in your specific organisational context. This peer learning accelerates understanding.
Maintain a Leadership Journal: Document insights, questions, and observations throughout the programme. Reviewing this journal months later reveals how your thinking evolves and provides valuable reference material.
Complete All Assignments: Whilst you might audit the course, the peer-reviewed assignments force deeper engagement with material, revealing gaps in understanding and solidifying learning through teaching others.
The course provides foundations rather than complete mastery. Consider these next steps:
Read Professor Gupta's Books: His published works provide deeper exploration of TREAT-LEAP frameworks with extensive case studies.
Pursue Advanced Certifications: After building foundations, consider specialised leadership programmes in your industry or function.
Seek Mentorship: Apply course frameworks under guidance of experienced leaders who can provide feedback on your implementation.
Teach Others: Once you've applied the concepts successfully, sharing knowledge with junior colleagues solidifies your own understanding whilst contributing to organisational capability.
Join Professional Communities: Connect with fellow alumni through LinkedIn groups and professional associations to continue learning from peer experiences.
The corporate leadership training market is projected to reach $26.7 billion, reflecting organisations' recognition that leadership capability directly impacts business outcomes. Yet 41% of business leaders feel their organisations fail to meet necessary leadership standards, whilst 80% of executives emphasise that enhancing organisational leadership remains a top priority.
This gap between importance and capability creates significant opportunity for individuals who proactively develop leadership competencies.
Accelerating Change: 70% of leadership professionals believe it is important or very important for leaders to master a wider range of effective leadership behaviours to meet current and future business needs. The pace of change demands more sophisticated leadership capabilities than previous eras required.
Competitive Differentiation: As automation handles increasingly complex tasks, uniquely human capabilities—influence, empathy, ethical judgment, strategic thinking—become sources of competitive advantage. These are precisely the competencies this programme develops.
Knowledge Accessibility: Never before has world-class leadership education from premier institutions been available globally at minimal cost. This democratisation represents a unique moment where geographic and financial barriers have largely disappeared.
Career Resilience: Almost 44% of exhausted business executives expect to switch companies for career growth, whilst 71% of managers anticipate top performers departing due to burnout. Organisations desperately need leaders capable of creating environments where people thrive, positioning those with sophisticated leadership skills as invaluable.
Like Nelson ascending Trafalgar's mast to assess battle positions or Shackleton leading his crew across Antarctic ice, leadership emerges through practise, reflection, and continuous refinement rather than innate genius alone.
The IIM Ahmedabad Leadership Skills course provides structured pathways for this development, blending rigorous academic frameworks with practical application, ancient wisdom with contemporary research, Eastern philosophy with Western management science.
With more than 200,000 participants and ranking amongst the top three leadership courses globally on Coursera, the programme has demonstrated its capacity to transform capabilities. Yet numbers matter less than your individual commitment to growth.
The question facing you isn't whether leadership can be learned—decades of research confirm it can. Rather, you must ask whether you're ready to invest time and energy into systematic development of capabilities that will shape not only your career trajectory but your capacity to positively impact everyone you lead.
The frameworks await. Your leadership journey begins with a single decision: enrol today and commence the transformation from where you are to where your potential calls you to be.
Ready to elevate your leadership capabilities? Visit Coursera to explore the IIM Ahmedabad Leadership Skills course and join a global community of transformative leaders.