Developing a Technology Leadership Certificate Program
Andrew C. Hurt and
Daniel O. Lybrook
Purdue University
Department of Technology Leadership and Innovation
Young Hall, 3 rd
Floor
155 S. Grant St.
West Lafayette, IN 47907 USA
Email: Andrew Hurt – hurta@purdue.edu
Daniel Lybrook – lybrood@purdue.edu
Submission Stream: Leadership, Management and Talent Development
Submission Type: Working Paper

Abstract
Modern technology organizations have a paramount need for leaders who have both technological knowledge and knowledge of leadership. Thus, the Organizational Leadership program at Purdue University has developed a Technology Leadership Certificate program that serves as an addition to a student’s associate, applied associate, or bachelor technical degree program. This working paper describes the development of that program, its structure, sequence, course offerings, and management/administration. Recommendations for growing the program and expanding into different national and geographic regions are also provided.
Keywords: Technology, Leadership, Higher Education

Developing a Technology Leadership Certificate Program
A technology leader is “someone who enables others to operate within the processes used to modify the natural world to create the designed world contributing to effectiveness and success” (Daugherty, Mentzer, Lybrook, Little-Wiles, 2010, p. 42). This definition describes those individuals who have the responsibility to lead others while engaged in creating, designing, and managing technology. Leaders must possess a broad base of technological knowledge including its processes, products, and implications, as well as the leadership skills necessary to be able to influence change and motivate others.
Technology-rich organizations are desperate for people who can pair technical knowledge, skills, and abilities with an ability to lead people. A gap exists between what organizations need from employees in the way of technical competence and what organizations need in the way of leadership competency (Antonakis, Cianciolo, and Sternberg, 2004; Yukl,
2013). High-ranking managers in technology-rich organizations have indicated a gap between those technologically trained and the demands of leadership positions (Little-Wiles, Hackney, and Daugherty, 2012). Historically, organizations have focused on hiring employees with either a strong technical competence or a strong leadership competence; however, the 21 st
century technology leader will need both.
This paper describes our efforts in the Organizational Leadership program at Purdue
University to develop a Technology Leadership certificate program for technology focused associate and applied associate degree programs at a partnering local community college. Over the past few years we have worked to define and identify those competencies of technology leadership (see Daugherty, Deadman, Hurt, and Lybrook, 2014; Daugherty, Mentzer, and
Lybrook, 2010; Daugherty et al., 2013; Hurt, Deadman, Daugherty, and Lybrook, 2014; Hurt,

Lybrook, and Daugherty, 2014). This certificate program serves as the first application of our research on understanding leadership within a technology context.
This certificate will function as an add-on component to a community college student’s technology focused associate or applied associate degree, providing the student with depth of leadership skills to complement technology skills. Technology-based programs such as advanced manufacturing, industrial maintenance, manufacturing production and operations, construction, and computer information technology are targeted programs for the certificate.
The goals of the certificate program are twofold. The first is to fill the gap that exists between technical competence and leadership competency in order to prepare those with technical competence for leadership roles in organizations. Second, this certificate program aids in bridging the divide between research and practice by incorporating research on technology leadership with industry needs.
Technology Leadership Certificate
The Technology Leadership (TL) certificate from Purdue University is a unique opportunity for students seeking a technical degree to learn about leadership and blend that knowledge with their technical degree program. The certificate program consists of a 12 credit hour sequence. All students are required to complete six credit hours consisting of two specific courses, one at the beginning of the certificate sequence and one at the end. These two courses serve to bookend the certificate creating formal and informal learning opportunities for students.
Between these course book ends, students have the ability to complete the other six hours by selecting two courses that best serve their needs. Currently, we offer three selective courses.
Figure 1 illustrates the course and sequence of the TL certificate program.

Figure 1. Technology Leadership Certificate Courses and Sequence
TLI 15200
Business Principles for
Organizational Leadership
TLI 11200
Foundations of
Organizational Leadership
TLI 21300
Project Management
TLI 25400
Leading Change in
Technology Organizations
TLI 25300
Principles of Technology
Strategy
Required Entry Course Choose Two Required Exit Course
Courses for the TL certificate are co-ordinated and led by instructors and faculty at
Purdue University and are scaffolded onto the student’s community college degree. Thus students can earn an associate or applied associate at the community college while also earning a
TL certificate from Purdue University. In some cases, those students who wish to pursue a four year bachelor’s degree would be able to seamlessly transition the TL certificate course credits onto their Bachelor of Science degree at Purdue.
All five courses are offered throughout the year in varying modalities. Fall and Spring semesters consist of 16 week face to face, “flipped” (a hybrid modality combining face to face and distance), and distance course options. Face to Face courses meet twice per week for
90minutes, flipped classes meet face to face once per week for 90 minutes, and distance classes meet asynchronously for 100% of the semester. The mode of course instruction determines how much distance/virtual work the student must complete. Summer is divided into three equal sessions of four weeks. As with fall and spring, all five courses are offered in all modalities throughout the summer. The key difference between summer and fall/spring semesters is that

courses are compressed into one of the four week sessions. Thus, students are restricted to how many credit hours they can take during a given summer session because of the increased work load.
Technology Leadership Certificate Courses
The five TL Certificate courses are designed to specifically address the integration of leadership with technology while also providing the student a general knowledge of how organizations and businesses function. Hurt, Lybrook, and Daugherty (2014) described the importance of situating leadership education within a context. In higher education the past decade has seen increased growth in disciplinary specific leadership degree offerings. Leadership is a broad topic. Leaders and leadership exists in every business and industry and from startup organizations to Fortune 500 companies. For this certificate program, technology is the context through which we study leadership. This focus is an important distinction as it sets this TL certificate program apart from other disciplinary specific leadership endeavors (i.e. Engineering
Leadership, Agricultural Leadership, Educational Leadership, etc.). Figure 1 described the overall process of a student completing the certificate program. Each of these five courses is described below.
TLI 11200 Foundations of Organizational Leadership
This course is a survey of individual and organizational behavioral concepts and principles that provide a foundation for leadership in technology organizations. The focus will be toward the understanding of behaviors necessary for effective technology leadership, including concepts of work in a technology-rich environment. Students will learn to define the foundational theories, concepts, and practices of organizational behavior and technology leadership. They will use self-assessment inventories for identifying behaviors and skills of

technology leadership. They will also be required to explain the systematic study of organizational behavior and define and implement reflective practice for leadership growth.
Finally, students will be asked to describe dimensions of technology as they relate to organizational behavior and leadership
TLI 15200 Business Principles for Organizational Leadership
This course will introduce the topic of applied organizational leadership in the context of working organizations. It will cover the basic functions, structures, and operations of businesses.
The course will also explore basic financial analysis with special emphasis on reading and understanding balance sheets, cash flow statements, and profit and loss statements. In the course, student’s will identify the business information that organizational leaders are expected to know to comprehensively manage the function and operation of profit and non-profit organizations.
They will demonstrate an understanding of the major functions of business, including: operations, finance, marketing, and information technology. Finally, students will explore how organizations are using technology to leverage competitiveness in global business environments.
TLI 21300 Project Management
This course will provide a leadership approach to project management, including team development and team selection. Project management is an ad hoc technique for accomplishing specialized missions or work. Examples of projects include research and development studies, consulting projects, reorganization efforts, implementation of total quality management, installation of new equipment, advertising campaigns, construction or other one-time efforts. In the course, students will be asked to d ocument and manage a project using accepted project management principles while d emonstrating their ability to function effectively in teams. Further, they will identify strategies for managing organizational stakeholders and demonstrate effective oral and written communication skills through various team projects.

TLI 25300 Principles of Technology Strategy
This course explores technological strategy and the innovation process from an organizational perspective. The evolutionary path of technologies is dependent upon a variety of factors that when understood can lead to sound technology leadership practices. These factors include innovative organizational processes, economic enablers, and public policies. Students will explore these factors and their interrelationships with attention to how they contribute to practices such as technological evaluation, assessment, planning, strategy, and forecasting. In the course, students will describe the complex interactions of micro and macro factors involved in the technological process. They will explore the intersection between technology and science; technology and institutions; and technology and values, as well as exploring technological evaluation and assessment strategies. Further, students will be asked to explain the processes of technology strategy and planning, including adoption, diffusion, and transfer.
TLI 25400 Leading Change in Technology Organizations
As the final course in the TL certificate, this course provides a framework for creating, monitoring, and leading change within technology-rich organizations. Students will learn how to be change consultants, diagnose organizational problems, identify and implement change interventions at various outcome levels (i.e. individual, group, process, and the organization as a whole), and evaluate the success of change efforts. In the course, students will be asked to analyze the skills and roles of organization change agents. They will learn to differentiate strategies for problem identification in technology-rich organizations. Students must be able to explain the organization development process and identify strategies for organizational change interventions at various outcome levels. Finally, students will describe how technology influences the implementation of change interventions.

Administration, Management, and the Future of the Certificate
The certificate is targeted at community college students; however, Purdue students are also able to take the certificate. The program itself is co-ordinated and taught by instructors and faulty at Purdue. In order to capture relevant industry needs an Industrial Leadership Board was formed. The Industrial Leadership Board serves to provide guidance to the certificate program and is comprised of industry leaders such as Red Gold, General Motors, and Hill-Rom, along with input from the Purdue University’s Military and Veterans Coordinator. These various parties meet twice a year to review the program and recommend changes so as to better serve the student participants and the employers who hire them.
While the TL certificate is still in its infancy and several known and unknown problems will undoubtedly have to be solved, this program provides the groundwork for teaching and training in technology leadership at both national and global levels. Our geographic proximity to the state of Indiana has encouraged us to tailor this program to serve the needs of our region; however, there is no reason that this framework cannot be edited slightly and applied on a larger scale to a different region. The Industrial Leadership Board serves as a key player in the ability of this program to generalize to other regions and nations. If other regions/nations were interested in developing a similar program they will want to develop a similar board comprised of industry leaders from their geographic region.

References
Antonakis, J., Cianciolo, A.T., and Sternberg R.J, (2004), The nature of leadership, Thousand
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Daugherty, J. L., Mentzer, N. J., Lybrook, D. O., and Little-Wiles, J., (2013), “Philosophical perspectives on technology leadership,” In S. Wang and T. Hartsell (Eds.), Technology
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