1. Bern University of Applied Sciences
  2. School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL
  3. Continuing education
  4. Positive Leadership
See table of contents See table of contents

Positive Leadership

Do you want to lead using a strengths-based approach? Is your goal to achieve outstanding performance with a highly motivated team? Using inspiring research and practical guidance, this continuing education course will show you how to do this.

Are you a specialist or manager and want to bring out the best in your employees? Take a coherent approach to generating the positive aspects in your day-to-day management of your personnel. This extra-occupational specialist course in leadership will help you identify and promote strengths.

  • You will discover your own strengths and how to use them.
  • You will learn how to promote and place requests on your employees on the basis of their strengths.
  • You will learn how to take a strengths-orientated approach to leading your team.
  • You will be able to create positive framework conditions in your organisation.
  • Thanks to the research-based approach, you will be able to adapt measures accordingly and find greater acceptance for them.
  • You will acquire a more positive value outlook.

Factsheet

  • Degree/Certificate Specialist course
  • Duration 5 study days
  • Schedule Details to follow
  • Application deadline 6 weeks before start
  • ECTS credits None / 3 ECTS-Credits
  • Costs CHF 2'100
  • Teaching language German
  • Location Bern, Schwarztorstrasse 48
  • School Business School
  • Next session Please visit the German website for more information

Contact

Downloads

For further information and registration, please visit the German website. 

Content + Structure

Profile

Motivating and optimistic. This continuing education course in leadership will help you develop a new leadership style. You will be aided in this by the science of positive psychology and your own insights that you gain during this extra-occupational course. First of all, your own strengths will be the focus of attention. You will get to know them and use them. You can then encourage your employees to do something similar and create a team culture of mutual appreciation and support. In this specialist course you will learn how to concentrate on the positive using applicable and science-based tools and procedures. Take advantage of this opportunity to explore and develop your own attitude to values.

Course objectives

Do you want to foster the existing strengths of your employees and your team more systematically?

  • You will be able to increasingly use your own strengths in everyday management activities to meet diverse challenges and to evolve as a leader.
  • You will be able to promote and deploy employees on the basis of their strengths, thus enabling not only agreeable but also difficult employees to flourish.
  • You will be able to interact with others with more ease and appreciation.
  • You will be able to design team meetings and events to promote positive and supportive interaction.

Do you as a leader want to strengthen the positive aspects of your company? This specialist course will enhance and boost your leadership skills.

  • Positive Leadership: the basics and the current state of research.
  • Three Levels: managing yourself positively, managing people positively, managing teams and organisations positively.
  • Positive Interventions: develop your own character strengths with little effort and a lot of fun.
  • Strengths Interview: motivate and coach employees by recognising and acknowledging their strengths.
  • VIA-Test: helps you identify your own strengths and manage their use in your everyday leadership activities.
  • Appreciative Enquiry: analyse situations through positive questions and influence them positively.
  • Positive Leadership in Action: implementation of your strengths in your everyday management activities.

Do you want to get things moving and motivate your employees? With the methods you learn during this specialist course in leadership you will be able to increase cohesion and job satisfaction in your team.

  • input presentations
  • individual assignments
  • reviews
  • tandem assignments
  • discussions
  • at the core will be specific homework tasks in which you will try out positive interventions and use positive leadership as a manager.
  • reflective report on experiences with exercises.
  • report on practical experience of the use of strength-orientated leadership in everyday professional life.

Title + Qualification

Specialist course in "Positive Leadership”

All participants will receive a confirmation of participation. Participants who meet the admission requirements for studying at a university of applied sciences will be awarded 3 ECTS credits. These will be shown on the course confirmation certificate.

Lecturers

Alexander W. Hunziker, Prof. Dr. oec. publ.

  • lecturer in Well-being and Behavioural Economics and Head of EMBA Public Management
  • management and project experience, work in South Africa, Germany, Japan and the USA (Harvard)
  • certified MBSR Teacher and NLP Master Practitioner
  • author of "Positiv Führen"
  • article (co-author) "Digitaler Mindset dank Lockdown"

Liliane Blurtschi, Psychologist (FSP)

  • CAS in Positive Psychology, University of Zurich
  • coach
  • organisational consultant
  • former head of a large and successful social institution

Requirements + Admission

Are you a specialist or manager working in the private sector, a non-profit organisation or public administration? Do you want to improve your leadership skills and your knowledge of positive psychology? Then this creative and practical specialist course in leadership is right for you.

You do not need to meet any specific admission requirements to participate in this specialist course. If you wish to obtain ECTS credits, the general conditions for continuing education will apply: you will require a university degree or equivalent qualification and at least two years' professional experience. If you have any questions, please contact the study administration or the course coordinator. 

General admission requirements (in German)

Professional requirements

You should have at least 2 years of work experience as a line or project manager. Alternatively, you will require other but equivalent professional experience.

Language reqirements

German

Exceptions

If you have any questions, please contact the university or the head of the degree programme.

Organisation + Registration

The course comprises 5 attendance days (2 of which are only half days), spread over a period of about 3 months. Course duration on attendance days is from 13.30 - 17.00 or 08.30 - 16.30.

For further information and registration, please visit the German website. 

Documents required for registration

You can register online via registration form. For registration we require following documents (in PDF format, max. 1 MB per document): 

  • Diplomas 

  • Curriculum Vitae 

  • Passport-sized photo (in JPG format) 

Please upload these documents even if you have already submitted them for another application. 

Information on the specialist course

From 13.30-17.00 or 08.30-16.30, respectively

The timetable will be published six months before the start of the course.

Deadline for registration is 6 weeks before the start of the course.

CHF 2’100

The costs of all mandatory literature, course materials, the competence certificates and the Clifton Strengths assessment are covered by the quoted fee.

The continuing education regulations of the Bern University of Applied Sciences and the implementation regulations for the continuing education regulations apply. The right to make changes is reserved. In case of doubt, the wording of the legal provisions and regulations shall prevail.

Continuing Education Regulations of Bern University of Applied Sciences (WBR) (PDF, 133 KB)
Implementation Provisions for the Continuing Education Regulations WBR in the Business School (PDF, 81 KB)
Implementation Provisions for the Continuing Education Regulations (PDF, 77 KB)
Framework Study Regulations at Bern University of Applied Sciences (PDF, 127 KB)
Regulations on Scientific Integrity at Bern University of Applied Sciences (WissIR) (PDF, 140 KB)
Legal foundations

Advice + Information Events

Study Counselling

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Course coordinator

Administration

Location + Facilities

Bern Schwarztorstrasse 48