9 Best Online Courses For Business Leadership

If you’re looking to start a business of your own or you want to climb the corporate ladder, leadership skills are important. They’re not always easy to build from scratch, however, and some training and education can go a long way. For that reason, we’re going to take a look at some of the best leadership courses you can find online and how they might suit your needs.

Deakin University Online – For Accessible Formal Education

A lot of the training course providers we will look at focus on short, topic-based courses, but Deakin University Online, as a leading education institution in Australia, offers formal qualifications like the Graduate Certificate of Leadership and a Master of Leadership. These courses take months at a minimum but make for a meaningful addition to your resume, with advanced digital tools to make their instructor-led courses highly accessible. What’s more, courses focus on real-world workplace research to teach practical skills ready to apply when you’re in business.

Pros

• Highly flexible, high-quality online learning
• Reliable student support network
• Certifications with real value

Cons

• Large class sizes can mean limited one-on-one time
• Longer course length than many options

INSEAD Online Programs – For The Executives

If you’re looking at potentially becoming an executive leader in a high-end business, INSEAD is one of the top-ranked business schools in the world, offering highly structured courses. While not very flexible, they offer a good combination of video lectures and applied project work to help you develop the skills necessary for mid-to-high-end leaders. While not one of the more flexible courses out there, in terms of schedule, they do offer highly focused learning experiences.

Pros:

• Highly prestigious school
• Focused on global executive leadership
• Great faculty and coaching support

Cons

• Expensive
• Fixed weekly schedule

Alison – For Free Courses

If your budget is particularly tight, then the online course platform Alison has a wide range of free leadership and management courses that focus on developing skills in a self-paced, module-based learning environment. Optional paid certifications are available, but these certificates may not carry as much weight as any formal education. It’s also worth noting that the free version of the site does include a lot of ads.

Pros:

• Free course content
• Low-cost certification
• Solid foundational education

Cons

• Courses vary in depth
• Lack of instructor or peer support

Harvard Business School Online – One Of The Most Prestigious Online Courses In the World

Harvard Business School Online offers a range of leadership training courses, replicating the HIB classroom experience with a case-based learning style that emulates real-world scenarios and encourages learners to take on the leadership role in those situations for hands-on training. It also includes high-quality video lectures, group discussions, and insight from their world-class faculty.

Pros:

• Very valuable name recognition for certification
• World-class faculty and materials
• Collaborative online learning

Cons:

• Highly expensive
• Little flexibility with scheduling

Udemy – Budget-Friendly Access To A Wide Range Of Courses

A budget-friendly online course marketplace, Udemy offers hundreds of leadership courses, covering topics that run the gamut. Anyone can publish courses on Udemy, which means their quality can vary, but if you stick to the most highly rated, you’re likely to find valuable and short courses from genuine experts in the field.

Pros:

• Very inexpensive
• A diverse range of courses
• Learn at your own pace

Cons:

• No academic certification
• The quality of courses may vary

Skillshare – For Compact, Practical Learning

Skillshare is a platform that mostly focuses on the creative industries, but has fostered a growing range of professional leadership courses, often led by coaches and entrepreneurs. While not offering an academic learning environment, their video-based courses do focus on practical soft skills, which can make them highly valuable for those who want to build their skills fast. The subscription-based model means it’s easy to try out any of the courses on the site before you decide which to commit to more fully, too.

Pros:

• Budget-friendly, subscription-based model
• High-quality video content
• Perfect for soft skills

Cons:

• No formal qualifications
• No peer interaction or direct coaching

edX – Access to High-End University Courses

An online educational platform that partners with a host of top educational institutions, edX has a host of leadership courses. Many of these offer free auditing, allowing learners to try out course materials from prestigious names like MIT and Columbia, with optional certification allowing them to delve deeper into their offerings. Courses typically include video lectures, readings, and quizzes, and are built for more independent learners.

Pros:

• Access to elite educational materials
• Self-paced learning environment
• Good for independent learning

Cons:

• Peer and faculty support is limited
• Expensive for certification

American Management Association – Great For Hybrid Learning

A hybrid learning platform, offering both online and in-person leadership workshops, the American Management Association focuses on practical business leadership. With both live and on-demand online materials, these offer credible and practical education without the price tag associated with some of the more prestige names. While not a degree-granting organization, AMA is highly respected in professional settings, especially for those in the US, though international recognition may be limited.

Pros:

• Live and on-demand options
• Practical, workplace-oriented training
• Wide range of coaches and instructors

Cons:

• Not academic or accredited
• Limited international recognition

Mind Tools – Inexpensive, Dedicated Professional Development

While providing great, free articles for anyone who wants to read them, Mind Tools also provides more structured learning tracks on a subscription basis. Content such as videos and toolkits is wholly business-focused, often drawing from real-world scenarios. While these are not courses in the traditional sense and, as such, have no certifications attached, they can make for a great ongoing training resource for leaders at any level.

Pros:

• Low subscription cost
• Practical and work-focused
• Highly flexible and great for busy schedules

Cons:

• No certification or credentials
• Not a traditional “course” structure

When choosing an online leadership course provider, you need to think about what level of training you want, as well as how you may need it to fit your schedule. Hopefully, the tips above can help you narrow your options down to those that fit best.