Leaders are key players in organisational functioning because they critically affect the people they work with — both inside and outside of their organisations. Leaders are in a unique position to motivate employees to deliver excellent performance, engage employees for the organisations’ mission and vision, and ensure alignment with societal interests. Set against the backdrop of leadership theory, students learn about their own leadership style, further developing it as they work through a number of common leadership challenges.

Learning topics include:

• Leadership models and constructs
• Strategic decision-making and visioning
• Managing people and teams
• Global leadership
• Leadership training and development

The primary objective of this course is to provide students with an understanding of the basic principles of leadership. The theories and practices taught in this course are applicable in a wide array of positions in all types of organizations students may enter. The principal aims of the course are:

• · to provide students with a broad and critical understanding of the key issues and concepts in leadership
• · to stimulate both appreciation and consideration of current leadership theory and research
• · to allow students to reflect on their own experience, extrapolate and develop better leadership skills
• · to prepare students for future roles in which they need to work with individuals and groups in organizations

Selected lecture slides will be made available as PDF files and are downloadable from www.mywhu.com after the lecture. Journal articles are available electronically via the library.

There is No Textbook for This Course

We will be using advanced readings, so it is not necessary for you to purchase a textbook for this course. However, if you find a companion textbook helpful, you may use either or both of these books to support your learning:

Raelin, J.A. (2016). Leadership-as-Practice: Theory and Application. Routledge.

Robbins, S. & Judge, T.A. (2016). Organizational Behavior (17e). London: Pearson.

While Raelin (2016) offers depth about the philosophical and theoretical underpinnings of the course, Robbins & Judge (2016) offer an overview of the core topics we touch upon. Although these texts offer access to further reading on material central to the course, it will be insufficient to rely solely on these books for course learning. I also reiterate that these are not required books. Most leadership and organizational behaviour books will cover the core issues we are focusing on in this course.

Optional Reading:

For each lecture, the slides contain references to additional literature. You are strongly encouraged to read at least a few original articles per lecture.

Lectures, Small Work Groups, Group Discussions, Case Analysis

Most lectures feature in-class exercises. These exercises serve the purpose of embedding learning and developing skills. They are also designed to improve assessment performance. Participation in these exercises is thus mandatory and will be monitored. If you miss an exercise, you should send an explanation prior to the class, with the assistant in CC. Students are assigned to mixed groups for case work. Switching of groups is not permitted.

• Weekly diary (end of term) – 50%

6 entries – one diary for each of the 6 weeks

Theweekly diaryis a learning and assessment tool, which facilitates individuals engaging more deeply with the class materials and discussion, as well as their own experience in order to advance understanding. The weekly diary is a written piece of work that encourages deep reflection as a way to provoke advanced critical thinking, personal leadership growth, and concrete change in leadership practices. All complete and substantive diaries are awarded full marks.

• Leadership case study (end of term) – 50%

Theleadership case studyis a written assignment that involves students closely engaging with an emerging type of leadership: Compassionate leadership. Working with one particular leader, students are tasked with summarizing the individual’s leadership journey, including key successes and failures, and explaining why this individual is an example of a leader exhibiting compassionate leadership. This written assignment is assessed based on grade bands.

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