Psychology of Leadership

Course Description

The course aims to broaden the approach to leadership in organizations, disciplines and cultures, connecting fields that may seem unrelated. This includes leadership variations across cultures and their impact on the personal, the political and the organizational. New attitudes, research, thinking patterns and behavior will be analyzed in the course through current motivational trends, cross-cultural communication, gender and diversity innovations in leadership. This includes motivating, inspiring and guiding groups and people; initiating or managing change and intrapersonal intelligence and competence. International dimensions found in cross-cultural psychology studies will be adapted and discussed as it relates to leadership.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to :
– Comprehend some of the contemporary definitions of leadership, and developing a personal definition;
– Comprehend selected historical and contemporary models of leadership, and how individual styles compare to such models;
– Understand the responsibilities and privileges of leadership, including moral and ethical decisions and the use of authority and power;
– Comprehend the context of leadership, mostly central to which is the relationship between the individual and the group;
– Apply foundational areas of leadership to practical and real-life situations within the current political, social and organizational climates familiar to the student;
– Understand and articulate your personal values and approaches to leadership;
– See and reflect upon the application of leadership theory in an applied settings.