Course syllabus
BOM030 Leadership and communication lp2 HT21 (7.5 hp). Course is offered by the department of Technology Management and Economics
Contact details
Examiner and Course leader:
Martin Löwstedt (Associate Professor), e-mail: martin.lowstedt@chalmers.se
Teacher and Supervisor group assignments:
Rikard Sandberg (Dr.) , e-mail: rikard.sandberg@chalmers.se
Lecturers
Martin Löwstedt (Associate Professor), e-mail: martin.lowstedt@chalmers.se
Rikard Sandberg (Dr.), e-mail: rikard.sandberg@chalmers.se
Christine Räisänen (Professor), e-mail: christine.raisanen@chalmers.se
Max Ricciardi (Associate Professor), e-mail: max@blpartners.se
Course purpose
Leadership is an interactive process involving leader, followers and situations. It can be seen as a science, but it is also an art that draws on experience, intuition and a sense of judgement. A leader is constantly dealing with both the rational and the emotional sides of human experience. In our view, a good leader is first and foremost a competent communicator and a good learner. Most definitions of a leader include three key concepts: to rule, to motivate and to mentor. When stated so bluntly, what strikes us is the inherent incompatibility of these three acts. How can one person competently juggle the very different qualities of a ruler, a motivator and a mentor?
Thus, leadership, despite the vast amount of theorizing and empirical research, remains difficult to encapsulate in definitions or models. This is because leadership, as compared to management, for example, is a relational and dynamic process; it is an interactional process that is highly dependent on context, situations and on the people "being led". In order to be an effective ruler, motivator and mentor for heterogeneous groups in specific contexts, we need to understand the historical, social and epistemological grounding of that context, i.e. what drives the particular groupings in that context and what resources can a leader tap into in order to enhance engagement, responsibility and accountability in specific workplaces.
In this course leadership will be presented and discussed over a number of themes:
- Leadership and the individual
- Leadership and groups
- Leadership and society
- Leadership and power
- Leadership and coaching
- Leading and charisma
- Leadership and critical theory
- Leadership in practice
Course literature
Bolden, R., Hawkins, B., Gosling, J and Taylor, S. (2011) Exploring Leadership: Individual, Organizational and Societal Perspectives. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (can be bought at the Chalmers bookstore "Cremona")
In addition to this book, course reading will also include a number of articles. These will be announced as the course progresses. However, those of you that want to read ahead can read the whole course book (as every chapter will be included in the course).
Course design
The course is designed as a number of full-day sessions led by different teachers. Each session consists of a blend of: short lectures, practice-oriented exercises, collective reflection and discussions in smaller groups. All session will be held physically on campus (see TIME edit for schedule and room-numbers)
These sessions are mandatory to attend. You can miss a maximum of one session without it either affecting your grade or submitting you to extra tasks in order to pass the course.
In the first session of the course you will be divided into smaller groups (four in each). You will work together in these groups on a number of written group tasks, that will be posted on a weekly basis here on Canvas. More information about this will be presented during the first session Nov 10th.
Canvas will be used to communicate general announcements throughout the course and to upload lecture slides and assignments. But for general questions it is better to use the regular e-mails for faster replies. General questions about the course should be directed to Martin Löwstedt, martin.lowstedt@chalmers. and questions about the weekly assignments to Rikard Sandberg, rikard.sandberg@chalmers.se.
Learning objectives and syllabus
By the end of this course you will understand and be able to explain theory within the areas listed above as well as understanding leadership as a process and interaction between leaders, followers and situations
By the end of this course you will also have improved your practical abilities within the following areas:
- general communication skills: written, spoken, auditory
- critical analysis skills: reflecting and assessing interpretation and argumentation skills
- ability to work effectively in groups and teams, as well as to take on the role as a group/team leader
- ability to train your own leadership skills
Examination form
The course examination consists of: active participation during the workshops, four written group tasks, one individual task, one classroom quiz, and a HomeExam Grading scale (U,3,4,5). If you miss more then one session, you will need to submit extra assignments to pass the course