21722 Leadership, Coaching and Mentoring

Subject level: Postgraduate

Handbook description

This subject emphasises understanding the role of the manager as leader, decision maker and change agent. Topics include: the manager's role; transformational/transactional leadership; rational and incremental decision making; decision-making alternative strategies; situational characteristics of decision making; creativity and problem solving; transactional analysis; the rational-emotive approach; the Gestalt approach; and dealing with interpersonal conflict.

Subject objectives/outcomes

On successful completion of this subject students should be able to:

1. understand their own leadership and managerial patterns and elate these patterns to a range of psychological models
2. apply psychological theory to the development of effective new patterns both for the self, and for others though coaching and mentoring
3. understand the appropriateness and situational applicability of various decision models, e.g. rational, model, incremental, heuristic, satisfying, etc.
4. understand how to cope with decision making under conditions of stress
5. apply the above theories to help subordinates develop strategic thinking and effective decision skills
6. identify leadership roles and competencies for effective action
7. understand various leadership styles and their situational applicability
8. apply theory to the coaching and mentoring of others in developing appropriate leadership styles.

Contribution to graduate profile

Leadership Coaching and Mentoring is fundamental to the development of students as future leaders. The subject is taught from three perspectives — a psychological perspective; a decision-making perspective; and a competency perspective. Presentations of models from the literature highlight characteristics of effective leaders in these three dimensions and allow students to identify gaps and areas for development of self and others. The approach taken in the subject delivery and associated assignments is to encourage students to both develop their personal styles of leadership as well to coach and mentor subordinates.

Teaching and learning strategies

Classes will involve a combination of lectures, video analysis, role-plays, and simulation exercises. Assignments focus on personal exploration and development of leadership styles and competencies in self and others.

Content

• Understanding personal psychology of leadership — transactional analysis
• The rational emotional approach — dealing with negative emotions
• The Gestalt approach — the ropes to skip and the ropes to know
• Coaching and mentoring skills
• Judgment and biases in decision making
• Systematic ways of decision-making — the rational model, incremental models, and heuristics
• Decision-making under conditions of stress
• Leadership and management — is there a difference?
• Transformational and transactional leadership
• Leadership roles and competencies
• Leadership and emotional intelligence
• Visioning and shaping culture
• Leadership and the learning organisation
• Leadership models — binary, ternary and servant centred leadership
• Coaching others towards high performance.

Assessment

Assessment item 1: Essay – Psychology (Individual)

Assessment item 2: Essay – Decision making (Individual)

Assessment item 3: Exercise – Coaching others towards improved competency (Individual)