What Is Leadership?

Catalog description

This course provides an in-depth exploration of the theoretical foundations and social dimensions of leadership. The course will examine the psychological and sociological concepts that influence leadership behaviors, including motivation, organizational culture, authenticity, and decision-making. This course aims to help students understand the theoretical underpinnings of leadership and management through an exploration of academic texts from the fields of social psychology, sociology, and organizational behavior among others. Additionally, the course aims to promote a deep understanding of the self and one's impact on others as a leader. Through the course, students should expect to critically interrogate and answer questions such as: What is leadership? What does it mean to lead? How do psychological and cognitive biases manifest in decision-making within organizations? What might psychological theories of motivation tell us about how we can encourage employee performance? What role do personality and emotional intelligence play in management? This course will include a diverse set of academic readings as well as case studies that contextualize academic research findings in real-world scenarios. In class, these readings will be considered through both academic and applied lenses by demonstrations and reenactments of social psychological experiments and applying behavioral science theories and findings to real-world business environments.