Introduction
Students will progress through an accelerated leadership learning journey while having fun in the process.
Corporations are complex environments, sometimes difficult to navigate and frustrating, other times fertile ground for your personal and professional flourishing. This course uses cinematic storytelling to draw you into the world of knowledge and skills required from a recognized leadership talent. The course is structured around the film 'Crossroads Life', a real-life case of a leader in a global corporation (now also a movie that won multiple awards). However, the course also uses other management cases, movies, and current unfolding affairs as examples as we progress together in our leadership discovery journey. You will actively participate in class discussion, role-plays, quizzes, and group work, as well as build your own personal learning diary and ultimately your very own leadership movie!
Course overview
Coordinating lecturer: Emilia Bunea
Forms of assessment: class discussion participation, personal project, team assignments
Credits: 3 ECTS
Contact hours: 45 hours
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Have a nuanced understanding of what makes effective leaders in corporations and the importance of context, seniority level, and follower characteristics.
- Understand the separate dimensions of emotional intelligence, its role in leadership, and its interaction with context (e.g. followers, company culture, power dynamics, high job demands).
- Review cognitive, interpersonal, business & strategic skills and their relative weights at different management levels. Appreciate individual differences, their correlation with leadership effectiveness, and practical applications (e.g. leadership tips for introverts). Know about McCauley’s leadership levels and where one might find oneself in this hierarchy.
- Deepen awareness of different leadership styles, e.g. transformational, authentic, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership, with a focus on what transformational leadership may mean in different contexts.
- Defend the importance of self-management for sustainable leadership. Be familiar with the concept of psychological capital and its importance for leaders.
- Understand the different types of stressors impacting leaders. Including self-generated stressors connected to leader “impostorism” and self-handicapping behavior.
- Appreciate the authenticity challenges leaders increasingly face including the challenge of staying “true to oneself” while adapting to the requirements of a new job. Have a new understanding of value-based leadership, including its pitfalls.
- Be aware of the role serious leisure can play to support leaders in responding to executive job demands.
- Have practical knowledge of cultural differences and how to assess a new culture. Be aware of the elements that compose culture (of an organization, department, geographical unit) as per Hofstede’s “onion” and of questions, one could ask to assess a new culture;
- Have practical knowledge of leading across country cultural dimensions.
- Argue in favor of the importance of trust, implicit leadership theories, and motivation in leaders’ relationships with their followers.
- Debate on the conditions for effective teams and appreciate the challenges of social distance on transformational leadership and the risk of falling prey to the fundamental attribution error.
- Have a practical and complex understanding of why large programs succeed or fail in corporations, of Kotter’s eight steps for successful change, and of the crucial role played by leadership.
- Argue in favor or against power and politics in organizations. Be familiar with French & Raven’s bases of power, appreciate the interplay between leaders’ powerful and humble leadership styles.
- Reconcile political skills and leader authenticity.
- Value political choices vs. “doing the right thing” (utilitarian vs. Kantian ethics).
- Be aware of ethical dilemmas in leadership (e.g. the competing values of a leader’s responsibility for their collective and a leader’s broader organizational citizenship; utilitarian decision making; the effect of instrumental networking on felt authenticity; moral courage in everyday management work.
Program Tuition Fees
VU Students, Ph.D. candidates, and employees of VU Amsterdam, or an Aurora Network Partner: €650
Students at Partner Universities of VU Amsterdam: €900
Students and Ph.D. candidates at non-Partner Universities of VU Amsterdam: €950
Professionals: €1150
Early Bird offer
Applications received before 15 March (CET 23:59) receive a €50 Early Bird discount!
The tuition fee includes:
- Application and registration
- Airport pick-up service
- Orientation program and welcome
- Course excursions (if applicable)
- Exclusive course content for a limited number of participants
- Individual/group guidance from the course organizer
- Access to all VU facilities such as the library and online learning environments
- On-site support
- A transcript of records and certificate of attendance after completing the course
- A discounted access to our sports facilities
Academic Excellence Scholarship
Applications for the Academic Excellence Scholarship are open until 1 April (23:59 CET).
For your scholarship application they request the following:
1. Curriculum Vitae/Résumé (CV) stating your educational background;
2. A recent transcript of records (a print screen is sufficient) shows you have a grade point average of at least 85%. For example, if the highest possible mark is a 10, you need to have an average of at least an 8.5. We will take into account the differences in grading cultures. A copy of your diploma (Bachelor, Master, Ph.D.) is also sufficient if you have this.
3. Professional Letter of Reference Including:
- His/her/their experience working with you (either in an academic, professional, or volunteer setting)
- His/her/their motivation for recommending you for the scholarship
- Complete contact information
When filling out the scholarship form they will ask the following questions:
- Why are you interested in joining VU Amsterdam Summer School?
- What’s your motivation for selecting this course?
- How you will use the information you learn to make a positive impact in the future for both yourself and your community?
- Why do you deserve this scholarship?
The Academic Excellence Scholarship covers the tuition for one course and accommodation in one of our accommodation options (if needed) + one social activity. Please be aware that it is not possible to select more than one course for the scholarship. If you are interested in an extra course in a different session then please apply for this course via our regular registration form.
For further information, please click the "LINK TO ORIGINAL" button below.