Resonant Leadership (MGTS7812)

Day 1 - Wednesday 5/02/2025: Introdution to Resonant Leadership, Executive Mindsets and Ways of Viewing the World

Introduction: Leadership for what? (Module 1)

Managing in a world of opportunity and polycrisis requires business leaders to embrace the challenges they face, overcome paradoxes, and to develop an integrative mindset. This course lays the foundation on how to become a resonant leader: a leader who understands that there are different ways of viewing the world, that business must build and maintain trustful stakeholder relationships, that leadership is always relational, and that one must lead responsibly in an environment of contested values. Moreover, faced with the grand challenges of our time, new perspectives of knowing and organising are required, as are relational and cultural intelligence and clear vistas on the two great frontiers: climate change and artificial intelligence. Resonant Leadership addresses these challenges and equips students with the tools to become a responsible and resonant leader.

Executive Mindset/Framing, Ways of Viewing the World (Module 2)

(Four Frames – Part I: Place and People)

Building on Bolman/Deal’s first two frames, focusing on organising and the importance of place(F1), as well as people (F2)

Executive Mindset/Framing, Ways of Viewing the World (Module 3) 

(Four Frames– Part II: Politics and lived Purpose)

Building on Bolman/Deal’s second two frames: navigating organisational politics (F3) and the importance of culture and lived purpose (F4)

Day 2 - Thursday - 06/02/2025: The Ethical Foundations of Leadership and Responsible Leadership in a World of Contested Values

The ethical foundations of leadership (Module 4)

Unpacking the ethical foundations of leadership: the why, the who, the what, the how. Finding your true north. Leadership and followership. Leadership as relational work. Power, influence, and ethics. The dark side.

In this session students will acquire a clear understanding of the ethical foundations of leadership. We will unpack the relational ontology of leadership and clarify purpose, meaning, and dynamics of good leadership. In the second part of the session we will explore the faultlines of leadership: the use of power, influence, and the ever present dark side of leadership.

Responsible leadership in a world of contested values (Module 5)

Giving people the why.  Creating resonance. Reconciling dilemmas. The roles model of responsible leadership (incl. self-reflection)

Business leaders operate in multi-stakeholder environments. This means that views pertaining to the role of business in society and the wider world differ. Indeed, in recent years and with a shift towards ESG (and back) it has become clear that values are contested. Responsible leadership enables leaders to obtain clear vistas on what is important and why. Students will understand the role of purpose and vision – how to build trustful and sustainable relationships with stakeholders – how to assess and reconcile dilemmas and explore in depth the roles model of responsible leadership. 

Day 3 - Friday 7/02/2025: Stakeholder Simulation, Managing Stakeholders and Reconciling Dilemmas

1. Prendo simulation
2. Part 2: Getting the balance right

In part 1 of this session students will engage in a stakeholder simulation and learn how to deal with conflicting and complex stakeholder demands under pressure. In part 2 we will debrief the experience and zoom in on the essentials of stakeholder management, most importantly, on who counts, why, and how conflicting stakeholder interests can be balanced in responsible ways. Students will learn how use concepts such as legitimacy, power, and urgency and engage in a tiered stakeholder assessment.

Day 4 - Wednesday 19/02/2025: Indigenous Perspectives on Leadership and Management an Group Presentations

Module 7

Understanding Western and Indigenous ontology. An exploration of the root construct of leadership and how that root construct evolved along different pathways to produce Western and Indigenous conceptions of leadership. An exploration of Indigenous ontology and leadership.

A 20-minute in-class group presentation using the Four-Frames paradigm and applying indigenous ontology to identify and describe an indigenous initiative that has been successful in 'Closing the Gap'.

Day 5 - Thursday 20/02/2025: Leading Across Cultures, Governance and Board Dynamics

Leading across cultures (Module 10)

Understanding the impact of cultural differences. Managing the impact and idiosyncrasies of culture. When in Rome, …Leveraging diversity.

Diversity, equity and inclusion programs are at the heart of many HR management efforts to leverage diversity in organizations. Many of these efforts fail however, because underlying cultural differences remain unexplored. Students will learn about the idiosyncrasies of culture, how to lead across culture and how to avoid the pitfalls of cultural differences. This session concludes with an inquiry into the nature of inclusion.

Governance, Board Dynamics, and the Pitfalls of Power in Organizations (Module 11)

An examination of best practice governance of organisations including understanding the organisations' mission, the exercise of independent judgement and skilled stewardship. We will further explore the importance of risk tolerance and due dilligence, including the delinetion between managment and management oversight. We will conclude with the need for transperancy and stakeholder engagement.

Day 6 - Friday 21/02/2025: CSR, Climate Leadership and Sustainable Futures - Responsible Governance of Artificial Intelligence

CSR, Climate Leadership & Sustainable Futures (Module 12)

From CSR to ESG and back. The tragedy of climate change. Climate justice and the ethics of green futures. Climate action. Substantive CSR.

In session 12 students will develop an understanding of corporate social responsibility and sustainability. We will explore the history and meaning of CSR, explore the urgency of climate action and develop an integrative and substantive perspective of both, CSR and sustainability.

Responsible Governance of Artificial Intelligence (Module 13)

The next frontier. How to balance self-binding and regulation. Leading human technology. Bridging past, present, and future.

In the final session of the course students will engage with the coming frontier of management. More specifically, we will explore the challenge of responsible governance of AI and thus the alignment of humanistic values and opportunities. Students will explore the role of individuals, organizations, and industries as a whole and will be equipped with a critical perspective linking responsible AI and self-binding management measures to leverage the potential of AI without irreversible harm for humanity.