Leading Across Cultures: Principles and Practice
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This course looks at questions of leadership in the modern world, in the domains of business, policy-making, and service organizations. As many young people want to make a difference or will go on to jobs in which they will be faced with questions of “changing” the world or simply their organization, the course will attempt to show them how leadership may (or not) make that possible, given the cultural context.The overarching goal of the course is to analyze and develop an understanding of what leadership means, particularly in an intercultural context that is characteristic of our global world, and to provide students with resources to enhance their own leadership abilities.
This course evaluates current theoretical models of leadership and leadership characteristics in the context of the local culture and also identifies commonalities of leadership that are recognized across cultures. Thecourse first presents what makes good leaders and what skills they need to lead effectively. We will survey a variety of approaches to the question and analyze definitions of essential concepts. We will also consider how leadership is defined in different cultural contexts. The rising field of global leadership studies identifies the cultural context as one of the important dimensions in analyzing leadership styles and how leaders meet ethical challenges, negotiate conflict, manage social dynamics through communication and team-building, and bring about change in a global environment. Finally, the course will analyze selected issues that decision makers have to face in different sectors: business, politics, public sector and international affairs. We will assess the best way to lead change, motivate followers and cope with conflicts.This course has the potential to be taught online. Please see the Online Course Guidelines for more information.
