Module Directory

This elective module will provide students with an advanced understanding of leadership theory, concepts and research in relation to leading and promoting change in organisations. Drawing on ongoing debates surrounding the nature of leadership, it will critically explore its role as both a driver of change as well as a potential impediment.

The module will provide students with a greater understanding of various leadership issues, debates, theories, concepts, and dilemmas. These include for example: debates around the similarities and differences of leaders and managers; key concepts in leadership, such as the hero-view of individual leaders versus more distributed views of leadership; the importance of charisma, and contemporary models such as transformational leadership; leadership and culture; leadership development and learning; leadership strategy and leadership for organisational change, such as digital transformations; and leadership in relation to critical or sensitive concerns such as power, resistance, gender, diversity, ethics and toxicity.

The module offers students chances to learn about these leadership issues, as well as opportunities to develop their own thinking through discussions, activities, reflection, and combining their experiences with conceptual leadership frameworks. The module prepares learners by grounding them in leadership knowledge and debates which support future career development towards leadership roles.

The aims of this module are:

1. To provide students with an understanding and appreciation of a variety of concepts, theories, and perspectives on organisational leadership.


2. To enable students to critically evaluate the potential impact of various concepts and perspectives on leadership in organisational change initiatives.


3. To ensure that students are able to demonstrate how contextual and other organisational factors influence leadership practices and how they can contribute to the success or failure of change initiatives.


4. To encourage students to reflect on contemporary critical issues in leadership, such as power, ethics and diversity.

By the end of this module students should be able to demonstrate:

1. An understanding and appreciation of a variety of theories, concepts and perspectives on organisational leadership.


2. The ability to critically evaluate the potential impact of these concepts and perspectives on leadership in organisational change initiatives.


3. How contextual and other organisational factors influence leadership practices and how they can contribute to the success or failure of change initiatives.


4. Reflection on contemporary critical issues in leadership, such as power, ethics and diversity.

Skills for Your Professional Life (Transferable Skills)

In addition to providing you with an education, at Essex Business School we aim to help you become highly employable. In this module we use an embedded employability approach where the module content, structure and the module assessment are designed to contribute towards your employability. Your time and your degree at the University of Essex will enable you to develop understanding of and skills in:

• Written Communication


• Oral Communication


• Research Skills


• Critical Thinking


• Teamwork-Collaboration


• Digital and Technical Fluency


• Innovation and Curiosity


• Personal Brand

As a student at Essex Business School, you will have the opportunity to develop your understanding of and skills in Commercial Awareness.

Indicative Lecture Programme

Lecture 1: Orientation to the Module and to Leading Change

This opening session will orient students to the module and examine the roles of leaders and managers, before looking at other key concepts in leadership of relevance to organisational change. There will be opportunities for discussion, groupwork and developing learners’ own analysis and perspectives on leadership for the module assignment.

Lecture 2: Charisma, Transformation and Organisational Culture

The second session considers leadership and charisma, the Full Range Leadership Model and Transformational Leadership, and Leadership and Culture in organisations. There will be opportunities for discussion, groupwork and developing learners’ own analysis and perspectives on leadership for the module assignment.

Lecture 3: Leading Change, Strategy, and Digital Transformation

In this session, models of organisational change will be considered, along with leadership and strategy, plus the contemporary area of digital transformation and leadership’s role in it. There will be opportunities for discussion, groupwork and developing learners’ own analysis and perspectives on leadership for the module assignment.

Lecture 4: Gender, Diversity, Power and Resistance in Leading Change 

In this penultimate session attention turns towards questions of gender, diversity, power, and resistance, as examples of more critical, sensitive areas of leadership, but ones with great innovative potential for change efforts. There will be opportunities for discussion, groupwork and developing learners’ own analysis and perspectives on leadership for the module assignment.

Lecture 5: Leadership Development, Ethics, Toxicity and Evaluation

The focus of this final session is on leadership learning and development, plus debates in the ethics of leadership, particularly the issues of toxic, bad or destructive leadership which can hamper change efforts. If time permits, the issue of evaluation will be included as part of this final session. There will be opportunities for discussion, groupwork and developing learners’ own analysis and perspectives on leadership for the module assignment.

The module will be delivered over the course of five weeks. Each session will combine a formal lecture with group discussions and activities. The former will utilise both multi-media resources and interactive exercises.

Group discussions will centre on the critical evaluation of relevant leadership perspectives, dilemmas, models, cases, and/or concepts. Each week will feature new leadership content, interactive activities, and development of leadership knowledge and analysis for the module’s written assignment.