Unit rationale, description and aim
Leadership is a highly influential factor in achieving sustainable organisational outcomes by effectively responding to the constantly shifting business landscape, where a global focus, digital advances, and socio-political shifts occur rapidly. Leaders need to understand the cultural, organisational, ethical, and political implications of their decisions and practices. Students will be exposed to the concept of subsidiarity and its implications for empowering people. To do this effectively, they will require knowledge of leadership research and insights from individual, collective, ethical, followership, and psychoanalytic perspectives, as well as emergent views linking leadership to identity, virtuality, and spirituality. This unit provides students with the knowledge and capabilities to respond effectively, efficiently, ethically, and authentically to the challenges, tensions, and paradoxes facing today’s organisations and communities. Students will apply their knowledge in leading people and organisations toward sustainable outcomes.
The aim of this unit is to develop students’ critical understanding of leadership theory and practice, enabling them to lead with integrity, cultural awareness, and ethical responsibility in complex and dynamic organisational contexts.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
Explain relevant theories, concepts and principles...
Learning Outcome 01
Analyse core leadership and management skills need...
Learning Outcome 02
Apply various leadership and management skills in ...
Learning Outcome 03
Critically reflect on the challenges of leading an...
Learning Outcome 04
Content
Topics will include:
- Introduction to Leadership
- Sustainable leadership
- Leadership skills
- Leadership theories and approaches
- Individual differences and leadership approaches
- Ethical and spiritual leadership approaches
- Power and influence, politics and organisational leadership
- Followership - why should we become a good follower?
- Culture, leading change and leadership
- Trends in Leadership
Assessment strategy and rationale
In order to pass this unit, students are required to achieve an aggregate mark of at least 50%. Marking will be in accordance with a rubric specifically developed to measure student levels of achievement of the learning outcomes for each item of assessment. Students will also be awarded a final grade which signifies their overall achievement in the unit. The assessment strategy for this unit allows students to sequentially develop their knowledge and skills of leadership to the point where they are able to critically reflect on their own leadership practices and capabilities and develop a personal leadership development strategy. To develop this level of capability, students will demonstrate their knowledge of leadership through a critical essay, then apply their knowledge and understanding by presenting their reflections, conclusions and findings and leadership development strategy in the final assessment task.
The assessment tasks for this unit are designed for students to demonstrate their achievement of each learning outcome of the unit. A Lane 2 approach to AI use is permitted with proper acknowledgment.
Overview of assessments
Assessment 1: Investigative Report This assessme...
Assessment 1: Investigative Report
This assessment task consists of a 1200 words report. Students are required to consider Leadership Theories, then identify and Analyse challenges in applying their chosen leadership approach in leading organisation considering sustainability at it’s core.
Submission Type: individual
Assessment Method: Written
Artefact: Investigative Report
25%
Assessment 2: Problem Solving Report Stud...
Assessment 2: Problem Solving Report
Students analyse a practical example of leadership from public information and reflect what they would adapt & possibly change on leadership style and managing people based on publicly available information.
Submission Type: Individual
Assessment Method: Written
Artefact: Written Report (1500 words).
35%
Assessment 3: Job Application Students appl...
Assessment 3: Job Application
Students apply for a sustainable leadership position.
Submission Type: Individual
Assessment Method: Job application
Artefact: Job application (1000 words)
40%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit is offered in attendance mode to support students through structured, face-to-face learning experiences. Students are required to attend weekly workshops at a specific physical location, where they engage directly with lecturers and peers to develop their understanding and achieve the learning outcomes.
The unit is underpinned by an inquiry-based learning approach, which encourages students to investigate and apply key concepts through active participation. Face-to-face delivery is well suited to this strategy, providing opportunities for immediate feedback, clarification, and collaborative learning through discussion and practical activities.
The unit is structured to include required preparatory tasks before each workshop. Most students report spending approximately one hour preparing in advance and one or more hours after the workshop to consolidate their understanding. Teaching materials are provided via Canvas and include guided readings, practice tasks, and review activities designed to reinforce and extend learning.
This mode is particularly effective for students who benefit from structured, real-time learning and the opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue with both teaching staff and peers. The combination of inquiry-based learning and face-to-face interaction supports the development of critical thinking and applied skills in a supportive, collaborative environment.
Representative texts and references
Books:
Daft, RL 2020. The Leadership Experience. 8th ed/, n Cengage Learning US
Antonakis, J. and Day, D.V. eds., 2017. The nature of leadership. Sage publications.
DuBrin, AJ, Leadership: Research Findings, Practice, and Skills, 2018, 98th ed., n Cengage Learning US
Dugan, JP., 2017. Leadership Theory: Cultivating critical perspectives. San Francisco, California. Jossey-Bass.
Ernst, B., Banks, G., Blanchard, A., Gooty, J., & Bochantin, J., 2020. An Examination of the Effects of Charismatic Leadership on Follower Performance in Face-to-face and Virtual Settings, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.
Gordon, R., 2017. Strategic Transformational Organizational Leadership. In Encyclopedia of Strategic Leadership and Management (pp. 1667-1684). IGI Global.
Mendenhall, M.E., Osland, J., Bird, A., Oddou, G.R., Stevens, M.J., Maznevski, M.L. and Stahl, G.K. eds., 2017. Global leadership: Research, practice, and development. Routledge.
Molinaro, V., 2017. The Leadership Contract Field Guide: The Personal Roadmap to Becoming a Truly Accountable Leader, John Wiley and Sons
Renz, D.O., 2016. The Jossey-Bass handbook of nonprofit leadership and management. John Wiley & Sons.
Schedlitzki, D. and Edwards, G., 20187. Studying leadership: traditional and critical approaches. 2nd ed., Sage.
Yukl, GA 2019, Leadership in organizations, 9th ed., Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River NJ.
Academic Journal Articles:
Anderson, M. H. & Sun, P. Y. T. (2017) Reviewing Leadership Styles: Overlaps and the Need for a New ‘Full‐Range’ Theory. International journal of management reviews : IJMR. [Online] 19 (1), 76–96.
Bolton, B. (2020) Effective project leadership and culture under stay-home orders. Journal of airport management. 15 (1), 28–39.
Covelli, BJ, and Mason, I., 2017. Linking theory to practice; Authentic Leadership. Academy of Strategic Management Journal, Vol 16 (3), PP 1-10.
Freiherr von Fircks, E. (2021) Culture and Leadership: a Lewinian Perspective of Organizational Problem Solving. Human Arenas. [Online]
Gao, Y. & He, W. (2017) Corporate social responsibility and employee organizational citizenship behavior: The pivotal roles of ethical leadership and organizational justice. Management decision. [Online] 55 (2), 294–309.
Michael Obal et al. (2020) Integrating sustainability into new product development: The role of organizational leadership and culture. Journal of small business strategy. 30 (1), 43–57.
Paul Nakai (2018) THE INVISIBLE DIMENSION OF LEADERSHIP AND CULTURE: Part I. The International journal of servant-leadership. 12 (1), 373–411.
Paul Nakai (2019) THE INVISIBLE DIMENSION OF LEADERSHIP AND CULTURE: Part II. The International journal of servant-leadership. 13 (1), 361–388.
Peters, L. (2019) The Simple Truths About Leadership Creating a People-Centric Culture . 2nd ed. 2019. [Online]. Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Morris, J. A., Brotheridge, C. M., & Urbanski, J. C. (2005). Bringing humility to leadership: Antecedents and consequences of leader humility. Human relations, 58(10), 1323-1350.
Landay, K., Harms, P. D., & Credé, M. (2019). Shall we serve the dark lords? A meta-analytic review of psychopathy and leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 104(1), 183.
Baumeister, R. F., Vohs, K. D., Aaker, J. L., & Garbinsky, E. N. (2013). Some key differences between a happy life and a meaningful life.The Journal of Positive Psychology, 8 (6), 505–516
Landay, K., Harms, P. D., & Credé, M. (2019). Shall we serve the dark lords? A meta-analytic review of psychopathy and leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 104(1), 183.