HR4S67 - Leaders and Followers: Contemporary Critical Perspectives in Practice 01 Sep 2022 - 31 Aug 2028 | Version 1

Associated Module Information

Module Code: HR4S67
Module Title: Leaders and Followers: Contemporary Critical Perspectives in Practice
Faculty: Faculty of Business and Creative Industries
Faculty Group: Business Management
Faculty Sub Group: Business Management
Module Leader: Davina Evans
Module Team: Naveen Madhavan
First Intended Intake: SEP 2022 Final Year of Intake: 2027
Date Closed:
Credit Value: 20 Credit Level: 7
Language: English
Percentage of Module Taught in Welsh: 0
Equivalent Module:
HECOS codes: 100088 - leadership
HECOS Code Weighting: 100

Document Version Information

Version 1
Valid From 01 Sep 2022
Valid To 31 Aug 2028

Module Aims

Often people are placed in leadership roles and inherently believe that their teams will follow them due to their title and not the substance of their character. Leadership is as much about being the person that people want to follow as it is about knowing where the team is headed. An emerging dimension in the lexicon of leadership postulates: it is not always about leadership, the real and often ignored attribute of an effective leader is followership and that potential leaders should always ask themselves “Why would anyone want to follow me?” This module will invite the students to ask this question of themselves and others in the workplace.

This module provides a critical insight into the practice of leadership and followership. It introduces students to the core concepts of the way people are lead in organisations and how effective processes influence and support the behaviours of the led (followers).

The module is designed to encourage students to critically reflect on their own personal attributes as leaders and followers as well as those of the people around them and evaluate their own and other behaviour in relation to theoretical concepts. During the module students will be encouraged to consider their current situation(s), the values and goals of the organisation and explore complimentary approaches to leadership within the organisation in order to achieve organisational aims.

Students will be encouraged to critically explore, analyse and evaluate the fast changing and often competing theoretical perspectives on leadership, followership and methods of directing the discretionary effort of workplace teams towards the goals of the organisation.

Students who complete this module are expected to be able to contribute to leadership decisions and offer advice on guiding behaviours within organisations in which they are involved. Consequently, this module aims to develop and enhance the skills and knowledge explored to enable participants to actively consider how they may personally make a difference in the different contexts that confront them. In particular, students will focus on innovative practices and an inclusive social approach to leadership development.

Content Summary

Typical module implementation will cover of the following areas:

• What makes a leader?
• The dark side of leadership
• Typologies of followership
• Defining leadership, contesting notions, nature or nurture?
• Leadership skills and competencies.
• Leadership theory paradigms.
• Leadership’s role in employee motivation and the creation of a high performance culture.
• Power, politics, command and control in organisations.
• Self-analysis, social perception and emotional competence.
• Effective presentation skills/speeches and storytelling as tools for communicating leadership vision

Learning and Teaching Methods

Activity Type Hours
Lecture 20
Tutorial 20
Independent Study 120
Directed Study 40
Total Hours Selected 200

Learning Outcomes

# Learning Outcome
LO1 Critically appraise leadership, followership theory and practice within a business context.
LO2 Critically reflect on one’s own practice and preferences in relation to leadership and followership in the context of your own work environment.

Module Requisites

N/A

Assessment Criteria

Assessment Category Assessment Type Description Duration Word Count Weight (%) Best of? Pass Mark
Asynchronous Assessment Self Reflective Assessment 1 The assignment aims to encourage students to critically examine their own approach and preferences to leadership in the context of their own work environment 0 3000 50 No 40
Asynchronous Assessment Essay 1 The assignment aims to encourage students to critically appraise the way the relationship between approaches to leadership and follower behaviours 0 3000 50 No 40

Assessment Matrix

Assessment Type Learning Outcomes
LO1 LO2
Self Reflective Assessment 1
Essay 1

Reading List

Reading will be mainly based on key journal articles and current news articles that inform the debates around the module content

Latest editions of the following texts:

Northouse, P. G. (2015) Leadership: Theory & Practice. 7th ed Sage Publications: London

Carroll. B; Ford. J;Taylor. S.(2015) Leadership: Contemporary Critical Perspectives. Sage Publications: London