In more details, the learning objectives for this course are as follows:
* To acquire theoretical understanding and knowledge of leadership and communication theories and skills.
* To develop your reflective awareness with respect to your own values, assumptions, expectations and beliefs regarding communication and leadership.
* To increase your ability to analyze and transform your own communication and leadership behavior.

Traditional notions of successful leadership and interpersonal skills are increasingly challenged by shifts in workforce expectations, technological disruption (especially robotics and AI), and the need for interdisciplinary collaboration. This course provides students with the theoretical understanding and practical tools necessary to lead and collaborate effectively in this new landscape.
Drawing on the latest insights from behavioral science, management, psychological research, Organisational Leadership and People Skills introduces students to essential leadership and interpersonal competencies with an evidence-based lens. The course combines hands-on experiential learning with academic rigor: Students will actively engage in role-plays, negotiation and economic games, group discussions, and engage with state-of-the-art technological agents (e.g., AI). They will also work on a reflective leadership journal and develop a creative leadership intervention (e.g., chatbot, podcast, or video) that applies course concepts to real-world challenges.
Topics include influence and persuasion, power and status, trust, empowerment, negotiation, ethical leadership, charisma, and human-AI collaboration. Throughout the course, students will critically reflect on their own leadership behaviors, receive structured peer and tutor feedback, and learn directly from successful (business) engineers in guest lectures.
By the end of the course, students will have sharpened their leadership and people skills with evidence-based methods and be better prepared to thrive as reflective, responsible, and adaptive leaders in today´s modern, complex, and dynamic environments. These course-level learning objectives will help students work on the overall learning goals of Maastricht University.

Academic Articles:
1.) Falbe, C. M., & Yukl, G. (1992). Consequences for managers of using single influence tactics and combinations of tactics. Academy of Management Journal, 35(3), 638- 652. https://doi.org/10.2307/256490
2.) du Plessis, C., Nguyen, M. H. B., Foulk, T. A., & Schaerer, M. (2023). Relative power and interpersonal trust. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 124(3), 567–592. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000401.
3.) Anderson C., John O. P., Keltner D., Kring A. M. (2001). Who attains social status? Effects of personality and physical attractiveness in social groups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81(1), 116–132. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022- 3514.81.1.116.
4.) Levine, E. E., Bitterly, T. B., Cohen, T. R., & Schweitzer, M. E. (2018). Who is trustworthy? Predicting trustworthy intentions and behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 115(3), 468–494. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000136.
5.) Nielsen, K., & Daniels, K. (2016) The relationship between transformational leadership and follower sickness absence: The role of presenteeism. Work & Stress, 30(2), 193-208. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2016.1170736.
6.) Curhan, J. R., & Pentland, A. (2007). Thin slices of negotiation: Predicting outcomes from conversational dynamics within the first 5 minutes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(3), 802–811. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.3.802.
7.) Lambert, L. S., Tepper, B. J., Carr, J. C., Holt, D. T., & Barelka, A. J. (2012). Forgotten but not gone: An examination of fit between leader consideration and initiating structure needed and received. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(5), 913–930. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028970.
8.) Wong, S. I., & Giessner, S. R. (2018). The thin line between empowering and laissez- faire leadership: An expectancy-match perspective. Journal of Management, 44(2), 757-783. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206315574597.
9.) Banks, G. C., Ross, R., Toth, A. A., Tonidandel, S., Mahdavi Goloujeh, A., Dou, W., & Wesslen, R. (2023). The triangulation of ethical leader signals using qualitative, experimental, and data science methods. The Leadership Quarterly, 34(3), 101658. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2022.101658.
10.) Tur, B., Harstad, J., & Antonakis, J. (2022). Effect of charismatic signaling in social media settings: Evidence from TED and Twitter. The Leadership Quarterly, 33(5), 101476. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2020.101476.
11.) Lacerenza, C. N., Reyes, D. L., Marlow, S. L., Joseph, D. L., & Salas, E. (2017). Leadership training design, delivery, and implementation: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(12), 1686–1718. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000241.
12.) Kaplan, A. D., Kessler, T. T., Brill, J. C., & Hancock, P. A. (2023). Trust in artificial intelligence: Meta-analytic findings. Human Factors, 65(2), 337-359. https://doi.org/10.1177/00187208211013988.

Practitioner Articles:
* For Harvard Business Review articles, please use the link below for your search https://library.maastrichtuniversity.nl/database/bsc/
1.) D. Dubois (2016): The Two Big Ways Power Transforms a Person. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2016/02/the-two-big-ways-power-transforms-a-person.
2.) T. Casciaro & M. Sousa Lobo (2005): Competent Jerks, Lovable Fools, and the Formation of Social Networks. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2016/02/the-two-big-ways-power-transforms-a-person.
3.) F. X. Frei & A. Morriss (2020): Begin with Trust. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2020/05/begin-with-trust.
4.) V. Urch Duskat, & J. V. Wheeler (2004): How to Lead a Self-Managing Team. MIT Sloan Management Review. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jane-Wheeler-2/publication/259334718_How_to_Lead_Self-Managing_Teams/links/573cae0808ae298602e58e11/How-to-Lead-Self-Managing-Teams.pdf.
5.) M. H. Bazerman (2020): A New Model for Ethical Leadership. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2020/09/a-new-model-for-ethical-leadership.
6.) J. Antonakis, M. Fenley, & S. Liechti (2012): Learning Charisma. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2012/06/learning-charisma-2.
7.) H. Leroy, M. Anisman-Razin, & J. Detert (2023): Leadership development is failing us. Here’s how to fix it. MIT Sloan Management Review. https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/leadership-development-is-failing-us-heres-how-to-fix-it.
8.) A. Granulo, S. Caprioli, C. Fuchs, & S. Puntoni (2024): The social cost of algorithmic management. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2024/02/the-social-cost-of-algorithmic-management.

Videos:
1.) Robert Cialdini (2017). Science Of Persuasion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kv0sOX6Alrk
2.) EPM (2020). Leadership Styles Kurt Lewin Explained. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmqsV1293Rk&t=812s.
3.) Arnold Lam: Why I Went from Engineering to Consulting (2021). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hsv2AxgQAI.
4.) Barack Obama: Yes We Can (2008). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe751kMBwms&t=391s

Podcasts:
1.) Adam Grant (ReThinking): On the leadership skills, we need to build (with Brené Brown and Simon Sinek; https://open.spotify.com/episode/7ywXtRK8B3VkhEUuyscI0P (or Apple Podcasts or online via TED or Youtube).
2.) Adam Grant (WorkLife): The Science of the Deal. https://open.spotify.com/episode/3JyBHlP3xuc3UjezeX00Yk?si=xauTIbX5TgClGDHkCLgZAg&dl_branch=1&nd=1&dlsi=c5d8656075434ce7 (or Apple Podcasts or online via TED or Youtube).

Cases & Other materials:
1.) Case: EcoPower Solutions (available on Canvas).
2.) Case: Leadership and Status at Automatech AG (available on Canvas).
3.) Information Videos and Text about DHL: https://group.dhl.com/en/about-us.html, https://careers.dhl.com/global/en?utm_source=DPDHL+websitem and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c458Cd5MXw).
4.) Case: Leading the Innovation Task Force at GlobalTech B.V (available on Canvas).
5.) Case: Ethical Leadership in Ohio State`s Football Program (available on https://www.scu.edu/leadership-ethics/resources/the-practice-of-ethical-leadership-in-ohio-states-football-program).
6.) Case: Transcript Speech Barack Obama “Yes We Can” (New Hampshire) (available on https://blogs.ubc.ca/english112/files/2011/09/text-3-barack-obama-yes-we-can1.pdf).
7.) Case: AI Chatbot (available on Canvas).

It is NOT possible to register for this course as “exam only”.