PB439      Half Unit
Critical Perspectives on Leadership during Challenging Times

This information is for the 2025/26 session.

Course Convenor

Availability

Requisites

Additional requisites:

Students who come to this course without any background in organizational and social psychology are expected to familiarise themselves with the relevant literature. To this end, we strongly suggest that those students read the following books:

Hogg, MA & Vaughan, G. (eds) (2017). Social Psychology. 8th edition. Harlow: Pearson

Haslam, S. A. (2004). Psychology in organizations : the social identity approach (2nd ed.). Sage Publications.

Overall, the course draws from a rich variety of theoretical and cultural perspectives:

• Collective leadership strategies
• Feminist theory and its applications to leadership
• Social identity approaches to leadership
• Cross-cultural perspectives on power and authority
• Psychological theories of implicit leadership
• Critical management perspectives
• Relational leadership models

Thus, the course material demonstrates a  commitment to presenting diverse viewpoints and challenging traditional Western-centric leadership models. It balances theoretical frameworks with practical applications, particularly in crisis contexts, while incorporating contemporary research and real-world examples from various cultural and organizational settings.

Case Studies and References: The course incorporates diverse contemporary examples and cases, including:

• Jacinda Ardern's leadership style as an example of feminist leadership
• The January 6th US Capitol assault as a case study of destructive leadership
• Climate change leadership challenges
• COVID-19 crisis management (New Zealand's/ Vietnam's approach)
• Contemporary political and organizational crisis situations

 New Perspectives on Leadership during Challenging Times

Leadership is a universal feature of human societies, evident across cultures, institutions, and social structures. From early childhood, we encounter leadership in various forms—parents, teachers, and community figures play influential roles in guiding behaviour and decisions. No society exists without leadership, though the forms and structures it takes can vary widely, and many do not depend on a singular, overarching leader.

In this course, we critically explore leadership as a central topic in social sciences, one that has also spawned a global industry focused on leadership development and training. Yet, many dominant leadership models oversimplify a complex and dynamic process. Common leadership paradigms emphasize a strong, singular leader at the top of a hierarchy, suggesting that the success of a group is contingent upon this leader’s unique qualities. However, such models overlook critical social realities: leadership may be diffuse, hierarchies may be contested, and positions of power can be both illegitimate and exclusionary.

In a world facing complex challenges—such as economic instability, political conflict, and the climate crisis—leadership becomes more intricate, requiring a nuanced understanding of power, influence, and cooperation. This course will examine the psychology of leadership as a social influence process and its potential for navigating crises. We will explore contemporary leadership theories, assessing their relevance for crisis management and problem-solving in today’s interconnected world.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Understand leadership as a universal yet context-dependent feature of societies.
• Critically evaluate traditional leadership models, especially in relation to hierarchical and power structures.
• Investigate the psychology of leadership as a social influence process, focusing on its role during crises.
• Analyse barriers to effective leadership in times of crisis, considering the complexity of collective responsibility and cooperation.
• Explore contemporary challenges, such as political, economic, and environmental crises, and assess how leadership theories apply in these contexts.
• Develop insights into the necessity of both individual and collective efforts in addressing global challenges.

General reading:

Knights, D., Liu, H., Smolović-Jones, O., & Wilson, S. (Eds.). (2024). The Routledge Critical Companion to Leadership Studies. Taylor & Francis.

Indicative reading:

• Gleibs, I. H. (2024). A social identity approach to crisis leadership. British Journal of Social Psychology, 00, 1–8.
• Grint, K. (2024). Is leadership the solution to the wicked problem of climate change? Leadership, 20(2), 77-95. https://doi.org/10.1177/1742715023122359
• Riggio, R. E., & Newstead, T. (2023). Crisis leadership. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 10, 201–224.
• Johns, G. (2024). The context deficit in leadership research. The Leadership Quarterly, 35(1), 101755
• Kerrissey, M., & Edmondson, A. (2020). What good leadership looks like during this pandemic. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles.

Indicative Topics: History of Leadership/ Crisis Leadership; Implicit Leadership Theories; Challenging the 'hero' myth; leaderless leadership; feminist approaches to leadership; relational models of leadership; populism and leadership/ destructive leadership

30 hours of seminars in the Winter Term.

This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Winter Term.

Presentation in Autumn Term Week 1

This component of assessment includes an element of group work.

Essay plan (500 words) in Autumn Term Week 5

Knights, D., Liu, H., Smolović-Jones, O., & Wilson, S. (Eds.). (2024). The Routledge Critical Companion to Leadership Studies. Taylor & Francis.

Haslam, S. A., Reicher, S., & Platow, M. (2020, 2.ed). The new psychology of leadership : identity, influence, and power. Psychology Press.

Riggio, R. E., & Newstead, T. (2023). Crisis leadership. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 10, 201–224.

Johns, G. (2024). The context deficit in leadership research. The Leadership Quarterly, 35(1), 101755.

Annotated bibliography (15%, 500 words) in Autumn Term Week 10

Blog post (25%, 750 words)

Essay (60%, 2500 words)