The managerial reality of linking leadership and organizational behavior
“The Leadership and Organizational Behavior module gave me more awareness on how important leadership is to an organization. The module also gave me more self-awareness about my leadership skills but also about my previous superiors’ leadership skills. The most challenging part of a strategy implementation is to unify the organization in implementing the plan. This is where strong leadership skills come to play. All I can say is that this module is practical and very applicable.”
This is how current full-time MBA student Joyce Avellanosa from the Philippines summarized her experience in the recently completed Leadership and Organizational Behavior module, taught by Dr. Stephanie Jones. “The module was engaging and very practical. I took Dr. Jones’ class on Managing Cultural Diversity last January and this module was as interactive as the first one. There were different group simulations, guest lectures and activities. All these kept the hybrid and online sessions interesting and fun. The Kahoot Quizzes keep the class on its toes when it comes to listening to the lecture. I always enjoy this learning by doing teaching style.”
The module combined two important issues, leadership and organizational behavior, which present themselves to a manager as dimensions of complex problems. These issues are traditionally discussed within separate academic disciplines. But in the MSM full-time MBA they are linked together, suggesting the managerial reality of needing to offer leadership, needing to motivate and work effectively with teams of varied people, and needing to respond to the challenges of implementing and sustaining values in the organization's practice. Key learning goals of the module included the impact of leaders on organizational culture and change, leadership in crises and challenging situations and the use of power in leadership styles. During the module the students also developed a personal leadership action plan.
In addition to the classes, Dr. Jones invited several guest lectures to share their experiences and knowledge about leadership and organizational behavior. Joyce expressed that these guest lectures gave a great insight into leadership at the workplace. “For me personally, the guest lecture about “Speaking the language of the CEO” stood out. This guest lecture made me recall the interaction I had with the C-level officers at my previous job and gave me more appreciation on what they did. I aspire to become a C-level officer someday and I shall remember this lecture and use the best practices shared.” The guest lectures also covered topics on seven ways to be an inspirational leader, leading transformational change, leadership development and leadership under COVID-19, and how to engage a remote team.
We missed you!
Given the current Covid-19 measures in the Netherlands, we were extremely happy to welcome the students on the MSM campus for one day per week again. “It made learning a more fun and enriching experience. Having the guest lectures on campus really encouraged a more fluid discussion and interaction. I would prefer face-to-face lessons for sure, but MSM has done a great job in maintaining the quality of the modules regardless if the modules were given online or face-to-face.”
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