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Leadership and Teams

Module description

In this module we will explore team dynamics and how the role of leadership in influencing the effectiveness of teams. The module will introduce some theories and research related to teamwork. Later in the module leadership will be discussed. This will focus on some key leadership ideas such as how leader traits and behavioural styles might influence teams. The topics differ from BEM1022 (introduction to leadership studies) and a critical approach is taken when discussing leadership. Leadership theories that specifically relate to teams will also be covered such as the social identity approach to leadership. Each week, using various sources (e.g. videos, activities and readings), we will review theories and models of topics like group dynamics, communication, motivation, diversity etc., and consider their implications for leadership in a team environment.
Additional Information: Internationalisation

This is a diverse module with a specific session explicitly considering cross-cultural dimensions of teams and leading across boundaries.

Sustainability
Some of the lecture materials cover sustainability issues. All of the resources for this module are available on the ELE (Exeter Learning Environment).

Employability
Students develop a number of transferable skills including critical and reflective thinking, independent research, as well as getting insight into leading teams, group dynamics, followership and team-building skills.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module aims to provide practical and conceptual insights into the nature of leadership in teams, groups and organisations.

The module is structured around the investigation of a number of interrelated topics including: group dynamics, communication, motivation and performance. In relation to each of these topics, this module aims to combine experiential and practical learning with more propositional learning (in the form of relevant theories, models and ideas) as expected from a Level 1 Module.

Consequently, this module will enable students to make links between the theoretical and practical aspects of leadership, and individual and group behaviour in teams.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Illustrate factors that influence the teamwork processes within organisations
• 2. Identify the ways leaders can enhance or reduce team communication, motivation and performance
• 3. Formulate practical interventions that could be used to improve the teamworking processes in organisations

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Develop arguments which demonstrate the use of data to support points made
• 5. Illustrate arguments using reflections upon own experience and drawing from own reading of assigned texts recognise where learning originates and translate new knowledge into suggestions for practice

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 6. Communicate ideas effectively by written, oral and visual means
• 7. With some guidance, study autonomously and plan own workload
• 8. With some guidance, select and properly manage information drawn from books, journals, and the internet

Syllabus plan

The module comprises a series of 11 weekly lectures, each focusing on a different issue/theme on leadership and teams. An indicative outline of sessions is given below. 

• Introduction to leadership and teams
• Team roles and interpersonal communication
• Leader-follower relations and group dynamics
• Motivation and performance in teams
• Negotiation and conflict
• Power and politics in groups and organisations
• Creativity and problem solving
• Self-directed teams and distributed leadership
• Culture and diversity in teams
• Leading across boundaries
• Module summary/review 

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Up to date readings and resources will be provided for each topic

Indicative resources:

Erdogan, B., & Enders, J. (2007). Support from the top: Supervisors' perceived organizational support as a moderator of leader-member exchange to satisfaction and performance relationships. Journal of applied psychology, 92, 321-330

Lee, A., Thomas, G., Martin, R., & Guillaume, Y. (2019). Leader-member exchange (LMX) ambivalence and task performance: The cross-domain buffering role of social support. Journal of Management, 45, 1927-1957.

Graen, G. B., & Uhl-Bien, M. (1995). Relationship-based approach to leadership: Development of leader-member exchange (LMX) theory of leadership over 25 years: Applying a multi-level multi-domain perspective. The Leadership Quarterly, 6, 219-247.

Key words search

Leadership, teams, group dynamics, motivation, communication, film making