Getting Started with Leadership

Welcome to Coursera and Queen Mary University of London, we are excited to have you studying with us. We are going to help you prepare for your studies by ensuring you know exactly what is expected of you throughout your course and how to most effectively engage with the platform. We will look at how the platform works as well as how you will interact with your peers. You will be introduced to the university you are studying with and we will share some top tips on how to succeed with Coursera. This week we shall start by getting to know Coursera as you will be introduced to the platform and explore how to use the various functions which will support your learning journey. You will see how you can make the most of your learning experience which will enable you to succeed on this course. This week we are going to start by exploring the context of leadership as we think about what it is and how we might define it. Many topics covered in the course are also explored in the instructors book How to Lead Smart People (Mike Mister and Arun Singh, Profile Books 2019).

This week you are going to explore your organisational context, and consider why it's important to understand how your organisation operates to be an effective leader. We will look at the different types of power as well as the sources and roles of power within your organisational context. We are also going to explore how organisations can change and think about how you can be a successful leader in a changing context.

This week you are going to discover new ways to deepen your understanding of who your stakeholders are and will look at ways of how you can manage them. You will also explore why stakeholders are important to you as a leader to implement your agenda, as you learn new techniques for assessing stakeholder relationships and needs.