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Let’s get started

Watch Dr Andrea North-Samardzic introduce this leadership course by first addressing the question, 'what is leadership?'.

Leadership is a term often used, but frequently misunderstood. By working through each step in this course, you’ll discover why leadership is less about ‘something you do’ and more about the person ‘you are.’

Welcome to What is leadership?.

In this course, you’ll take the first steps in exploring the big questions associated with what leadership is and how you can become a more effective leader in your own right.

To get started, in Week 1 we’ll explore definitions of leadership, learn more about who you identify as a leader and why, as well as distinguishing the difference between leaders and leadership role models, and what your chosen leaders say about you.

In Week 2, we’ll build on these foundation concepts by examining the difference between leaders and managers, the relationship between ‘power’ and ‘influence’, and the critical, but often overlooked, role of perception in defining how effective leaders operate in ‘real life’ situations.

Your learning outcomes

By the end of this course, you should have a deeper understanding of:

  • how leadership is defined
  • what function leadership role models play
  • sources of power and influence in the workplace
  • how perceptions shape our view of leadership.

See your ‘To do’ menu for an overview of all Week 1 and Week 2 activities and steps.

Meet the team

You will meet  Andrea North-Samardzic in a number of the videos throughout the course. She helped to develop the course.

You’ll also be supported in conversation by Joe Griffin, who have a wealth of commercial and strategic experience. If you haven’t already, view your team’s profiles and follow them for course updates, feedback and discussions.

Build your career portfolio

Demonstrate your participation in this course with a Certificate of Achievement approved by Deakin University.

Earn a new qualification

This course forms part of a unique set of postgraduate degrees from Deakin University in Australia. Find out how you can join the program Leadership Practice with Impact or use this course as an introduction to a Professional Practice: Leadership degree and gain yourself a new, internationally-recognised qualification.

Your task

Watch the video to find out more from Andrea about what you’ll be covering in this course.

When you’re done, use the comments to share why leadership is important to you and what you hope to gain from participating in this course.

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What is Leadership?

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