LEA Subjects

Why do we need leaders? What do they do? Are they born or made? This unit will help students to find answers to these questions in the light of contemporary leadership theory and a Christian worldview. We will explore theory on leadership skills, traits, and behaviors and consider the important question of what makes a leader great or...what would make you a great leader.

Unit Content

Curriculum Objective

This course unit provides the student with an understanding of the principles of leadership.

Outcomes

Students should be able to:

1. Identify personal values, own leadership philosophy, and develop self-awareness to start the continual process of leadership development.
2. Develop and build team communication, and problem-solving skills
3. Demonstrate the ability to explain and critically evaluate different theories and approaches to leadership
4. Demonstrate and  examine leadership issues pertaining to ethics and the dark side of leadership
5. Identify, describe and distinguish the key leadership theories and their applications in an organizational setting.

Subject Content

1. The concepts of mission and vision
2. The leader’s toolbox: time management, conflict management, priority setting, and organizational communication
3. Concepts of love, humility, and forgiveness in relation to Christian leadership
4. Communication skills as applied to leadership
5. Principles of discipleship
6. The Jesus model
7. Personal learning and disclosure in relation to leadership style

Unit Content

Outcomes

1. Identify personal values, own leadership philosophy, and develop a self-awareness to start the continual process of leadership development;
2. Develop and build team communication, and problem-solving skills;
3. Demonstrate the ability to explain and critically evaluate different theories and approaches to leadership;
4. Demonstrate and  examine leadership issues pertaining to ethics and the dark side of leadership;
5. Identify, describe and distinguish the key leadership theories and their applications in an organizational setting

Subject Content

• Distinguishing leadership and ministry
• Identifying potential leaders
• The importance of leadership beliefs
• Discovering leadership styles
• Building leadership teams
• Leading through change

The church-at-large is still divided about the question of whether women should lead. Despite the ongoing debate, many female leaders have made significant contributions to the church and to their communities. This unit explores the background of the debate as well as the journeys of these women leaders–some in the midst of controversy. How did they become leaders, what was their leadership style and how did they contribute to their context? Learning from the past we will then explore how to raise and develop women leaders for the future.

Unit Content

Curriculum Objective

This course unit provides the student with an understanding of the principles of developing women in leadership and models of leadership adopted by women.

Outcomes

Students should be able to:

1. Explain the obstacles and challenges for women in leadership, particular reference should be made to historical, social and organizational theories.
2. Examine current legislation that relates to gender equity in organizations and analyze the implications of these frameworks;
3. Describe a theological rationale for egalitarian attitudes to gender, and critically assess alternate perspectives;
4. Assess the personal values necessary for women to lead within a variety of contexts
5. Evaluate key styles, theories, and models of leadership promoted by women theorists and adopted by women leaders;
6. Critically evaluate the significance of these models of leadership in relation to communities, such as business, church culture, and local contexts.

Subject Content

1. Social, cultural and theological grounds for gender equality in leadership
2. The styles, theories, and models of leadership adopted by women
3. Developing and mentoring women as leaders
4. Communication and Relational skills as applied to women’s leadership and management
5. Developing personal resources specific to women, such as balancing work and home life.

Organizations are groups of people working together for a purpose. Despite the pervasiveness of organizations in our modern society, effective group behavior does not always come naturally. In fact, many goals are never achieved due to poor group dynamics rather than a lack of skills, vision or strategy.  This unit will help students to develop an understanding of how an organization can encourage effective, efficient, social and ethical behavior; how leadership styles, organizational structure and value systems influence behavior and how ultimately the group dynamics impact the effectiveness of the organization in the pursuit of its purpose.

Unit Content

Curriculum Objective

This unit is a study of the dynamics of individual and group behavior and will encourage students to develop an understanding of how an organization can encourage effective social and ethical behavior. It covers traditional theoretical and recent developments arising out of psychology and sociology, different organization structures, value systems and leadership styles that influences behavior.

Outcomes

Students should be able to:

1. Compare and assess current theories and concepts of individual, dyadic, and group behavior in organizations, and discuss and explain appropriate organizational leadership behaviors for increasing organizational effectiveness;
2. Compare and assess current theories of individual and group decision making within organizations, and discuss and explain how organizational leaders’ decision-making interacts with organizational structure and culture in facilitating change;
3. Describe and evaluate organizational communication theories, including dyadic, group, formal and informal communication, and discuss and explain the attributes and impacts of communication within organizations including in leader-member exchange and mass communication contexts;
4. Describe Australian corporate structures, including within churches and NFP organizations, and critically assess leadership models adopted for churches and NFP organizations;
5. Explain and appraise issues of power and responsibility in churches and NFP organizations, incorporating Christian and other perspectives;
6. Discuss and explain the role of leadership in shaping organizational responses to changing operating environments.

Subject Content

1. Historical perspectives on the philosophy of work
2. Behavioral aspects of organizational structure and design
3. The organization and the individual
4. Building and growing effective teams
5. Power and organizational politics
6. Leadership styles and organizational behavior
7. Organizational culture and change
8. Common issues: stress, burn-out, conflict and cultural differences

A few years ago Bill Hybels, Senior Pastor of Willow Creek church, confronted his church team with the question: “Are we making a difference?” Hybels leads a mega-church, has written multiple best-selling books and is a sought after speaker…yet he asks himself and his team this question: “Are we making a difference?” Hybels is a strategic thinker. Strategic thinkers constantly remind themselves and their team of the purpose of their organization and ask in the light of this purpose: Where are we now (are we making a difference), where do we want to be and how are we going to get there? In ‘Strategic Thinking and Planning’ we unpack these questions and look at what the Bible, as well as contemporary management texts, offer to help us in our quest to turn our visions into reality and make a difference.

Unit Content

Curriculum Objective

This unit aims to introduce students to strategic thinking for organizational planning.  While this is an extensive area, it is important for students to grasp the need for clarity of thinking, the holding of clear objectives, and the value of proactivity rather than reactivity, flexibility, coordination, commitment and operation from a secure base.

Outcomes

Students should be able to:

1. Ability to critically assess individual and organizational purpose and mission in the light of a Christian worldview. This includes consideration of other Christian perspectives and understandings;
2. Evaluate the implications of individual and organizational purposes. This includes factors such as social, environmental and community impact.
3. Analyze an organization’s expressed and tacit visions and goals;
4. display an ability to generate creative and effective plans related to those visions and goals;
5. Explain strategic thinking for organizations. This includes key approaches to strategy;
6. Demonstrate ability for clear thinking, problem solving, flexibility and commitment to the task.

Subject Content

1. Christian worldview and its implications for individual and organizational purpose
2. Christianity meets reason: philosophy and thinking processes.
3. The purpose of Vision and vision casting
4. Effective teams
5. Vision Planning: Understanding the dynamic environment
6. Vision Planning: Developing a strategic plan Flexibility: maintain or create?
7. Models of problem solving and strategies for success
8. Resourcing and organizational security

Just when organizations think they have found the formula for success, they start to fall behind. In today’s constantly changing environment standing still is the fastest way of moving backward. This unit will address the need for change, the challenges of change and introduces students to theories and processes for innovation. This unit also looks at how innovative and entrepreneurial thinking can be used to expand God’s kingdom.

Unit Content

Curriculum Objective

The course looks at the development of business strategy in a global and constantly changing environment. It integrates key elements of earlier courses into a holistic analytical approach to case studies approximating real-world business challenges. It discusses the need for change, the challenges of change and introduces students to the stages-and-gates process for innovation. This unit also looks at how innovative and entrepreneurial thinking can be used to expand God’s kingdom.

Outcomes

Students should be able to:

1. Explain approaches in identifying key trends that will influence the future and applying these to local contexts. This includes understanding the basic interaction between global and local forces that precipitate change;
2. Create and assess creative strategic responses to change. This includes factors such as social, environmental and community impact.
3. Explain innovation for organizations. This includes key approaches and processes for innovation; methods of analyzing new venture projects; how to encourage innovations in organizations; and how to manage innovation in organizations;
4. Discuss approaches to change management including various change theories, models and frameworks. Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the models discussed;
5. Create and assess ethical responses to change in a way that does not compromise the well-being of individuals and the larger community. This includes practical skills such as applying conflict management, assessing resource needs, and effective communication particularly in NGOs and NFP organizations.

Subject Content

1. Living in the age of discontinuity
2. Mega-trends reshaping our world
3. Competing for the future: restructuring – reengineering – reinventing
4. Thinking differently - Learning to forget
5. Good to Great: why some organizations make the leap and others don’t
6. Building gateways to the future
7. Creating a culture of innovation
8. Skills of the innovators
9. The innovation process: stages and gates
10. Leading innovation

Unit Content

Outcomes

1. Compare and assess current theories and concepts of individual, dyadic, and group behavior in organizations, and discuss and explain appropriate organizational leadership behaviors for increasing organizational effectiveness;
2. Compare and assess current theories of individual and group decision making within organizations, and discuss and explain how organizational leaders’ decision-making interacts with organizational structure and culture in facilitating change;
3. Describe and evaluate organizational communication theories, including dyadic, group, formal and informal communication, and discuss and explain the attributes and impacts of communication within organizations including in leader-member exchange and mass communication contexts;
4. Describe Australian corporate structures, including within churches and NFP organizations, and critically assess leadership models adopted for churches and NFP organizations;
5. Explain and appraise issues of power and responsibility in churches and NFP organizations, incorporating Christian and other perspectives;
6. Discuss and explain the role of leadership in shaping organizational responses to changing operating environments.