Leadership skills development

Code:

DCL

Acronym:

DCL1

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
CNAEF	Psychology

Instance: 2024/2025 - 2S (since 10-02-2025 to 23-05-2025)

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Continuing Education Office
Course/CS Responsible:	Leadership Skills Development

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
DCL	0	Plano Oficial do ano letivo 2021	1	-	1,5	12	40,5
M.EA	4	Syllabus	1	-	1,5	12	40,5
M.EC	31	Syllabus	1	-	1,5	12	40,5
M.EMAT	13	Syllabus	1	-	1,5	12	40,5
M.EMG	1	Plano de estudos oficial a partir de 2008/09	1	-	1,5	12	40,5
M.EQ	26	Syllabus	1	-	1,5	12	40,5
M.IA	0	Syllabus	1	-	1,5	12	40,5

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

The global goals of this Training Unit are:

1. Develop the level of awareness of UPorto students about their leadership skills;


2. Identify their beliefs regarding leadership and promote reflection on them.


3. Develop the students' level of knowledge about the models and styles of leadership identified in the literature, their operationalization and their differentiated impact;


4. Develop students' level of knowledge about the challenges associated with leadership processes in an organizational context and the resources and skills to be mobilized to manage these challenges, namely with regard to the requirements of different levels of leadership, as well as leadership in contexts characterized by diversity.

Learning outcomes and competences

With this training unit, students are expected to acquire:

1. Knowledge of relevant skills for the exercise of leadership;


2. Meta-knowledge about their representations about leadership;


3. Knowledge about different approaches, theories and leadership styles, positioning themselves in relation to them;


4. Knowledge about the different concepts that relate to leadership, differentiating and relating leadership, leader and manager;


5. Knowledge about the steps that characterize the transition process to a leadership position, its challenges and strategies that can be mobilized in this process;


6. Knowledge about the specifics of different levels of leadership;


7. Knowledge about the diversity that characterizes organizations and its impact on the leader's actions and on the leader's impact on these groups, in a different way;


8. Ability to identify organizational leaders who consider good models, explaining the foundations for this choice and reflecting on them, as well as on their identification process with them;


9. Ability to mobilize strategies to ensure self-care as leaders;


10. Capacity for self-reflection and self-monitoring of transversal skills relevant to the exercise of leadership with a positive impact and well-being;


11. Competence to manage, in a group context, the process of identifying organizational leaders, contacting them and accessing their experience;


12. Ability to reflect on the path and professional experience of this leader; analyzing it in an informed and critical way;


13. Competence to prepare, in a group context, and based on its critical analysis, a document summarizing the experience referred to in point 10., establishing links between it and the concepts and competences addressed in the training unit;


14. Competence to, in the future, be involved in mentoring relationships in an organizational context, as a potential leader (in the mentor position), and effective leader (in the mentor role);


15. Understanding the importance of the human dimension (relational) in leadership processes;


16. Ability to define strategies for their continuous self-development in transversal leadership skills;


17. Ability to set goals in terms of your leadership path and the skills necessary for it, as well as planning their implementation, defining goals and actions that will allow you to achieve them (cf. Individual Development Plan).

Working method

B-learning

Program

1. Leadership Models and Styles

• Approaches: Traits, behaviors, situational (evolution)


• Understand the differences between people orientation and task orientation and their (dis)advantages in team leadership


• transformational leadership


• authentic leadership

2. The concept of leadership in relation to associated concepts

• leader, manager, leadership


• leadership, management...

3. Humanizing leadership and the leader

• important skills for the exercise of leadership


• representations about leadership and its impact


• the importance of self-care


• to be led

4. Transition process to a leadership position

• specific challenges to this process


• strategies for them to be managed


• different levels of leadership and their specificities

5. inclusive leadership

• gender, nationality/culture, age

6. Leadership in a remote work context

• digital leadership or e-leadership

Mandatory literature

Dexter, B., & Prince, C.; Turning Managers Into Leaders: Assessing the Organizational Impact of Leadership Development. Strategic Change, 16, 217-226., 2007
Brandão, C., Santos, F., & Peres, S.; Processo de transição para uma posição de liderança: um estudo com mulheres. Revista Psicologia, Diversidade e Saúde, 9(1), 9-23. doi: 10.17267/2317-3394rpds.v9i1.2559, 2002
Brandão, C., Henrique, C., & Miguez, J.; Building a Relationship with the Supervisor: An Exploratory Study, Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2016 (In Á. Rocha, A. M. Correia, H. Adeli, L. P. Reis, & M. Mendonça Teixeira (Eds.), New Advances in Information Systems and Technologies, Vol. 2 (pp. 677-687). Doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-31307-8_69)
Almeida, B., & Brandão, C.; Gerindo a Transição: Estratégias de Exploração no Processo para ser Líder. REVES - Revista Relações Sociais, v.3(2), p. 0049-0064, 10, 2020 (doi: 10.18540/revesvl3iss2pp0001-0003)
Alvesson, Mats & Sveningsson, Stefan; Managers Doing Leadership: The Extra-Ordinarization of the Mundane. Human Relations, 56, 1435-1459, 2003
Goffee & G. Jones; Why should anyone be led by you?, Harvard Business School Press., 2006

Complementary Bibliography

Miguel Pina e Cunha; Manual de comportamento organizacional e gestão. ISBN: 978-972-8871-58-1

Teaching methods and learning activities

This training unit uses several methodologies:

• Expository method (with the support of PowerPoint and videos);


• Exercises and group dynamics, with small and large group discussion;


• Brainstorming and integrative synthesis;


• Analysis and discussion of practical cases (also in small and large groups), based on the covered contents (in synchronous sessions and autonomous work);


• Exercises for self-knowledge and self-monitoring of skills developed (and to be developed);


• Monitoring exercises for mastery of the contents covered;


• Direct contact with leaders within the work context.

keywords

Social sciences
Health sciences

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

designation	Weight (%)
Participação presencial	5,00
Trabalho de campo	40,00
Trabalho escrito	30,00
Trabalho prático ou de projeto	25,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	4,50
Frequência das aulas	12,00
Trabalho de campo	8,00
Trabalho de investigação	16,00
Total:	40,50

Eligibility for exams

- attend at least 75% of contact hours;
- obtain 10 or more in the differents eleents of evaluation(see below).

Calculation formula of final grade

Formative evaluation:

- Attendance, punctuality and participation in the sessions (motivation and involvement of students) - 5%

- Assessment elements throughout the training unit - 30%

Summative evaluation:

- Written report (up to a limit of 5 pages) - 40%

- Individual leadership skills development plan – 25%

Internship work/project

- Written work (in group)
Students must organize themselves in groups of four and interview 2 leaders per group, preparing a written report (up to 5 pages), which should integrate the contents worked on in the previous sessions of the course.

- Development plan (individual)
Individual development of an Individual Development Plan of leadership skills, based on the various elements that were produced by the students throughout the training unit, allows them to develop meta-knowledge about the worked concepts, while guiding them to the future, compromising them with their continued development as a leader in the workplace.

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

** Students with TE status valid for the academic year, should contact the teaching team in the 1st class.

Classification improvement

Does not apply.

Observations

Beginning of activities on September 20, 2023

Session dates:

1. 06/03  - session at FPCEUP - Auditorium 2A
2. 13/03 - zoom
3. 20/03 - zoom
4. 27/03 - zoom
5. 17/04 - zoom
6. 24/04 - session at FPCEUP  - Auditorium 2 A

Schedule: 6 pm to 8 pm


FAQ's

How are synchronous sessions structured?

The sessions are structured to provide theoretical-practical articulation, so there are several moments of reflection and group sharing on the different topics covered.

Are synchronous online sessions recorded?

No. As sessions are oriented towards participation and active sharing, they are not recorded, thus protecting the participants and complying with the provisions of the RGPD. Support materials are available via Moodle.

Does approval for the Unit depend on the attendance regime?

Yes. The unit provides for presence in 5 of the 6 synchronous sessions, 2 of which are face-to-face and 4 online via Zoom. Compliance with this regime is essential to obtain approval.


A testimony:

“The activities of viewing the videos in class followed by group reflections on the same were very didactic and important to be able to address very important topics in the context of leadership, but which were not addressed directly in class. I think it is a practice that should be maintained.” Master's student at FEUP