The version you’re consulting is not final. This course description may change. The final version will be published on 1st June.
5.00 credits
30.0 h
Q2
Teacher(s)
Language
English
Prerequisites
None
Main themes
The goal of this course is to empower students to become future leaders who can address global challenges and contribute to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and beyond. The Inner Development Goals (IDG) Framework is at the heart of this leadership course. The IDG Framework defines “inner development” as the cultivation of personal and interpersonal skills summarized in five categories, namely Being, Thinking, Relating, Collaborating and Acting. Specifically, this leadership course:
- Focuses on inner change and leadership self-development for outer sustainability transformation (SDGs and beyond).
- Integrates psychological (e.g., eco-anxiety) and sociological (e.g., resonance) aspects and philosophical reflections.
- Encourages students to develop a better relationship to the self (e.g. inner compass, self-awareness, mindfulness, critical thinking) and their ability to care for others and the world (e.g. connectedness to a larger whole, appreciation of others)
- Empowers students to better collaborate and co-create with people from other cultures (intercultural competence) and to drive positive change (courage, optimism, perseverance).
Learning outcomes
At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to : | |
| 1 | At the end of this course, students will be able to:
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Content
Part I: Introduction
Critique of leadership theories and practices
Critique of leadership theories and practices
- Assessment of students’ leadership skills
- What is ‘good’ leadership? Critical evaluation of contemporary leadership theories (e.g. transformational, servant, adaptive leadership)
- Critical evaluation of leadership practices and their outcomes (e.g. ignoring, suppressing, withdrawing from tensions and/or postponing urgent actions)
- How do you lead yourself/others/projects/…? Critical reflection on students’ leadership styles, values, and emotional responses
- What kind of leadership does the world need to address and respond to systemic challenges that will continue to persist over time? What is your role in this?
- Perspectives are Critical and Responsible Global Leadership, Leadership for the Common Good, Non-Western Leadership approaches such as Nomadic Leadership
- Interdisciplinary theoretical foundations for extending leadership practices (we also build on other courses in the de Woot major): Common-good theory (Ostrom), Theory-U (Scharmer), Transformative Learning Theory (Jack Mezirow, J.), Constructive Developmental Theory (Robert Kegan, Otto Laske), Virtue Ethics (Martha Nussbaum), Vulnerability (Brené Brown), Systems Thinking (Donella Meadows), mindfulness research (Jon Kabat-Zinn), non-Western worldviews on leadership (e.g. Maori’s indigenous or Mongolian nomads’ wisdom)
- How can these perspectives inform your individual and collective leadership practices?
- Assessment of students’ inner development skills (IDG score) and critical reflection
- What is ‘inner development’? Why the IDG framework?
- The individual and collective dimensions of inner development: BEING (skills related to the relationship to self, e.g. identify values and identities, establish an inner compass, better self-awareness, presence – be in the here and now without judgement), THINKING (cognitive skills, e.g. critical thinking, complexity awareness, perspective skills, sense-making, long-term orientation/visioning), RELATING (skills related to caring for others and the world, e.g. appreciation, connectedness, humility, empathy/compassion), COLLABORATING (social skills, e.g. communicating skills (genuine dialogue), co-creation skills, intercultural competence, ability to create and maintain trusting relationships, mobilization skills), ACTING (skills related to enabling change, e.g. courage, creativity, optimism, perseverance)
- Self-assessment and peer-assessment of inner development skills
- How can you be part of and contribute to the collective through collaboration, co-creation and care?
- How can leadership cultivate inner development individually and collectively?
- Critical reflections on the IDG framework and the risk of performative self-improvement
- IDG-SDG Nexus (and beyond)
- Principles guiding individual and collective reflections on leadership and inner development, e.g. reflexivity, relationality, care, situatedness, collectivity, circularity, sufficiency
- Leading self as a prerequisite for leading others: such as BEING fully present, developing an inner compass and THINKING (e.g. letting go of convenient falsehoods, recognizing inconvenient truths (Adler) about leadership)
- Leading others and organizations as a prerequisite for leading sustainability transformation: such as RELATING (e.g. how to maintain the ability to act in novel situations without concern for one’s own importance (humility), how to lead with empathy and compassion) and COLLABORATING (e.g. how to develop conditions for genuine co-creation, how to lead interculturally competent, how to develop and maintain trust)
- Leading sustainability transformation (ACTING dimension): e.g. understanding the relations of oneself and businesses to the earth, how to remain hopeful in situations of adversity and support others or how to remain determined and patient and encourage others
- How to cultivate, co-create and collectively lead sustainable, heterotopic spaces and permaculture design
- How to constructively navigate and co-lead persisting inner and outer tensions/polarities in sustainability transitions
- Event
Teaching methods
This course is designed as a deep reflective and experiential immersion. The course will take place outside of traditional course rooms (e.g. at L’Arbre qui pousse) for three full days (from mornings to late evenings) in week 1 or 2 and two full days in week 4 or 5.
Teaching methods include but are not limited to:
Teaching methods include but are not limited to:
- Traditional instructional methods like e.g. lectures, key readings individually and in groups (with reflective, seminar-style discussions) and invited guest speakers
- Active learning methods like e.g. self-assessments of leadership and IDG skills and development of a personal leadership manifesto
- Experiential learning methods like e.g. experimental workshops on self-leadership and leadership practices with elements of peer feedback and peer-to-peer coaching combined with cooking and eating together
- Reflective and transformative learning methods like e.g. daily reflective journaling, creating a visionboard combined with mindfulness exercises, mediation, body scan, fresk/ecological mapping
Evaluation methods
- Group assessment (50%): Continuous evaluation through a Portfolio, over the duration of the course, “We are in this together!” - all or no group pass(es)
- Individual assessment (50%): 2-3-page summary based on the student’s Reflective Journal Notes (to be added in Appendix) and their personal leadership development plan (students from the major submit one reflective paper with distinct parts for the courses of the major – for details see Moodle)
Other information
Plagiarism policy: Plagiarising means you present someone else's intellectual efforts as your own and doing so can have severe consequences for your (academic) career. It is, therefore, crucial that you do not submit an assignment that contains any plagiarized content. Ensure that you properly attribute all sources that go beyond common knowledge. Please follow the referencing guidelines posted on Moodle.
Use of Generative AI policy: The use of generative AI for the course assessments is allowed. You bear full responsibility for what you present or submit. By submitting your assignment, you affirm that you have verified it accurately reflects the facts. If you have used AI in preparing your assignment, you must acknowledge it by clearly indicating in an Appendix which AI tools were used and how they assisted you, including specific functionalities or tasks. You must also mention the prompts used and how you used the AI-generated output. Your submission must represent your own original work. AI tools can be used to support parts of your work, but not to produce it entirely. Ensure that your own thoughts, analysis, and writing are evident in the final submission or presentation, so it allows the teacher to evaluate the skills and competencies acquired. Failure to disclose AI use or misuse of AI tools will be considered as fraud, as defined in articles 107-114 of the RGEE. AI must be used in a responsible way and in accordance with the principles of academic integrity practices.
Use of Generative AI policy: The use of generative AI for the course assessments is allowed. You bear full responsibility for what you present or submit. By submitting your assignment, you affirm that you have verified it accurately reflects the facts. If you have used AI in preparing your assignment, you must acknowledge it by clearly indicating in an Appendix which AI tools were used and how they assisted you, including specific functionalities or tasks. You must also mention the prompts used and how you used the AI-generated output. Your submission must represent your own original work. AI tools can be used to support parts of your work, but not to produce it entirely. Ensure that your own thoughts, analysis, and writing are evident in the final submission or presentation, so it allows the teacher to evaluate the skills and competencies acquired. Failure to disclose AI use or misuse of AI tools will be considered as fraud, as defined in articles 107-114 of the RGEE. AI must be used in a responsible way and in accordance with the principles of academic integrity practices.
Online resources
Moodle
Bibliography
- Adler, N. (2025). Overly convenient falsehoods and inconvenient truths: Not what leaders thought they would learn. International Business Review, 34(2025), 102083, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2022.102083.
- Arendt, H. ([1963]2003). Responsibility and judgment (J. Kohn, Ed.). Schocken Books.
- Brown, B. (2018). Dare to lead: Brave work, tough conversations, whole hearts. Random House.
- Donella Meadows Project. (n.d.). Systems thinking resources. https://donellameadows.org/systems-thinking-resources/
- Gehrke, B, M. T. Claes, M.-T., Pauknerova, D, Aust, I. & Bell Lambert R.-M. (Eds.), Global leadership practices: Competencies for navigating in a complex world (2nd ed.). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035308088.0001.
- Hedlund-de Witt, A., de Boer, J., & Boersema, J. J. (2014). Exploring inner and outer worlds: A quantitative study of worldviews, environmental attitudes, and sustainable lifestyles. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 37, 40–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2013.11.005
- Kabat-Zinn, J. (2005). Coming to our senses: Healing ourselves and the world through mindfulness. Hachette Books.
- Kegan, R. (1982). The evolving self: Problem and process in human development. Harvard University Press.
- Kegan, R., & Lahey, L. L. (2009). Immunity to change: How to overcome it and unlock potential in yourself and your organization. Harvard Business Press.
- Ives, C. D., Freeth, R., & Fischer, J. (2020). Inside-out sustainability: The neglect of inner worlds. Ambio, 49(1), 208–217. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-019-01187-w
- Laloux, F. (2014). Reinventing organizations: A guide to creating organizations inspired by the next stage of human consciousness. Nelson Parke, 2014.
- Laske, O. (2023). Measuring hidden dimensions: The art and science of fully engaging adults (3rd ed.). W. Pabst Science Publisher.
- Manalsuren, S., Aust, I. & Moreno, K. (2025). Nomadic leadership for the Common Good: A paradigm shift for International Business and Global Leadership? 9th EMIC Conference 2025, presented online.
- Meadows, D. H. (1999). Leverage points: Places to intervene in a system. Sustainability Institute.
- Meadows, D. H. (2008). Thinking in systems: A primer. Chelsea Green Publishing.
- Mezirow, J. (1997). Transformative learning: Theory to practice. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 74, 5–12. https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.7401
- Mezirow, J. (1998). On critical reflection. Adult Education Quarterly, 48(3), 185–198. https://doi.org/10.1177/074171369804800305
- Nussbaum, M. C. (2001). Upheavals of thought: The intelligence of emotions. Cambridge University Press.
- Purser, R. (2019). McMindfulness: How mindfulness became the new capitalist spirituality. Repeater Books.
- Ostrom, E. (1990). Governing the commons: The evolution of institutions for collective action. Cambridge University Press.
- Rosa, H. (2019). Resonance: A Sociology of Our Relationship to the World. Wiley.
Faculty or entity
