Leaders are all around us – we encounter them at work and in our spare time, we read about them in the press – but have you ever wondered what makes them good or bad at their role? You might be considering a leadership role as your next career step, or maybe you’re in a leadership position already and finding it difficult to move your team forward. If you’re interested in finding out more about leadership, from the perspective of a leader or a follower, then this free course, Leadership and Followership will help you. Working through this course will help you to explore what makes a good leader, recognise common leadership challenges, and identify the skills you need to develop if you want to enhance your own leadership experience.
You’ll start this course by considering your own leadership experience and learning more about different leadership styles. As you progress, you’ll focus on key leadership skills and how you might develop them yourself, exploring elements of both good and bad leadership and looking at possible solutions to problems that can arise. Followership has an important connection with leadership and you’ll find out more about what makes a good follower and how leaders can develop their followers to create more productive relationships and encourage them to consider leadership roles in the future. You’ll look at common leadership challenges and the future of leadership in this changing world. Finally, you’ll identify how you want to develop your own leadership skills and devise a plan to build your experience.
Enrolling on the course will give you the opportunity to earn an Open University digital badge. Badges are not accredited by The Open University but they're a great way to demonstrate your interest in the subject and commitment to your career, and to provide evidence of continuing professional development.
This course is endorsed by the CPD Standards Office 340343. It can be used to provide evidence of continuing professional development but is not accredited learning. We are unable to provide formal learner verification services for participation in our open online courses, which are provided freely by The Open University as self-directed CPD.
Anyone wishing to provide evidence of their enrolment on this course is able to do so by sharing their Activity Record on their OpenLearn Profile, which is available before completion of the course and earning of the Statement of Participation.
Learning outcomes
After completing this course, you should be able to:
- describe a variety of leadership styles and approaches and analyse how they fit with personal preferences
- recognise the skills required for leadership and assess personal experience and capability
- define followership, from the perspectives of both the leader and the follower
- identify how effective leadership can overcome a variety of common challenges
- reflect on personal experience, start a leadership journal and devise an appropriate plan of action to develop leadership skills.
The Open University would really appreciate a few minutes of your time to tell us about yourself and your expectations for the course before you begin, in our optional start-of-course survey. Once you complete the course we would also value your feedback and suggestions for future improvement, in our optional end-of-course survey. Participation will be completely confidential and we will not pass on your details to others.
Earn this free Open University digital badge if you complete this course! The badge can be displayed, shared and downloaded as a marker of your achievement. The badge is awarded for completing the course and passing the quizzes.
First Published: 22/06/2017
Updated: 11/12/2019