Week 1 Thinking leadership

Introduction

Welcome to Week 1 of this five-week course.

This week reflects on different views of leadership, especially in relation to its frequent comparator: management. You will consider the difference between the two approaches, see how they work in practice, and consider why leadership is particularly relevant for the voluntary sector. As the week finishes, we will offer our own definition of leadership, one that will stake out our position and provide you with a way of interpreting our arguments as the course unfolds.

After competing this week we hope that you will be able to:

• differentiate between leadership and management
• offer an account of the appropriateness and strengths of both a management and a leadership approach
• notice examples of leadership and management in your own organisation
• offer a critique of others’ definitions and accounts of leadership (starting with ours!)
• make a case for the significance of leadership for the voluntary sector.