COURSE OUTLINE

TITLE: LEADERSHIP FUNDAMENTALS:

INFLUENCE, POWER & DECISION-MAKING.
Teacher(s): Dr., HDR, Andres Davila & Dr., Mathieu Molines
Academic year 2019/2020: Paris School of International Affairs – Spring Semester

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION (REQUIRED)

Name of the instructor: Andres Davila
Title: PhD
Organization/Affiliation: ESCE International Business School (INSEEC-U) & LARGEPA
Short biography:
Dr., Andres Davila, management Professor at ESCE, Psychologist and the co-founder of Praditus – talent
development platform. Andrés research and professional areas are: managing people, managing teams,
measuring individual, team and organizational performance, developing skills, and identifying leadership
potential. Andrés is the author of academic articles and books in the fields of international management and
skills assessment.

Name of the instructor: Mathieu Molines

Title: PhD
Organization/Affiliation: ESCE International Business School (INSEEC-U)
Short biography: Dr Mathieu Molines is Assistant Professor in Management and Leadership at ESCE
International Business School (INSEEC-U). Before joining ESCE in 2016, Dr Mathieu Molines was assistant
researcher at Grenoble Business School and lecturer at the University of Toulouse 1 Capitole in France, where
he also completed his PhD. His research focus on leadership and wellbeing at work. To conduct his research,
Dr Molines closely works together with organizations from the private and public sector. He is specialized in
survey studies, field experiments and interviews. To communicate effectively his research findings, he writes
academic articles, engages with the media and presents his work at international management conferences.
 COURSE OUTLINE

COURSE OUTLINE (REQUIRED)

Session 1 & 2: What is leadership? Context and challenges (2h + 2h). Mathieu Molines
Description:
Leadership is probably one of the most popular topic in management! But what is leadership really? Are leaders
born or made? What traits and skills makes some people able to influence people to direct their energy towards
a common objective? We will discuss all of these questions and explore some of the theories behind the study
of leadership: characteristics of leadership, definitions, leadership Styles, etc.
Required readings:
Goffee, R. & Jones, G. (2000) Why should anyone be led by you?

Workshop: knowing yourself as a leader (4h). Andrés Davila

Based on concrete cases, practical exercises and playful interactions, this session will allow us to introduce
fundamental concepts about personality models, motivation and interests to help students build their personal
Manifesto as a leader.

We will explain the importance of taking these elements into account for one's own wellbeing in the workplace
but also in the context of interpersonal relationships that are beneficial to the work.

Students will be offered a complete self-awareness tool to help them identify the personal strengths and based
their personal manifesto on them.

Session 3: Power (2h). Mathieu Molines

Description:
We've been studying power now for over 100 years but what is power, and what does our research say about
what are the key elements or core dimensions of power and organizations? How to think about and
conceptualize the core elements of power? What are the benefits and the risks of power? Where does power
comes from? What are the strategies to build power ?
Recommended readings:
Haslam, S. A., Reicher, S. D., & Platow, M. J. (2010). The new psychology of leadership: Identity, influence
and power. Psychology Press.
Pfeffer, J. (1992). Managing with power: Politics and influence in organizations. Harvard Business Press.

Session 4: Influence and persuasion (2h). Mathieu Molines

Description: Have you ever tried to get something – perhaps advice, support, or a key piece of information –
from someone who didn't want to help you? In this session, we'll examine leadership as an influence process
in detail, and discuss how you can use influence when you need help from other people. We will have special
focus on cognitive bias and nonverbal influence.

Recommended readings:
Cialdini, R. B., & Cialdini, R. B. (2007). Influence: The psychology of persuasion. New York: Collins.
Pink, D. H. (2013). To sell is human: The surprising truth about moving others. Penguin.
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Workshop 2: simulation, Power & Influence (4h). Andrés Davila

In this single-player simulation, students play one of two roles at a sunglass manufacturing firm and face the
challenges associated with implementing an organization-wide environmental sustainability initiative. The
initiative seeks to change raw material inputs in order to make the company's products more "green," and also
to address environmental waste issues. The simulation includes up to four scenarios with different
combinations of two important factors for creating change: the relative power of the agent and the relative
urgency associated with the change initiative. In each scenario, students choose among different change
levers in an attempt to persuade key members of the organization to adopt the change initiative. Students are
assessed on their ability to achieve the greatest percentage of adopters within the company while
simultaneously using the fewest resources. This simulation combines the proven learning objectives and
storyline of the original with an updated user experience and enhanced administrative features. Appropriate
for use in undergraduate, graduate and executive business programs.
Required readings:
Simulation materials: “Power and Influence”, William Q. Judge, Linda A. Hill, four different contexts and case
study.

Session 5: Relationships and Network (2h). Mathieu Molines.

Description:
Human beings are naturally social creatures – we crave friendship and positive interactions, just as we do food
and water. So, it makes sense that the better our relationships are at work, the happier and more productive
we're going to be. In this last session, we're looking at how you can build strong, trustful, positive relationships
with your followers. How to develop high quality relationships? How to build a reputation?

Recommended readings:
Martin, R., Guillaume, Y., Thomas, G., Lee, A., & Epitropaki, O. (2016). Leader–member exchange (LMX) and
performance: A meta‐analytic review. Personnel Psychology, 69(1), 67-121.
Bauer, T. N., & Erdogan, B. (Eds.). (2015). The Oxford handbook of leader-member exchange. Oxford
university press.

Workshop 3: levers for improved social interactions (4h). Andrés Davila

After increasing the students’ level of self-awareness and based on concrete cases, practical exercises and
playful interactions, this session will allow the participants to identify and use effectively levers to better
communicate, lead, manage, support and motivate others. We will explain the importance of considering these
elements for one's own exercise of leadership in organizations.

Session 6: closing (2h). Mathieu Molines.

Description:
Students and professors will openly discuss leadership implication for future application and research.