Course Essentials
This self-paced online course has been designed to give you a deeper understanding of what makes an effective leader and to understand yourself as a leader in a flexible, accessible study format. You will be able to work through the course at your own pace and revisit the components and activities as needed.
In completing this course you will gain an in-depth knowledge of leadership, including how this has developed over time. You will be able to apply the rich insights to your own working context and leadership experience, drawing on your leader traits and skills to improve your authenticity and effectiveness.
This course will equip new leaders, or those interested in leadership, with the essential toolkit of a contemporary leader and give you the confidence to continue your leadership journey wherever you are on it.
By the end of the course you will be able to:
- Construct a personal development plan to build leadership competencies for your future career
- Explain the traditional perspectives on leadership, including leader traits, behaviours and skills and how it differs to management
- Appraise your own values, skills and actions and identify your leadership profile based on these different perspectives and your own experiences to date
- Identify the approaches needed to be a successful leader in the future
- Apply theories and concepts to your own roles and situation in order to build teams for a collective approach to leadership
Alongside the course you will download and complete a detailed leadership workbook and have access to a range of contemporary articles, interviews, readings and activities to support your learning. You will finish the course by creating a plan for your future development as a leader that can guide your immediate and future career steps.
Indicative course outline
The course is divided into manageable self-study sections covering:
- The difference between management and leadership
- The relationships between traits, personalities, behaviours and skills with leadership
- The relationship between leaders and their team(s)
- Leadership in your context
- Values
- Power, influence and motivation
- Leading diversity
- Leading through challenging times
- Strategies for building competencies for leadership
- Leading in the future
As well as helping you to understand who you are as a leader and what you stand for, the course should also highlight for you where you need the help of others in order to build a strong leadership team around you. Throughout the course you will reflect on strategies for your own and your team’s development and become equipped with information that you can take back to your team and your own manager to enable your continued professional development.
The course is delivered in a self-paced online format including online lessons, videos, practice activities, surveys and self-reflective activities. There are no live sessions and you will access the course flexibly as suits your schedule, location and time commitment. On enrolment you will have access to the course and all study materials for 6 months.
On completion of the course you will receive a certificate of completion, alongside a downloaded workbook and personal development plan containing your learnings and reflections.
Terms and Conditions for executive short courses
Who is this course for?
This course if for anyone interested in becoming a leader or those who have started out on a journey as a leader.
It is self-paced and fully online and is well-suited to participants who are looking for a contemporary, evidence-based and content-rich guided journey through leadership in a flexible format that allows you to access materials and study at a time or from a location that suits you.
Entry requirements
To get the most out of the course we recommend you are early in your leadership career, working and participating in teams where you have a formal or informal leadership role.
The course is taught in English and so you must be confident that your reading, listening and writing skills in English are adequate to fully understand and follow the taught materials at an advanced level.
Course fees
The full fee for this course is £1,500.
The course fee includes access to the course and all materials for 6 months with the ability to download materials, the workbook and development plan on completion. Our programme team are on hand to respond to any technical or administrative queries.
You can follow the course at your own speed; we recommend an indicative study time of around 30 learning hours in order to fully engage with the material and complete the activities effectively.
There is a 25% saving available for this short course for alumni from any King's College London degree programme.
Programme Impact
As a result of the course you will gain a deep understanding of leadership and what makes an effective leader. You will apply these learnings to your own context in real time, understanding yourself as a leader, implementing new leadership tools and skills, and developing your own personal action plan and leadership development journey.
The Emerging Leaders Programme at King's College London is truly exceptional. It offers the flexibility to fit into your schedule while significantly enhancing your resume. Most importantly, it equips you with the essential tools to make a real difference. This program isn't just about personal development… It’s about preparing you to contribute meaningfully to our world.
Ahmida Naimi, Master of Laws (LL.M.) at the College of Europe
The King’s Emerging Leaders Programme provided me with the opportunity to reflect and refine my leadership skills. It improved my self-awareness and has prepared me for leadership roles within academia and more widely. The programme was flexible and clearly laid out, so it was easy to fit it into my schedule.
Dr Katherine East, Society for the Study of Addiction (SSA) Academic Fellow Organisation, King's College London
Learn from the experts
This course has been developed by Dr Ali Budjanovcanin who is a Senior Lecturer in Work Psychology and Public Sector Management at King’s Business School. Her research interests sit broadly in the areas of leadership and careers. Ali studies organisational leaders to understand how they can more effectively enact their roles in the face of a changing world and has applied her research in the design of leadership programmes within the executive education and coaching she delivers. Ali’s expertise in leadership and careers spans both public and private sector settings.
In this course I’ll take you on a journey that provides you with an understanding of leadership not only today but also in a historical context that allows you to gain the greater self-awareness that can make you a more impactful leader. To this end, the course mixes theoretical content with practical exercises and activities that help you to really explore who you are, or who you’d like to be, as a leader
Dr Ali Budjanovcanin, Course Academic Lead