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Rethinking Leadership Narratives for a Data-Driven Age

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Rethinking Leadership Narratives for a Data-Driven Age

Name: Rethinking Leadership Narratives for a Data-Driven Age
Rating: 4.7317073170731705 (41 reviews)

This course is part of Data-Driven Leadership Specialization

Instructor: Matt Offord

4,121 already enrolled

Included with

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3 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

41 reviews

Intermediate level

Recommended experience

1 week to complete

at 10 hours a week

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

3 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

41 reviews

Intermediate level

Recommended experience

1 week to complete

at 10 hours a week

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

Critically evaluate traditional and data-driven leadership models and their relevance in digital organisational contexts
Analyse and assess leadership narratives and whether they help or hinder modern leaders in a digital age
Apply your understanding of agile and hierarchical leadership structures to assess how data shapes organisational decision-making
Describe and evaluate the role of collective decision-making and agile teams in driving organisational performance

Skills you'll gain

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Assessments

6 assignments

Taught in English

91%

of learners achieved a positive career outcome

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This course is part of the Data-Driven Leadership Specialization

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There are 3 modules in this course

What makes a great leader, and does the data actually support it? In this course, you'll critically examine the leadership narratives that have shaped organisations from Ancient Greece to the modern digital age, and discover why data-driven research challenges many of the assumptions we've long taken for granted.

With 88% of C-suite executives believing data insights are crucial for maintaining competitive advantage and strategic decision-making (IBM Institute for Business Value, 2025), and 80% of Business Intelligence and Data Analytics teams now viewing advanced data skills as essential to their core functions (TDWI, 2025), the ability to evaluate leadership through a data-driven lens has never been more valuable. You'll evaluate traditional and scientific leadership models, analyse how agile structures differ from hierarchical ones, and assess the role of collective decision-making in data-rich environments. By the end of the course, you'll be able to identify whether a leadership narrative helps or hinders effectiveness in today's organisations, and articulate why that distinction matters. This course is suitable for current or aspiring leaders, managers, and professionals working in or alongside data-driven environments. No prior knowledge of leadership theory is required. References: Source: Research.com. (2026). 2026 current leadership training trends: Data, analysis & insights. https://research.com/careers/leadership-training-trends

Module details

Before we can think about leadership in the 21st Century, the Information Age, we need to think about what people thought about leadership in the past. Why? Because the legacy of these ideas about leadership live on to a large extent. If you have any sort of leadership training, or perhaps read a book about leadership, the chances are you have been exposed to powerful narratives about heroic leaders and authority. Perhaps your current view of leadership is heavily stereotyped? Perhaps the organisation you work for prefers 'traditional' or 'old school' leadership. These paradigms still exert influence; sometimes for good and sometimes for bad. In any case, this module will explain where these views come from and what conditions leaders dealt with. This will help you to understand why we are still dealing with legacy leadership styles, how thet can help, and what new situations call for a different approach.

What's included

3 videos6 readings2 assignments4 discussion prompts

3 videosTotal 23 minutes

Meet the team2 minutes
Module Overview 2 minutes
The Leadership Narrative19 minutes

6 readingsTotal 80 minutes

About the team 10 minutes
About the course10 minutes
Course Quizzes/Assessments10 minutes
Self Awareness Assessment20 minutes
The Hero Myth20 minutes
Resources and References10 minutes

2 assignmentsTotal 60 minutes

The Leadership Legacy30 minutes
The Leadership Legacy30 minutes

4 discussion promptsTotal 80 minutes

Self Awareness Discussion15 minutes
Introduce yourself10 minutes
The Hero Myth10 minutes
Leadership legacy discussion45 minutes

Some claim that leadership, as a concept, is in decline and may no longer be important. However, this may be a little premature or even naive. Leadership has always been important but authority and centralised decision-making are very recent, perhaps ephemeral, developments. As you move through this narrative of leadership, you will learn how leadership is changing. Due to the data deluge and hyper connected work places, high degrees of centralisation are becoming a thing of the past. Many firms are favouring more networked and less hierarchical approaches . Additionally, the introduction of social science in the 20th Century has radically shaken up some of the romantic ideas about leadership.

What's included

1 video6 readings2 assignments3 discussion prompts

1 videoTotal 9 minutes

Mini-Lecture: A triumph of nonsense9 minutes

6 readingsTotal 77 minutes

Welcome to Module 210 minutes
The end of traditional leadership?10 minutes
How the replication crisis paved the way for data in leadership15 minutes
The rise of scientific management12 minutes
Resources and references10 minutes
Hero leader or genuine leader?20 minutes

2 assignmentsTotal 60 minutes

Practice quiz30 minutes
Graded quiz30 minutes

3 discussion promptsTotal 70 minutes

Personal examples of traditional leadership?20 minutes
What is the impact of science on our understanding of leadership?30 minutes
Hero leader or genuine leader?20 minutes

So far we have explored the origins of traditional leadership and how this changed in the 20th Century. In the 21st Century we see the birth of a new business model: agility. Agility, like a lot of management and leadership ideas, has its roots in the military. The US military actively researched and developed ways of becoming more agile in the early 21st Century. Many other prominent military powers already embraced agility, especially in NATO. But what is agility and how does it relate to data? In this module, we will learn about agility in leadership.

What's included

2 videos5 readings2 assignments3 discussion prompts

2 videosTotal 13 minutes

Module overview2 minutes
Power to the Edge10 minutes

5 readingsTotal 75 minutes

The fragmentation of leadership15 minutes
Power to the Edge10 minutes
Agility at the Battle of Trafalgar 180520 minutes
Resources and references10 minutes
Closing out the course20 minutes

2 assignmentsTotal 60 minutes

Practice quiz30 minutes
Graded quiz30 minutes

3 discussion promptsTotal 80 minutes

Check out agile decision making40 minutes
What did you learn at Trafalgar?20 minutes
End of Week Q&A20 minutes

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Instructor

Instructor ratings

(19 ratings)

Matt Offord

University of Glasgow

4 Courses6,822 learners

Offered by

University of Glasgow

Learner reviews

5 stars
76.19%
4 stars
19.04%
3 stars
4.76%
2 stars
0%
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Showing 3 of 41

Reviewed on Dec 17, 2023

one of the best and most interesting topics by the professor. excellent execution of the programme and i was hooked on by the prof's innovative approach on this dry topic.

Reviewed on Apr 7, 2026

This course is well structured gives true leadership qualities and skills.

Reviewed on Sep 30, 2025

Very informative and useful to enhance in data driven leadership

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