Faced with complex and ambiguous environments, how do leaders envision the future and instill their vision in a way that conveys its meaningfulness and drives change and innovation? This course addresses this challenge using the lenses of leadership, vision and identity. Drawing on a wide body of literature , the course explores how students, as leaders, can create a compelling vision and understand how to communicate with impact and meaning. Students will develop awareness of brand identity and the role of brand in clarifying and reinforcing the vision, both within the organisation, and for partners and customers. Special attention will be given to the role of identity and making messages meaningful. In exploring these concepts, the course also explores creating meaning through neuroscience by looking at the role of the brain in processing meaning. A physiological approach in delivering meaning through voice and body language offers learners different techniques to project authenticity in delivering meaning.
This course is part of the Leading: Human Resource Management and Leadership Specialization
Visionary leadership, identity & motivation: Become a meaning maker
Offered By
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Week
1meaning and making meaning
This week we start off with exploring the essence of meaning, and why meaning is important at work. We also explore the conditions that facilitate or hinder meaning making. We look at how meaning could be enhanced by ensuring a fit between work and those who undertake it. We talk about the importance of linking employees’ activities with a significant bigger purpose and how this might be accomplished. We look at aspects of designing work to increase meaning and then flip our perspective and try to understand the concept of meaninglessness and some of the factors that contribute to meaninglessness.
7 videos (Total 33 min), 10 readings, 2 quizzes
7 videos
Week 1 - Outline1m
Meaningful work7m
Work design and meaning6m
Meaninglessness5m
Meaning through fit6m
Habit corner – Sample1m
10 readings
Special welcome for beta testers1m
Course overview5m
Learning activities and assessment1m
Which continent do you hail from?1m
Preconceptions: What work means to you...5m
Work design and meaning15m
Meaninglessnessm
Meaning through fit30m
About the habit corner1m
Habit Corner- Sample10m
2 practice exercises
Recall - Week 130m
Graded quiz - Week 1m
Week
2Brain, body and storytelling in meaning making
This week you will explore a slightly different perspective on meaning making that highlights the role of neuroscience and storytelling. You will look at how the brain works and how to influence people’s interpretation of meaning. You will learn some physiological techniques to project meaning through your voice and breath, body language and posture. You will learn how storytelling exploits some of our ancient tribal instincts to trigger meaning making.
5 videos (Total 41 min), 4 readings, 2 quizzes
5 videos
The neuroscience of meaning making9m
Creating meaning through voice and breath12m
Creating meaning through body language & posture8m
Creating meaning through stories10m
4 readings
Exploring the role of neuroscience of meaning making15m
How to project meaning through voice and breath40m
How to use body language to create meaning20m
Stories as facilitator of meaning making in organisations30m
1 practice exercise
Recall - Week 230m
Week
3Branding as meaning making
In this week, you we will learn about the role of branding in communicating meanings, and the role of different levels of meanings, including functional, emotional, and higher purpose in this communication process. You will be shown how to shape meanings you wish to communicate and how to shape the perceptions of your organisation's stakeholders over the long-term. You will be introduced to different categories of brand meanings, or brand personalities.
You will also analyse visual and verbal brand elements, and also supporting branding strategies in communicating those personalities and meanings through brand names, logos, characters, and taglines, among others.
4 videos (Total 24 min), 3 readings, 2 quizzes
4 videos
Don’t be liked, be loved!8m
Be visionary6m
Be meaningful - Craft brand personality6m
3 readings
Meaning making through purposeful branding30m
Brand vision30m
Brand personalities30m
2 practice exercises
Recall - week 330m
Graded quiz - Week 3m
Week
4Meaning in social context
In this week, you will put the management of meaning in a wider societal and historical context and appreciate that we don’t invent meanings for things as central to our lives as the work we do from scratch – the meaning this holds for people is instead patterned onto and dovetails with much longer values and ideas. Understanding this gives us a better grasp of what we can hope to achieve, and the limitations and difficulties that we face, when seeking to create meaning for others though our leadership roles. You will be introduced to the three most significant understandings of the problem of meaning in relation to work and business that have been formulated across two centuries of academic work - Marxist alienation of work, Weberian religious spirit of capitalism, and the contemporary new spirit of capitalism with emphasis on aspects such as innovation and social responsibility. You will be guided through thinking about the implications of these ideas for how we approach meaning making today. By developing an appreciation of these major social theories of meaning, you will be better able to appreciate both the possibilities and the limitations that you, and other leaders, are faced with in making and managing meaning.
4 videos (Total 21 min), 3 readings, 2 quizzes
4 videos
Alienation and work in capitalist society.7m
A religious 'spirit of capitalism'7m
A 'new spirit of capitalism'5m
3 readings
Alienation10m
The religious spirit of capitalism20m
Corporate social responsibility20m
1 practice exercise
Recall - Week 430m
Instructors
Rebecca Mitchell
Professor of ManagementDepartment of Management
Arabella MacPherson
DirectorResonate Communications
Edward Wray-Bliss
Associate ProfessorDepartment of Management
Abas Mirzaei
PhD, MarketingDepartment of Marketing
About Macquarie University
Macquarie is a hub of inspired and unconstrained thinking. Macquarie was founded with a unique purpose: to bring minds together unhindered by tradition. Created to challenge the education establishment, Macquarie has a rich track record of innovation. Macquarie actively shapes the complex issues that define the future of humanity.
About the Leading: Human Resource Management and Leadership Specialization
In this specialisation you will strengthen your capability to effectively lead your people and organisation in an increasingly competitive and complex work environment. Through four themed courses, you will learn how to motivate by creating meaning at work and to harness the power of conflict, diversity and teamwork to innovate and increase productivity. You will strengthen your leadership skills and your capacity to adapt and align your organisation. Learning from psychology, sociology and organisation science will help you inspire, influence and drive change across your organisation so that you can position yourself and your organisation to taking full advantage of emerging opportunities.
This involves learning how to: Apply key principles of organisational leadership to develop and evaluate strategies for attracting, motivating and resourcing talent; Take a strategic perspective in designing and aligning competitive, sustainable organisations; Meeting the challenge of interruptive complexities through agile shifts between different leadership styles; Creating vision and meaning to drive change and influence.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Once you enroll for a Certificate, you’ll have access to all videos, quizzes, and programming assignments (if applicable). Peer review assignments can only be submitted and reviewed once your session has begun. If you choose to explore the course without purchasing, you may not be able to access certain assignments.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
What is the refund policy?
Is financial aid available?
More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.
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