Leadership is a skill – how can it be learned? Birkbeck, University of London

In this taster session you will join Dr Oliver Barish to practise those skills directly and see your own leadership behaviour reflected back at you in hard numbers. 

You will take part in a decision-making simulation used in business schools and leadership development programmes worldwide.

By taking part, you will: 

• Practise core leadership skills: persuading others, listening actively, building consensus, and holding your ground under pressure.
• Observe how leaders emerge when no one has been given authority, and reflect on the role you naturally took.
• Learn why effective leaders draw out the knowledge of quieter team members, and what it costs a team when they do not.
• Distinguish confidence from competence, and learn to spot when a group is following the loudest voice rather than the best argument.
• Encounter concepts from degree-level leadership studies, including groupthink, psychological safety, and facilitative versus directive leadership.

You’ll finally finish with a student-led tour of our facilities and Bloomsbury campus – a great opportunity to ask questions and get a sense of student life at Birkbeck.