DC955 - Decision Making and Leadership

Introduction

This module focuses on decision-making and leadership as practical capabilities for doctoral researchers. Through a two-day intensive programme, students will explore how decisions are made, how leadership operates in group and professional contexts, and how these concepts can be applied to their own doctoral and professional development.

Indicative content

• Approaches to individual and group decision-making.
• Decision-making under uncertainty, including evidence, assumptions, risk and competing priorities.
• Factors that support or hinder effective decisions.
• Use of decision-making frameworks to analyse past, current or future decisions.
• Leadership as influence, communication, collaboration and responsibility.
• Leadership behaviours, preferences and areas for development.
• The relationship between leadership and decision-making.
• Leadership in situations where formal authority may be limited.
• Application of decision-making and leadership concepts to doctoral research, collaborative tasks, professional-transition contexts and future development planning.
• Structured reflection to support future decision-making, leadership practice and professional development.

Where available, the module may also include an informal working-lunch discussion with Warwick careers advisers, intended to help students identify relevant follow-on support for career planning, applications, interviews or professional development.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Discuss key approaches to decision making and apply them to the analysis of individual and group decisions.
• Analyse factors that influence decision-making, including uncertainty, evidence, risk, assumptions, competing priorities and group dynamics.
• Reflect on their own leadership behaviours, preferences and areas for development.
• Apply decision-making and leadership concepts to professional-transition contexts, such as career planning, recruitment activities, workplace scenarios or collaborative professional tasks.

Any queries regarding this module, please contact Transferable.skills@warwick.ac.uk