Students

MGMT3906 – Leadership and Influence in Action

2026 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Senia Kalfa
senia.kalfa@mq.edu.au
4 Eastern Road, Room 626
Mondays 12-1pm
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
150cp including 50cp at 2000 level or above
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit examines decision-making challenges, managing difficult relationships and building successful ones, and provides a range of competitive and cooperative negotiation strategies. It develops students' ability to develop effective strategies to influence others. Through a series of practical workshops, the unit aims to enhance students' practical skills of influence and persuasion, and further improve their effectiveness as leaders.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Apply leadership and influencing skills in a range of contexts.
  • ULO2: Evaluate the skills that effective leaders and influencers employ
  • ULO3: Investigate how different forms of power, relationships and ethical considerations can influence leadership

General Assessment Information

Late Submission Penalties

If you submit your assessment late, 5% of the total possible marks will be deducted for each day (including weekends), up to 7 days. Submissions more than 7 days late will receive a mark of 0.

Example 1 (out of 100):

If you score 85/100 but submit 20 hours late, you will lose 5 marks and receive 80/100.

Example 2 (out of 30):

If you score 27/30 but submit 20 hours late, you will lose 1.5 marks and receive 25.5/30.

Extensions

Automatic short extension: Some assessments are eligible for automatic short extension. You can only apply for an automatic short extension before the due date.

Special Consideration: If you need more time due to serious issues and for any assessments that are not eligible for Short Extension, you must apply for Special Consideration. Need help? Review the Special Consideration page for further details.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due Groupwork/Individual Short Extension AI assisted?
Professional practice: Persuasive communication 30% No Weeks 7 and 8 Group No Observed
Professional practice: Influencing in context 40% No 22/05/2026 Individual Yes Open AI
Skills development: Evaluating leadership behaviour and influence 30% No 08/06/2026 Individual Yes Open AI

Professional practice: Persuasive communication

Assessment Type 1: Presentation task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: Weeks 7 and 8
Weighting: 30%
Groupwork/Individual: Group
Short extension 3: No
AI assisted?: Observed

The purpose of this assessment is for you to demonstrate your understanding of theoretical concepts by applying them to a case study.

You will address themes of leadership, influence, and organisational dynamics by drawing on scholarly and practitioner literature.

 

Skills in focus:

  • Discipline knowledge
  • Communication skills
  • Collaboration skills
  • Digital Skills

Deliverable(s): Infographic (3-5 slides) with accompanying presentation (20min max).

Group assessment
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Evaluate the skills that effective leaders and influencers employ
  • Investigate how different forms of power, relationships and ethical considerations can influence leadership

Professional practice: Influencing in context

Assessment Type 1: Problem-based task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: 22/05/2026
Weighting: 40%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: Yes
AI assisted?: Open AI

The purpose of this assessment is for you to demonstrate your ability to influence and persuade stakeholders within a professional context.

You will address a professional scenario, develop and present a persuasive argument, applying relevant influencing techniques.

 

Skills in focus:

  • Discipline knowledge
  • Communication skills
  • Work readiness

 

Deliverable(s): Students' choice of one: written proposal [max 1000 words] OR Video (3-5min) OR PowerPoint Deck (max 10 slides) accompanied by speaker notes.

Individual assessment
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply leadership and influencing skills in a range of contexts.
  • Evaluate the skills that effective leaders and influencers employ

Skills development: Evaluating leadership behaviour and influence

Assessment Type 1: Reflection task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: 08/06/2026
Weighting: 30%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: Yes
AI assisted?: Open AI

The purpose of this assessment is to develop your ability to evaluate your leadership behaviour and influence in collaborative settings, recognising that leadership is enacted through everyday actions, communication, and contribution rather than formal authority.

 

You will analyse your engagement and contributions during tutorials, evaluating how you demonstrated leadership through participation, initiative, listening, and constructive challenge. Your analysis will be supported by evidence and artefacts from your learning journey, demonstrating your readiness to enact leadership in organisational and professional contexts.

 

 

Skills in focus:

  • Communication skills
  • Work readiness

 

Deliverable(s): Written report [max 1000 words], excluding supporting materials and appendices.

Individual assessment
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply leadership and influencing skills in a range of contexts.
  • Investigate how different forms of power, relationships and ethical considerations can influence leadership

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation.

3 An automatic short extension is available for some assessments. Apply through the Service Connect Portal.

Delivery and Resources

Please see iLearn for details

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Academic Success

Academic Success provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Unit information based on version 2026.03 of the Handbook