Students

GMBA8103 – Improve Yourself, Always

2026 – Coursera term 3, Online-flexible

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Yvonne Breyer
yvonne.breyer@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email
Please contact me to arrange a time
Credit points Credit points
5
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to GMBA or GradCertGlobalBusPrac
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

The world of work is characterised by rapid ongoing change. In this dynamic environment, one of the most critical skills for leaders is their capacity to learn and to adapt; to engage in the continuous development of their skills in managing and leading others. This unit is designed to assist you in your efforts for the ongoing development of your skills and abilities by focusing on the nature of the self-development process. The unit will assist students to reflect on and develop self-awareness of their current leadership style, to understand their current and needed strengths and challenges as a leader. The unit also examines the change process and explores the processes of self-regulation that underpin personal skill development.

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: Critically evaluate the nature of the self-development process.
  • ULO2: Apply skills of self-reflection to enhance self-awareness of development insights about their leadership styles.
  • ULO3: Apply skills of self-reflection to enhance self-awareness of development insights about their abilities and challenges as leaders
  • ULO4: Apply the self-development process to an area of a personal leadership skill challenge.

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 Approach
Leadership Style Analysis 40% No 25/05/2026 Individual No Open
Skill Development Action Plan 60% No 15/06/2026 Individual No Open

Leadership Style Analysis

Assessment Type 1: Reflection task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 9 hours
Due: 25/05/2026
Weighting: 40%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Open

Length: max 1,000 words (excl. references) Task type: Reflective Analysis Groupwork: No Task: In this assignment, you will critically evaluate your leadership style and the strengths and weaknesses of that style. You need to utilise your understanding of the self-understanding phase of the self-development model and apply the skills of self-reflection to work (or social) experiences to support your analysis. Please refer to the section Resources - Assessment Information in your online unit for detailed information on this assignment as well as the marking criteria.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically evaluate the nature of the self-development process.
  • Apply skills of self-reflection to enhance self-awareness of development insights about their leadership styles.

Skill Development Action Plan

Assessment Type 1: Reflection task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 13 hours
Due: 15/06/2026
Weighting: 60%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Open

Length: max 1,800 - 2,000 words (excl. references) Task type: Reflective writing Groupwork: No Task: In this assignment, you will present a self-development action plan to address no more than two (2) development aspects related to weaknesses identified in your leadership style. (Note: This should ideally relate to areas identified in Assignment 1 although you can address any two (2) skill areas you wish to improve). The plan must show an understanding of a social cognitive perspective of behaviour and an understanding of self-regulation theory in its design. Please refer to the section Resources - Assessment Information in your online unit for detailed information on this assignment as well as the marking criteria.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply skills of self-reflection to enhance self-awareness of development insights about their abilities and challenges as leaders
  • Apply the self-development process to an area of a personal leadership skill challenge.

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
  • Academic Success 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 refer to the unit content on Coursera.

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