How do you lead your teams to deal with increasing competition and a fast-changing economic climate? Discontinuous changes and high uncertainty call for an enhanced sense of meaningfulness for the whole organisation. They mean leaders must make sure employees understand changes are part of a larger picture that stretches beyond the organisation.

Learning goals

After this programme, you can add these strengths to your knowledge and skill set. 

  • Practical skills that improve your personal power and give you an awareness of your effective leadership style.  
  • Skilful approaches for engaging others.  
  • The ability to consider all perspectives and connect different points of view.  
  • An evolved repertoire of leadership skills that are effective in challenging situations.  

Curriculum

The Challenge of Leadership is a module of RSM’s Advanced Management and Leadership Programme (AMLP), but can also be followed separately. The intensive modular management programme will sharpen your critical thinking skills and enable you to enhance your impact as a leader.

For whom

Explore if this course is for you

Your roles

  • Experienced team manager
  • Senior director
  • Department lead

Your responsibilities

  • Manage and coordinate a team
  • Lead on decisions and strategy
  • Manage profit and loss in your department

Admission requirements

  • You have a minimum of 5 years of managerial experience
  • You have budget responsibility and have financial impact in your organisation
  • You have responsibility in the strategic decision-making process in your organisation

If you have only some experience, or are new to managing teams, we advise you to look at our Team Leadership programme instead. 

Read what previous participants say about this programme

Peter Schonefeld

Senior Director at CLAAS KGaA mbH

“There were strong cross-cultural interactions with other leaders, valuable time spent with the cohort, and a creative and professional atmosphere, learning from professors and managers with proven experience and knowledge. I learned to listen to my peers and interact with them more strongly than I had before. Understanding this leverage has increased the possibilities of developing my organisation further – and in a smarter way – than in the past. Understanding my impact, my power to influence, and the way I behave to consciously drive human developments and corporate developments is the biggest insight from the programme. I use this at work every day.”

Maarten van den Outenaar

Director digital solutions at Asset.Insight – a VolkerWessels Company

RSM’s The Challenge of Leadership taught me how to reflect on my behaviour in stress situations. The programme is an inspirational and challenging way to learn current management theories, and to understand yourself better. There’s a variety of theory and practice. With the professional guidance of a coach and a professor, I learned inspiring ways of looking at my own management style. For me this was really an eye-opener.

Interested in a programme for your entire team?

Discover our options for customised and in-company programmes tailor-made for your organisation.

Your expert faculty

During The Challenge of Leadership Programme you will learn from Prof. Dirk van Dierendonck and Eline Peeters. Occasionally we may substitute other faculty members according to the content of the programme and their availability.

Prof. Dirk van Dierendonck

Dirk van Dierendonck is a professor of HRM, organisational psychologist, and dean of faculty at RSM. He also co-founded the Erasmus Centre for Leadership. Dirk’s expertise includes servant leadership and leadership development, wellbeing, happiness and burnout. He encourages people to become the best they can be, using an evidence-based approach grounded in psychology and management. His research has been published in leading journals on management, organisational behaviour and human resource management. Dirk translates academic knowledge into practical tools for HR professionals, such as EU-funded projects about cultural diversity, age management and artful leadership.

Eline Peeters

Eline Peeters is a senior trainer and executive coach with a broad expertise in the fields of leadership, personal effectiveness and communication. She believes that development starts with consciousness and is nurtured by experience. That’s why she finds focus on both awareness and experimentation essential. Eline facilitates and challenges people to expand their comfort zone in matters of leadership by using appreciative inquiry and curiosity. She searches for what drives behaviour by exploring convictions and values.

More information

Programme dates

18 - 21 June 2024

10 - 13 September 2024

19 - 22 November 2024

Programme fee

€ 6,500 (excl. 21% VAT) including course materials, lunches, and snacks. This fee does not include hotel accommodation.

 

25% discount for alumni from Erasmus University Rotterdam and RSM.

A programme for your entire team

All of our short courses can also be delivered as personalised in-company training to groups of employees from the same organisation. This enables us to develop a comprehensive programme that focuses on your organisation’s own unique situation and issues. 

Frequently asked questions

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) offers a dynamic learning environment for professionals looking for new skills and knowledge in business and management education. 

  • RSM is consistently ranked among Europe’s top business schools.
  • World-class professors and a globally oriented faculty deliver business leaders with an innovative mindset.
  • A prestigious Triple Crown accreditation puts RSM among the top 1% of business schools worldwide.
  • With our no-nonsense approach, RSM's goal is to give you the tools to put your new skills and knowledge directly into practice, for real impact.
  • It’s about you: during your programme you can discuss your specific business challenges and receive personal coaching.
  • You will meet a new network of peers in an RSM programme: extend your network, share experiences and become inspired by your fellow participants.

This programme takes place in Bayle building on the Woudestein Campus of Erasmus University Rotterdam, just 15 minutes by public transport from Rotterdam city centre. Our modern and lively campus has innovative study facilities, sustainable design, and calming green spaces.

Most programmes start at 09:00. Finishing times are different for each programme. There’s also an approximate schedule in each programme’s brochure and on its webpages. When you register for a programme you will be given access to Canvas, our online learning system, and the full schedule is in Canvas. Your programme manager will hand out a detailed schedule on the first day of your programme.

Class sizes are usually between 12 to 24 people, but it does depend on the programme. We aim for a balance between allowing capacity to guarantee individual attention, and achieving a good group dynamic and networking opportunities.

Yes. Alumni from RSM and Erasmus University Rotterdam receive a 25 per cent discount. RSM alumni are those who have completed either a Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, PhD or at least one executive education programme of more than 40 hours duration. Participants of open programmes of less than 40 hours do not receive a discount. Companies sponsoring several participants may also be offered a special price.

These programmes are excluded from this alumni discount:

  • Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Excellence Programme
  • Leadership Challenges with Data Analytics
  • Urban Digital Innovation Executive Leadership for a Green Deal
  • Executive Master in Customs and Supply Chain Compliance
  • Business Valuation
  • Port Executive Leadership Circle
  • Corporate Communication programmes
  • Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship programmes
  • RSM Customised Programmes
  • Programmes offered outside RSM Executive Education

Programme fees include tuition, programme materials, plus lunch and refreshments throughout the programme. Hotel accommodation is not included, unless mentioned otherwise in the programme information.

If you require hotel accommodation, we recommend the Novotel Rotterdam Brainpark Hotel and the Bilderberg Park Hotel. Both hotels are located in Rotterdam, accessible to the university, and participants can benefit from special rates.

Please note that due to high demand, we advise you to book your hotel stay for any program as early as possible with a flexible rate.

Our general terms and conditions apply when you register for an open programme. Please review them to learn more about our policies for cancellation, deferral and substitution.

If you have more general questions, we recommend you explore our more in-depth FAQs page. If you are looking for personal advice, then please contact one of our advisors using the contact form below.

Manjeet Kaur

Programme advisor

It's my priority to help you identify how you can meet your professional objectives, so reach out and let's make a plan for your personal development.

Interested in exploring our full offering of leadership courses?