Syllabus: International Baccalaureate - Individuals and societies - Business management (Standard Level)
Module: Unit 2: Human resource management
Lesson: 2.3 Leadership and Management

Introduction

This article supports teaching and learning for IB Business Management SL – Unit 2.3: Leadership and Management, a key topic within the Individuals and Societies pillar of the IB framework. It introduces students to various leadership styles and management functions within a business context, helping them understand how human behaviour and decision-making influence organisational success.

Mapped directly to the IB syllabus and fully aligned with the Enterprise Skills thematic framework, this article provides guidance on how to build student understanding of leadership theory while integrating real-world application, Gatsby-aligned careers content, and active learning pedagogy to support workplace readiness.

Key Concepts

According to the IB syllabus, students must be able to:

• Distinguish between leadership and management
  Understanding the different roles leaders and managers play in an organisation.

• Describe and evaluate key leadership styles
  Including autocratic, paternalistic, democratic, laissez-faire and situational leadership.

• Analyse the role of cultural and ethical considerations
  How values, workplace culture and ethics influence leadership and decision-making.

• Discuss the importance of emotional intelligence (EI)
  Particularly how leaders with high EI may be more effective in motivating staff and handling organisational change.

• Apply leadership theories in context
  Using real case scenarios or stimulus material to explain or evaluate the impact of leadership choices.

Students should also understand how leadership relates to other HRM concepts such as motivation, communication, and organisational structure.

Real-World Relevance

Leadership and management styles are visible across global business headlines. Consider:

• Satya Nadella at Microsoft – His shift from a competitive to collaborative leadership culture led to innovation, employee engagement, and improved financial performance. His style blends democratic and transformational leadership traits.

• Elon Musk at Tesla and Twitter/X – Often cited as an autocratic or even chaotic leader, his approach raises questions about efficiency, burnout, and ethical considerations in leadership.

• Jacinda Ardern’s leadership during crises – Though political, her empathetic, EI-driven style provides valuable cross-sector insights on motivation, communication, and trust.

These examples help students move from theory to analysis – comparing leadership styles in different industries and cultural contexts.

How It’s Assessed

Assessment in IB Business Management combines structured response questions and extended writing tasks. For Unit 2.3, students should be prepared for:

• Short-answer definitions and distinctions
  E.g. “Explain the difference between leadership and management.”

• Application questions using stimulus material
  Students analyse a case study to identify the leadership style used and evaluate its effectiveness.

• Extended response essays
  Often requiring evaluation of leadership effectiveness in different contexts or comparisons between styles.

Command terms to emphasise in teaching:

• Distinguish, Analyse, Evaluate, Discuss, To what extent – each requiring progressively higher-order thinking skills.

Mark schemes reward clarity of argument, real-life examples, and the ability to integrate concepts from across the HRM unit.

Enterprise Skills Integration

This unit is a natural home for developing workplace-relevant skills such as:

• Decision-Making & Problem-Solving – Evaluating leadership effectiveness requires analytical thinking, scenario planning, and weighing trade-offs.

• Communication & Emotional Intelligence – Discussing leadership styles builds interpersonal understanding – core to team-based and hybrid working models.

• Commercial Awareness – Understanding how different leadership approaches affect productivity, staff retention, and culture supports deeper organisational understanding.

Simulations from Enterprise Skills’ Skills Hub Futures allow students to take on leadership roles in realistic team environments – practising delegation, persuasion, and time-based decision making under pressure.

Careers Links

This topic aligns directly with Gatsby Benchmark 4 (Linking curriculum to careers):

• Leadership and management are core competencies in roles across healthcare, engineering, retail, education, and the public sector.

• Skills Hub Futures includes mapped activities connecting leadership theory to real job roles such as:

  • Team leader (retail or logistics)

  • Project manager (creative or tech industries)

  • Operations supervisor (manufacturing)

• Benchmark 5 is met through virtual employer challenges and real company case studies included in the platform.

These experiences help students understand how leadership theory translates to daily workplace responsibilities and behaviours.

Teaching Notes

Teaching Tips:

• Use mini case studies early to demonstrate each leadership style in action (Nadella, Musk, Ardern etc.).

• Incorporate role-play – assign students leadership roles in group tasks to let them “live” different styles and reflect on outcomes.

• Discuss ethical and cultural issues explicitly – encourage debate about the limits of certain leadership styles in different environments.

• Integrate cross-unit connections – for example, link leadership impact to employee motivation (2.4) and organisational culture.

Common Pitfalls:

• Over-focusing on definitions rather than application

• Students choosing poor real-life examples in assessments

• Confusing leadership styles with motivational theories

Extension Ideas:

• Ask students to research and present a leader from their chosen career interest, evaluating their style and effectiveness.

• Use simulation tools (e.g. Skills Hub or Business Simulations) to embed commercial awareness and leadership decisions into practice.

• Tie in with English or Citizenship curriculum by analysing persuasive communication in leadership speeches or political contexts.