Strategic Leadership and Stewardship (SWK554)

SWK554 Strategic Leadership and Stewardship prepares future social work leaders to exercise strategic leadership and ethical stewardship within the social service sector. It focuses on developing leadership capabilities that align organisational vision with social impact, while ensuring accountability, sustainability, and equity in service delivery. Through a social work lens, students will critically examine leadership frameworks, governance models, resource mobilisation strategies, and decision-making processes that influence the effectiveness of social sector organisations. The module emphasises ethical leadership, stakeholder engagement, and systems thinking as essential tools for navigating uncertainty, driving innovation, and stewarding resources responsibly. By engaging with real-world case studies, policy contexts, and sector-specific challenges in Singapore and beyond, students will learn to lead with clarity, integrity, and a strong commitment to the social good.

• Foundation of strategic leadership in social work
• Leadership styles, values and ethical foundation
• Strategic planning processes in social service settings
• System thinking and leadership in complex environments
• Governance and accountability in social service organisations
• Financial stewardship and resource mobilisation
• Measuring social impact and organisational effectiveness
• Stakeholder and community engagement
• Strategic communication and influence
• Talent management and organisational culture
• Leading through change and crisis
• Developing a personal leadership and stewardship plan

• Demonstrate knowledge of strategic leadership principles.
• Apply systems thinking to analyse complex organisational and societal challenges.
• Evaluate organisational performance and impact.
• Design approaches for stakeholder engagement and influence, including inter-agency collaboration and community participation.
• Critically evaluate sustainability practice in the governance and operations of social service agencies.
• Developing a leadership vision and stewardship plan.