Syllabus Economisch Engels I – sem 2
CHAPTER 4 – LEADERSHIP
“My job is not to be easy on people. My job is to make them better.” – Steve Jobs
4.1 Manager or Mentor?
Discussion Questions
• Do you expect to be mentored when you begin a new job? How important do you think this is?
• Do you personally think that bosses should pass on knowledge to employees? Why / Why not?
• Do you think that people with more experience can also learn from those with less?
Video: “How can bosses help staff develop?” – BBC Link
Positive Elements of Company Culture (+) Negative Elements (-)
• nurturing • ruthless leadership
• candid feedback • isolation
• feedback loops • hedging (avoiding
• community directness)
• mutual trust • micromanagement
• opportunity to grow • no safe space to
• mentoring leaders fail
• employee interests in mind
Fill-in-the-blanks Exercise
Use these words:
step back, nurturing, community, peers, loops, provide, interests, street, isolated
Example (to complete):
• “The best way to get results is for the CEO to step back from being a dictator to being a mentor.”
• “Long-term success: organisations need to be compassionate, thoughtful, kind and nurturing.”
• “Sense of community is formed when everyone gives back to each other – leaders and peers.”
• “Important to create feedback loops between team members. Good mentors provide opportunities to
learn and know when to step back.”
• “Employees need to know bosses act in their best interests.”
• “Being a mentor isn’t a one-way street.”
• “Bosses shouldn’t be isolated and have their own pace of development.”
Vocabulary – Definitions (match with correct word)
1. truthful, even when unpleasant → candid
2. a system where experienced people help others → mentorship
3. lack of compassion → ruthlessness
4. feeling alone → isolation
5. qualities for good leadership → leadership skills
6. critique about job performance → feedback
7. sense of inclusion → belonging
8. equals in position → peers
9. feeling for others → compassionate
10. supportive environment → nurturing
11. feeling of distrust → distrust
12. a chance to do something → opportunity
13. avoiding a direct answer → hedging
,Grammar/Understanding Check (Choose the correct answer)
• A cooperative atmosphere means that people → help each other
• If something is mutually beneficial → all parties involved
• If someone calls the shots → tell others what to do
• A company that has employees’ best interests at heart → supports their efforts
• Two-way feedback means employees can → tell their bosses
• Inclusive decision-making → management and staff
• Passive-aggressive behaviour → expresses negative feelings indirectly
• Feedback on the fly → spontaneously and informally
• Startups that push boundaries → challenge limits
• Sometimes managers need to step back and → let their team take initiative
4.2 Kindness is Key
4.2.1 Idioms – Match with Meaning
• Killed by kindness → too kind in a way that causes harm
• Cautionary tale → story of an event used to warn others
• Cut the mustard → be good enough
• Make hard calls → take difficult decisions
4.2.2 Reading: Financial Times Article
Unusual job advert requirement:
→ “Must be kind” as a job requirement.
Four positive effects of kindness:
→ Higher retention, motivation, collaboration, satisfaction
Risk for a “kind” boss:
→ Not being taken seriously / failure to enforce discipline
Worse than employees feeling let down:
→ Loss of trust or cynicism
Cautionary tale:
→ Company failed due to excessive kindness overriding business logic
Another executive’s experience:
→ Successfully balanced kindness with high performance
Kindness vs corporate success:
→ Can be compatible with the right balance and structure
What’s difficult for new managers:
→ Making tough, unpopular decisions
4.2.3 Vocabulary – Fill in the gaps:
• Exude → “to clearly show a quality”
• amplified → “supports a concept or success”
• strain
• At the expense of
• Offshoring
• Bankruptcy
• clashes
• listed company
• plunged
• corporate ladder
, Concept Comparisons:
To fire back = react sharply
To backfire = have an unintended negative result
Moderate = control intensity
Reduce = make smaller
Mutually exclusive = cannot coexist
Mutually beneficial = good for all parties
Kindness = general niceness
Benevolence = genuine goodwill
Acts of kindness = specific behaviours
A friendly culture = systemic environment
Rehire = hire again
Keep staff on = avoid firing
Calling the shots = be in charge
Making hard calls = make tough decisions
Fire = dismiss for cause
Lay off = let go for business reasons
4.3 Collaborative Mentorship
4.3.1 Definitions
• Mentor = someone who guides
• Mentee = person receiving guidance
• Mentoring = structured developmental relationship
4.3.3 Vocabulary (noun/adjective forms):
• Mentorship
• Mentee
• Actions
• Struggles
• Procrastination
• Resentment
• Beneficial
• Knowledge
• Development
• Advice
• Encouragement
• Collaboration
CHAPTER 4 – LEADERSHIP
“My job is not to be easy on people. My job is to make them better.” – Steve Jobs
4.1 Manager or Mentor?
Discussion Questions
• Do you expect to be mentored when you begin a new job? How important do you think this is?
• Do you personally think that bosses should pass on knowledge to employees? Why / Why not?
• Do you think that people with more experience can also learn from those with less?
Video: “How can bosses help staff develop?” – BBC Link
Positive Elements of Company Culture (+) Negative Elements (-)
• nurturing • ruthless leadership
• candid feedback • isolation
• feedback loops • hedging (avoiding
• community directness)
• mutual trust • micromanagement
• opportunity to grow • no safe space to
• mentoring leaders fail
• employee interests in mind
Fill-in-the-blanks Exercise
Use these words:
step back, nurturing, community, peers, loops, provide, interests, street, isolated
Example (to complete):
• “The best way to get results is for the CEO to step back from being a dictator to being a mentor.”
• “Long-term success: organisations need to be compassionate, thoughtful, kind and nurturing.”
• “Sense of community is formed when everyone gives back to each other – leaders and peers.”
• “Important to create feedback loops between team members. Good mentors provide opportunities to
learn and know when to step back.”
• “Employees need to know bosses act in their best interests.”
• “Being a mentor isn’t a one-way street.”
• “Bosses shouldn’t be isolated and have their own pace of development.”
Vocabulary – Definitions (match with correct word)
1. truthful, even when unpleasant → candid
2. a system where experienced people help others → mentorship
3. lack of compassion → ruthlessness
4. feeling alone → isolation
5. qualities for good leadership → leadership skills
6. critique about job performance → feedback
7. sense of inclusion → belonging
8. equals in position → peers
9. feeling for others → compassionate
10. supportive environment → nurturing
11. feeling of distrust → distrust
12. a chance to do something → opportunity
13. avoiding a direct answer → hedging
,Grammar/Understanding Check (Choose the correct answer)
• A cooperative atmosphere means that people → help each other
• If something is mutually beneficial → all parties involved
• If someone calls the shots → tell others what to do
• A company that has employees’ best interests at heart → supports their efforts
• Two-way feedback means employees can → tell their bosses
• Inclusive decision-making → management and staff
• Passive-aggressive behaviour → expresses negative feelings indirectly
• Feedback on the fly → spontaneously and informally
• Startups that push boundaries → challenge limits
• Sometimes managers need to step back and → let their team take initiative
4.2 Kindness is Key
4.2.1 Idioms – Match with Meaning
• Killed by kindness → too kind in a way that causes harm
• Cautionary tale → story of an event used to warn others
• Cut the mustard → be good enough
• Make hard calls → take difficult decisions
4.2.2 Reading: Financial Times Article
Unusual job advert requirement:
→ “Must be kind” as a job requirement.
Four positive effects of kindness:
→ Higher retention, motivation, collaboration, satisfaction
Risk for a “kind” boss:
→ Not being taken seriously / failure to enforce discipline
Worse than employees feeling let down:
→ Loss of trust or cynicism
Cautionary tale:
→ Company failed due to excessive kindness overriding business logic
Another executive’s experience:
→ Successfully balanced kindness with high performance
Kindness vs corporate success:
→ Can be compatible with the right balance and structure
What’s difficult for new managers:
→ Making tough, unpopular decisions
4.2.3 Vocabulary – Fill in the gaps:
• Exude → “to clearly show a quality”
• amplified → “supports a concept or success”
• strain
• At the expense of
• Offshoring
• Bankruptcy
• clashes
• listed company
• plunged
• corporate ladder
, Concept Comparisons:
To fire back = react sharply
To backfire = have an unintended negative result
Moderate = control intensity
Reduce = make smaller
Mutually exclusive = cannot coexist
Mutually beneficial = good for all parties
Kindness = general niceness
Benevolence = genuine goodwill
Acts of kindness = specific behaviours
A friendly culture = systemic environment
Rehire = hire again
Keep staff on = avoid firing
Calling the shots = be in charge
Making hard calls = make tough decisions
Fire = dismiss for cause
Lay off = let go for business reasons
4.3 Collaborative Mentorship
4.3.1 Definitions
• Mentor = someone who guides
• Mentee = person receiving guidance
• Mentoring = structured developmental relationship
4.3.3 Vocabulary (noun/adjective forms):
• Mentorship
• Mentee
• Actions
• Struggles
• Procrastination
• Resentment
• Beneficial
• Knowledge
• Development
• Advice
• Encouragement
• Collaboration
