I found our discussion in class of dress and appearance as they pertain to leadership very interesting. Typically people do assume a lot from how people present themselves in grooming, dress, and stature. Those can be deceiving though. I wear a tie and jacket to work almost everyday. I also am a mid-level employee who answers to a supervisor who more times than not wears slacks and a nice blouse. Most of my co-workers wear jeans to work often.

My style of dress is meant more for myself than to send a message out. I've always imagined that a man of my age should dress in this manner unless he is in a blue-collar position. I also enjoy dressing as I do for the office as it gets my mind centered on the task at hand. It's my uniform. As much as I enjoy making interesting shirt-tie-jacket combinations, I probably more highly relish getting home, and slipping into jeans and a sweatshirt to leave the office behind. I enjoy the Clark Kent/Superman change-up and engage in it every day within 5 minutes of getting home. I probably more closely identify with Clark as I don't have super powers to achieve super-human feats..................yet. Who knows, maybe after completing this course I may become......LEADER-MAN.

My reading of Friedman’s enormously popular “The World Is Flat� began as a required text for “Introduction to Innovation Studies� last semester. I knew Friedman was my age, born in Minneapolis, the product of private schools and country club brunches. His referring to most people interviewed in the book as his personal friends seemed elitist and self-serving. I did not accept his narrow economic examples, but his pedigree as a journalist, Pulitzer recipient, and often quoted expert was common knowledge. I was frustrated, because I thought his conclusions were misleading and oversimplified. And yet, Friedman’s assertion of a flat world was being proliferated. I was swimming against the current, and soon I found myself using the Friedman “flat world� reference regularly in conversation and discussion.

In this week’s reading assignment, there it was on page 536: I KNOW THAT THE WORLD IS NOT FLAT. Friedman admitted that he had “engaged in literary license� to emphasize the quickening pace of the proliferation of technology and its impact on the economies of the world. I was encouraged to read on, hoping that some of my questions and arguments would be addressed. They were.

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Greetings: I found this article in the Henry Sibley High School student newspaper, The Dirt. It was submitted by Josh Epstein. I don't know what grade he is in, but I do know that he is on the newspaper staff. His thoughts on leadership and followership are so pertinent to our class that I think it is appropriate to share it with the class.

Even though Josh calls himself a follower, I believe that his actions show differently. By writing and submitting this article, he showed some of the same qualities that we associate with leaders. Courage is certainly one of them. Students have many issues to deal with, issues that are often prescribed by peer groups and peer interactions. Often, standing out is not so desirable, it invites people talking about you, or what you publicly acknowledge as your opinion. Maybe he could be called an indirect leader. But regardless of what we call him, a leader or a follower, he sets an excellent example of engaged citizenship.

What do you think about followership?

Claudia Beermann

In reflection of “Mobilizing Adaptive Work; Beyond Visionary Leadership� by Ronald A. Heifetz and Donald L. Laurie, I enjoyed that the authors discussed and recognized the distinctions between ‘leadership and authority’ and between technical and adaptive work’ (pp 56)

The Heifetz and Laurie reading, similar to Kouses and Posner, is a straightforward and logical read that is hard to dispute. I appreciate that H & L (Heifetz and Laurie) challenge the reader to clarify in their own mind; the difference between authority and leadership, that leadership can come from anywhere, that a common failing of leaders is addressing an adaptive issue as a technical problem, that adaptive issues require constituents to change behaviors and sometimes adjust values, that adaptive issues require leaders to alternate between being in the moment and mentally stepping out of the action to act as an observer assessing what is really going on, that leaders need to monitor and create a holding vessel for stakeholders to handle the stress of adaptive work, and that leaders need to mobilize others to do the tough work of solving problems.

Thomas Friedman is the “Foreign Affairs� columnist for The New York Times as well as a Pulitzer Prize winning author. His poignant insights into foreign affairs remind us of daunting global crises like terrorism and environmental degradation while simultaneously inspiring readers that a better future is possible. He believes it is everyone’s job to be a leader (especially Americans) and to work towards the common good “because in a flat world, if you don’t visit a bad neighborhood, it might visit you� (634).

Friedman's entire book is primarily an optimistic accounting of globalization and opportunities. He lists many aspects of technology as the flatteners for this world, without addressing those that have yet to come up to the same plane of basic survivability as the rest of us. As Arundhati Roy outlines in a book of essays "Power Politics," who understands the price of water more: a woman that walks 3 miles to get fresh water, or an urban dweller that merely turns on the municipal tap? Or the Indians that work in the call center training facility, forced to play a role of customer support at 1/10th the wage, while reinventing themselves with American names and accents?

The world is flat, but surely stratified. Who got smashed when the world went flat? We no longer even see them...

Sorry to repeat, I looked the formatting on the blog and it only has part of this and what is there is mostly unreadable.

Are Heifetz and Laurie pseudonyms for Kouzes and Posner? They lay things out so clearly, in such plain English and with a train of thought that is not only easy to follow but easy to apply to personal situations. As I read this I could see where their adaptive model seems to have been applied – the reorganization of some of the colleges at the University is an excellent example. I could also identify the struggle between an authoritarian stance and a leadership one. I call it parenting.

What is commonly known as “Wave I� was in the process for over two years. University authorities determined the problem and decided on a solution. As one step toward becoming one of the top three research universities in the country, and in order to better meet the needs of students, streamline the educational and administrative process, and provide better opportunities for interdisciplinary research, it was deemed necessary to realign some colleges and departments, and to eliminate General College. Authority determined the direction the University would take. Authority then offered protection – taking the heat from the press, alumni, parents and students. University administration next put in place those people who they had determined would best implement their plan. Once the changes had been implemented, the University’s administration moved quickly to ensure that each revamped college resumed the processes and legislative activities that ensure representation in the multitude of faculty committees, review and acceptance of students, and resumption of duties by all those affected. They ensured order was restored and norms could once again be maintained.

The adaptive side of this effort was equally well thought out. The transition was not easy for anyone, it was an extended period of disequilibrium. I cannot speak from actual experience as to how it modeled Heifetz and Laurie’s model of The Persistence of Disequilibrium (p. 70). I was not in a Wave I college and so was not subject to the pressure these changes brought people under, however I am familiar with the adaptive structure put in place and how they reflect the Technical vs. Adaptive model.

Teams were developed which included deans, faculty, students and staff who identified the challenges – everything from space allocation to renaming the colleges – this provided the “pinch of reality� necessary to begin a collaborative effort. Teams were given time and space on which to work on the project, however, the deadline for integration was firm so a level of pressure was maintained. The level of disorientation instituted by the adaptive leaders was substantial. Faculty tenure resides within their specific college. For many of them this meant the college with which they had been aligned would no longer exist, they would face new department chairs and deans, they would need to develop new comfort levels amongst new peers. Absent the tenure issue, these same issues faced deans, department head and staff. There was conflict at all levels. Some took the position that those colleges that were essentially closing were being subsumed by other colleges and therefore somehow of lesser value, or damaged goods. Since the merges have been completed, leaders have spent a great deal of time and resources in auditing values and mission statements, recognizing that what seemed to fit at the time of completion may need re-evaluation and revision. It ain’t over yet, folks.

I found myself thinking back to Terry’s reading (which was clearly my second favorite until now), and so looked to see if he addressed this idea of authoritative vs. adaptive modes of leadership and was disappointed to find that he seemed to recognize it existed but chose to back away from it. On page 15, he writes of “Leadership Development� and the fact that there is no “developmental process� for becoming a leader and that it would be virtually impossible to develop one. He then shows us that the way to the Leadership Hall of Fame is through spirituality – which, in turn fosters authenticity. At least in this piece I gained no insight from him about this particular disparity, rather about knowledge versus wisdom and the need to establish authenticity.

Now, briefly, to my comments about Heifetz and Laurie’s theories and parenting. I have not been able to come up with a situation other than parenting, in which one has to be both the authority and the leader – as they lay out the two perspectives and the roles associated with each. Parents place themselves in a position where they are required to fill both roles and where the balance of which one is in control when changes constantly – whether due to circumstances or the differences between children. It is sometimes amazingly difficult to decide which side of the fence to commit to. I believe that what matters is that children are allowed to see both aspects and that as they grow they become capable of discerning between the two. I don’t imagine that Heifetz and Laurie intended this model to serve as a parenting aid, but it’s kind of nifty – to me, at least – to discover it can serve multiple purposes!

Sarah Waldemar

Are Heifetz and Laurie pseudonyms for Kouzes and Posner? They lay things out so clearly, in such plain English and with a train of thought that is not only easy to follow but easy to apply to personal situations. As I read this I could see where their adaptive model seems to have been applied – the reorganization of some of the colleges at the University is an excellent example. I could also identify the struggle between an authoritarian stance and a leadership one. I call it parenting.

What is commonly known as “Wave I� was in the process for over two years.  University authorities determined the problem and decided on a solution.  As one step toward becoming one of the top three research universities in the country, and in order to better meet the needs of students, streamline the educational and administrative process, and provide better opportunities for interdisciplinary research, it was deemed necessary to realign some colleges and departments, and to eliminate General College.  Authority determined the direction the University would take.  Authority then offered protection – taking the heat from the press, alumni, parents and students.  University administration next put in place those people who they had determined would best implement their plan.  Once the changes had been implemented, the University’s administration moved quickly to ensure that each revamped college resumed the processes and legislative activities that ensure representation in the multitude of faculty committees, review and acceptance of students, and resumption of duties by all those affected.  They ensured order was restored and norms could once again be maintained.  

The adaptive side of this effort was equally well thought out.  The transition was not easy for anyone, it was an extended period of disequilibrium.  I cannot speak from actual experience as to how it modeled Heifetz and Laurie’s model of The Persistence of Disequilibrium (p. 70).  I was not in a Wave I college and so was not subject to the pressure these changes brought people under, however I am familiar with the adaptive structure put in place and how they reflect the Technical vs. Adaptive model.  

Teams were developed which included deans, faculty, students and staff who identified the challenges – everything from space allocation to renaming the colleges – this provided the “pinch of reality� necessary to begin a collaborative effort.  Teams were given time and space on which to work on the project, however, the deadline for integration was firm so a level of pressure was maintained.  The level of disorientation instituted by the adaptive leaders was substantial.  Faculty tenure resides within their specific college.  For many of them this meant the college with which they had been aligned would no longer exist, they would face new department chairs and deans, they would need to develop new comfort levels amongst new peers.  Absent the tenure issue, these same issues faced deans, department head and staff.  There was conflict at all levels.  Some took the position that those colleges that were essentially closing were being subsumed by other colleges and therefore somehow of lesser value, or damaged goods.  Since the merges have been completed, leaders have spent a great deal of time and resources in auditing values and mission statements, recognizing that what seemed to fit at the time of completion may need re-evaluation and revision.  It ain’t over yet, folks.

I found myself thinking back to Terry’s reading (which was clearly my second favorite until now), and so looked to see if he addressed this idea of authoritative vs. adaptive modes of leadership and was disappointed to find that he seemed to recognize it existed but chose to back away from it.  On page 15, he writes of “Leadership Development� and the fact that there is no “developmental process� for becoming a leader and that it would be virtually impossible to develop one.  He then shows us that the way to the Leadership Hall of Fame is through spirituality – which, in turn fosters authenticity.  At least in this piece I gained no insight from him about this particular disparity, rather about knowledge versus wisdom and the need to establish authenticity.  

Now, briefly, to my comments about Heifetz and Laurie’s theories and parenting.  I have not been able to come up with a situation other than parenting, in which one has to be both the authority and the leader – as they lay out the two perspectives and the roles associated with each.  Parents place themselves in a position where they are required to fill both roles and where the balance of which one is in control when changes constantly – whether due to circumstances or the differences between children.  It is sometimes amazingly difficult to decide which side of the fence to commit to.  I believe that what matters is that children are allowed to see both aspects and that as they grow they become capable of discerning between the two.  I don’t imagine that Heifetz and Laurie intended this model to serve as a parenting aid, but it’s kind of nifty – to me, at least – to discover it can serve multiple purposes!

Sarah Waldemar

I recall an especially difficult time in my career in 1990 when I knew the law firm I directed administratively had to change: the Selectric typewriters needed to go and computers, shared printers and a network needed to replace them. I was alone in coordinating this effort within a 120-member organization, but had been successful in convincing the 27 partners they needed to spend thousands of dollars to increase revenues and accept more cases without increasing personnel or space. Although the project eventually was successful, the process was very painful for me given the need for attitude change and training to happen simultaneously.

While the attorney partners of the firm were expecting me to find instant solutions to the complaints and frustrations being experienced without spending even more money, I was unable to meet those expectations; therefore, as the file server went down several times a day and computer users couldn’t remember how to use the software, I looked and felt like a failure when secretaries were unable to complete their work in a timely manner. Everyone looked to me for solutions, and everything I tried was in vain. The staff whined endlessly, wishing to return to the system they knew best. They needed to, but didn't want to, suffer through the difficulties of learning new software and procedures that vastly changed from their years of “business as usual.� Although I kept trying, I was unable to come up with solutions on my own to every problem associated with the project.

Reflection on chapter 13 – Leadership Is Everyone’s Business Chapter 13, Leadership Is Everyone’s Business, of Kouzes & Posner is the only chapter in the Leadership For Everyone section of the book. This chapter is the summary of the whole book. The authors emphasize their leadership theory in this chapter, just as in the word of Kouzes & Posner, “…leadership is not about position or title…leadership is not about organizational power or authority…leadership is about relationship, about credibility, and about what you do.� The authors explained why one can be a good leader and how to use the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership to acquire accomplishments, and to be a leader and successful leader. It consists eight parts, and can be divided into two sections.

The first section includes three parts: you are the most important leader in your organization; leadership is learned; leaders make a different. The authors try to tell readers that one can be a good leader and explain why. The second section includes five parts: first lead yourself; moral leadership calls us to higher purposes; humility is the antidote to hubris; leadership is in the moment; the secret to success in life. The authors gave readers specific ways to practice, and try to introduce how one can become a good leader.

The point I took away from this chapter was realizing my potential of leadership and how to put them into practice of leadership. The quotes that struck me the most in this chapter were: "You have to challenge the myth that leadership is about position and power. And, once challenged, people can come to see leadership in a whole new light."(338) "Now, I see leaders leading a group of people of any size and leading at any level. You are a leader if you employ these five leadership practices because people around you want to follow." (339) "The more you engage in the practices of exemplary leaders, the more likely it is that you’ll have a positive influence on others in the organization. "(343) "The instrument of leadership is the self, and mastery of the art of leadership comes from mastery of the self."(344) "The best-kept secret of successful leaders is love: staying in love with leading, with the people who do the work, with what their organizations produce, and with those who honor the organization by using its products and services. "(343)

I appreciated this chapter because I think it totally changed my prejudice of leadership theory. At first, I always think that leadership is about position or title, especially in the public sector. People who work for the private sector are not related to leader or leadership. I think it may be caused by my culture. As Chinese saying goes, “all other callings now rank first, the study of books is first and best.� Why, because people can become civil servants--traditional concept of leader through diligent study. Another famous saying from Confucius is that “A good scholar can become an official.� This still affect Chinese society today. After you know about it, you will not amaze at thousands of graduate student to compete in one official position two years ago.

What’s more I don’t think I have to pay more attention to some affairs that didn’t relate to my field. Just as one Chinese saying goes, “he who is not in any particular office, has nothing to do with plans for the administration of its duties.� After read this book and this chapter, I learnt a lot. As Kouzes & Posner noted, “leadership is about relationship, about credibility, and about what you do (338).�

Last but not the least, I ask myself many times, how I can put the leadership theories into practice when I read the book and articles. Suddenly, I found the answers in chapter 13. The answers include my question are: “The fact that leaders can learn to be leaders through self-awareness and effort opens the possibility that individuals have a choice about pursuing or ignoring the calling of leadership.(340)� “leadership opportunities are presented to everyone… what makes the difference between being a leader or not is how you respond in the moment.� “each day provides countless chance to make a difference. The chance might come in a private conversation with a direct report or in a meeting with colleague.�

When I read the sentence from chapter 13—“the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership were a good start for understanding that leadership was everyone’s business…� it impacted me very well. I never connected small things to leadership field till I finished this reading. I tried to use the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership to explain things happened around me. For example, I worked for a Chinese Buffet for a few days. I suddenly found that the boss’s behavior is “Model The Way� when we cleaned the store together on weekend. The manager’s behavior violates the credibility because of eating the banned food. After that moment, I tried to explain more things happened to me. I believe that the more I use the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership, the more I can make progress in my leadership skills.

But, in my point of view, the authors’ work generalized the concept of leadership theory. Sometime I ask myself, is it leadership book or a book of public relation or the truth of life.

I will close this semester as I started, with high praise for K&P. As I read Chapter 13 I was particularly taken with their discussion of hubris and humility. It clarified an internal conflict which has been nagging at me for several months.

When I started my new job I made a point of going out to meet my stakeholders, to try and open the door for communication. The position had been empty for some time and the relationship between my unit and the people in the field had suffered. I also needed them to identify me with my new role – for many, many years I had been doing what they were still doing. We had been peers, I wanted to ensure that the relationships remained strong in light of my new job. As part of this discussion I asked them what their thoughts were with regard to a symposium – an opportunity for them to complete their required continuing education credits in one day, rather than the piecemeal way it is typically done. The idea had never been tried and was very positively received.

Subsequently a new Associate Vice President (AVP) was hired. I approached her with the idea of a symposium and she was immediately enthusiastic. Long story short, the day was hugely successful and extremely well organized. In the days and weeks that followed, I heard many, many people sing her praises, particularly with respect to the symposium. Hubris had me by the throat. It was my idea, why weren’t people remembering that? It grated and then humility would try and raise its head to point out that part of the reason it was such a success was due to the AVP’s knowledge and abilities. What she had brought to the table was in many ways more valuable than what I brought and she shared it willingly. When I let humility get a word in, I could recognize that she had shared the spotlight, that she was able and exceedingly willing to share credit, and that her concern for the sponsored research community was the driving force behind her actions, as was mine. I feel I owe her an apology.

She had humility, I had hubris. Thanks to K&P I was able to clearly see the distinction between the two and how pride can become a yoke. It is a lesson I plan to keep at the forefront of my actions. As I review my actions as a leader I truly believe one of my values is that people should be recognized for the work they do. When one of my staff does something exceptional, I make certain that everyone knows who was responsible and how important it is to our success.

Pride has its place, as K&P point out. Fostering pride in my work area is important, if one can’t take pride in what they do, it ceases to have meaning. I would speculate that without pride, there can be no love – the final concept with which K&P leave us. I love my job and can clearly see the difference between those who are in love with what they do and those who are merely marking time.

Here at the University anyone who touches anything financial is caught up in the July 1, 2008 conversion to a new financial system. This magnitude of this change is at this point only estimated (and somewhat feared). What I have seen in relation to this upcoming adventure is that those people who truly love what they do, who take pride in what they produce and the impact of their efforts on the overall success of the University, are willing to keep working in the face of frustration and uncertainty. If they are waiting for the first glimpse of the financial data and it is consistently unusable, those in love don’t throw their hands in the air and stomp off. They keep working, keep trying to find a way to accomplish all that needs to be done without the data, trusting that there are others equally in love trying to get things fixed and make things work. I find it enormously fascinating – it takes people watching to a whole new level, and I have K&P to thank for it.

Sarah Waldemar

In the final chapter of “The Leadership Challenge,� Kouses and Posner posit, “Leadership is everyone’s business. No matter what your position is, you have to take responsibility for the quality of leadership your constituents get. … The only choice you really have is whether or not to be the best leader you can be.�(339) Viewed in this light, “followers� might recognize, paradoxically perhaps, that we are actually “leaders.� For many of us who work, but are not managers or leaders by title, I believe the authors have presented a framework in this book that makes leadership accessible to any of us, should we choose to take it on. K&P write, “leadership is about relationships, about credibility, and about what you do�(338) or, in put another way, it’s about teamwork, integrity, and walking the talk, all themes the authors have highlighted repeatedly throughout the book. The authors assert, “We all can and should assume leadership roles in our regular activities more often than not.�(340) I think many of us can find opportunities to be leaders in small ways which, when compiled, amounts to leadership in practice. If leaders encouraged this kind of thinking and behavior from followers, the potential for improvement in organizations could be significant.

First an apology to everyone – I spaced on my need to post a reflection this week until this late. Thankfully others posted their reflections so those of you who need to respond have that opportunity.

Before I dig into Light’s writing, I want to ask people for some feedback - that’s at the end of my post. It relates to the post so if you have the time, please read down. If you’re in a hurry but want to help me out, please just scroll on down…

In “Sustaining Innovation�, Light states, “public sector innovation involves more than simply doing the public’s business well.� (xv)

The final chapter in Kouzes and Posner wasn't just a summary of the book, it was one last attempt to get the reader to buy into their ideas of leadership; an attempt to say, "no really, you can do this." The authors clearly believe that leadership is available to everyone, and the quotes they share reflect that idea. "Leadership is about relationships, about credibility, and about what you do" (338); "The truth is that leadership is an observable set of skills and abilities...any skill can be strengthened, honed, and enhanced, given the motivation and desire, along with practice and feedback, role models, and coaching." (339-40); "...it's far healthier and more productive to assume that it's possible for everyone to learn to lead." (341)

As I read the last chapter of K&P I tried to keep more of an open mind than I had in the past. I tried to take what they were saying at face value and not read so much into their theories and suggestions. Approaching this chapter in such a way seemed to have a positive outcome. I liked Chapter 13, I thought it was well written, the information was well supported and it brought together different aspects from previous chapters.

Chapter 13 seemed to be the most realistic and upfront chapter. By far my favorite section that K&P wrote about was "Humility is the Antidote to Hubris." My favorite sentence, "You can do all of these leadership practices perfectly and still get fired!" (p. 347) FINALLY... the truth. As I read K&P throughout the semester, I continually felt like they were throwing this formula in my face, a failure-free formula that would guarantee that if I followed their leadership advice I would be the next amazing leader to be quoted in a book that has sold millions of copies. It was after I read this line that I gained a new appreciation for the book... it was at that point that I realized they knew that all of the principles don't always work - especially since individuals have the power and ability to interupt each principle as they choose.

Another quote from the chapter that I could relate to was, "There's a point at which each of the The Five Practices, taken to extremes, can lead you astray" (p. 347). This statement really rings true. I think it also speaks to my desire in past weeks to over-analyze each of the chapters, trying to find step by step instructions on how to succeed through the practices.

K&P finish the chapter with a story from John H. Stanford - a u.S. Army Major General who explains that the secret to success in life is to stay in love. I found this answer, like K&P to be unexpected. Love is the answer... oh dear! Yet, the more I thought about it, the more it makes sense. I took a step back and thought about my job and the days that I really love my job and how I pass along my love to others and what a difference that makes in productivity, relationships and overall morale in the office. Then I thought about my father, who has been doing the same job since he was 18... over 30 years - he does what he does because he loves it. My father absolutely loves his job, he loved it when I was a kid and he loves it now. When I visit my parents and I take the time to sit down with my dad and talk about work, his face lights up and he sparkle he gets in his eye when he talks about what he does on daily basis amazes me. He i s definitely in love with his job and it is a reflection of the relationship he has with himeslef, with his job and the leadership he exudes.

However, I love to play devil's advocate - can someone be overly in love? Can their passion be a roadblock to their success as a leader? Does their love get in the way of being able to see the other side of the fence? Can someone be so in love that they have blinders on and can't see what is really going on around them?

By comparing Light's "Sustaining Innovation" excerpts to architecture, I can also include some information from the Sacred Sites/ Sacred Sights symposium from this past weekend. The Dakota, Miqmaq, Navajo, Muslim, Jewish, Sami, Hindi, and Somali cultures were represented as well as various political and academic departments. Hearing many speak on topics of language, ownership, and the physicality of their culture has further honed my direction for a career in reparative architecture and innovation.

Is innovation a collective or individual movement? Can innovation emerge from a cumulative history [evolutionary]? Or is it always the influence of something from outside the box [entropy / spontaneity]?

[image by Mithun]

Kouzes and Posner’s Chapter 11: “Recognize Contributions� is one of the most important chapters in the book, in my opinion. The reason is simply that it pays attention to people’s basic needs of belongingness and support. At the heart of the message is the idea that people live up to expectations, especially when clearly identified goals are coupled with encouragement and feedback along the way. This seems so simple, yet it is clear that many organizations haven’t yet perfected this practice.

“Values mediate the path of action. Goals release the energy� was the way the K&P expressed the importance of being specific with constituents about desired outcomes. Having clear goals (providing they are understood) allows people to take action steps. If they know where they are and where they need to be, they can decide how they are going to get there. It empowers them to be creative and innovate within a structure. When they are then supported through regular and positively-framed feedback, there are optimal conditions for “flow�, which has its own intrinsic rewards.

Freedom and buy-in allow people to be most successful and innovative. K&P illustrate this when they again talk about the importance of trust in the work place, “highly controlling behaviors - inspecting, correcting, checking-up - signal lack of trust. How do you respond to people who don’t trust you? You don’t trust them.� (291). Trust allows people to listen to themselves - and trust their own instincts - knowing that their superiors already support them. This in turn creates opportunities for people to go further than is originally planned for in goals.

When people exceed or even meet goals with creative solutions and they are rewarded in authentic and meaningful ways, a positive feedback loop is started. “Leaders get the best from others not by building fires under people but by building the fires within them,�(293) perfectly illustrates K&P’s point that if a leader learns what makes their constituents tick they are able to empower through positive personal connections rather than blanket threats. One of the ways to know what makes people tick is to “get close� to them. Understanding someone’s interests, desires, and dreams is crucial to rewarding them in ways that makes them feel appreciated.

I have a personal experience with this in my current job. Since I support most of the people in the office, I often feel like I have several “bosses�. And although everyone requests work from me, they have very different ways of engaging with me about it. One of my ‘bosses’ knows me well, she stops by to say good morning and ask me how I am doing almost every day. Consequently, when she asks me to do something, I am pleased to be able to work hard for her and turn out a good product. I also feel really comfortable asking for more guidance when I need it. I do not feel she is mentally down-grading my performance to get the job done, but rather glad to give me feedback in the process. Finally, when I am done working for her and have done a good job she always knows how to recognize me. Even if it is just a nice comment, she knows what I will appreciate and feel good about and what might embarrass me.

Appropriate recognition cannot take place if a leader does not understand their basic things about their constituents, “to get a sense of what will work for your constituents, discuss what they find encouraging themselves, and in what ways they prefer to encourage others.�(303) If recognition doesn’t feel authentic, it doesn’t feel half as deserved or as important, “A one-size-fits-all approach to recognition feels disingenuous, forced, and thoughtless. Over time it can even increase cynicism and actually damage credibility.�(292). If recognition is not taken to heart, it does nothing to spur on good performance.

Kouzes and Posner provide solid, clear ways to recognize employees in Chapter 11. They demonstrate an in-depth understanding of what makes people feel successful and happy at their jobs. It is often not money, but more a feeling of having understandable norms and goals and a clear path to recognition. Ultimately, employment can be looked at in terms of any other long-term committed relationship. It requires work, nourishment, and positive feedback. Any company or leader who takes that seriously will ultimately be successful because they make their employees successful.

Kouzes & Posner took a great deal of time and thought into the study of leadership as it relates to recognition of employees contributions to organizations. Recognition is about acknowledging the good output of employees’ contribution and finding some means of reinforcing these exceptional performances. K & P went further to justify that this kind of performance that recognizes the individual employee’s worth can only be achieved through exemplary leadership. Leading by example is the key to getting employees to follow. Leaders that expect high performances from employees must also exhibit high standards. “People tend to act in ways that are consistent with the expectations they perceive� (K& P 2007) Having high expectations of others can set the basis for high performances. I found this chapter to be one of the most valued topics for discussion as it relates to the work place environment and culture. From personal experience related to my various places of work this would be the most difficult tasks for leadership and managers to perform. Leaders and managers are seen as really lost and unsure of how to recognize exceptional individual performances and contributions. There seem to be this fear of not seeming to favor and employee by valuing his/her contribution due to the high pressure of not seeming too personal. Employees are most times given general “thank you� or “well done� even if the performance went far and beyond regular expectations. If leaders of organizations can come up with innovative means and systems of recognizing employees performances they may get far more exceptional and high valued performances. Monetary recognition should not be the only means of recognition because of the limitations most leaders have according to policies of the organization. Finding different means of incentives and employees appreciation is a topic that can be further developed. I would like to submit that while this is a very good important topic further study and thought can be given to the issue of helping leaders design and create other forms of recognition. While K & P gave good examples of leaders that were able to be very creative in doing this I still think that there is a real need for developing this further where leaders and managers can have a place to exchange and develop ideas in relationship to personalizing employees’ recognition.

Marie

In chapter 12, Kouzes and Posner build on the theme “Encouraging the Heart� by urging leaders to “Celebrate the Values and Victories.� Celebrations, they write, “offer leaders the perfect opportunity to explicitly communicate and reinforce the actions and behaviors that are important in realizing shared values and shared goals.�(312) This is yet another message from K&P that clear values are critical towards taking organizations along a path to success. If everyone within an organization is not clear about the core values, than it is unlikely they will be working in a unified manner towards goals. I write this as an employee who understands the general goals and purpose of the organization I work for, but who honestly cannot say what the values of the organization are – and I’ve worked there for seven years. Unfortunately, in my experience in other nonprofit organizations, this is not an uncommon scenario.

Chapter 11 covers the topic of recognition. For me this topic is the most generally applicable of all the topics covered so far. It is the most important, but also the hardest to get right. Recognition is equally important at work, at home with partners and children, volunteering and in schools.

Chapter 12, Celebrate the Values and Victories, of Kouzes & Posner is the second chapter in the Encourage the Heart section of the book. The premise of the chapter was that while recognizing the contributions of our constituents (see chapter 11) a good leader celebrates the shared values and victories. This is broken down into two essentials:

• Create a spirit of community
• Be personally involved

The authors emphasize celebration when talking about creating a spirit of community, how to use celebrations to acknowledge accomplishments, and incorporating celebration into organizational life. The point I took away from this essential was community and celebration at work come down to three main things: sincerity, fun and support. The quotes that struck me the most in this essential were:

I have small children, so manners are a regular topic of conversation in my home. While they rarely need reminding to say “please� (likely because I don’t respond to their requests unless I hear the magic word), “thank you’s� take some prompting. Still, when those two words are expressed with real meaning, the impact is amazing. When someone genuinely recognizes your contribution, you want to contribute again. Gratitude is a simple, but powerful force.

Chapter 12 in Kouzes and Posner is about celebrating values and victories. My work experience has allowed me to experience the big corporation pomp and circumstance in celebration down to the three-person office of “Let’s go to lunch to celebrate!� I have never felt comfortable with the award ceremony of the bigger concerns because they did not feel authentic to me. They were awards for production or achievement which lasted for the moment and then the next moment, I felt like there was another hill to climb or a goal to be met to stay in the “appreciated category� of the management team.

KDWB, the radio station, actually made me think about chapter 9 in K&P the other day. On the radio there were 3 high school girls all trying to win tickets to some pop concert, when the DJ posed this question, “I can only let one of you win tickets for this concert, you have to decide which one person will win these tickets. If you can’t decide in 3 minutes then I will shred these tickets and no one will win.�

The conversation that followed after this question was posed, was ideal for radio because it caused a lot of drama, but did absolutely nothing as it related to encouraging collaboration. All of these young ladies fought on the phone for awhile, and then they all agreed that if they, individually, could not win, then no one would win. So the DJ gleefully shredded the tickets on the radio, and everyone was entertained, woo hoo!

KDWB, the radio station, actually made me think about chapter 9 in K&P the other day. On the radio there were 3 high school girls all trying to win tickets to some pop concert, when the DJ posed this question, “I can only let one of you win tickets for this concert, you have to decide which one person will win these tickets. If you can’t decide in 3 minutes then I will shred these tickets and no one will win.�

The conversation that followed after this question was posed, was ideal for radio because it caused a lot of drama, but did absolutely nothing as it related to encouraging collaboration. All of these young ladies fought on the phone for awhile, and then they all agreed that if they, individually, could not win, then no one would win. So the DJ gleefully shredded the tickets on the radio, and everyone was entertained, woo hoo!

Chapter 10, Strengthen Others, of Kouzes & Posner is the second chapter in the Enable Others to Act section of the book. The premise of the chapter was that after fostering collaboration (see chapter 9) a leader needs to ‘Strengthen Others’. This is broken down into two essentials:

• Enhance self-determination
• Develop competence and confidence

The first essential deals with handing over more responsibility to your constituents because “you become more powerful when you give you own power away.� (251) I took two main points away from this essential. The first is that people strive to achieve when they feel they are in control of their own situation and if there is accountability and a feeling of personal responsibility everyone benefits. The second point was as a leader you are much better off with a group constituents that are engaged and feeling a sense of personal responsibility because it frees up your time to focus on helping the organization move forward. You can start planning the next steps. This makes me question the concept of managers versus leaders, because if done right wouldn’t being a leader fully encompass the role of a manager?

In Chapter 9, Kouzes and Posner authored several stories that supported their forth leadership practice: to enable others to act by fostering collaboration through trust, cooperative and reciprocating relationships and lastly, leading by example in the process.

While reading chapter nine, there are several key words that jumped out and stuck with me throughout the reading.

Trust

Communication

Reciprocity

Team effort/jigsaw puzzle

This chapter in Kouses and Posner I feel is one of the most important in leading others. I have listed below some of the important take away quotes:

Each member of the group brings value to the team and no one is “smarter or 
better than anyone else� (p. 249)

Leaders “enable others to take ownership of and responsibility for their group’s
Success� (p.250)

“Creating a climate in which people are fully engaged and feel in control of their 
own lives is at the heart of strengthening others� (p.250)

“Leaders move from being in control to giving over control to others, becoming their coaches and teachers�

In this chapter, Kouzes & Posner suggest that strengthening direct reports through building self-determination and confidence via competence are key essentials in the journey toward providing exemplary leadership and, thus, getting extraordinary things accomplished. “Creating a climate in which people are fully engaged and feel in control of their own lives is at the heart of strengthening others.� (250) Building confidence and resolve in people instill the belief they are able and therefore determined to succeed. K&P suggest that providing a sense of control through latitude and knowledge breeds confidence and opens the door to innovation.

A leader must also provide adequate resources in the form of time, money, people, and information to allow their staff to accomplish assigned tasks efficiently and accurately. It’s important to offer visible resources support, as well as public recognition, to build confidence levels. It’s finally imperative to conduct one-on-one monthly coaching dialogues with direct reports to create a mutually beneficial and supportive discovery process (what works, what doesn’t work, how to improve).

Power can be a very slippery slope when leading a team. K&P claim that “you become more powerful when you give your own power away� (251). They state that those who hold fast onto power and wield it to get their way are likely feeling powerless themselves. I find this claim to be quite true, for I’ve seen it in action several times throughout my career. However, I’ll use my daughter’s recent job experience as a prime example of how to quickly destroy confidence in direct reports.

I completely agree with all that the authors have said in regard to becoming a good leader by “Enhance self-determination & Develop competence and confidence� (page 251). I feel very strongly about this philosophy of strengthening others. In my work experience I have seen both the positive (strengthening others) and the negative (criticism to the point of removing all self-confidence) and the effects it has on constituents.

I can say with relative certainty that we all feel pretty good when a manager is confident in our performance or gives us the tools we need expand out capabilities. I would like to outline a situation where the total opposite has happened.

Kouzes and Posner deliver another straightforward, approachable chapter with: Fostering Collaboration. The authors claim leaders who champion collaborative efforts reap heightened employee fulfillment and increased options for spurring corporate growth. This chapter discusses the main elements that need to be in place for stimulating collaborative success.

The authors assert that a working environment grounded in trust will allow individuals to feel respected, safe and more likely to offer new ideas. As a teacher, this is a value I understand and strive to model and provide for my students. Oddly, as an employee, I hadn’t given this much thought. Finance manager for Apple, Inc., Jill Cleveland recognized that “employees feel empowered when they feel important, especially in the eyes of others.� She added, “knowing that your work doesn’t go unnoticed builds accountability as well as pride� (223). If individuals do not trust their co-workers, they will be more likely to hold back and keep ideas to themselves. Reflecting on personal observations and experiences with professional peers, I believe that many past unsuccessful interactions and initiatives might have been averted had trust been grounded in the workplace.

In Chapter 8 Kouzes & Posner draw attention to issues and challenges an organization must face when attempting change. “Thinking outside the box� is the phrase used to get people to make substantial change. We observed in this reading that in order for an organization to implement change there must be risk taking. People are always comfortable with sticking to what they already know and with what they are sure of. When it comes to bringing in new ideas and new methods for change people get nervous because of the unknown.

The question then is how do we overcome this fear of change? First of all we must realize that change is inevitable in our world today. Because the world is ever changing and because of the interconnectivity of societies it is impossible to exist and not be a part of the change process. How then do we present and make the case for change? Do we assume that because things are changing people must change? Does change just evolve or do we create an atmosphere to make change possible? According to K&P we must create an environment for change. Change must be tackled one step at a time.

“Nothing new and nothing great is achieved by doing things the way you’ve always done them�. I found this quote very interesting because of my hesitancy to participate in “something new� (The class blog). Why was I uncomfortable doing this? Was this just out of not wanting to try something new or was this out of fear? The blog and the class work and assignments are viewed as something new. I have always done written assignments for the instructor alone to read or critique and now this was a change of the way “I’ve always done it�. This is a new and learning experience for me. Is the atmosphere for learning and adapting to this change being created? Is the leadership in this situation allowing us to take the risks that we need to learn? Is the environment set up in such a way that our mistakes become a learning experience? I do agree with the writers that change can only happen if and when we generate small wins and that we can also learn from experience. People will be willing to learn if they understand what they are changing to and how the change will benefit all. According to K & P once we can see results from the change we are willing to buy in and become part of the change process. If people are not afraid to make mistakes then they become more willing to experiment and take risks. (Marie)

I posted this blog earlier tonight, but somehow the posting was truncated and the title was missing. -js

In chapter 8 of The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes and Posner (K&P) address leadership in the arena of “challenging the process.� Examples of leaders who are strong in this area are those who can learn from adversity and difficult situations and who are early adopters of innovation. The authors are building on the major theme of chapter 7, “searching for opportunities,� where they assert, “The work of leaders is change. And all change requires that leaders actively seek ways to make things better, to grow, innovate, and improve.�(164) In chapter 8, they take readers to the next step by showing how leaders ground those opportunities by experimenting and taking risks through generating small wins and by learning from experience.

A primary position in this chapter is that “boldness is not necessarily about go-for-broke, giant-leap projects. More often than not it’s about starting small and gaining momentum.�(191) Although it may seem obvious that ambitious projects need to be broken down into manageable pieces, the authors offer some good rationale for why it is wise to do so. Large projects can seem overwhelming and inhibit initiatives, while early milestones can build confidence and generate excitement and commitment to larger goals. K&P remind us that not every innovation works and, therefore, it is wise to experiment with many ideas.(193)

The first question I had when reading both Carol Hymowitz’s “Leadership: The New Diversity� and Laura Egodigwe’s “Leadership: Back to Class� was: “Is the focus on diversity about market share or about sharing responsibility for the common good?�

As both Egodigwe and Hymowitz discussed diversity training in companies, I couldn’t help but wonder why the articles were entitled “leadership.� Yes, I recognize that much of what they talked about were top-down decisions made about “diversity training� within a company. But is diversity or helping diverse staff relate to each other really a decision any more?

I suppose maybe the decision of the CEO’s of Pepsi Co., Leveno Corp., and Sodexo would be applauded by Kouzes and Posner as great leadership: These leaders were searching for opportunities and exercising outsight. They looked at the horizon fifteen years ago and realized that “how diverse is your company?� was going to be the next big move in business (just like “how green is your company?� is to 2008).

What bothers me is: is it really leadership when you take advantage of something you SHOULD be doing anyways to make more money? Kouzes and Posner would say: Yes! That is the best kind of change- it is a ‘challenge with purpose’ (p. 172). They would argue that the best leaders are the ones that take challenges and turn them into money-making opportunity. I agree with this, but in the case of diversity it rubs me the wrong way.

Digging into Amartya Sen’s biography and some of the themes of his work, and learning how influencial this man was to the world theories of economic on many levels, I admit my intimidation with commenting on this piece. My two colleagues, Scott and Mike have done well to extract pertinent details and making them relevant to their own thoughts and experiences. I’m not sure if my incompetency or lull of having anything intelligent to say about this piece stems from my lack of understanding the economic worldview or once again the complexity of Ph D thinking. I felt I had more to say regarding Noddings. I understood the concept of caring as an intrinsic part of my worldview.

Grappling with Sen’s rational and logical explanations of freedoms as it relates to development boggles my mind, seems distant, and unapproachable. This weekend, my tired mind questions, ‘what’s the point of hashing this stuff to adnauseum? ‘. For an economics major this is a virtual gold mind of insightfulness into the human condition and development. My gut knows this reading wouldn’t have been included if the concepts presented here weren’t important to our overall understanding of leadership. Mustering my will into digging deeper into my own flagging intellectualism, I hope to find something that may make a relevant reflection.

I challenge the notion that development requires the removal of major sources of unfreedom. (p.3)
In theory, removing unfreedoms would be beneficial to humanity as well as enhance development. I understand the need for Sen to pitch an alternative. History proves development marches on quite nicely without removing unfreedoms. We have a world filled with amazing types of development, so much that we are using up all of our resources and have nowhere to keep projecting current forms of economics, consumerism, and development. Our societies are rife with poverty, tyranny, poor economic opportunity, social deprivation,(p.3) and the list continues. I get frustrated in this theoretical debate.

Sen is famous for, ‘mounting one of the few major challenges to the economic model that posited self-interest as the prime motivating factor of human activity.’ (Wikipedia). Sen’s altruistic pitch sounds laudable in the sense that he wants to lead economists and development theorists down an alternative primrose path of intellectual insight and theory, pointing to possibilities, truths, and what Scott likened to “rights�, failing to pin point the obvious to someone like me, whose world view bases freedoms on transformation. Self-interest will remain the prime motivating factor of human activity if societies do not reject the traditional world view of development as a byproduct of self-interest and instead adopt or envelope a new world view of personal transformation.

What is personal transformation? Hillman describes this in the acorn theory. Noddings alludes to the possibilities in describing the optimal roles of the carer and cared for. Without offering “how to� make this happen, Sen partially describes my interpretation of personal transformation when he declares, ‘development has to be more concerned with enhancing the lives we lead and the freedoms we enjoy.’ (p.14) I would suggest development has to be more concerned with personal transformation. Sen’s continued descriptions of freedom, ‘making our lives richer, more unfettered, but also allows us to be fuller social persons, exercising our own volitions and interacting with-and influencing-the world in which we live.’ (p.15) describes the effects of personal transformation beautifully. How does one make the connection in academia, in economic theory, in development that true freedoms are only achievable, utilized, and incorporated to the extent one experiences personal transformation? Personal transformation is getting beyond self-interest as the prime motivating factor of human activity.

Sen states optimistically, ‘with adequate social opportunities, individuals can effectively shape their own destiny and help each other’. (p.11) No doubt in theory, with lots of freedoms embedded into the fabric of societies, this ideal has a chance. Currently, where in the world, can we find a societal model where Sen’s theories provide freedoms on an equal basis? Where has development removed unfreedoms? Freedoms that Sen pitches for everyone, available to the elite, fail to fall equally among people. The elite somehow must give up their self interest or slice of the freedom pie, so that other portions of the population gain benefit in an equal sharing of those freedoms.
Some of Sen’s other concepts of freedom understood intellectually, for example, the empirical connection that links freedoms of different kinds with one another and how they strengthen one another isn’t rocket science. Of course free speech and elections result from political freedoms in a society that helps promote economic security. (p.11) These examples listed there seem so obvious. Most theorists fail to recognize or take into consideration, that in order for these freedoms to take hold equally among a society, individuals must get beyond their own self interests. In my experience, this turnaround in human behavior isn’t tied to having adequate social opportunities (p.11) but in providing adequate societal support for personal transformation that result in greater freedoms for everyone.

A funny parallel occurs as I make my case for personal transformation as freedoms as it relates to Sen’s ideas on development. As I read Sen’s concluding remarks in his pitch for including important concepts of freedom into the broad view of development, one could insert personal transformation in place of freedoms.
‘What would be damaging would be the neglect-often to be seen in the development of literature-of centrally relevant concerns because of a lack of interest in the freedoms (personal transformation) of the people involved.’ (p.34) Am I taking great liberties in my ideas? Yet isn’t that the opportunity reading reflections offer? Certainly, when the concepts and ideas seem daunting to summarize coherently in a few paragraphs, one may take liberties. Diana Turner

I don't know why, but my blog won't post in full. I've tried to post the file here: Download file

Hope it works!!!!! It's a good one, please read it if only to check out the two amazing references!

I’ve had no experience with diversity training. Honestly, I’m stumped to think of diversity issues in my workplace. (However, I’m sure there‘ve been some.) Have I been under a rock? Am I so ‘privileged’ that I’m blind to what is going on around me? Or is the workplace more welcoming than it used to be?

■ The Twin Cities region has the 12th highest college attainment rate among the 100 largest metro areas—33 percent of its residents have a bachelors degree or higher. However, only 19 percent of African Americans, 11 percent of Mexicans, and 8 percent of Hmong do.

This report can be found at: http://www.unitedwaytwincities.org/communityinfo/Documents/ExecSummary.pdf

In chapter 8 of The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes and Posner (K&P) address leadership in the arena of “challenging the process.� Examples of leaders who are strong in this area are those who can learn from adversity and difficult situations and who are early adopters of innovation. The authors are building on the major theme of chapter 7, “searching for opportunities,� where they assert, “The work of leaders is change. And all change requires that leaders actively seek ways to make things better, to grow, innovate, and improve.�(164) In chapter 8, they take readers to the next step by showing how leaders ground those opportunities by experimenting and taking risks through generating small wins and by learning from experience.

A primary position in this chapter is that “boldness is not necessarily about go-for-broke, giant-leap projects. More often than not it’s about starting small and gaining momentum.�(191) Although it may seem obvious that ambitious projects need to be broken down into manageable pieces, the authors offer some good rationale for why it is wise to do so. Large projects can seem overwhelming and inhibit initiatives, while early milestones can build confidence and generate excitement and commitment to larger goals. K&P remind us that not every innovation works and, therefore, it is wise to experiment with many ideas.(193)

That’s right up my alley. I love to experiment and take risks.

Kouzes and Posner provide examples to innovation in Practice 6, Challenge the Process, through this commitment: Experiment and Take Risks. After creating opportunities, we must challenge ourselves through experimenting and risk taking to improve on past successes or failures. It’s rare that one could take a giant leap to success without taking baby steps.

This is a chapter that I read with a fair amount of interest as I am trying to make sure I’m encouraging my unit to be more creative, take more risks, and innovate.

Trust is at the top of my values list and I was surprised that trust didn’t come up in this chapter until fairly late. Without mutual trust, how can anyone expect or be expected to take a risk? K&P address trust later in the chapter but I feel like trust should be addressed on page one.

This first chapter of Sen’s book Development as Freedom lays the foundation for the rest of his book by describing how development may be “measured� as freedoms and how freedoms are necessary for development to occur. He says the usual measures of development such as income levels or GNP may be seen as means to freedoms, which in turn may be seen as development. Sen’s perspective is interesting and my knee jerk reaction is to agree with much of what he says. Frankly, I feel a bit outclassed by his concepts.

Amartya Sen is a Nobel Laureate in Economics, and former Master of Trinity College. Much of his recent work centers on globalization, famine, development and gender equity. Perhaps one of the experiences that helped shape his development perspective was living through the Bengal Famine as a 9 year old boy in 1943. Over 3 million people starved to death. He asserts that there has never been a famine in any country with a democratic political system or a free press, and that the Bengal Famine took place in a year when food production in India was higher than in some non-famine years. (Wikipedia)

How is Sen’s “Development as Freedom� model relevant to studies of leadership and innovation?

As one skeptical of what diversity looks like, this article read exactly like I expect of a Wall Street Journal corporate accolade. I now want WSJ to retain those critical of corporate interests as op-ed writers. Shouldn’t we always know what the other side is thinking?

Diversity is not just about image, it’s about diversity of thought. I know few [any?] Hispanics who prefer guacamole Doritos to real guac and chips [and if you’re wondering about my experience with the community, my cousin Wayne Alejandro Wolbert, previous leader of the Latino/a student organization at UMich, can speak to our collective family history]. Also, at the Latino grocery I frequent on Nicollet, I’ve discovered an awesome alternative to Doritos: Churritos. A chile-lemon flavoring, they’re not removing the messy goodness of the dip, but offering a bag-snack alternative that is true to the idea of dry-seasoning. Let’s not pretend to be something we’re not.

VERSUS

For a different approach, I am picking up on Prof. Crosby’s class suggestion of creatively approaching a reading selection with a specific call for blog discussion and a summary of responses a few days following. For my week’s selection, I share some initial talking points on Egodigwe and Hymowitz. Yet, please consider taking my short survey following and emailing me your responses for tabulation and report on Tuesday.

Ok, I admit it. I love the simplicity of Kouzes & Posner. As long as I’m confessing, I will also admit that upon first reading this book, before class even started, I was enamored by it. I had no idea leadership could be this easy! The Leadership Challenge is like Prince Charming in the fairy tale of leadership. Everyone who reads it becomes a magnificent leader and lives happily ever after.

And then class started. And we were assigned other readings. Suddenly life was not a fairy tale and suddenly I felt a little let down by K&P. Chapter 7 was no exception.

The opening sentence of this chapter is extreme: “In today’s environment organizations must move fast or die� (163). How does this mesh with our recent discussions about leading change and how much time the process takes ? How do we lead innovation and change quickly enough to avoid death? YIKES!

(continued)

Who's teaching diversity and how?

from SF Art Institute online gallery http://www.sfai.edu/Gallery/GalleryMain.aspx?gallery=8

Articles by Egodigwe can be found on magazine websites such as Black Enterprise, BNET.com, or Connecticut Small and Minority Business Showcase. Pulled into this issue of the Wall Street Journal Leadership, she expands on typical approaches to diversity training. A staunch supporter of opportunities for previous unknowns, I question that her publications have not grown to recognition beyond the audiences of these minority resources. Was she solicited by the Wall Street Journal because of her last name? As a writer, what experience does she have with these organizations that she references? A fine survey of shifting [marketable] viewpoints, I still wonder if this article really addresses what exists below the surface: that diversity is merely a category, a title that businesses use to maximize their image.

After reading ‘Leadership in a Virtual World by Deborah L. Duarte and Nancy Tennant Snyder’, this has once again solidified for me the need for more specific details of leadership and change, in this case, the virtual world. I looked at the ‘conversion’ process from two main perspectives. First, opening a business as a start-up and changing or second, upgrading an existing organization. In either instance this article could be a useful tool that you could use as a model for what I will call tangibles that you may need to think about and incorporate. (I.e. finances, structures, logistics and the actual question of feasibility.)

Anita Roddick, founder and former CEO of The Body Shop, exemplifies what it means to be a leader in social responsibility. From its early beginnings in 1976, Roddick infused The Body Shop with an innovative vision based on core principles such as animal protection and environmental awareness. Over the years, the company grew into a multi-million dollar business that sells ethical products and champions an array of social justice issues. The Body Shop is so cause-focused that it actually seems more like a nonprofit organization than a corporation.

Roddick had such a remarkable vision and passion that she actually created a new way of doing business. The Body Shop mission has always been about providing information and promoting action for change, and that was done in any number of ways, such as training her staff to be knowledgeable about issues for the purpose of passing along information to customers. Roddick carved a niche in the ‘social responsibility as a competitive advantage’ market, and her initiatives were well ahead of those trends that took hold in the in the following decades. Roddick has valued making difference in the world and she has led by example and inspired many along the way. She imbued the Body Shop with her own personal passions, and her enthusiasm and irreverence were infectious (and sometimes controversial).

Did anybody seeking wisdom about organizational change models find an “aha!� moment reading Kouzes and Posner’s 5th chapter this week? Unfortunately, I did not.

Out of respect for the blog dialogue about posting as early as possible, I am posting this reflection separately from a personal example you may seek out on the personals page. The irony is that Kouzes and Posner encouraged my personal leadership during three rich days picking up more pieces of an emerging puzzle of my 17-year-old son’s forward-looking leadership over his future aspirations. When an opportunity opened to travel to Seattle for three days to see the opening of Tosca at the opera and Roman Antiquities at the art museum, we took advantage of the time away. With encouragement from Kouzes and Posner, it became a time to emulate characteristics they identified:

• Image the possibilities by reflecting from the past, and then changing the mix of time spent between the present and future sufficient to figure out the picture from all the “puzzle� pieces (pp. 106-110); • Find a common purpose using “transformational leadership� skills to listen intently, identify a common purpose, and engage followers in a “cause� they can commit to, rather than merely a plan. The authors describe three “taking action� steps that honestly did not read much differently to me than the language of the two essentials: • Determine the “something� you want to do. • Picture what you will do next. • Survey your constituents about their aspirations.

In the presence of a young man who increasingly is taking leadership responsibility for his own life decisions, these words served us well.

As a lead investor in his next entrepreneurial venture, I am deeply interested in what he is thinking, and made a concerted effort to listen carefully without distractions or bias. At a personal level, the authors gave me plenty of inspiration about how to engage forward-thinking within myself and in the context of the dynamic, changing, relationship my son and I enjoy.

However, when I tried to apply the content of chapter five to real world organizational examples, their model seems too superficial, too optimistic, and too preordained in today’s messy, shared-power world.

Chapter 6, Enlist Others, of Kouzes & Posner is the second chapter in the Inspire a Shared Vision practice of exemplary leadership section of the book. The basic premise of the chapter was that after envisioning the future (see chapter 5) a leader needs to ‘Enlist Others’. This is broken down into two essentials:

• Appeal to common ideals
• Animate the vision

The first essential deals with connecting the vision created in chapter five to what’s meaningful for your constituents (134). The goal is to connect to people on a personal level that will inspire them and get them behind the vision. This essential culminates in a section on aligning your dream with the people’s dream(137) and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous speech. I’ve heard this speech many times but had never taken the time to read it. It’s surprisingly simple when you read it, which to me is my biggest criticism and accolade of the next essential.

When I first began my role as a Center Director I got into a lot of trouble at first. I thought that I had all of the power and I acted like it. I micro managed, squashed creativity, stole peoples’ glory and only had power because of the authority of my position, not because of the “great decisions� that I was making. I continued down this path of destruction until my Executive Director gave me a review that said, “you are too much in the details, and are still acting like a Coordinator, let go of the details and look big picture�.

“Enlisting others� speaks to my direct experience as a grassroots activist. Most of Kouzes and Posner’s leadership mores are directed to an audience of listeners that are working in Corporate America or in hierarchal organizations. Chapter six relates beyond those boundaries into my world as a person who has been enlisting others for years in the volunteer realm. Much of what is shared in chapter six relates same techniques one employs in enlisting volunteers specially the importance of ‘connecting to what’s meaningful to others’. (p.134) One of the only issues I have with this book comes from my desire to learn of examples relating leadership issues to volunteerism. Motivating and enlisting people’s time, resources, and talents without a steady paycheck or any reward except the satisfaction inherent in working for a cause, presents it’s own set of hurdles and rewards. Yet there runs a parallel of information in this chapter that contributes to both realities, of being enlisted for pay or for goodwill.

How many times will we hear from experts that sharing the vision as the main tenant of enlisting others? You can pick up any leadership manual and read quite clearly how important concepts around sharing a vision means for achieving the ends. The goals of a company, an organization, a parent manifests when alignment happens from ‘painting a powerfully compelling picture of the future. (p.130 Ngo-Roberti,) Yet why does it remain such problems for leadership that chapters and chapters are written on the subject? Either you have the gift or not right? Seems there are those that possess an ease and grace to enlist others through their speeches, charisma, and congruency like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, yet others really struggle to become the leaders with ‘enthusiasm, with a bounce in their step and a positive attitude’. (p.147). So what is the obstacle that’s so hard to grasp, or understand, or implement about sharing a vision?

Not once did K & P mention the struggle one goes through internally on believing in the vision yourself first. Perhaps that’s the reason there is a dearth of statements on the importance of a vision, endless offerings on how to share a vision, or why a vision is so vital, but not enough concrete suggestions or “how to’s� provided when leaders lack faith in the vision or in themselves. Skirting around the messier personal humanistic struggles a leader has with leading and providing an emphasized focus on the prescribed concrete “do this� list and endless external actions some how fills this void. Not mentioning any of the possible internal turbulence and disruption one might hold while carrying out these external recommendations, or offering any tangible remedies thwarts any of the K & P advice making these leadership suggestions ineffective and unattainable. If the goal of enlisting others isn’t easy or creating a desired response of enlisting others doesn’t come naturally to most, why aren’t the internal obstacles within an individual even mentioned or acknowledged? Can we presume these internal issues aren’t relevant? Most every one of the points offered in this chapter are abundantly available and even second nature to those leaders solidly convinced in themselves and the role they play in birthing a vision.

Seems to me and in my own personal experience in the volunteer world, many leaders fail because they don’t have the inner resolve to translate these suggestions in chapter six, beyond the pages in a book or heard from a lecture because they don’t have the resources within themselves to incorporate these ideas. Since I don’t have experience in the corporate world, yet have a fair imagination, I would hazard a guess that there are plenty of corporate and business leaders that lack the necessary internal skills required to employ these external skills as well. I just watched “Michael Clayton� last night and was completely struck with the boldness in which the producers took on ‘the system’ by exposing some of this internal quandary of which I am referencing. A key lynch pin lawyer fell apart in a deposition by stripping naked, extolling the virtues of the enemy, and how he couldn’t be a part of the duplicity any longer. Later we learn that this man wasn’t able to be the leader of the litigation team he ran for 12 years anymore due to his questioning everything about himself and the role he had been playing for years at helping a monster grow and profit at the expense of innocent people’s lives. Michael Clayton is the one put on the job to get this guy back on track and toting the corporate line. As in Hollywood fashion one of them ends up dead. Not unlike many visions we all have, they fall away based on our own personal fears and self-doubt. This is an extreme example of being a leader and obvious that someone might have a break down or an epiphany of being on the wrong side, yet this man could no longer serve the role of leader as long as he was in question, contained the doubt, and longed to understand how he could better serve the world with his skills. The funny thing was to see a Hollywood movie take the sacred cow of corporate life and start exposing the dark and dirty side of keeping alive visions of grandeur to the expense of people’s lives.

How does this have anything to do with K & P? I just believe that as seen by the popularity of a blockbuster Hollywood movie, that there is a current of people seeking more than just the externals. People want to go deeper than the top coating, polish, and gloss. From my experience it is incredibly difficult to liberate someone else’s vision, express your emotions, or speak from your heart if your having trouble with believing in yourself or understanding what your heart is trying to tell you. I also know, from my own personal experience, all of these suggestions are so much easier and effortless when I am confident in myself and trust the impeccability of my vision. Where I was challenged and continue to incorporate into enlisting others is the ability to connect to the aspirations (p.152) and appealing to the common ideals of the volunteers I work with connecting them to the bigger picture and vision I hold dear and carry forward. Throughout the chapter, nuggets of wisdom and repetition offered were helpful to remember and hear anew. I am going to try and write out more than a one liner, a unique and ideal image of the future for myself and those I enlist to further my cause. Right now, since I have just undergone a rigorous slew of introspective and integrative personal work, breathing life into the vision (p.154) comes very easy. Expanding on my communication and expressiveness skills (p.154) become second nature as I connect to the truth and sureness I have regarding the vision for my work and so far has been producing positive results. Aside from my grass roots activism, as I become more successful and gain academic credibility, I intend someday to contribute to the validity and necessity of providing those nuggets of wisdom on overcoming the internal obstacles of enlisting others. Diana Turner

Building on multi-disciplinary examples and intellectual thought, O'Toole explores the drivers and roadblocks to change. Focused on change enacted by recognized contributors to society, the question we can ask ourselves is where we start this change: from within ourselves, or as a unified group?

“By definition, an innovation is a leap into the unknown.� (66)

Mapping the Innovation Journey was a finalist for the Academy of Management Terry Award, an award that makes the most significant advancement to management knowledge 1. Researched by the Minnesota Innovation Research Program (MIRP), these four scholars, including top rated economics 2 University of Minnesota Professor and Chair of Organizational Innovation and Change Strategic Mgmt/Organization and also past President of the Academy of Management 3, Andrew Van de Ven, studied fourteen innovation studies spanning over a decade . These researchers were also leaping into the unknown. It was one of the first studies mapping a generic innovation journey.

As I read the “road map� of the generic innovation journey process, I related my experiences in project work within an IT organization that was similar from the key characteristics, even though my experience was not associated with innovation. Basic elements include twelve common process characteristics broken into three phases: Initial Period, Development Period and Implementation/Termination Period. Some characteristics stood out that I haven‘t much experience, including different personal aspects due to very high turnover rates; the relationships that derived how organizational management generated ideas; how management‘s control approach doesn‘t work within a group that is controlling the outcome; and luck or “out of control� processing that makes or breaks successful innovation implementations.

I found this writing extremely difficult to digest and spent a great deal of time trying to dissect the words to create meaning for me. What I eventually came away with was a much deeper understanding, finally, of an honors research paper I’d written as an undergrad on how women’s linguistic patterns contribute to powerlessness in the workplace. I came to appreciate more thoroughly the many additional variables that underlie the traditional organizational structure and contribute to the continuance of patriarchal hierarchy and individualism rather than shared leadership models.

The authors of this publication have conducted many studies on leadership and self. Joyce K. Fletcher is a Professor at the Simmons School of Management in Boston and an authority on leadership and gender; her work has been well-recognized in the genre of gender and power. Katrin Kaufer has, likewise, taught and lectured on leadership paradigms and has several publications on the topic. Their views on this topic of shared leadership are credible and therefore interesting.

Chapter 5 of The Leadership Challenge is titled "Envisioning the Future" (103). It is a relatively straightforward chapter that consists of two main sections: "Image the Possibilities" and "Find a Common Purpose" (106). Each section is made up of several subsection that explain how to accomplish the implications of the sections' titles. "Imagine the Possibilities" is made up of the following subsections:

• Reflect on Your Past (107)
• Attend to the Present (109)
• Prospect the Future (110)
• Feel your Passion (113)

"Find a Common Purpose", meanwhile, is made up of:

• Listen Deeply to Others (118)
• Determine What's Meaningful to Others (120)
• Make it a Cause of Commitment (121)
• Be Forward-Looking in Times of Rapid Change (124)

The titles of each section and subsection are pretty self explanatory, but there are some concepts that are useful to define further.

I'll say at the outset that I particularly appreciated the description and elucidation of the leadership paradoxes far more than the rest of the chapter. They have been personal "stirrings" that have troubled me. It is a relief to have someone organize them and so clearly define them.

As the chapter proceeded, however, I felt it moved further and further from the realms of possibility to a kind of creepy place. Not an eloquent description, I know, but that's how it left me feeling. I've chosen three points as discussion possibilities. The first is the "separate self" vs. the "self-in-relation" discussion. I believe it is a given that no one can be an island, that no one achieves success without help along the way. However as the authors moved through the Characteristics, Conditions, Skills and Outcomes I felt more and more like I was being guided - almost herded - to a vanishing point at which my unique individuality would be gone in the name of shared leadership and the need for us all to behave in keeping with the self-in-relation model. I tried hard to compare these characteristics with other models we've read - does "zest" equate to finding one's own voice? "empowered action" to shared values? I couldn't force them into a coherent diagram.

The authors state on page 29 that "...if one party is not moved to empowered action but instead wants to avoid future connection or feels disempowered or exploited, or if one party does not achieve new knowledge or does not desire more connection, this is an indication that the ideal of generative or transformative growth has not occurred." I found this statement to be in direct conflict with K&P's assertion in Chapter 5 that you can't make people travel where they don't want to go. It strikes me as having gone to the far end of the spectrum - from respecting others' perspectives and inviting their participation - to enforcing and requiring people to change so that the process can be successful.

This leads to my final point, the authors' discussion of "rewriting the image of self" (p.31). Frankly, this part made me a little nuts. It reminds me of the "not keeping score" theory employed with young children in sports. If there is no score book, no one wins or loses. They know whether they won or lost and so do their parents and coaches. Similarly, if we all adopted the self-in-relation model, there would still be leaders and those being led would know who they were. Artificially infusing self-esteem or self-efficacy into an organization or process without having individuality entirely subsumed will not succeed. The level of competitiveness is different for everyone and those who have the drive and the desire will not willingly give it up to a herd mentality.

Sarah Waldemar

Similar to Chapters 3 & 4, I found Chapters 5 & 6 to have the same flaw. The first chapters discussed clarifying values and then setting the example and the later chapters talked about envisioning the future and then enlisting others. While I believe chapter 4 was unnecessary I feel the same way about chapter 6. The more I read Kouzes and Posner I feel like I’m repeatedly being told things that I already know, things that to most are probably common sense or at least self explanatory. Enlisting others to share one’s vision seems necessary in order for any kind of vision to succeed and maybe it is simply another sub-section of Chapter 5 instead of its own.

Despite the fact that I don’t think Chapter 6 is needed, some of the information in the chapter is informative. The part of the chapter that really exemplified what the chapter was trying to say, for me, was the use of Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech. There were three things that Dr. King did in his speech that seem to make the most sense in trying to enlist others, “he was positive and hopeful,� “didn’t promise it would be easy,� and he used the word “we� instead of “I� (140-141). Through these three things, he made others feel like they were more than capable of fulfilling the vision.

In the past two weeks we’ve read about clarifying our values and envisioning the future. However, as I read the past two chapters, I was waiting for K&P to somehow tie the idea of values into the vision for the future. Shouldn’t the vision be based upon the values? K&P keep discussing the five practices, but they do it separately, I’m curious if they will ever tie all of it together. Or, are each of the practices successful standing on their own?

Jen Trochinski

Mapping the Innovation Journey – Van de Ven et al

This chapter provides a useful map of the innovation journey in the context of innovation efforts within big business organizations and an entrepreneurial start up. Though the cases presented are limited in context, this framework, distilled from so many excellent works on innovation process, provides considerable opportunity for application to innovation efforts within environments such as public policy, small and family business, non-profit organizations, education, etc.

For example, our use of the blog can be examined through the lens of this map. I have observed “The Initiation Period� (23) since the spring 2007 semester, when one of my classmates in Leadership for the Common Good created a class blog just to see if anyone would use it. The process continued last fall as this same person in a class led by Professor Crosby created a very useful online forum for his geographically dispersed project team.

I am a firm believer in how to enlist others is by painting a picture that has a real like quality which makes people want to follow. A perfect example is happening right here at the University of Minnesota.

Kouzes and Posner discuss the three P’s in chapter six, Passion +Pride = Performance. One year ago, Coach Tim Brewster was hired by the University of Minnesota to bring success to the Gopher football program. In the past year, he has painted a compelling picture for Minnesotans regarding a successful football program that will lead the Golden Gophers to a National Championship/Big Ten Championship. Brewster has brought this vision to life by using a positive communications style and being authentic. He has created images of becoming a champion, for the football team and fans, by the words he uses and in physical manifestations. His passion is spreading pride throughout the Gopher Nation. The fans and the University athletic program are counting on this to manifest performance in the future.

I selected Anita Roddick as one of my reading reflection assignments, more to write a reading reflection on her business innovations than on Roddick as a leader. The Body Shop was one of the original retailers of refillable, travel-sized products that were made without animal testing. I admit that I first bought a “merino cherry� lip pomade in 1991 in the bright green shop at Heathrow and searched out more products when franchises opened in the U.S. That I remember the purchase and the product says something about Anita Roddick’s business success. But something else was going on inside those bright green walls. When a Body Shop appeared in my local mall, I was asked to sign a petition in support of sustainable growing practices, read the window displays touting a variety of social causes, and donate old cell phones for emergency users. How had my retail shopping been morphed into a call to action? After this week’s reading, I know it was through Roddick’s steerage.

Anita Roddick was a renowned model of a responsible leader. She founded The Body Shop in 1976 on the basis that women deserved to be told the truth about the beauty products and on the basis that said products should promote heath and wellbeing (Roddick, 9).

Since the beginning, The Body Shop has shinned in the field of ethical business practice and values-based leadership. "We believe business can be both profitable and responsible," is the values credo posted on the company's website. With a tagline of "Made with Passion," the site further engages the viewer in the company's five current campaigns: against animal testing, support community trade, activate self esteem, defend human rights, and protect our planet.

I’m a big proponent of this values-based leadership that keeps coming up in the readings we’re doing, including the O’Toole reading. I have many questions about what it takes to keep those values alive in everyday work and some of O’Tool’s chapters brought those questions out.

The author’s basic assertion that institutions are easily seduced into maintenance of the status quo goes right to the idea of values for me. What values are inherent in the status quo that are so attractive to (some) people? Questions I have that I ask below are about ideas like who the values do and don’t belong to, who does and doesn’t know the values, who takes time to consider values, actions and their relationship. Also, as different people in a system often lay claim to their rights, I’m interested in making sure the necessary accompanying responsibilities are clear as well.

Just like in the preceeding chapters, I think that Kouzes & Posner are presenting a very high level image of leader in chapter 6. MLK's speech is the example. For some, it may be easy to relate their work environment to this example, for most it might not be very easy at all. There are two points that caught my eye and that I could relate to in my work environment. I like the general concept of baby steps, and what caught my eye falls into this line of thinking. First, let me explain what I mean with baby steps. (I don't want to assume that everyone thinks the same way I do, so bear with me.) Baby steps are small steps towards an accomplishment, such as a task, a project or a change. There might be a few that lead to future larger steps or there might be many that, with varying distances in between eventually lead to the completion of the task.

I had a surprise reading Noddings first chapter of Caring- a feminine Approach to Ethics and Moral Education. The title was very appealing and I was looking forward to hearing another female voice in our conversation of leadership. I also happen to believe that the subject of caring is extremely important in the ongoing dialogue of what makes an exceptional leader. I was not prepared to convince myself to finish the reading. I wasn’t happy with the difficulty of digesting this woman’s scattered writing style. I am challenged in having to offer a critical review of her thoughts and opinions on the subject. Yet I did find some interesting opinions and appreciate some of the references she cited.

I had a surprise reading Noddings first chapter of Caring- a feminine Approach to Ethics and Moral Education. The title was very appealing and I was looking forward to hearing another female voice in our conversation of leadership. I also happen to believe that the subject of caring is extremely important in the ongoing dialogue of what makes an exceptional leader. I was not prepared to convince myself to finish the reading. I wasn’t happy with the difficulty of digesting this woman’s scattered writing style. I am challenged in having to offer a critical review of her thoughts and opinions on the subject. Yet I did find some interesting opinions and appreciate some of the references she cited.

I knew my difficulties with the manner of how Noddings writes was a personal reflection on me and my own lens of wanting easy approachable intellectual discourse. My own bias reflects my resistance to the intellectual manner of many PhD writers and I wondered more about where Noddings own perceptions were attributed. I decided further investigation would help me understand her writing style. On this particular site; http://www.infed.org/thinkers/noddings.htm the biography praises Noddings contributions of ethics and morals to educational advances in teaching. Noddings was highly motivated as a student by having caring teachers that led her to follow an academic career in mathematics receiving a Masters from Rutgers University and then switched focus when pursuing her PhD at Stanford University and received a doctorate in educational philosophy. Her feministic perspective and insistence on comprehension of subject matter is unusual for a woman who has raised 10 children and quoted stating she likes ‘order in the kitchen, a fresh tablecloth, flowers on the table and food waiting for guests'. She added, 'I like having pets and kids around' (O'Toole 1998). After reading more about this amazing woman and gaining an immense appreciation for her own personal accomplishments and the contributions she has given to the world, I am attempting to make sense of this reading and offer this summary. I ‘care’ (a state of mental suffering or of engrossment) about her analysis on caring.

Mark Twain once described a man who died and met St. Peter at the Pearly Gates. He said, “I have been interested in military history for many years, who was the greatest general of all time?�

Saint Peter responded, “Oh that’s a simple question. It’s that man right over there.�

“You must be mistaken,� responded the man, now very perplexed. “I knew that man on earth, and he was just a common laborer.�

“That’s right my friend,� assured Saint Peter. “He would have been the greatest general of all time, if he had been a general.� (T.Rath, Strength Finder 2.0 (Gallup Press, 2007) 29.)

Kouzes and Posner's fourth chapter describes the second commitment they state is necessary for leadership, setting the example. This follows their first commitment, clarifying values. Setting the example reflects the importance of exemplifying the first commitment, or to put it another way, walking the walk. Their strategy for this is to "Personify the shared values" and "Teach others to model the values". (76) They provide action steps at the end of the chapter to help the reader put their strategy into action. The steps for this are to "do a personal audit", "develop a routine for questioning" and "put storytelling on your meeting agendas". (98)

In 1993, noted psychology scholar Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi placed a burden of “awesome responsibility� upon readers of The Evolving Self: A Psychology for the Third Millenium (Csikszentmihalyi, 1993): “Whether life will continue on this world now depends on us. And whether we survive, and preserve a life worth living, depends on the kind of selves we are able to create, and on the social forms that we succeed in building,� (p. 24).

Just three short years after the publication of his bestselling theory, Flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990), Csikszentmihalyi was evolving a “deeper understanding of the direction in which life on earth has been going, and hence a clearer sense of what the meaning of one’s own life might be, (1993, p. 8).� The imperative call of The Evolving Self for personal and societal evolution was aimed specifically at every individual reader, not nebulous societies or nameless leaders of the world. Readers were personally challenged to push the “vaunted reasoning ability� of their “reptilian brains� (p. 10) in one of two directions beyond the conscious thought: “either direct life energy toward achieving growth and harmony or waste the potentials we have inherited, adding to the sway of chaos and destruction,� (p. 4). The path is revealed by the “ideas (we) believe in, the values we endorse, the actions we take…what we pay attention to, the environment we create through the investment of our psychic energy,� (p. 11).

Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi is a psychology professor noted for his study of happiness, creativity, subjective well-being, and fun, and in particular of the notion of flow. He has written many books and articles on these topics, and has been described as the world's leading researcher on positive psychology.1

In the first chapter of “The Evolving Self: A Psychology for the Third Millennium,� Csikszentmihalyi writes (in 1993) that we are at a critical time where we have an active role in determining the fate of humanity. He posits that understanding the forces at work in evolution will inform whether humans ultimately succeed or fail as a species. He says that we now have a choice to direct our life energy toward growth and harmony or waste our potential and add to the chaos and destruction. The author poses the question, “How can we best retool the mind for accommodating the challenges of the near future?� His answer is that we must review what we know about the evolutionary past and its legacy to our minds. He says by understanding how evolution works, and what role we may play in it, we are provided a direction and purpose for those up for the challenge.

Chapter 4, Set the Example, of Kouzes & Posner is the second chapter in the Model the Way practice of exemplary leadership section of the book. The basic premise of the chapter was that after clarifying values (see chapter 3) a leader needs to set the example. This is broken down into two main sections:

• Personify the Shared Values
• Teach others to model the values

The first section is fairly obvious, a leaders actions and words should exemplify the shared values, thus setting a good example. The second part was a little less obvious, but basically a leader should use challenges as learning experiences linking to shared values and reinforce repeating behavior that is rooted in the shared values. They should also use stories to drive the values home, which to me makes perfect sense given that most people were raised associating learning values and morals with a good story.

I was stunned by Hillman’s iconoclastic shredding of Western psychology’s fundamental theories and practices. Perhaps this chapter resonated deeply with me because as a 10 year old boy I was tested and evaluated according to these constructs by educators who were looking to diagnose the root of certain behaviors that today would be considered hyperactive disorder. Were I a psychology major it is possible I would have wept in grief as my gods, Freud, Jung and Adler were condemned to the gallows reserved for those who have committed the most egregious crimes against humanity.

My disruptive behaviors, which I will later describe, may be attributable to Hillman’s assertion that a ‘calling’ may appear in the “myriad symptoms of difficult, self-destructive, accident prone “hyper� children.�(p. 13). The objective of this piece is to get us to “…see disturbances in children less as developmental problems than as revelatory emblems. (p.33). These emblems are therefore interpretable as indicators of someone’s calling as opposed to a collection of symptoms requiring diagnosis and therapy

Ok – so I’ll start with the assumption that most everyone fell asleep by the end of page three of the Noddings chapter. Honestly, the first few pages were the hardest – then it became a bit easier…really.

“I want to eat new food at a different banquet table.�

That was how Becky Roloff described her calling to join the YWCA as Executive Director, after spending her working life in the corporate world. Roloff shared her experience of personal change with about 350 women at the Carlson School of Management’s Women in Leadership Conference on Friday.

As Roloff talked, I scrambled to take notes. Her story was such a perfect example of James Hillman’s Acorn Theory, which he presents in his book, The Soul’s Code: In Search of Character and Calling.
In chapter one, Hillman presents what he calls the Acorn Theory. The Acorn Theory maintains that each person is born with a destiny or calling that guides us in our journey through life. Our daimon, or soul-companion and carrier of destiny, “elected the body, the parents, the place, and the circumstances that suited the soul.� (8).

In chapter #4 Kouzes and Posner urge leaders to develop a passionate commitment to what they do.
The authors provide a few examples of leaders who have used this commitment effectively. The example that kept occurring to me as I read this chapter is one that college football coaches have used quite often.
Typically for a Division I athletic department to be successful a winning football team is required.
Football programs can generate profits in excess of costs to an extent sufficient to fund the rest of the athletic department. At some schools men’s basketball and men’s hockey also contribute a small amount to the bottom line. Football, however, assumes most of the responsibility to generate income.

When I first read the topic for this reading reflection, I thought what a perfect opportunity to understand how to identify the call on your life from another perspective. In Hillman’s writings The Soul’s Code In Search of Character and Calling I find myself contemplating the though of your “calling�, a familiar phrase in my faith. Let me first of all explain that I’ve had a lot of teaching and food for thought on this topic that is outside of academia. A lot of what he tries to explain is similar to what I believe but just coming from a different source this time with a different voice. Hillman tries to use a lot of different schools of thought to explain the “call�.

I found Hillman’s reading to be a close comparison to my views and beliefs on how you get to where you are as far as choices you make or may have made. Do we suddenly stumble onto a particular path or are we led or called to this path? Are you born with a particular character that you have no control over that defines your destiny or do you groom yourself to become who you want to be? Are there dreams and hopes that we had as children that have been long abandoned because of how society and defined our destiny? Hillman goes on to explain that our personality development have been tainted and reshaped by the toxins of and trauma from early childhood that has altered or wrongly shaped our destiny. This writing is intended to uncover or juggle the memory of our childhood that would have shaped us into what we were really meant to be had it not been for the influence of our surroundings or environment that may have pushed us in another direction rather than that of our choice. Hillman then tries to take us back to remember our childhood and some of our earlier memories. Would we really be what we are now if we had been left to make our own choices and decisions without external influences? Do you remember how when you were a child people would ask you what you wanted to be when you grow up? Can we look back and remember what some of our answers were? Did we fulfill these dreams or goals? Would some of us say that once we grew up this seemed to be out of our reach?

There is the belief that we all have “a sense of personal calling�. What does this mean for most people? There are different schools of thought on the topic of your “calling�. Hillman’s writing is intended to draw our attention to the fact that we all have a calling regardless of our beliefs or background. He wants us to look back and realize that we all are answerable to an innate image. We all have qualities we were born with that should be used to shape and define our destiny. It is intended to do a soul search on your call. Are you doing what you were called to do? Was this the intended purpose of you life?

Sometimes I wonder whether or not I am living the kind of life I was meant to live. When I think about where I have been and all I have done, I sometimes wonder if I have chosen the right paths to travel down or did my environment actually shape and change my destiny. Perhaps I could be living a life of ease, or one filled with fame and fortune. Perhaps I could have made a name for myself, one that would live in the history books forever. Perhaps I could have been of service to others. In spite of all my perhaps, I cannot change where I have been, or where I am now. The question then is can we do anything to change our future? Do we really know if we were called to something else? Are we comfortable with who we are or are we still looking to define our “call�? The choices, of how we should live, are many and all people have their own opinions of what is morally correct, and what is not. What if the kind of person I should be is just be the kind of person I already am today. (Did I discover my “calling�?)

In 1990, Mihaly Csiksentmihalyi authored Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. In short, the author claims the path to inner happiness and peace can be found through intentionally increasing “flow� or optimal experiences in one’s life (Flow 6). The author defines flow as “ the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it� (4). The book was, and still is, a huge success.

Published in 1993, The Evolving Self: A Psychology for the Third Millennium is a logical ‘evolution’ of thought for Csiksentmihalyi. The author moves forward from the inner self’s quest for personal happiness and asks the reader to reflect on his/her responsibility, through everyday actions that (along with larger social institutions) will sustain and encourage positive evolutionary actions (Evolving Self 5). This premise advances Flow, in that by seeking a deeper understanding of where life on earth is going, the reader will uncover a clearer sense of meaning in their life, by way of the common good, through positive actions they take in their own life (Evolving Self 8).

Clarity of Values

I find it particularly gratifying when the materials I am studying align with my real life experiences. Clarifying values as a necessity to excellence in leadership is a process my unit recently undertook as part of our strategic planning process. Moreover, it was the initial step in the process. Out of that came alignment process – once our unit’s vision and goals were developed from our shared values, did they fit within the strategic landscape of our parent unit? If so, did they also fit within the overall University goals? And finally, what do we need to do on a daily, weekly or monthly basis to validate the process, walk the walk and not just talk the talk?

Chapter Three of Kouzes and Posner (K&P) captures the process needed to achieve clarity of both personal and organizational values as the basis for inspiring and maintaining creativity, motivation and performance within a unit. This same theory was espoused by Terry in his discussion of “Authenticity Criteria� and the process through which sincerity becomes integrity and knowledge becomes wisdom (p. 59-60). Inside polarities must be identified and then tested against the outside polarities to determine validity, shared values, and develop identification as a unit. K&P speak of it as a process that begins with one finding his or her own voice. In their scenario it is the leader who begins this process and then moves it forward through a group identification and discovery model.

K&P walk through the process of identifying individual values and the benefits that identification provides. For example, credibility, authenticity, motivation, empowerment and direction all become available once individual values have been established. In turn, they posit that in order for an organization to develop and maintain vitality, a leader must ensure that individuals are brought on board through the process of developing shared values. Recognition of both the commonalities and diversities in an organization’s value structure is necessary to achieve the three themes that lead a mediocre unit to greatness: high performance standards, high regard for individuality and deep recognition of the individuality and uniqueness of that unit. From these themes comes a sense of unity.

As I prepared to write this I considered other places I had read of or heard of the need for the identification of personal values as a primary means to energize and consolidate oneself and subsequently an organization’s commitment to ensure a continuum of momentum is achieved. One source was the 7th edition of the Successful Manager’s Handbook, published by Personal Decisions International (PDI). They echo K&P’s recommendations. For example, K&P recommend writing a tribute to oneself to assist in the identification of your core values. Questions to be asked during the process include, in part, What do you stand for and why? What do you believe in and why? What makes you jump for joy and why? What keeps you awake at night and why (p.69-70)? PDI adds to this list with questions such as, How would you describe your life mission? How can you most express your life mission in your work? How can you best serve others and make a meaningful contribution to their lives? In searching for some non-course related information on my health provider’s website I came across the Ottawa Personal Decision Guide which is provided to clients to help “clarify options, identify values, recognize influences, assess needs and plan next steps�. This tool is intended for use in any aspect of a client’s life, it is not limited to health care decisions. My interpretation of the five stated goals of this Decision Guide are that they are essentially matched to K&P’s process: clarify options (Find Your Voice), identify values (Explore Your Inner Territory), recognize influences and assess needs (Personal Values Clarity Drives Commitment), plan next steps (Reflection and Action: Clarifying Values).

In my mind, then, the question becomes, “Does the current emphasis on the identification of personal values as the means to develop a robust, enlightened and committed organization, equate to themes previously postulated as the way to leadership success such as the credo that there are skills, techniques, an image, personality and attitudes that can be developed and should be pursued – learned behaviors as opposed to Terry’s “internal polarity�? Is this a natural evolution in the sphere of leadership – from the externally identified and learned practices to the internally, personally identified frame of reference? Or is it being driven by a larger, societal movement toward emphasis on the self as a key component in the success or failure of larger, community-based endeavors? Is this the reflection of the drive to instill and ensure high levels of self esteem in everyone from babies on up? Is this the, “It takes a village…� approach? Is it sustainable? Should it be?

A few final comments on Chapter Three – While K&P did an excellent job of laying out a map to follow, they did not at all address the amount of time it takes to go through the process of identifying both individual and shared values, achieving consensus and moving forward as Kotter did in “The Eight Steps to Transformation�. I think it is key to the success of this process that it be made clear that it will not be accomplished in one or two days. Secondly, while K&P recommend writing a self tribute and a credo, they do not speak to the need to develop a mechanism for self-auditing the process. This is recommended in the PDI publication and in my mind it is a necessary exercise to confirm that both an individual and a unit are still in concurrence with their stated values, that the majority of the work they are doing supports those values considered of greatest importance. Finally, in support of the need for continuous review, Terry’s concept of “stirrings� should be acknowledged. While I was not enthusiastic about the way he defined them, nonetheless I believe they are real and to ignore them is risky. I view them as wisps of clouds that drift about the workplace. If not studied, evaluated and acknowledged, they can condense to become storm clouds. If adherence to both personal and professionally shared values is not a visible commitment the sun will be blocked out. Good leaders expend effort toward maintaining and strengthening the bonds developed through clarification and sharing of values.

S. Waldemar

Kouzes and Posner begin chapter three explaining that admired leaders typically are held in high esteem due to their strong principles. To develop into this desired type of leader one must first clarify the values of the organization and the personal values the leader holds dear. In all cases people need to be honest with themselves before they can be honest with others. The authors make us aware that the lens of leadership magnifies this need for authenticity. They state, "If you don't believe the messenger, you won't believe the message." (47)

In addition to clarifying values by determining what is important effective leaders take action by articulating the values in a clear manner that can be communicated to all stakeholders of the organization. A mission statement posted on a wall, largely ignored after the ink has dried, is not an effective strategy for relaying what a company truly values. Kouzes and Posner provide actions that leaders can take to both clarify and communicate their values to display the type of strong principles that people admire in their leaders.

When I first volunteered to read Csikszentmihalyi for this class, I was intrigued. Csiks is a psychologist, and I have always read his books from a different frame of reference than leadership. In Optimal Experience, Flow, and Creativity he writes about individual experiences in doing work that is meaningful and the state of mind that flow creates. In his 2003 book Good Business, he writes about how flow can bring “much needed fulfillment into the workplace of the future.� The title of The Evolving Self (1993) led me to believe I was going to hear more about flow and the individual growth it can create. I was surprised but then quickly understood how his themes of evolution and the interconnected world relate to leadership and change.

In The Evolving Self, Csikszentmihalyi takes a broader approach to individual growth and experience. He focuses on how individual and collective leadership intersect with the issues of the 21st Century and beyond. He does this by first illustrating how evolution provides humans with a small, but important window in which to make change. He writes, “My intention… is to reflect on what we know about evolution and to develop the implications of that knowledge for everyday action.�(4) Even though we feel powerless to affect a force like evolution - something so much larger than ourselves – we do have the power because humans are capable of consciousness about our choices. Our actions can be focused around “approaches to life that improve its quality and lead to joyful involvement.�(5)

If I had read this chapter in 1988, I would have been inspired and seen it as a pattern to put into action to help me be, not only a leader at work, but a better Mom. Now that I had lived through the teen years with three boys and have been married for 26 years, I am alot more realistic. My children have been wonderful teachers and have given me alot of feedback on who I am and the example I thought I was setting. My first born told my husband and I recently, we had not been very good parents, because we had not prepared him for his job downtown Minneapolis as a security guard and he knew nothing about street life. I guess I forgot to mention all these years that was not one of the values I had for my family. While Kouzes and Posner make a good case for how to personify your values and teach them to others, I would suggest that all of this is in the eyes of the beholder. The perception of the people you are modeling for and trying to teach is the most important thing to consider when you are a leader.

Kouzes and Posner have discovered from their scientific research data that the first of their determined five practices of exemplary leadership, to “model the way,� must begin with clarifying personal and shared values.

Leadership credibility requires strong principles, both current and future (to be aspired to), that have been articulated. A leader cannot walk the talk unless those values are absolutely clear to those being lead. And if those words aren’t heartfelt and instead those of another (perhaps because they sound good), credibility is lost and therefore the ability to lead.

Seven Zones for Leadership – Robert W. Terry

“Do something, even if it’s wrong.� Jim Campbell, Warehouse and Logistics Manager, at a Minneapolis plumbing and heating company, circa 1971

I was given that order while working as the lowest level employee in a large plumbing and heating supplies distribution center. The quote popped into my head at the same time I read Terry’s assertion that action and authenticity are two of the most important concepts in the foundation of his leadership discussion. Jim Campbell, boss and mentor empowered me to take action while using my initiative and whatever knowledge of the operation I had learned over the first few months of my employment.

In terms of Terry’s action wheel, he was confident that whatever action I did take was based on my understanding of our mission, and was based on his certainty that as a stakeholder, I had the work ethic and commitment to being part of its accomplishment. Even if I did something wrong, I was translating my belief into an action intended to externalize my internally sincere motivation to do the job right. “To live authentically is to be true and real inside and outside.� (p. 59)

This past week, I struggled with Terry's Seven Zones of Leadership text. I voluntarily signed on to read it, and got more than I bargained for. I'm curious to know how the rest of the class experienced the text. Comprehensible? Complete enough to imagine the value without the diagnostic sections that appear in other parts of the book? Were you wishing Terry correlated the seven zones to leadership studies in the chapters we were assigned, or could you make the leap of faith that these were truly research-based conclusions?

I am one of those practitioners Terry refers to who worked a long time without a grounding in research. Perhaps that needed to be worked through a bit internally as I suffered through four real work situations from my past that were so complex that I couldn't really focus on the zone theory itself. It was impossible to imagine the governor's office taking time out to explore nebulous concepts like this when we were trying to develop Ventura's "Big Plan" in 1999. The book itself wasn't even published until 2001, but that situation and others I worked within clearly demanded a strong theory and practical base from which to operate. With that admission behind me, here is my reflection on Robert Terry's fascinating text.

Leading Change: The Eight Steps to Transformation by Kotter (1999)

Kotter’s article “Leading Change: The Eight Steps to Transformation� focuses his efforts on analyzing large scale changes within organization that take place over the course of 1 to 10 years. Kotter is referring to massive organizational change when he highlights his 8 most common errors in this article. He sites them as follows:

1. Not Establishing enough sense of urgency
2. Not creating a powerful guiding coalition
3. Lack of vision
4. Under communicating the vision by a factor of ten
5. Not removing obstacles to the vision
6. Not systematically planning and creating short term wins
7. Declaring victory too soon
8. Not Anchoring changes in corporations culture

In the introduction of The Seven Zones of Leadership, Terry summarizes his concept of leadership and authenticity that he originally explored in his book, Authentic Leadership: Courage in Action. The concept asserts that six "basic elements can be used to explain human action" (3). He uses these six elements to create the Action Wheel. By answering the questions in each dimension of the Action Wheel, leaders will find out "what is really going on" and therefore be able to make leadership decisions based on authenticity.

In The Seven Zones of Leadership, Terry takes this concept a step further by also defining seven "worlds." These "worlds" are the external factors that effect the choices or actions a leader takes. The worlds range from fixable and knowable to understandable to unfixable and unknowable (8). Ultimately, Terry's book will provide a "map of leadership reality and action, allowing you to locate your current situation and anticipate future developmental challenges" (17).

Robert W. Terry introduces us to the idea of different zones of leadership. However, before we delve into the seven different zones of leadership Terry finds it important to lay the groundwork in order to reach these zones. We learn about the role of action in leadership and how different actions affect leadership. He further discusses the notions of agreement, certainty, time, stability, chaos, and change.

In his article titled "Leading Change: The Eight Steps to Transformation", John Kotter begins by emphasizing two lessons to be learned from organizations that have successfully navigated the change process. As his first lesson he asserts that change goes through several phases that take "considerable time". The second lesson is that "critical mistakes in any phase can have a devastating impact" on the change process. These lessons set the tone for the rest of his article.

John Kotter, Harvard professor and twenty year contributing writer to The Harvard Business Review, compiled a list of the top eight errors made by organizations in pursuit of corporate change. Even though companies identify a need for change with different labels and headings, Kotter claims the need for corporate change is basically the same from corporation to corporation: to better function in an ever-changing and more challenging marketplace.

In our reading, Chapter Four “Leading Change; The Eight Steps to Transformation� by John P. Kotter, he discusses eight errors made by organizations that kept their transformations from coming through to fruition. I could not help but see that if the organizations followed the teachings in Chapter Two of Kouzes & Posner “Credibility is the Foundation of Leadership�, specifically the top four characteristics (Honesty, Forward-looking, Inspiring and Competency) they could have avoided these errors. I will briefly go through each of “ The Eight Steps to Transformation“ and then reflect on how each of Kouzes & Posner’s four characteristics would be beneficial to an organization in avoiding the errors that Kotter had indicated.

Being a learner who has to let things digest a bit to gain insight, I wanted to follow up with the comments that have come to me since Tuesday's Class.

I commented about how change is coming to medicine...a paradigm shift to holism. All of these changes I see are about the ability to see the whole picture. While each part of the picture is extremely important in life, it is the ability to see how they interrelate that brings the meaning and the answers. Something the right brain is good at. These changes are from my perception about the more feminine part of us, compassion and creativity and the ability to see the big picture. I feel that this relates to what Diane was talking about, in class and a discussion after class, an important quality to have a leader that is "connected" to their inner self or soul...the masculine and the feminine (my words). In relection on the movie, I see all of this in the Grandmother. What strength and leadership she showed her granddaughter. She was unmoved by her husband's authority. Her response to his, " I am the boss!' was, "not in this kitchen your not!" And her private confession to her granddaughter was, "I let him think he is the boss!" She was also incredibly patient with her husband throughout the movie and with her son when his wife died. I am thinking she displayed the essence of the new leadership for the "common good," that our world is coming to. The compassion, patience, wisdom and strength she showed is an inspiration to me. Thanks for listening, Bette Jo

Kouzes and Posner hit on an important point when they wrote about the power of values from an organizational standpoint. Being clear on organizational values, if done well can create a culture of accountability in the work place. While defining job roles and responsibilites is important in the development staff on a personal level, on an organizational level when values are clearly displayed and ingrained within the work culture a feeling of empowerment permeates the work place.

I have experienced this with my work within the YMCA, their four core values are honesty, respect, responsibility, and caring. As I have strived to be a mindful leader in my organization I have found that it is essential to ground my orientations, and staff development trainings within those values. Success has happened when I have seen staff call each other out when they are not following one of those values.

When staff are empowered enough to hold each other accountable for their actions a sense leadership is engrained in them. The bar is raised not only from what I expect as a supervisor but by how coworkers hold each other accountable for a high standard of work expectations.

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The bibliography formatting problem I saw early this morning on my second attempt seems fine now. Thank you. Wendy Wustenberg

Is power ever shared, or is it the basis of our economy?

Consider what is used by our society as a placeholder for access-ownership-success the dollar

Does this function equally any more? or is it more about where that dollar is applied: from what position and into what system?

"The non-biological intelligence created in that year (2045) will be one billion times more powerful than all hman intelligence today." (Kurzweil, R. 2005 - The singularity is near, Penguin Group, New York P. 136)

Imagine having that level of DC (Distributed Competency) supporting your 24/7/365 innovative lifestyle. No doubt my grandchildren will be geniuses.
The 'Singularity is defined as "technological change so rapid and profound it represents a rupture in the fabric of human history. The implications include the merger of biological and nonbiological intelligence, immortal software-based humans, and ultra-high levels of intelligence that expand outward in the universe at the speed of light." and the year 2045 is Kurzweil's projected date for this event. For a more in depth explanation see: http://www.kurzweilai.net/articles/art0134.html?printable=1

Before we arrive at this juncture and according to some theorists, become rendered irrelevent as thinking and innovating beings, Harkins argues that we should begin to cede the more mundane aspects of cognition to our current technology through the use of DC, (Distributed Competency). One example is the multiplication prompter that helps an overly challenged student keep up with his class by providing him answers to problems and coaching on how to arrive at those answers. If the student never catches up, the device can be clipped to his pocket, continuing to provide answers, giving the appearence of competency to the student and allow him to proceed to higher functions that he still doesn't really need to learn.

Anyone who uses a calculator for business or balancing their checkbook has some limited DC at their fingertips, but must still understand the concepts underlying the operations in order to know what buttons to push. The important difference between Harkin's egalitarian vision of universal excellence in multiplication through the miracle of DC, and the fundamental student competence in and understanding of underlying mathematical concepts required by our "Generalized mass education" system lies in the area of cognitive development.

Not properly achieving competence in the basics could "..lay the foundations for eventual failure for those who do not develop methods that will lead on to later developments.." says mathematics professor David Tall," and may limit those whose cognitive structure develops in a way which is suitable for more powerful thinking..
Democracy in education does not therefore mean giving every child the same sequences of learning, but at different paces." Seeking to level the playing field with DC may therefore inhibit the development of cognition and competence, at least in the area of mathematics. Certainly those who l lack the core competencies of any given subject cannot be expected to become part of the 80% of workers who Harkins states will be innovators.

Yet within fifteen years according to Kurzweil we will be able to purchase computing power equal to that of 1 human brain for one thousand dollars. Competency in many areas will probably become irrelevent. What does this mean for leadership? Can the intrinsic qualities of leadership be replaced by DC? Can we program one or two brain's worth of computing power to be honest, forward looking, inspring and competent? Please excuse the political reference, but I think our current president could use a little leadership DC.

It is possible that innovation will eventually come at the beck and call of humans who wield their machine intellilgences in service to their imaginations with no real understanding of the underlying processes the give rise to their capabilities. Will this give rise to a society that is focused on the common good, or a divergent race of individuals who dwell within their performance based learning simulations?

Chapter Two of Kouzes and Posner's book, The Leadership Challenge resonated with me as I have always maintained that leaders fall into many categories from great to poor. Unfortunately for me, up to this point, while I have been able to list leaders I admired and respected I was at a loss to identify why I thought they were great. Further, I was unable to adequately enumerate the traits that distinguished them.

Thanks to Chapter Two I now have very specific metrics to use when examining leaders. The authors have documented that over the last 20 years, and across the globe, people have consistently valued four traits above all others when assessing their leaders.

Chapter One provides us with a broad overview of the concepts that will be further explored as we delve further into Kouzes and Posner’s book, The Leadership Challenge. Using Dick Nettell’s experience at a Bank of America call center as a prime example allows the authors to vividly display how effective leadership can be used in American business. Adding examples about Claire Owen’s experiences with SG Group of London shows us that their principles will work anywhere in today’s world.

One of the themes for Chapter One is that leadership opportunities are everywhere. I think most of us are aware of this concept. All too often though I think we fail to recognize some of the more mundane situations in which leadership opportunities occur. Having this point mentioned in the text can serve as a reminder that we need to actively look for situations where leadership occurs so we may better study it. What struck me during this reading was leadership in families. The leadership dynamic changes as we grow, mature, and age amongst both our family of origin, and our family of marriage. The leadership is constantly evolving as the relations evolve. Surely we have all experienced these phenomena.

“When No One is in Charge�

In the last few years that I taught high school, I became more and more aware of an ideal that really bothered me among students. In general, there was this sense that only “experts� knew what they were talking about. Often I would hear them critiquing teachers in the school- what they had a degree in, what experience they had- (weighing credibility according to Kouzes and Posner?). I felt the students were often only willing to trust those people and institutions labeled as ‘experts’ or were ‘big names’ or ‘brands’ they knew.

In my particular way of teaching, I would often require students to be “in charge� themselves - to think about solutions to big challenges, to argue with the ‘experts’, and to run their own discussions of readings and ideas in American Government (what better way to learn about democracy?). I wanted them to understand that waiting for accepted leaders to step up and solve things for them was going to get them no where.

I thought about this a lot as I read the first chapter of Leadership for the Common Good, “When No One is in Charge�. Crosby and Bryson focus on the ways that large, complex public problems can be tackled, and through that argue that, “individuals, groups, and organizations, as well as many others, will have to be part of any significant beneficial change,�(4) that develops. They focus on how in our “no-one-in-charge, shared-power world,� (4) that a top-down organizational structure with “expert-based planning and decision-making� (5) doesn’t cut it for a world that is increasingly inter-connected.

In chapter 2, Kouzes and Poser introduce a list of characteristics of admired leaders. The top four, as identified through their research, are honesty, ability to be forward looking and inspiring, as well as being competent in their field and position. As I was reading the respective paragraphs, I tried to think of people who displayed these characteristics. For example, Paul Wellstone always struck me as an honest person. I generally distrust most politicians, so this was a first for me. For the characteristic of forward looking, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates came to my mind. The products they envisioned and build would not have been possible without vision and the courage to venture into new arenas. When I think of inspiring leaders, Benazir Bhutto stands out. I greatly admire her ability to bring hope and energy to her country. Her death was a great loss. Kouzes and Posner define leadership competence as the leader's track record and ability to get things done. There certainly are many leaders in many companies who possess this characteristic. I thought of Will Steger and Ann Bancroft who would not have been able to master so many expedititions without their competence. This is obviously a very individual opinion about persons I preceive to be leaders and I am interested in hearing or reading your thoughts or examples of leaders.

I found it interesting after watching the Whale Rider and reading Systematic Leadership: Enriching the Meaning of our Work the number of interesting dynamics of leadership and change that it reflected. Honestly, I don’t believe that if I had watched the movie without the prompt of the article I would have viewed it from the same perspective. Keeping in mind that some may not have seen the movie I will not go into great detail. I would like to comment however on a few key points that I found interesting. One of what I found to be a subtle ‘yeast’ influence was the relationship between Uncle Rawiri and Paikea. I feel he was nurturing and when the right conditions came about (Paikea asking for his help in mastering the Taiaha) this gave her the strength and knowledge to continue on her journey. Also, how Paikea felt that she was ‘breaking’ the line of the ‘old’ yet the symbolism of her mending the rope by tying the knot in the rope used to start the engine. Additionally, the change and struggle that cultures endure to hold onto ‘traditional’ beliefs and customs in more ‘modern’ times.

While reading the first few pages of the article I have to admit the hair on the back of my neck stood up, however as I read on a situation in my own life came to mind. I imagined how the advanced technology Mr. Harkins describes and its use in schools would make the school experiences of many teenagers much more valuable.

Our traditional school system places so many limits on students, thwarts their innate sense and desire for creativity and innovation and might often extinguish any motivation to go beyond what is currently offered. I imagine my 14 year old son, instead of spending hours memorizing information for his chemistry class (or spending hours trying to avoid memorizing information), utilizing technology to manage this information as needed, and with the time he gains working with the recycling club at the school to solve pollution problems. Not only would this better prepare him for the workforce but he would probably actually enjoy his chemistry lesson, rather than just getting through it.

While it is difficult to digest Mr. Harkins'' very utopian model, the essence of experiential learning and use of technology is part of what will improve our current education systems.

The preface to Kouzes and Posner’s book, The Leadership Challenge, goes one step beyond a typical preface that simply outlines the intention of the book and uses upbeat, motivational language to inspire readers to feel their own leader within. The opening line describes the book by saying “The Leadership Challenge is about how leaders mobilize others to want to get extraordinary things done in organizations� (p.xi). This succinct summary of the book is also a brief taste of how the authors inspire the reader with positive energy in order to nurture her desire to lead.

This article was written by Arthur Harkins, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Educational Policy and Administration and faculty director of the Graduate Certificate in Innovation Studies program at the University of Minnesota. He knows what he’s talking about. He developed the graduate certificate in innovation studies which is one of the first of its kind in the nation. His enthusiasm and understanding of the importance of forward thinking in a global workforce helps the University prepare “innovation workers.� He also consults organizations that embrace the idea of innovation as a means to success in a fast-moving, continuously changing environment and encourages students to self-innovate, to constantly reinvent themselves, become leaders and remain on the edge of the future. Dr. Harkins’ credibility on this subject is without question, for it has become his life in recent years.

In his article, Prof. Harkins champions the idea of promoting an educational paradigm that provides a choice to students: traditional learning versus technology- and knowledge-based learning that promotes innovation. He cites the educational structure of the Marshall Minnesota public schools where this choice was given to students. Harkins’ argument assumes that providing immediate access to codified tasks via software will free students to innovate new products and services as well as new social and cultural systems, thus providing momentum toward a continuous innovative society. This is a huge change from traditional learning and naturally would invite skeptics to weigh in with their own arguments.