BMA533: Leadership and Change in Organizations Fall, 2006 Instructor: Lee Bolman

Tonight’s agenda Reflective dialogue: How can we learn about leadership? Contracting: syllabus

Reflective Dialogue

Issues in the dialogue What is leadership? Authority? Power? Credibility? Quality of an individual or a relationship? How does the leader-constituent relationship work? Leader leads, others follow? Leader seeks to please, respond to constituent expectations? Mutual influence? Mutual seduction?

Issues in the dialogue What’s the test of leadership? High rating from constituents? Progress on important and difficult problems? Take people where they need to go even if they don’t want to go there? Dance floor and balcony Content (what)  Process (how) See the here-and-now, make sense of it, and respond in real time (e.g., improvisational jazz, basketball point guard) Trust and risk Who can we trust? How much risk are we willing to take?

Break

Conceptual perspectives Bolman & Deal, The Wizard and the Warrior We need warriors because conflict is central to leadership; they help us confront competitors and enemies who would attack or thwart us We need wizards to help us escape from prisons of our own mind, to see and create new possibilities Heifetz & Linsky, Leadership on the Line Leadership  a dangerous enterprise How do you get people to face and learn from adaptive challenges when they would rather not Kouzes & Posner, The Leadership Challenge Practices of leaders at their best

Contracting: Syllabus Syllabus is our operating agreement We’re all accountable for honoring the agreement Contracting process is your opportunity to clarify and shape the agreement

Contracting Process Read syllabus Meet in groups. Discuss: What makes sense or looks good? What’s not clear? What concerns? How could those be addressed?

Next Week Team Formation Web site: www.leebolman.com/bma533.htm In-class process designed to balance skills and interests Web site: www.leebolman.com/bma533.htm