The Leader and Global Systems: The Impact of an International Partnership Activity on the Redesign of the Doctoral Program in Leadership Studies at Gonzaga University

International Leadership Association  Annual Conference, Washington DC, November 4-7, 2004

James Beebe  Professor Leadership Studies,   Doctoral Program in Leadership Studies, Gonzaga University 

Doctoral Program in Leadership Studies assumes  that leadership begins with systems thinking,  that cultural, political, and international considerations are provide the context for personal and organizational domains, and  that personal and organizational leadership occur within the context of global systems.

"global systems” means general or comprehensive as well as implying international.

Doctoral Program in Leadership Studies  Based on the Jesuit tradition of educating the whole person.  Interdisciplinary.  Designed for working professionals.  Designed to develop scholarship and professional competencies while encouraging self-reflection and strengthening a commitment of service to others.

Effective leaders need to develop the critical imagination required to embrace individual, organizational, and global change from a stance of hope and courage.

Self-Study and Redesign  Spring of month effort.  Doctoral faculty and Dean of the School of Professional Studies.  Involved the faculty of the program, students, graduates, and the community.  Examined doctoral programs in leadership studies at 10 other universities.

University of Pretoria-Gonzaga Partnership  Started in  Designed to strengthen “the leadership and ethics focus of the Ph.D. Program in Public Affairs at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, and the global focus of the Ph.D. Program in Leadership Studies at Gonzaga University.”

University of Pretoria-Gonzaga Partnership  $180,000 in funding from the College and University Affiliations Program/ Fulbright Educational Partnerships Program.  Funded 23 trips by faculty members, administrators, and graduate students.  Technology and limited administrative support.

University of Pretoria-Gonzaga Partnership Evaluation  Final Evaluation concluded that "This has been a highly successful program.“  achieved significant progress towards the integration of ethics into the University of Pretoria’s doctoral program and the integration of global perspectives into Gonzaga’s doctoral program.

University of Pretoria-Gonzaga Partnership Evaluation  Built relationships among program participants that seem likely to outlast the conclusion of the project itself.  Generally met the expectations of key stakeholder groups.

The Leader and Global System Conceptual Framework  Leadership requires systems thinking.  Systems thinking is understood as viewing a system as a whole and gaining a perspective on the entire "entity" before examining its parts.

The Leader and Global System Conceptual Framework  Senge considered systems thinking to be the foundational discipline of learning organizations.  Senge advocated systems thinking for better depth regarding the interrelationships between ourselves and those we perceive as different.

The Leader and Global System Cultural competency  Good leadership requires cultural competency.  is based on an understanding of culture as knowledge people use to generate and interpret social behavior.  Includes (a) knowing oneself, (b) knowing others, (c) knowing issues, and (d) working with others.

The Leader and Global System Cultural competency  Schein stated that "leadership and culture are two sides of the same coin."

The Leader and Global System Cultural competency  Feminist theory provides leaders with new ways of understanding the importance of relationships in everything they do and new ways of evaluating the ethics of leadership.  Cultural competency involves recognizing the differences that gender and gender orientation make in systems.

The Leader and Global System Political competency  At a minimum, political competency requires understanding the interplay of policy goals and power goals in political systems.

The Leader and Global System International Competency  International competency means seeing the world as a diverse, heterogeneous community composed of different communication, social, political, economic, and fiscal systems.

The Leader and Global System Information Technology  Effective use of technology by leaders provides an example of the importance and relevance of global systems and the relationship of cultural, political, and international understandings.

The Leader and Global System Course Content  All students to complete four core courses.  Traditionally theses courses were (a) Leadership Theory, (b) Organizational Theory, (c) Research Theory, and (d) Policy Analysis.

The Leader and Global System Course Content  The Policy Analysis course has been redesigned and renamed "Global Systems and Policy Analysis.”  Throughout the course there is emphasis on systems thinking and the implications of systems thinking for leadership.

The Leader and Global System Course Content  A significant amount of time is spent on cultural and social systems.  The concepts of cultural and social systems are used to tie together issues of diversity, feminism, and leadership.

The Leader and Global System Course Content  Policy is explored as a tool leaders can use to influence and interact with systems.

The Leader and Global System Course Content  The course module on policy as an interface with systems makes extensive use of materials on management strategies in policy networks introduced by University of Pretoria Professor P. Barynard during the summer term he spend at Gonzaga.

Other Changes and the Future  All of the five, full-time core faculty members in the Doctoral Program in Leadership Studies are now actively involved in international work.  Four of the five traveled to South Africa under the Partnership Project.

Other Changes and the Future  Two of the faculty members will be visiting the Philippines for consultations with Ateneo University about their plans to establish a leadership center.

Other Changes and the Future  Another faculty member has worked with the Greenleaf Center to establish the International Journal of Servant Leadership and will be the first editor.

Other Changes and the Future  The newest faculty member in the Doctoral Program has had more than 23 years experience living and working abroad.

Other Changes and the Future  Other initiatives involving Africa Africa Leadership Alliance with a focus on African indigenous models of values- based research. A joint proposal with another university to research team effectiveness in a transnational learning network covering universities in five different African countries.

Conclusion  The Partnership Project with South Africa was a major factor in expanding both interest and support for international involvement by the Doctoral Program in Leadership Studies.

Conclusion  The addition to the curriculum of the Global Systems component provided a framework for these efforts and is reflected in the syllabi of courses.

Conclusion  At this point sustainable transformation has occurred and global and international concerns are integrated into the Program.