1. BMA533: Leadership and Change in Organizations
Fall, 2005
Instructor: Lee Bolman

2. Tonight’s agenda Introductions Key ideas about leadership
Contracting: syllabus
Money auction (a business leadership opportunity, where you could win or lose money)

3. Introductions Questions:
Who am I?
Why am I here?
What do I bring? (What I will do to help make this an effective and spirited learning community)
Meet in pairs, help each other prepare answers
Quaker meeting: speak when spirit moves you

4. Themes How you Lead What you lead
Your ideas about leadership
Your sense of self as leader
Your strategies (how you act as a leader)
What you lead
The organizational context in which you lead
Where you lead: your purposes and values

5. What is Leadership?

6. Leadership is… A relationship of mutual influence
Leading to collective effort
In the service of shared or compatible purposes and values
In a context of uncertainty and conflict

7. Are Managers Clueless?

8. Why clueless? 好
女(nǚ) = woman
子 (zǐ) = child
好(hǎo) = good

9. Office Space: Flair
You’re a restaurant manager. As part of the approach to pleasing customers, waitpersons wear “flair” – items that add fun, color and individuality. The policy calls for a minimum of 15 pieces, but you encourage more.
One waitperson, Joanna, wears only the minimum. How will you approach her to talk about her flare?

10. More cluelessness ahead? Predictions for 2010
Intense competition for individuals capable of leading business organizations (growing leadership gap?)
Environment of extreme cognitive complexity requiring extraordinary strategic thinking skills and ability to make high-quality decisions quickly in face of competitive pressure and uncertainty
Emphasis on leadership as opposed to technical skills
Communication and talent development skills key elements of “leadership”
An increased priority on executive teambuilding: only teams of executives will be capable of creating and implementing winning strategies given the level of complexity
[Source: Barrett, A. and Beeson, J., Developing Business Leaders for The Conference Board, New York, 2002.]

11. Break
Credits:
Opening music: Strike up the Band (written by George Gerschwin, performed by the Boston Pops Orchestra)
Film clip: Open Space (starring Mike Livingston and Jennifer Anniston, written and directed by Mike Judge, who also played Stan, the restaurant manager)
Break music: Any Road, (written and performed by George Harrison)
On with the show!

12. Conceptual perspectives
Bolman & Deal, Reframing Organizations
Organizations: machines, families, jungles, theaters or temples
Leaders: architects, servants, advocates, poets
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

13. Contracting: Syllabus
Syllabus is contract binding instructor and students
Contracting process is your opportunity to shape the agreement
Web site:

14. Contracting Process Read syllabus Meet in groups. Discuss:
What makes sense or looks good?
What’s not clear?
What would you like to change?
Have a rationale: how will the change promote learning?

15. Next Week Team Formation Decide grade weights
In-class process designed to balance skills and interests
Decide grade weights
Meeting of team representatives