LeaderSelf :

1. LeaderSelf: Leadership in Changing Times MEMO 2008 Leadership Conference July 21, 2008

2. Our Focus • Not about the “-ship” • About “-self” – where each of us is • Organizations • Think “communities” • Think “relationships” • Think “systems”

3. “Bloom Where You’re Planted” • Plants … • Very organic … just like the systems where we live • What you see on the outside • What’s going on in the inside • Create a fertile garden for you today • You’re going to have to mix it in

4. Framework for the Day • 8:15 – 9:45 Leadership • 9:45 – 10:00 Break • 10:00 – 11:30 Leadership Models • 11:30 – 12:30 Lunch • 12:30 – 1:45 Application of Strengths & Styles • 1:45 – 2:00 Break • 2:00 – 3:30 ideas that work with Rachel Fine • 3:30 – 4:00 Tying It All Together

5. Old Thinking vs. New Thinking • Mechanistic view of leadership • Organic (systemic) view of leadership • Jazz metaphor (Wheatley, 1999, p. 45)

6. Leadership & Change “Self-organizing systems have what all leaders crave: the capacity to respond continuously to change. In these systems, change is the organizing force. Leaders emerge from the needs of the moment. Involvement and participation constantly deepen.” (Wheatley & Kellner-Rogers, 1999, p. 33)

7. Leadership • Leadership is a process, • Leadership involves influence, • Leadership occurs within a group context • Leadership involves goal attainment. • Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal. Leadership is not a linear one-way event but rather an interactive event. When leadership is defined in this manner, it becomes available to everyone. It is not restricted to only the formally designated leader in a group. (Northouse, 2004, p. 3)

8. Leadership • Vision • What do I hold true? • Who am I? • What does this mean? • What can I see? • Action • What will I do?

9. Leadership Contexts • One-to-one • Group • Organizational (Zigarmi, Blanchard, O'Connor, & Edeburn, 2005)

10. Why Do You Care? • Gallup surveyed more than 10 million people: • People who can “focus on their strengths every day are six times more likely to be engaged in their jobs and more than three times more likely to report having an excellent life in general.” (Rath, 2007, p. iii)

11. What We’re Thinking About • Talents • Naturally occurring & recurring • How you are wired • Knowledge • Facts • Lessons learned • Skills • Things you do • Structured experiential knowledge (We’ll come back to this!) • Strengths: combination of talents, knowledge, skills (Buckingham & Clifton, 2001)

12. Strength Equation Talent X Investment (developing skills & knowledge) = Strength (Rath, 2007, p. 20)

13. The Moral of the Story “You cannot be anything you want – but you can be a lot more of who you already are.” (Rath, 2007, p. 9)

14. StrengthsFinder 2.0 • What are your strengths? • What strengths do you need around you? • Who’s here?

15. Other Assessments • There are MANY! • Myers-Briggs • DISC • Learning Styles Inventory (LSI)

16. Experiential Knowledge Kolb’s Model of Experiential Learning A Concrete Experience D B Active Reflection/ Experimentation Observation C Abstract Conceptualization Generalization (Kolb & Fry, 1975)

17. Ways to Lead • Laissez-Faire Leadership • Situational Leadership • Transactional Leadership • Transformational Leadership

18. Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) • Different styles with different members, on a continuum from low quality to high quality • LMX develops quickly & stable over time • Quality of exchange: • Attitudinal similarity (perceived not actual) –correlated • Follower extroversion – correlated • Locus of control (negotiating, etc) – not correlated • Growth Need Strength – not correlated (Phillips & Bediam, 1994)

19. Leadership Styles • Delegating • Supporting • Coaching • Directing (Zigarmi, Blanchard, O'Connor, & Edeburn, 2005)

20. Systems Thinking A system is a perceived whole whose elements “hang together” because they continually affect each other over time and operate toward a common purpose. Examples of systems include biological organisms (including human bodies), the atmosphere, diseases, ecological niches, factories, chemical reactions, political entities, communities, industries, families, teams – and all organizations. You and your work are probably elements of dozens of different systems. (Senge, Kleiner, Roberts, Ross, & Smith, 1994, p. 90)

21. Systems Thinking Systems create themselves and pursue paths of their own making. If we want to work with a system to influence its direction – a normal desire as we work with human organizations – the place for us to work is deep in the dynamics of the system where the identity is taking form. Every being, every organization, is an identity in motion, creating itself in the world and creating its world simultaneously. (Wheatley & Kellner-Rogers, 1999, p. 100)

22. Systems Model Environment Input Transformation Output Feedback (Haines, 1998)

23. “Vision without action is merely a dream Action without vision just passes time Vision with action can change the world” (Barker, n.d.) (You can watch this video again at home at http://www.starthrowerstory.com)

24. References Barker, J. (n.d.). The star thrower story [DVD]. (Available from Star Thrower Distribution, 26 East Exchange Street, Suite 600, St. Paul, MN 55101 Buckingham, M. & Clifton, D. (2001). Now, discover your strengths. New York: The Free Press Haines, S. (1998). The manager’s pocket guide to systems thinking and learning. Amherst, MA: HRD Press. Kolb, D. & Fry, R. (1975). Toward an applied theory of experiential learning. In C. Cooper (Ed.), Theories of group processes. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Northouse, P. (2004). Leadership: theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. Phillips, A. & Bediam. P. (1994). Leader-follower exchange quality: The role of personal and interpersonal attributes. Academy of Management Journal, 37(4), 990-1001. Rath, T. (2007). StrengthsFinder 2.0. New York: Gallup Press.

25. References (continued) Senge, P., Kleiner, A., Roberts, C., Ross, R., & Smith, B. (1994). The fifth discipline fieldbook: Strategies and tools for building a learning organization. New York: Currency Doubleday. Wheatley, M. (1999). Leadership and the new science. San Francisco: Berret-Koehler Publishers. Wheatley, M. & Kellner-Rogers, M. (1999). A simpler way. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Zigarmi, D., Blanchard, K., O'Connor, M., & Edeburn, C. (2005). The leader within: Learning enough about yourself to lead others. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

26. Your Presenter Carol Rinkoff, Ph.D. is the chair of the MBA program at Concordia University in St. Paul. Carol’s professional interests include systems thinking, group dynamics, organizational culture, learning styles, generational diversity, educational technology, and research. Just for fun, Carol is an avid roller coaster enthusiast. Contact info: rinkoff@csp.edu 651-603-631