Submission number: XXXXX
All-Academy Professional Development Workshop
Proposal
Leadership Think Tank:
The Questions We Don’t Ask
Organized by:
Prof. Mary Uhl-Bien
Co-Chair, Network of Leadership Scholars
University of Nebraska
Department of Management
College of Business Administration
Lincoln, Nebraska 68588-0491
Phone: (402) 472-2314
Fax: (402) 472-5855
Email: mbien2@unl.edu
Facilitators:
Mary Uhl-Bien, University of Nebraska
Nagaraj Sivasubramaniam, Duquesne University
Submitted to: Dianna L. Stone (shashcub1@satx.rr.com) All-Academy
PDW Chair
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Submission number: XXXXX
Leadership Think Tank:
The Questions We Don’t Ask
Abstract
The Network of Leadership Scholars invites Academy members to participate in this
leadership “think tank” aimed at identifying critical questions in leadership that we don’t
ask. The intent of this PDW is to move beyond simple discussion to creative action.
Attendees will work with prominent scholars from a variety of disciplines and
perspectives to develop an agenda for action. Key questions we don’t ask will be
generated in roundtable discussions. Each table will be tasked with developing questions
from theory-based, practice-based, and multidisciplinary perspectives. At the end of the
workshop, documents gathered electronically from table facilitators will be used for
plenary discussion and prioritization of key questions for moving forward (final
documents will be emailed to all attendees at the end of the session using an electronic
sign-in sheet). Participants will leave the workshop with a list of prioritized questions
that represent new avenues for leadership research that, if explored, would have
significant meaning and impact for advancing both leadership research and practice. The
questions will be accompanied by bullets of suggested ideas for innovative methods for
exploring these questions. We will also ask individuals who have expertise or interest in
pursuing particular ideas further to add their name and contact information to the
document next to the idea/question. After the session, the list will be circulated on
LDRNET, the listserv for the Network of Leadership Scholars, and posted on our web
page (http://groups.aomonline.org/lig/leader.html).
Keywords: Leadership, Network of Leadership Scholars, Leadership Development,
Leadership Practice
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Submission number: XXXXX
List of Confirmed PDW Participants and their Discipline Areas
Name
Area
Research Interests
Prof. Susan Ashford
University of Michigan
USA
Organizational
Behavior
Feedback and Self-Regulation,
Individual Adaptation, Managerial
Effectiveness, Issue Selling, Leadership
Prof. Ping Ping Fu
Chinese University of Hong Kong
HONG KONG
Leadership/OB
Executive Leadership, Cross-Cultural
Issues in Leadership, Cultural Values
Prof. David Day
Singapore Management University
SINGAPORE
Leadership/
I/O Psychology
Leadership Development, Leadership
Capacity in Individuals, Groups and
Organizations, Longitudinal Modeling
Prof. Felix Brodbeck
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität
München
GERMANY
Leadership/Economic
and Organizational
Psychology
Leadership, Team performance, Crosscultural Issues, Organisational
Development
Prof. Gail Fairhurst
University of Cincinnati
USA
Organizational
Communication
Organizational Communication,
Leadership, Organizational Discourse
Prof. Denny Gioia
Penn State University
USA
Managerial and
Organizational
Cognition/OB
Cognitive Processes in Organizations,
Sense-Making and Sense-Giving,
Knowledge Transformation, Identity and
Change
Prof. Mark Huselid
Rutgers University
USA
Human Resource
Management
Linkages between HR management
systems, corporate strategy, and firm
performance
Prof. Ed Lawler
University of Southern California
USA
Human Resource
Management
Human resource management,
compensation, organizational
development, organizational
effectiveness
Prof. Greg Dess
University of Texas at Dallas
USA
Business Policy and
Strategy
Social Network Theory, Strategy,
Entrepreneurship, Ethics
Prof. Michael Hitt
Texas A&M
USA
Business Policy and
Strategy
Strategic management; international
strategy; strategic entrepreneurship
Prof. Richard Osborn
Wayne State University
USA
International, OMT
Prof. Shaker Zahra
University of Minnesota
USA
Entrepreneurship
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International alliances, contextual
leadership, strategic co-evolution
Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Global
Strategy and Knowledge-Based
Competition
Submission number: XXXXX
Leadership Think Tank:
The Questions We Don’t Ask
PDW Overview
The Network of Leadership Scholars was formed in the Academy of
Management in 2005 as an integrative device cutting across Academy
divisions to encourage dialogue and interconnectivity among scholars—
especially those who have not interacted previously—on the topic of
leadership (broadly defined). Our mission is to have a major impact on
the advancement of leadership thought and practice by fostering
interdisciplinary discussion on key questions of the day.
This mission aligns well with the 2008 Academy of Management
meeting theme of “The Questions We Ask” as well as with the AllAcademy PDW format. In a play on words, however, we plan to
emphasize the questions we don’t ask. Leadership research has long
been criticized for being too parochial, disconnected from practice, and
irrelevant in the larger context of organizational studies. In this PDW we
plan to attack these problems head on by inviting prominent scholars
from other disciplines and countries to engage with us in a deep analysis
of a key problem in leadership studies: the issue of the questions we
don’t ask.
Scholars were selected who are not only prominent in terms of
their theoretical contributions but also their ability to ask creative and
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meaningful questions for practice. Some of these are individuals who
may have familiarity with leadership but are not considered leadership
scholars; others are prominent leadership scholars who work from varied
perspectives or different cultures. All are individuals whose research
areas represent topics that have not been addressed well enough in
leadership research.
Description and Format of the PDW
This PDW is intended to foster interaction among individuals who
have not likely engaged with one another previously and to generate
energy and creativity around the topic of “the questions we don’t ask.” It
is therefore designed to allow for dialogue and movement among all those
attending and contributing to this event.
We are requesting two hours for the event. The first 15 minutes
will be used for set-up time to get the participants familiar with the
themes identified by the invited scholars and organized into roundtables.
Individuals will be able to review topic themes provided by the scholars
at each table and read questions the scholars and table facilitators have
identified prior to the session as interesting to them. These questions
will also have been distributed via LDRNET and posted on the web page
prior to the session (we will send out pre-conference advertising across
Academy listservs with information about where to find these questions
on the web page).
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Submission number: XXXXX
The next 60 minutes will be used for intensive dialogue in the
roundtables. The discussions will be led by the invited scholars in
collaboration with a pre-assigned table facilitator who is a member of the
Network of Leadership Scholars. The scholars and table facilitators will
have collaborated in pre-work to design and pre-plan the session to
ensure the best use of time possible. The table facilitator will also have a
laptop with a template for reporting out the table discussion during the
plenary discussion (all table facilitators will have the template and be
pre-trained on how to use it). Each roundtable will be asked to:
a) Develop a list of critical questions we don’t ask in leadership
b) In this list derive both theory-based and practice-based
questions
c) Discuss how multi-disciplinary perspectives can enrich these
questions
d) Prioritize the list from most critical to least critical
e) Discuss innovative methodologies (particularly multi-method
designs) that could be used to pursue these questions.
A plenary discussion will follow with invited scholars reporting the
first priority question identified by their table. We will then vote on the
compiled list of top questions from the roundtables to develop an overall
prioritized list of key questions we don’t ask. This list and each of the
roundtable report-outs will be emailed to all participants at the end of
the workshop using the email list from the electronic sign-in sheet
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gathered during the session. It will also be circulated on LDRNET (our
Network listserv) to generate further discussion and action after the
meeting.
The structure of the PDW and the time allocated for different
activities are outlined in the table below.
Proposed Date: Saturday, 9 August 2008
Proposed time on the program: 9:00 – 11:00 am
Activity
Time allocation
09:00 am Introduction and table
assignments.
15 minutes
09:15 am Roundtable dialogue in
thematic groups led by chairs and
facilitators
60 minutes
10:15 am Plenary presentations from
roundtable discussions and
prioritization of key issues (questions)
for action
45 minutes
Total time for the Workshop
120 minutes
Room Set-Up
This session is designed to be the Showcase PDW for the Network
of Leadership Scholars. Based on attendance last year, we expect up to
150 participants. Therefore, we would like to request at least 12
roundtables that can hold 8-10 people (with extra chairs in the room).
Depending on the number of attendees we will either have each invited
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Submission number: XXXXX
scholar at a table or double up scholars; we will determine how to handle
this during the welcome.
STATEMENT
I have received signed statements from all intended participants agreeing to
participate for the entire workshop, AND that these participants are not in
violation of the Rule of Three + Three.
Mary Uhl-Bien, PDW Organizer.
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