CAUBO 2004: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
June 12, 2004
Chet Warzynski
Cornell University
QUESTIONS:
1. What environmental and organizational challenges are
leaders in higher education facing today?
2. Outline the leadership competencies and capabilities (in
HR and generally) are needed to meet these
challenges, and how they can be developed?
3. What are some highly effective leadership development
practices?
4. What is HR’s role in academic leadership development?
Cornell University
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Founded in 1865
Fourteen colleges and schools
13,725 undergraduates
6,500 graduate students
3,091 faculty
8,744 support staff
217,886 alumni
$1.7 billion annual budget
$465 million in research
 Public and private divisions
 200 departments
 57 cooperative extension
associations
 4,000 undergraduate courses
 100 academic and
professional fields
 27 Nobel Laureates
 400+ Active patents
Cornell University
 Decentralized & highly
differentiated structure
 Semi-autonomous agents
 Fragmented IT systems
 Blended job responsibilities
 Distinct academic &
administrative subcultures
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Strong allegiance to local unit
Significant diversity of views
Conflict-averse culture
Long-term, local employees
Job entitlement
Individual over team achievement
Organizational Alignment
Cornell University’s Priorities:
Inspire Community
Improve Partnerships
Increase Productivity
Organizational
Capabilities
Leadership/Supervision
Customer Service
Change Management
Introduce New Technologies
Encourage Innovation
Maintain HR Quality & Support
People Issues
Attract/Develop/Retain
Alignment & Teamwork
Learning & Innovation
Productivity/Execution
Organizational Development Strategies
Leadership Development
Strategic Planning
Work Process Change
Reorganization & Alignment Performance Mgt
Team Building
Project Mgt
Training & Development
Conflict Resolution
The Burke-Litwin Model
External
Environment
Leadership
Mission and
Organization
Strategy
Culture
Management
Practices
Structure
Work Unit
Systems (policies
& procedures)
Climate
Motivation
Task Requirements
& Individual
Skills/Abilities
Individual Needs &
Individual &
Organizational
Performance
Values
The Struggle to Explain Leadership
Definitions of leadership are influenced by the
times in which we live:
Trait Theory
Behavior Theory
Contingency Theory
1920s
1940s
Today
•Great Man Theory
•Common traits &
characteristics
•Ohio State & Michigan
Studies
•Task oriented
•Relationship oriented
TOMORROW: ACTORNETWORK LEADERS?
•Situational Leadership
•Transactional /
Transformational
•Servant Leadership
•Values-based Leadership
The Cornell Leadership Model:
Be - Know - Do
What does Cornell want its leaders to BE – KNOW – DO?
Create the Cornell Leadership Model:
-Identify the values and attributes of a Cornell leader.
-Identify the skills and of a Cornell leader.
-Identify the actions of a Cornell leader.
-Identify examples of Cornell leadership at its best.
Future HR Competencies*
BUSINESS
MASTERY
LEADERSHIP
HR
MASTERY
* D. Ulrich -HR Champions
CHANGE &
PROCESS MASTERY
History of Leadership Development
Leadership for Quality
Leadership Skill Training
Leadership Assessment
Leadership for Change
Discovering Leadership
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2003
Culture of Discovering Leadership
Change
Management
(Practices)
Teams
•Respect
•Trust
•Integrity
•Satisfaction
for those
whom We
serve
Leadership
Experience
C & C Systems
•Scholarship
•Learning
•Outreach
•Stewardship
•Productivity
•Collaboration •Innovation
•Collegiality
•Entrepreneurship
•Partnerships
Research on Leadership Development*
• Lessons learned from experience have a lasting impact on how a
person manages and leads.
• Developmental experiences fall into four areas:
– Challenging Assignments - 42%
– Significant other people - 22%
– Hardships - 20%
– Other events - 16%
• Challenge within experience drives learning forward and makes it
developmental.
*Center for Creative Leadership Benchmarks, Greensboro, North Carolina
Leadership Development
Five Steps to Leadership Development:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Have a model of leadership
Get some feedback relative to that model
Evaluate the feedback you receive
Make a plan
Work the plan
Learning to Learn from Experience
Action-Observation-Reflection Model
Action/Experience
What did you do?
Reflection
How do you feel/think
about it now?
Observation/Feedback
What happened?
Premises of Discovering Leadership
Hegel: “We may affirm that absolutely nothing great in this world has been
achieved without passion.”
Ghandi: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
Jung: “We discover ourselves through others.”
T.S. Elliott: “We must not cease from exploration and the end of all our
exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the place for the
first time.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes: “What lies behind us and what lies before us are
tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
"Leadership cannot really be taught.
It can only be learned."
— Harold Geneen
Features of Discovering Leadership
 300 Graduates: 61 faculty, 3 associate deans, 5
assistant deans, 25 chairs, 28 academic staff, 188
administrative managers
 Discovery process based on experiential learning: “triple
loop” action learning
 Emphasis on safety, trust & values (social capital)
 Self-assessment and understanding impact
 Use of “live” data rather than case studies
 Project-based assignments & applications
The Goals of Discovering Leadership
Increase
participant selfawareness
Execute a
customized
learning and action
plan
CULDP
GOALS
Improve
communication
and relationshipbuilding skills
Create new
leadership
experiences
Develop skills for
leading & supporting
change
Obstacles to Discovering Leadership
A.
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B.
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Program Obstacles:
Competing definitions and models
Integration of three programs
Mixing faculty and staff
Duration of program
Team teaching
Organizational Obstacles:
Developing sponsorship
Engaging faculty support
Acquiring funding
Marketing
Goldman’s Emotional Intelligence*
Competencies
1. Self-awareness - ability to
2.
3.
4.
5.
understand emotions
Self-regulation - ability to
think & redirect impulses
Motivation - a passion to
pursue goals with energy
Empathy - ability to deal with
others’ emotions
Social Skill - proficiency in
building relationships
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Hallmarks
Self-confidence, realistic selfassessment, humor
Trustworthiness, integrity,
openness to change
Achievement, optimism,
commitment
Building talent, cross cultural
sensitivity, service
Effectiveness in leading
change, persuasiveness,
teambuilding
*Adapted from Daniel Goleman, “What Makes a Leader?” Boston: Harvard Business Review, November-December, 1998, p. 95.
Attributes of Leadership*
1.
Personal Credibility (Ethos)
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Intelligence and competence
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Clear values, goodwill, sincerity, integrity, and trustworthiness
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Strong work ethic
2. Logical Strategies (Logos)
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Rational dialogue
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Mental models/tools (capabilities)
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Evidence and proof
3.
Emotional Strategies (Pathos)
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Emotional commitment to values and beliefs
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Appeal to personal interest
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Achievement orientation
*Adapted from E. Bettinghaus and M. Cody. Persuasive Communications. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1987.
Leadership Capabilities
Strategic Planning
Developing Culture
Team Building
Leading Change
Managing Performance
Negotiating Solutions
Model I: The Defensive Organization
Chris Argyris, Overcoming Organizational Defenses
Most organizations foster attitudes that are:
 Controlling - they act and manage the environment unilaterally
 Competitive – maximize winning and losing
 Protective – of themselves and others
 Withholding - of feelings and information
 Attributive and blaming - of others
 Adverse to conflict - at all costs
Model II: The Learning Organization
Learning organizations foster attitudes where people are:
 Data Seeking – exploring new and risky ideas
 Collaborative – people are supportive and helpful
 Empowering – autonomy and power sharing are valued
 Open – actions and assumptions are confronted and tested
 Commitment – people are engaged and take responsibility for
actions
 Feedback – individual and organizational feedback is valued
Model II: The Learning Organization
AKA: The Resilient, Adaptive, Agile, Fast Organization
John Kotter, Corporate Culture and Performance: Most successful
cultures over time are adaptive. Outperform others by as much
as 300%. The most visible factor is competent leadership.
Change in Motivation: from controlling to learning
Consequences: Learning and change are encouraged.
Moving from Model I to Model II
Peter Senge: The Fifth Discipline
Model I
Five Core Competencies:
Dialogue
Team Learning
Personal Mastery
Vision
Systems Thinking
Model II
Discovering Leadership Change Process
1. Identify challenges
2. Formulate key questions
3. Ask questions
4. Compare answers
5. Conduct best practice
research
6. Evaluate answers/
research findings
7. Develop vision & goals
8. Build team & sponsorship
9. Develop project plan
10. Implement plan:
empower, coach, develop
11. Measure performance &
communicate results
12. Reward, correct, &
improve performance
Discovering Leadership Program
1. Discovering the leader within (5 days)
• Self-awareness, leadership skills, and personal mastery
• Dialogue
• Coaching
• Conflict resolution & Interest-based negotiations
2. Developing teams (3 days)
• Facilitating organizational systems
• Consulting process & skills
• Building high performance teams
3. Applying leadership to organizations (3 days)
• Leading change
• Strategic planning
• Managing performance/measurement
Leadership Challenges and Strategies
Leadership Challenges
Strategies/Skills
Methods/Tools
Motivating Commitment
Self and organizational awareness,
personal mission, values and vision
MBTI, CPI, Emotional Intelligence, 360
feedback, SYMLOG Group Assessment,
Group Management Observation, personal
learning and action plans, project
assignments, executive coaching
Communicating across roles and cultures
Giving and receiving feedback, dialogue
(inquiry/advocacy), building relationships
& trust, managing diversity, managing
conflict
Scenario development, case studies, open
space technology, left-hand column
exercise, decision therapy, role practice
Establishing shared values and goals
Strategic planning & visioning, culture
development, team design
Future search conference, strategic
planning,Values-clarification and
alignment
Coordinating across disciplines and
functions
Planning & facilitating meetings,
developing group dynamics, building
sponsorship & teams, group problem
solving & decision making
Organizational simulation, action
research/learning, group problem solving
and decision making tools
Creating change for continuous
improvement
Dealing with resistance to change and
building support systems, project
management
Action research/learning, organization
development, organizational roles, and
project assignments
Developing accountability
Performance measurement & management,
organization design, coaching, and conflict
resolution
Balanced scorecard, coaching-by-type,
interest-based negotiation
Participant Reaction Following Program*
N=169
(Rating 5=high; 1=low)
Group
Pilot
Control
Group Ave.
Info.
4.6
4.0
4.2
Skills
4.5
4.3
4.4
Effect Overall
4.2
4.5
4.8
4.4
4.5
4.6
Results:
• Three intact work units – AF&F, CIT, NYSAES
• Special program for other universities
• Waiting list = 79 ( 21 faculty)
*Reported in Warzynski, C. and Chabot, B. “Leadership Development at Cornell University,” in Ruben, B.
Pursuing Excellence in Higher Education: Eight Fundamental Challenges. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2003,
pp. 315-323.
Analysis of Program After One Year
Quick Facts:
– Survey developed by graduate students in Personal and Organizational
Development course
– Survey Response Rate: 51% (94/185 administered surveys)
– Survey Response Time: Oct. 17, 2003 - Oct. 27, 2003
– 41 questions, combination of multiple choice and open-ended
– Questions grouped into four categories:
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Assessment of Program Effectiveness/On-the-Job Impact
Identification of Future Leadership Development Needs
Perception of Work Unit Performance
Participant Demographic Information
Summary of Survey Data
A p p e n d ix 2
S e lf - a w a r e n e s s
C o m m u n ic a t io n
T eam s
L ead P erson al C h an ge
L ead O rg. C h an ge
F eed b ack
C o n f lic t
P r o b le m S o lv in g
E n jo y
E xp ress Id eas
O v e r a ll R a t in g
G r e a tly
1
57%
34%
30%
35%
22%
36%
25%
23%
65%
68%
60%
2
28%
43%
48%
40%
51%
42%
41%
39%
3
14%
19%
18%
15%
20%
17%
25%
22%
28%
22%
28%
3%
6%
9%
0%
4%
3%
9%
5%
4%
8%
12%
N ot at
A ll
5
1%
0%
1%
1%
2%
1%
2%
3%
1& 2
85%
77%
78%
76%
72%
78%
66%
63%
4& 5
1%
4%
4%
10%
8%
5%
10%
15%
3%
3%
2%
0%
0%
1%
94%
90%
88%
3%
3%
3%
4
KEY
K e e p c u r r e n t c o n te n t - V e r y p o s itiv e r e s p o n s e s ( 3 0 % + r a n k in g it a s a 1 )
K e e p c u r r e n t c o n te n t - V e r y s o lid r e s u lts ( 7 0 % + r a te d it a s 1 o r 2 )
M in o r e n h a n c e m e n t - K e y o p p o r tu n ity f o r a d ju s tm e n ts ( 2 0 % + w e r e b a s ic a lly n e u tr a l)
S ig n if ic a n t e n h a n c e m e n t - A r e a s f o r la r g e r g r o w th ( 1 0 % + r a te d it a s 4 o r 5 )
O v e r a ll, c o n tin u e w ith c u r r e n t s y s te m f o r S e lf - a w a r e n e s s , C o m m u n ic a tio n , T e a m s , a n d F e e d b a c k .
D o a d d itio n a l a n a la y s is o n L e a d p e r s o n a l c h a n g e to u n d e r s ta n d th e r a n g e o f r e s p o n s e s a n d th e n
m o d if y a c c o r d in g ly , m a k e im p r o v e m e n ts to C o n f lic t a n d P r o b le m S o lv in g s e c tio n s . In m a k in g th e s e
c h a n g e s , k e e p th e m w ith in th e s ty le o f th e c o u r s e s in c e v e r y p o s itiv e f e e d b a c k r e g a r d in g e n jo y m e n t
a n d a b ility to e x p r e s s id e a s , a n d e x p e r ie n c e s .
Strengths of Discovering Leadership
Specific strengths as cited by program participants:
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Self-Discovery and Self-Assessment
Building Teams and Organizations
Communication and Feedback
Leading Personal & Organizational Change
Managing Conflict
Cross-Departmental Networking
Strong Facilitators
60% of survey respondents rated the program as excellent.
Weaknesses of Discovering Leadership
Specific weaknesses as cited by program participants:
• Program should incorporate additional follow-up activities
• Incorporate more real-life scenarios to facilitate knowledge
transfer
• Administrative leadership support is needed to create
supportive environment for skill transfer
• More emphasis on leading change, conflict management,
and problem solving
• Too much information inhibited knowledge absorption
Stronger support needed from senior leadership.
Obstacles to Transfer
• Over 30% of participants found that transferring their new
knowledge and skills was difficult because other people in
their department had not gone through the same training and
were not open to new methodologies and processes.
• Almost 50% of respondents reported that they did not have
managerial support for transferring their newly gained
leadership skills and abilities.
Future Leadership Programming
• Strategic Thinking (in the context of the whole
university)
• Budget/Project Management
• Organizational Development/Change Management
• More on Conflict Management and Communication
• Refresher Courses and Reunions
Summary of Program Results
1. Participants increased their understanding of different personality
types for teamwork, leadership, etc. (23.4%)
2. Participants improved abilities to give and receive feedback,
manage conflict, solve problems, and lead change. (20.2%)
3. 85% of alumni would recommend this leadership experience to a
colleague.
4. 65% of the participants enjoyed the program.
5. The biggest obstacle to implementing newly acquired skills is the
operating environment to which participants return.
Benefits of Discovering Leadership
• Understanding and alignment of personal values,
mission, vision, and impact.
• Clear values, safety, trust, strong relationships,
teamwork, community (culture & social capital).
• Enthusiasm, optimism, and renewed commitment.
• Increased initiative, innovation, agility & stability
• Personal and organizational productivity.
• Humanization of the work place.
Lessons Learned
 Align leadership development with university’s and HR’s priorities,
goals, strategies, and performance systems.
 Conduct a needs assessment and relate participant needs and
issues to exercises and relevant tasks.
 Build safety and trust through informal, interactive exercises, e.g.,
ropes, coaching groups, energizers.
 Provide self-assessment opportunities and exercises.
 Structure learning activities around real issues; develop new
experiences & competencies through simulations and role plays.
 Link competencies to capabilities, e.g., strategic plans, project
teams, OD interventions, performance & change management.
 Provide access to coaching and organizational expertise.
 Engage individuals in action learning projects and on-the-job
applications.
Selected References on Leadership Development
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Argyris, Chris (1990), Overcoming Organizational Defenses, Boston: Allyn & Bacon
Argyris, Chris (1993), On Organizational Learning, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Blackwell
Burke, Warner, W. (2002). Organization change: theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications, Inc.
Covey, S. R. Principle-Centered Leadership. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991.
Cunningham, L. L. (1990). Educational Leadership and administration: Retrospective and
prospective views. In L. L. Cunningham & B. Mitchell, Educational Leadership and changing
contexts in families, communities, and schools (pp.1-18). Chicago: The National Society for the
Study of Education.
Leithwood, K. Jantzi, D. and Steinbach, R. (1999). Changing Leadership for Changing Times.
Philadelphia: Open University Press.
Senge, Peter M. (1990), The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of The Learning Organization,
New York: Currency/Doubleday
Senge, Peter M. et al (1994), The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building a
Learning Organization, Doubleday/Currency, New York
Scholtes, P. R. (1998). The Leader’s Handbook. New York: McGraw-Hill
Wellins, R.S., Byham, W. and Dixon, G. R. (1994). Inside Teams: How 20 World-Class
Organizations are Winning Through Teamwork. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Sobel, C. Studied trust: building new forms of cooperation in a volatile economy. In Richard
Swedberg, ed., Explorations in Economic Sociology, New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1993.
Discovering Leadership Questions
1.
What environmental and organizational challenges are
leaders in higher education facing today?
2.
What are the expectations of leaders in today’s university?
3.
What are some “best practices” for leadership
development in the academy?
4.
From a marketing perspective how can academic
leadership development best be positioned in the
university?
5.
What should be HR’s role in academic leadership
development?
Thank you very much.