Leadership in Organizations - NUS Business School

Revised on 10.04.2020

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

NUS Business School

BMA 5016A Leadership in Organizations (2 Credit Module)

Professor:

Dr. CHIA, Ho-Beng Bizchb@nus.edu.sg; MBR 8-38

I prefer calls 91877580

Session: Tuesday 1800-2045 starting Aug 2014 MRB3-03

When I was asked to teach this course, I talked to Lawrence Wong, a person whom I have tremendous respect, and who has been teaching leadership like forever. He helped shape my thoughts about what I wanted to do, and about what aspiring leaders have to do. Thus, I acknowledge here his intellectual and mentoring contributions.

Lawrence helped me explicate the following issues:

1.

What is the real purpose of this module? Is it to transmit leadership knowledge and ensure retention or is it to help people become excellent leaders?

2.

Why is it so that so much has been researched and taught about leadership and yet our experience of excellent leadership is a rarity rather than the norm?

3.

If learning individuals and learning organizations is the cornerstone in excellent leadership, why do we teach leadership in the same way instead of improving the effectiveness?

4.

What prevents smart bright people from becoming excellent leaders? and How can we find practical ways to help them BECOME what they can be?

Other sources of insight for this module come from the Center of Creative Leadership (CCL) where I am an adjunct executive coach, and also from the executive programs on leadership run by London School of Economic, where I am involved as a facilitator. In these programs the focus is mainly on self-awareness and helping executives identify the areas of leadership they wish to improve.

Constraints

The greatest constraint here is time given for this module. It allows us little time to reflect on our actions, decide what we wish to change, then pursue with the support of others to effect those changes. Thus, I can only help you start this journey: I will try to establish connectivity among the participants as a learning or support network. As further support for your growth, please feel free to bounce things off me (nothing solid that can hurt please!). I am always in the telephone directory, and my current mobile number is +65 91877580.

Course Objectives

Thus, this course is the start of a LEARNING JOURNEY for us to find answers to these issues. Let me explain what I see in the key word “learning.” Firstly, excellent leadership is

Dr. Chia Ho Beng • Department of Management &Organisation • National University of Singapore

• Mobile 91877580 • Email ChiaHB@nus.edu.sg

1


about learning and changing on the part of the leader, and those around them. It is about making personal change that will radiate and cause others to change. Secondly, excellent leadership is about helping your direct reports learn and change. Thus, to become an excellent leader, and be continually excellent, you will have to

1.

Learn to learn and change (self-leadership),

2.

Learn to apply the “technology” involved in learning to learn and change (leading others)

3.

Learn to help others to learn to learn and change as well as apply the “technology” for learning and change (building teams)

There are many theories and “technologies” for learning and changing. Knowledge about all of them will not achieve our 3 key objectives. Because of the short duration of this course, we will instead focus on a selected few that I believe gives us the greatest probability of achieving these objectives. Thus, this will not be a textbook “cramping” module. Instead this module will look and feel more like an organizational development intervention. Since we are constrained by time, we will try to maximize our contact time doing things that need contact. There will be no summary of readings (read lectures) you are expected to read on your own. Instead of using the mind as a warehouse, we will try to use our minds as instruments to be played. Hopefully, when we play together (think Jazz jams) we can make good music.

Tentative Course Content

1.

Survey key leadership issues and theories

2.

Reflect on your values, personality, and leadership behaviors (my self-assessments)

3.

Self-leadership: “Who am I?” and “Who I want to be?”

(my values, ethics, leadership development needs, and personal mission statement)

4.

Leadership, mindsets, change, and emotions (my transformational conversation; action plans to be a better leadership)

5.

Leadership, teams, and influence

Participants

When I designed this course, I assumed that the MBA students, like the batches before them, have a high level of maturity, self-discipline, and responsibility.

In this module, you will learn about yourself, particularly the blind spots and shadow areas.

This can be uncomfortable at times and require all of us to be open and supportive. That openness and supportiveness is a mark of great leaders (individualized consideration). When you learn to be supportive in class, you will go a long way in being supportive to followers.

You will learn to help others feel more comfortable in thinking and behaving in different and more effective ways. Isn’t that ultimately what leadership skills are all about?

Realistic Preview

We recommend that you document the leadership actions that you do or omitted to do in your daily routine. We also ask that you be committed to improve incrementally in your journey.

This requires commitment and effort. This module will require a lot more effort and commitment than the typical module. Often, when we are confronted with our shadow side, defensive routines come into play to protect your ego, and we will experience incidences of



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avoidance, denial, and sometimes anger. This is part of the “grieving process” that accompanies any kind of change we undergo – shock, denial, anger, acceptance, and change.

We anticipate this and we as a class of leaders will have to be committed to supporting individuals whenever they go through this process.

Our Organizational Culture

1.

3HTs - High Trust, High Touch, High Task

2.

Maximize our collective potentials

3.

Open and experiential approach to learning

4.

Appreciative Action Learning

(Combination of Appreciative Inquiry and Action Learning – read these up)

5.

Maximum participation, creativity, and spontaneity

6.

Collaborative, constructive, and developmental critiques

Assessments (to be finalized)

All evaluations will be based on assignments. The specific assignments and weightage will be announced when the class begins.

Submission penalties

All work must be submitted to the specified bins by the deadline, with the specified file labels, and in the correct file format. Please make sure the submitted file can be open. No other submissions will be accepted (no hard copy, no email attachments).

Final Grade

As in all grading exercises in the Singapore schools, the final grade reflects your performance relative to your peers. Foreign students please take note and consult your Singaporean counterparts on this issue.

Autonomy

I understand that this is a compulsory module. My aim is to help you achieve your potential as leaders. Thus, this very short module was designed to help you move from “here” to

“there.” However, I also recognize that not everyone wants to be a leader, and thus this course may not meet your needs. I ask everyone to keep an open mind and discuss these issues with me.

Interesting Book

Brad Jackson and Ken W. Parry.

A very short, fairly interesting and reasonably cheap book about studying leadership, 2008.

Sample of the Course Outline

This course outline is tentative and the final outline will be announced through IVLE.

Session Activities



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S1

S2


SELF-LEADERSHIP

“At the center of your being you have the answer;

you know who you are and you know what you want.” Lao Tzu

“I want you to be everything that's you, deep at the center of your being.” Confucius

Overview of the course

Creating ties among class mates



Seating ex

Leadership in a nutshell

Today we will help you understand leadership

1.

Leadership vs. Management

2.

Views on leadership



Nature, nurture, context



What we know about leadership?



Global perspective on leadership: Good vs. Bad leaders



Daniel Goleman



Transformational leadership



Leadership practices

3.

Dimensions vs. style

4.

What can you do?

My Leadership, My Strength and My Development Needs

Today we will help you be aware of your leadership

1.

Your leadership feedback

2.

Group discussion on your MFLQ feedback

3.

What are your strengths and where are the areas you wish to develop to enhance your leadership skills?

4.

Other aspects of yourself

5.

MBTI

6.

Big 5

7.

Reflecting; Preliminary action plan



4

S3

S4


LEADING OTHERS

“The task of leadership is not to put greatness into people, but to elicit it,

for the greatness is there already.” John Bucha

Leading and Building Great Teams

1.

Everest

2.

Great Teams: Goals Roles. Rules a.

Individual differences b.

Team roles (person-task fit) c.

Team Charter

Improving team creativity

Homework

1.

As a team, read the short case “Making Pat Palatable w Guide.”

Prepare the case by jotting down points according to the attached preparation framework

2.

Complete and bring your self-assessment using the Influence Behavior Questionnaire

This goes into your individual assignment “ I reflect and plan for development.”

Leading and Influencing through Coaching

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” Confucius

Let’s us empower ourselves to lead. Since coaching and development is an essential part of all dimensions of transformational leadership, we will learn and practice some key elements of coaching.

1.

Principles of influence

2.

Coaching practice



Skills and process

Homework

1.

Read “Abrashoff” and “The Road to Empowerment” in workbin: “Empowerment”

In your teams, map the actions and behavior of Cpt. Abrashoff with the framework presented in “The Road to Empowerment” and “Transformational Leadership”



Prepare a 1-pager o point-form notes, and o 3 key actions you will emulate and implement in your future project and work teams.

2.

Complete and bring your questionnaire on McGregor’s X & Y.

Reflect on how your beliefs might affect your ability to empower others.

What is the implication on your personal development? This goes into your individual assignment “

I reflect and plan for development.”



5

S6

S7

S5 Improving My Ability to Enable Others to Act

“ A leader is best when people barely know he exists,

when his work is done, his aim fulfilled,

they will say: we did it ourselves.” Lao Tzu

1.

Discuss Empowerment and the Case

Managing Change – Ideas from various sources

2.

Some ideas that help enable change (optional, if we have time)



Managing the emotions and psychological transitions

Provost’s “Flip Lectures”

- Team Presents

Course Summary




6


Appendix Sample of Assignments

Final assignments will be announce when class starts or via IVLE

I.

“I learn from outstanding leaders” paper (minimum 3000 words) (suggested 25%)



Abrashoff

(US, hierarchial organization)



Or Alan Mulally

(Turn around situation)



Govindappa Vankataswamy

(Indian, new business model)



Zhang Ruimin

(China, organizational development)

This is a study of leaders. I selected these leaders because they come from different cultures. They each have a different vision of what their existing organizations can be. So they are innovative in organizing and leading people to do things differently.

This assignment gives you an opportunity to demonstrate:

1.

your ability to apply what you had learned in class

2.

your ability to explore intelligently issues of culture and leadership without committing stereotyping o Are there differences and similarities leadership among cultures?

What does the strongest research evidence suggests? o What are the other effects of cultures?

3.

your ability to learn from these leaders so that you can become the best leader you can be

4.

your ability to conduct research by exploring the literature independently and intelligently.

Please cite all sources.

II.

“I reflect and plan for development” Journal (25%)

This is a kind of reflective journal. At the end of each day, you sit down and reflect on what you learned for the day and what are the implications for your development. During the week you apply what you have learned on a daily basis for the whole 7 weeks. At the end of the course you look back at your writing and make a final action plan for your personal development.

When undergraduates undertake such an assignment the mean length is 8707 words, and the SD is

4210 words. As MBA students I expect much more from you in terms of quality and maturity in your journaling. I expect more insights about yourself and how your behaviors affect others in terms of their attitude and behaviors. What we want to do is improve on your interactions, influence, and leadership. That means working on getting positive responses from those around us.

Your paper at the minimum should include the following sections:

1.

Reflections on what I learned in class:

 What I learned about my strength and challenges from the day’s lessons, discussions, and activities?



Which strength will I play this week?



What weakness will I try to improve on this week?

2.

Reflections about how I applied what I learned daily:



As I consciously try to apply my strength and develop my weaknesses what happened?

Report your leadership events. How did others react? How can we change any negative response?



What did I learn? What were my goals, observations, differences between goals and observation, what to start doing, stop doing, continue doing?



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3.

Summary: Reflect on your entire journey. 500 words



What is different about you?



How have your interactions with others changed?

 What I learned about my strength and challenges from the day’s lessons, discussions, and activities.

4.

Action Plan

Write action plans for 3 aspects of leadership you wish to further develop. Use this table format.

What aspects of my leadership do I want to

Improve?

What will I do? When will I do this?

How will I measure if I am successful?

Note that omission of any section will result in a significant reduction of marks.

III.

“Flip Lectures”

- Team Presents to Educate the Class on Issues of Leadership (25%)

Duration: You have a 10 min presentation with 15 mins Q&A.

Dress code: Casual (think Steve Jobs, Tim Cook).

Slides: 5

Topic: Chose a topic that is a “Burning Issue” in leadership to enlighten the class.

The spirit is to help the class learn something useful and interesting without the use of theatrics. The short time frame for presentation is to improve your skill. You have to be concise, precise and effective. Frequently, in organizations there are too many long, tedious, and ineffective presentations. Please don’t rush your presentation, instead communicate well with your audience.

Examples:



How to use positive psychology to improve well being and productivity



How to use appreciative enquiry for continuous improvement



How to improve your intercultural leadership competence



How to execute strategies effectively with little pain



How to create an empowered workplace



How to create an innovative workplace



How to use the GE workout in teams



How to be an authentic leaders



How to be a level 5 leader



How to lead upwards

These are my issues, they may not be your “burning issues.”

So you are empowered to present the topics of your choice.

IV.

Team integrates (15%)

Gather your team together. Sit down, discuss, and then write a course summary that integrates what you learned into a coherent whole. This exercise helps to give you a more connected and integrated understanding of how the various knowledge and exercise contribute to your leadership.



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

How does that various pieces of knowledge tie together as a whole?



How does various pieces of knowledge complement or reinforce one another?



What will you put into action as a quest to be a better leader?



What has changed in yourself as a result of this course?



What will you do to ensure that you continue to learn and improve?

Include at the end of this document a peer rating. With this rating you can apportion a percentage of the group marks to members whom you feel have not contributed to the team’s assignments. This is a measure to ensure everyone contributes equally to group effort. It is not meant to be a divisive instrument, it is mean to incentivize everyone to work together.

Peer Appreciation Form for Project Team Work

This form allows you to appreciate the contributions of your team-mate. I hope you will use this form to create continuous conversations about each other’s team effort and contribution.

My intent is not to divide you. The intent is for you to openly communicate often. Perhaps you wish to do this regularly after each team meeting or periodically. Feedback and development should be a continuous and open. I want very much for you to learn to build an open, connected, caring, and developmental team. Perhaps for many it is a challenge from

“business as usual.” If that is the case, it is good. It means you have something to learn.

Challenges are nothing but learning opportunities.

This is also a device that allows the team to penalize those who persistently have not contributed sufficiently even after having conducted extensive feedback and problem solving sessions. However, if your team works well together, please feel free to give them equal maximum marks.

Contributions to:

Relationship

10= Excellent

9= Excellent

9= Good

8= Good

7= Excellent

7= Not negative

1

Group Member

Being rated

(listed below)

2

3

4

5

Task

Excellent

Good

Excellent

Good

Not negative

Excellent

1 2

Raters

3

Relationship

6= Good

6= Not negative

5= Not negative

4= Absent

3= Disruptive

3= Not negative

1= Disruptive

4 5 Average

Task

Not negative

Good

Not negative

Absent

Not negative

Disruptive

Disruptive

% Marks s/he deserves*

* This person deserves this percentage of the marks given to this project by the professor



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V.

I contribute in class (10%)

Active and constructive class participation is important in a class like this. Participation will be instructor rated.

Grade Behavior Anchors

0

1



Absent from class, or



Was not attentive or disruptive in class



Was present in class



Demonstrates attention in class



Does not offer a meaningful question or meaningful attempt at class debriefs

2

3

In addition to description in “1” above:



Constructively involve in class exercises and group work



Offers meaningful questions and/or meaningful attempts to contribute during class debriefs



Offers interesting or insightful questions, perspectives, experiences, or reflections



Demonstrates very active involvement in all class activities

Suggested Reading

You are expected to research and read actively on issues that interest you. Perhaps I can encourage you to upload at least three articles that you feel are interesting into a workbin to share with your classmates. These can be considered acts active participation and will be justly rewarded. Workbin: Articles for Sharing.

Kotter, J. (2001) 'What leaders really do.' Harvard Business Review,

79(11) : 85-96. S1

Goleman, D. (2000) 'Leadership that gets results.' Harvard Business

Review, Mar/Apr, 78(2) : 78-90.

Kegan & Lahey. "The real reason people won’t change". Harvard

Business Review. Nov2001, 79(10):85-92.

To Build a Winning Team: An Interview with Head Coach Bill Walsh.

Full Text Available By: Rapaport, Richard. Harvard Business Review.

Jan/Feb1993, Vol. 71 Issue 1, p111-120. 10p

S1

S1

S3

Ancona, D. [et al.] (2007) 'In praise of the incomplete leader.' Harvard

Business Review, Feb, 85(2), 92-100. S3



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Interactive dialogue as a tool for change. By: Maccoby, Michael,

Research Technology Management, 08956308, Sep/Oct96, Vol. 39,

Issue 5

Leadership and Learning: The Art of Asking Questions. By: McFarland,

Jennifer, Harvard Management Update, 15259595, Sep2001, Vol. 6,

Issue 9

S4

S4

Cialdini, R.B. (2001) "Harnessing the science of persuasion," Harvard

Business Review, Oct, Vol.79, Iss 9, p.72-79. S4

Erickson, T.J. (2010) "The leaders we need now," Harvard Business

Review, May, Vol.88(5), p.63-66. S4

Raelin, J. (2006) 'Does action learning promote collaborative leadership?' Academy of Management Learning and Education, 5(2) :

152-168.

Garfield, Jerry and Stanton, Ken. "Building Effective Teams in Real

Time". Harvard Management Update. Nov2005, 10(11):3-5.

The Road to Empowerment: Seven Questions Every Leader Should

Consider. Quinn, Robert E., Spreitzer, Gretchen M., Organizational

Dynamics, 00902616, Autumn1997, Vol. 26, Issue 2

Garvin, David A. (2008) " Is yours a learning organization?" Harvard

Business Review, Mar, Vol.86, Iss 3, p.109-116.

S5

S5

S5

S5

Gill. "Change management and change leadership". Journal of Change

Management, May2003, 3(4):307-319.

S6



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