Leadership Is Developed through Education and Experience

2. 3 Leadership Is Developed through Education and Experience Chapter • “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” • ~John F. Kennedy

3. The Action-Observation-Reflection Model • Making the most of experience is key to developing one’s leadership ability. • The theory shows that leadership development is enhanced when the experience involves three different processes: • Action • Observation • Reflection • Spiral of experience: Colin Powell’s example.

4. The Spiral of Experience

5. The Key Role of Perception in the Spiral of Experience • Experience is not just a matter of what events happen to you; it also depends on how you perceive those events. • Perception affects all three phases of the action-observation-reflection model. • People actively shape and construct their experiences.

6. Perception and Observation • Observation and perception both deal with attending to events around us. • We are selective in what we attend to and what we, in turn, perceive. • Perceptual sets can influence any of our senses: • They are the tendency or bias to perceive one thing and not another. • Feelings, needs, prior experience and expectations can all trigger a perceptual set. • Stereotypes represent powerful impediments to learning. • Awareness of biases occurs upon reflection.

7. Perception and Reflection • Reflection deals with how we interpret our observations. • Perception is inherently an interpretive, or a meaning-making, activity. • Attributions: Explanations we develop for the behaviors or actions we attend to. • Fundamental attribution error: Tendency to overestimate the dispositional causes of behavior and underestimate the environmental causes when others fail.

8. Perception and Reflection (continued) • Self-serving bias: Tendency to make external attributions for one’s own failures, yet make internal attributions for one’s successes. • Actor/observer difference: Refers to the fact that people who are observing an action are much more likely than the actor to make the fundamental attribution error. • Reflection also involves higher functions like evaluation and judgment, not just perception and attribution.

9. Perception and Action • Research found that perceptions and biases affect supervisors’ actions towards poorly performing subordinates. • Self-fulfilling prophecy: Occurs when our expectations or predictions play a causal role in bringing about the events we predict. • Research has shown that having expectations about others can subtly influence our actions. • These actions can, in turn, affect the way others behave.

10. The Role of Expectations in Social Interaction

11. Reflection and Leadership Development • Reflection provides leaders with insights into several ways of framing problems, multiple perspectives, or better understanding. • Leaders tend to ignore reflection due to lack of time or lack of awareness of its value. • Intentional reflection might prompt one to see potential benefits in experience not initially considered relevant.

12. Single and Double-Loop Learning • Single-loop learners seek relatively little feedback that may significantly confront their fundamental ideas or actions. • Individuals learn only about subjects within the “comfort zone” of their belief systems. • Double-loop learning involves a willingness to confront one’s own views and an invitation to others to do so, too. • Mastering double-loop learning can be thought of as learning how to learn.

13. Leadership Development through Experience • Factors that make any given experience potent in fostering managerial growth: • The people you work with • The characteristics of the task itself • Leaders in any field tend to first stand out by virtue of their technical proficiency. • Competence or proficiency are factors that serve as basis for emergence or selection of a leader.

14. Changing Requirements for Success

15. The People You Work With • A boss can be a powerful catalyst for growth. • People from different backgrounds, perspectives, or agendas can impact the growth experience. • Working with problem subordinates can stimulate managerial growth, as can peers. • Both mentors and mentorees benefit from having the relationship. • Executive coaching: General responsibility of all executives towards managers who report to them.

16. Developmental Tasks • Leadership development can be enhanced in a changing, dynamic, uncontrollable, and unpredictable environment. • Strategic planning and projections can contribute to a leader’s development. • Opportunities that stretch individuals and allow them to test themselves provide learning. • The risk of possible failure is a strong incentive for managers to learn. • Organizations may not provide the same development opportunities for all their members.

17. Making the Most of Your Leadership Experiences: Learning to Learn from Experience • The learning events and developmental experiences that punctuate one’s life are usually stressful. • A flat learning curve can result due to an inability to move against one’s grain of personal success and tolerate a dip in performance results. • To be successful, learning must continue throughout life, beyond the completion of one’s formal education.

18. Anatomy of a Learning Experience

19. Leadership Development through Education and Training • Research has shown that: • Education level or academic performance in college was positively related to future managerial success. • Educational programs generally have a positive effect on leadership development. • Formal education and training programs can help one become a better leader. • The content of different leadership programs varies considerably, depending on the target audience. • Leadership education is a component of leadership development.

20. University Courses in Leadership • Leadership training programs can include formal courses or extracurricular leadership activities. • The pedagogy used to impart different leadership concepts vary greatly. • Many courses use the standard lecture methods, or provide individualized feedback through: • Case studies • Role Playing • Simulations • Games

21. Leadership Training Programs • Programs aimed particularly at industry and public service leaders and supervisors use: • Lectures • Case studies • Role-playing exercises • Programs for midlevel managers often focus on: • Individualized feedback, case studies, presentations • Role playing, simulations • In-basket exercises • Leaderless group discussions

22. Leadership Training Programs (continued) • Conger offers that a multi-tiered approach is effective. • Leadership development in the 21st century must occur in more lifelike situations and contexts. • Leadership programs for senior executives and CEOs focus on strategic planning, PR, and interpersonal skills. • No matter the type of program chosen, a systematic approach guarantees its usefulness.

23. Building Your Leadership Self-Image • Leadership develops through experience and formal education. • Not everyone wants to be a leader or believes he/she can be. • Avoid selling yourself short. • Understand the importance of leadership, keep an open mind. • Avoid self-defeating generalizations. • Experiment and take a few risks with different leadership roles.

24. Summary • One way to add value to your leadership courses and experiences is by applying the action-observation-reflection model. • Be aware of the role perception plays in leadership development. • Education and experience can contribute to your development as a leader. • To become a better leader, one must seekchallenges and try to make the best of any leadership opportunity.