UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA UNIT: School of Education

AT GREENSBORO DEPT: Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations

COURSE SYLLABUS

1. Course Prefix and Number: ELC 689 / MBA 689

2. Course Title: SEMINAR IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

3. Credits: 6.0

4. Course Prerequisites/Corequisites: Recommendation of adviser and permission of instructor

5. For Whom Planned:

Open to graduate students from all disciplines who intend to pursue a career in administrative positions. The basic purpose of the course is to develop the creative leadership potential of the participants and to maximize personal growth. Students will be required to make an emotional, as well as an intellectual commitment to the development of leadership qualities.

The classroom environment of ELC 689/MBA 689, including all lectures and activities, is designed to promote leadership development and successful practice.

6. Instructor Information:

Larry D. Coble, Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations, School of Education, 101 South Elm Street, Suite 212, Greensboro, NC, 27401, 334-3462 or 344-4753, Fax 334-3780, or by E-mail at larrycoble@mindspring.com.

7. Course Purpose/Catalog Description: For students in all disciplines who intend to pursue a career in administrative positions. Development of creative leadership potential and maximization of personal growth. Students requested to make emotional as well as intellectual commitment to development of leadership qualities. Same as MGT 689. Graded on a S/U basis.

8. Teachers Academy Conceptual Framework Mission Statement: The mission of professional education at UNCG is to prepare and support the professional development of caring, collaborative, and competent educators who work in diverse settings. This mission is carried out in an environment that nurtures the active engagement of all participants, values individual as well as cultural diversity and recognizes the importance of reflection and integration of theory and practice. UNCG's professional education programs are guided by shared commitments to: (a) equity and excellence in teaching, research, and service; (b) professional integrity and ethical deliberation in dealing with students and colleagues (university-based, school-based, and community-based); (c) the construction of a professional knowledge base through collaboration and collegiality; and (d) the dissemination of professional knowledge, skills and dispositions through the preparation and continuing professional development of teachers, principals and other school personnel.

9. Course Goals and/or Objectives/Student Learning Outcomes: Instructor's statement of learning outcomes OR goals/objectives from state or national professional standards (please identify the organization, e.g. DPI, CEC, etc.)

10. Teaching Strategies: lecture, class discussion, group work, conferences, student presentations, electronic chat room, etc.

11. Evaluation Methods and Guidelines for Assignments:

A. Class Attendance and Participation in ELC 689/MBA 689.

Students are expected to make an emotional, as well as an intellectual commitment to the study and development of leadership skills and qualities. They are expected to attend each class, arriving on time and making a full commitment to active learning throughout each class period. Habitual class absences, late arrivals, and early departures are unacceptable and will prevent students from successfully completing the course. Each student will be responsible for the successful completion the following:

1. Learning Journals

2. Book Review

3. Group Research Project

4. Profile Development Summary

5. Profile Narrative

6. Professional Development Plan

7. Mentoring Project

8. E-mail Responses to Specific Course Topics

B. Completion of Learning Journals

1. Submitted according to the following schedule:

Number of Entries Due Dates

2 February 5

2 March 19

2 April 9

2. Evidence of efforts to develop reflection on practice.

3. May include, but not limited to, new learnings about self from assessment instruments, new learnings from class, and their application in the work setting.

4. No more than one journal entry bi-weekly.

5. Must be typed and no more than one page in length.

C. Completion of Book Review

The review of On Becoming a Leader (Bennis) should be approximately 3 to 5 typewritten, double-spaced pages in length. You can summarize the book in the first paragraph, but then you need to analyze a specific point, idea, quote, etc. from the book. Choose something from the book that intrigues you and expound upon that point.

Your argument should be cogent, logical, and well-thought out. Remember, THIS IS NOT A SUMMARY; rather, it is an analysis.

The book review is due February 19.

D. Group Research Project

Students will be assigned to research groups and will be provided a leadership topic around which the group is to develop a project. The group research project is not simply a "re-hash" of materials that have been presented in class. It should focus on research and should result in the development of a presentation on one specific aspect of the assigned leadership issue. For example, if "teams" is your group's topic, then you need to choose some focus or angle, such as "cross-functional" teams.

The group research projects will be presented in class on March 19 and 26, and April 2 and 9. The presentations should be professional, yet creative. The length of the presentation should be 30 to 45 minutes. The presentation should represent an appropriate level of research suitable to graduate study. The presentation will be evaluated on quality of content, analysis of content, and presentation style. The final product from your group work should be approximately 10 to 15 typewritten pages. You should utilize APA Style in developing your final product and should cite references.

The group research projects are due March 19 and 26, and April 2 and 9.

E. Satisfactory Completion of Profile Development Summary

The form for completing the Profile Development Summary is included in the course pack under Session 8/March 12. Students will be guided through the process of completing it during class on March 12.

The completed Profile Development Summary is due March 26. (Students should retain copies for their personal use. These will not be returned to students until interview conferences are completed.)

F. Satisfactory Completion of a Profile Narrative

The Profile Narrative is to be a reflective, "This Is Me," paper. Special guidelines for completing the narrative are found on pages 12 and 13 of the syllabus and will be reviewed in class. The narrative should be 8 to 10 double-spaced, typewritten pages.

The completed Profile Narrative is due April 9. (Students should retain copies for their personal use and for inclusion in the portfolio. These will not be returned to students until interview conferences are completed.)

G. Satisfactory Completion of a Professional Development Plan

Each student will develop a plan for his or her own professional development. Using the Profile Narrative, each student should examine strengths, as well as developmental needs, and should offer specific strategies and timelines for addressing developmental need areas. Specific guidelines for creating a professional development plan are found on pages 14 and 15 of the syllabus.

Each student will be responsible for the successful completion of a Professional Development Plan. The Plan is to be presented as a part of their interview appointments.

H. Mentoring Project

Each student will be expected to spend ten hours (inclusive) engaged in a mentoring project with a practicing leader. Sessions should include follow-up discussions around course content, timely leadership issues (current critical leadership challenges), and other topics of mutual interest. Students are expected to submit documentation of the sessions along with a summary of the discussions. (Forms will be provided. Due dates for the written summaries will be discussed and agreed upon in class.)

I. E-mail Responses to Specific Course Topics

There will be occasional requests for e-mail responses to specific course topics. Assignments will be made during the class session with the expectation of a timely response, typically no more than two paragraphs in length.

J. Interview Appointments with Course Instructors

The instructors will meet with students late in the semester. The purpose of the interview appointments will be to review and discuss the Professional Development Plan. Appointments will be scheduled later in the semester and more specific instructions will be given to students.

12. Required Text(s)/Readings/References: Use full citations

Warren Bennis, On Becoming a Leader

13. Topical Outline: This might also be your calendar. The course outline should contain sufficient detail to permit assessment of agreement between actual content and stated objectives and catalog description.

Session 1/January 8

· Welcome

· Detailed introductions – name; current position; current critical leadership challenge; one person who has influenced you as a leader and why; and your model or diagram of leadership

· Leadership development principles

· Leadership development formula

· Course overview/expectations/grading/requirements

· Assessment instruments

· Reflective learning journals

· Called to Lead (Kouzes and Posner video)

(No class January 15: Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday)

Session 2/January 22

· MBTI

· Even Eagles Need a Push (video/worksheet)

· Levels of consciousness: Introduction

Session 3/January 29

· Original "Benchmarks research"

· Learning from a Master: Yourself

· Reflections on failure (organizational and personal)

· Successful learning situations/unsuccessful learning situations

· Identifying and Understanding Your Basic Drives

· Staying on Track research (optional)

· Voicesâ LSA

· Team topic discussion (Prior to dinner break)

Session 4/February 5

· Leadership: Ethics and spirituality

· Strength Deployment Inventory

Learning Journal Entries 1 and 2 due.

Session 5/February 12

· Introduction to Teams

· Team Player Styles (Parker's video)

· Leadership Alliance (Tom Peter's video and worksheet)

· FIRO-B

Session 6/February 19

· Decision-making and consensus-building

· Decision-making and the Abilene Paradox (video)

Book review is due.

Session 7/February 26

· Teams (Continued)

· Paper Planes, Inc.

· Introduction to culture/organizational behavior

· Administer/debrief Leadership Style Organizational Structural Match

· Four Frames (video)

· Cathy Marshall Case (optional)

· "Real Life" Case (optional)

· Voicesâ LSA Group and One-to-One Feedback

(No class March 5: Spring Break)

Session 8/March 12

· Profile Development Summary

· Profile Narrative

· Definitions of leadership exercises

· Lecture: Key dimensions/nine crucial tasks

· What leaders do

· Leading versus managing

Session 9/March 19

· Leading and managing change

· Change Style Indicator

· Debrief CSI around current critical leadership challenges

· Teaching the Elephant to Dance (video and worksheets)

· Empowering change (video and cases)

· Research project report (one)

Group Research Project Report (product) is due.

Learning Journal Entries 3 and 4 are due.

Session 10/March 26

· Chaos theory

· Leadership and the New Science (video)

· Lessons from the New Workplace (video)

· Research project report (two)

Group Research Project Report (product) is due.

Profile Development Summary is due.

Session 11/April 2

· Leadership lessons

· Women in leadership (Outside speakers)

· Research project report (three)

Group Research Project Report (product) is due.

Session 12/April 9

· Trust

· Typical descriptions exercise

· Lecture -- trust

· The cycle of mistrust

· Trust Strips -- Exercises 1 and 2

· Leadership: What's Trust Got to Do with It? (video)

· Alliance Building: Valuing Trust as the Foundation of Change (video)

· Research project reports (four and five)

Group Research Projects (products) are due.

Learning Journal Entries 5 and 6 are due.

Profile Narrative is due.

Session 13/April 16

· Selected Topics (To Be Determined)

Session 14/April 23

· Course integration

· Celebration

Session 15/April 30

· In lieu of the regular class meeting on April 30, interviews will be conducted with students. These interviews will be conducted on a variety of dates and at a variety of times late in the semester.

At the time of the appointments, the Professional Development Plan is due.

14. Other Information: Any other items you normally include on your course syllabus such as Academic Honor Code, Attendance Policy, Additional Requirements, etc.

The Learning Journal:

A Tool for Learning

The completion of a Learning Journal helps an individual learn new skills, increase personal awareness, and reflect upon life’s experiences. It is a personal account of a person’s aspirations, concerns, accomplishments, failures, and dreams.

A review of research literature reveals that the writing of a Learning Journal provides:

· A written record of activities

· A means to represent events and situations in a new form

· A method for monitoring changes to determine how skills and knowledge have developed

· A method for getting evaluation and feedback from an advisor

· A mechanism for documentation and monitoring of potential action planning

· A record for monitoring personal growth and for communicating with family members or professional associates

· A self-evaluation instrument, by which the quality of an individual’s work can continually be evaluated

· An opportunity to bring accounts of many events together, thus helping to suggest interrelationships

· A means for improving leadership behavior in ongoing activities

· An opportunity to facilitate more learning about self

· A systematic basis for discussion of plans for future action, goal setting, and the monitoring of progress on goals

· Appropriate documentation for developing summaries of the year’s experience

Some Basic Suggestions Concerning the Development of a Learning Journal

1. To assure full benefits from participating in writing a learning journal, the individual must enter and continue in the process with a positive attitude.

2. Prior to starting the journal, give thought to format, content, and emphasis that you will use.

3. Set aside a specific time during which you will work on the journal, build a routine.

4. Also, set aside time (e.g., 20-30 minutes every ten to twelve days) to review what you have recorded. Look for patterns and themes that might suggest corrective strategies, as well as any tendencies for you to avoid undesirable or stressful situations or to tackle problems head on.

5. Share your recordings with others. Ask for their advice and volunteer to help others who are working on journals. If the recommendations you are receiving have merit, strive to act upon them.

6. Focus on the “hows” and “whys” of your behavior. Analyze cause and effect, as well as the “whats.”

7. Remember that you learn from experience; build experience upon experience to learn even more.

8. Use the list of questions that have been provided to guide and stimulate your learning and to organize your recorded thoughts. Don’t depend solely on these question, however; let your own good sense direct you in this process.

9. Don’t hesitate to use your own style in writing your learning journal. The purpose here is for you to learn and grow from the experience, not win a writing contest.

10. Finally, be honest with yourself. You might be able to fool others, but you won’t fool yourself.

Questions That You Might Wish to Ask Yourself as You Prepare Your Learning Journal

What did I learn today that will help me better understand my job and myself?

How did I react from my experiences? Why did I react in such a manner?

Have I ever had the same type of experiences before? Am I reacting as I did then? Why?

How may I change the situations that are undesirable? How may I change how I react to these situations?

Am I making the same mistakes over and over? Why?

Are there some situations or people I am avoiding?

Am I using successful strategies to solve problems? How do I know that this is true?

Do I shy away from tasks that have the potential to make me a better worker and person?

Am I using wisdom in choosing learning experiences that will help me?

Am I depending too little or too much on people to help me solve problems?

Am I being honest with myself?

Am I doing things to cover up weaknesses?

Can I identify my coping styles?

Am I active or reactive in tackling problems?

What new learning experiences do I need to participate in to make me a better person?

How would I characterize my primary learning style(s) (action or learning from experience, observation, trial and error, group learning, data gathering and analyzing, avoidance, etc.)?

How can I be sure I am making progress? What are the patterns of growth?

How well I am using physical and human resources? Am I avoiding using some people or learning tools?

How are various people reacting to my writing a learning journal? Are they supportive?

To what extent am I using my boss, peers, friends, etc. to help me learn and grow?

Are there patterns of behavior in my journal that cause me to be optimistic about the future?

Am I really taking this exercise seriously?

Profile Narrative

After completing the Profile Development Summary (due March 26), students should begin preparations for a "This Is me" narrative paper, which is to be 8 to 10 typewritten, double-spaced pages. This paper should be a reflective expression of your understanding of you at this time in your work life. Special efforts should be made to analyze and integrate any and all learnings from the Leadership Seminar and from other learning experiences that will aid you in examining your strengths, areas needing improvement, and developmental growth toward self-mastery. Emphasis should be on increasing your ability to anticipate personal and work situations and to take appropriate, reasoned steps to avoid unnecessary and unproductive conflicts arising out of daily work life. A further emphasis should be on how to use these learnings to lead a more enriched, productive, and meaningful life.

1. Assessment Instruments: Use instrument profiles to describe your preferences, strengths, etc. and project how these may play in your favor in your chosen or desired leadership role or how they may hamper your ambitions. Reflect on how you can influence the environment by "GAGGING" or "going against the grain" of your preferred and possibly innate modes. Also, cite where some useful talents may erupt out of your opposite modes, if developed. Use the Voicesâ LSA feedback to further validate and illuminate your strengths, hidden talents, possible blind spots, and your developmental opportunities.

2. Course Content: Use the required and recommended readings, concepts brought by lecture or class discussion, simulated role play, or other course related experiences that may aid you in describing your leadership philosophy as it relates to the person revealed by the assessment instruments. Your statements of content should reflect a solid academic foundation upon which you provide an analysis of effective leadership skills using yourself and your desired work place as the subject(s).

3. Background: Weave into your narrative, appropriate and reverent background information on yourself that reveals major influences of your life, significant experiences (educational, personal, and work), and other experiences that helped mold and develop you into the person you are today. Try to make direct links between the personality and preferences revealed in the assessment instruments and these significant background experiences. With thoughtful reflection, it will be rewarding to draw into your writings two or three special people and experiences that guided you to this place. Remember to include those people and circumstances that may have influenced you in a significant way. They may have influenced you to become unnecessarily rigid, controlling, uncompromising, overly sensitive, excessively desiring to please, non-confronting, shy, unappreciative, cool, and aloof. They may have influenced your development of other qualities that, if not addressed, will prevent you from being the quality leader you desire and can become and will, most likely, lead to derailment as a leader. Demonstrate, using course content and experiences, how you can work to overcome those potentially derailing qualities.

4. Finding the Meaning: Along with competence and self-mastery, meaning and purpose are the cornerstones of a successful life and career. Although somewhat ambiguous, elusive at times, maybe abstract, and even paradoxical, our spiritual self is of paramount importance in a successful career search. Because of its highly personal and evolving nature, it is left to you to find the appropriate and meaningful way to include spirituality in the narrative.