Five Cornnerstone Seminars by Annabel Beerel >

Moral Leadership For the Twenty-First Century

1. Course Goals
Four primary goals make this course highly relevant for participants in today’s climate of questionable moral leadership.

• Participants will learn about the theory and practice of leadership as it has evolved to our present day understanding and expectations.
• They will gain an understanding of their own assumptions, expectations, and projections around authority and leadership and how these influence the way in which they engage in the world.
• Through highly interactive class sessions, participants will have an opportunity to exercise leadership in the classroom and will learn how to analyze their effectiveness as leaders.
• The Adaptive Leadership approach will be explored in depth and participants will learn to apply this approach in real world situations.

2. Pedagogy
The teaching pedagogy places great emphasis on experiential learning. We use “here and now” processing techniques, reflection in action strategies, as well as role-plays and the case study method. My role is to create space for participants to engage with the material and to encourage critical and reflective thinking. I believe in a highly interactive approach where knowledge is co-created by seminar participants and the teacher. Each class will be divided into three parts. The first part consists of an interactive discussion where participants can try out leadership strategies in the classroom. The second part will be used for debriefing the first part and reflecting on the lessons learned. The last part will consist of discussions around the readings or other issues that seminar participants wish to cover.

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3. Syllabus
The syllabus is designed to answer the following questions:

• What is leadership? How does leadership differ from authority? Why is this distinction important?
• What makes exercising leadership difficult? How might one overcome those difficulties?
• How might I become a better leader?

Class 1. The Different Leadership Theories: How and Why They Conflict with One Another and the Implications of this Conflict

Different Leadership theories and the assumptions attached to these theories
Exercising Leadership is an Art – what this means and how to practice itThe Adaptive Leadership approach – A BeginningCase study.Questions for reflectionReadings: Beerel, Annabel. Leadership Through Strategic Planning. London, U.K.: International Thompson, Ltd, 1998.Reader: Hesselbein, Goldsmith, and Beckhard, editors. The Leader of the Future. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass 1996. Heifetz, Ronald A. Leadership Without Easy Answers. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994.  

Class 2. Leadership – No Easy Answers!

Exploring the tasks of Leadership The Adaptive Leadership approach: the next steps Adaptive versus Technical work: Do you know the difference? How to deal with and duck the expectations and projections aimed at leaders.Questions for reflection  Readings: Reader:Extracts from Heifetz, Leadership Without Easy Answers. 1994. James, Jennifer. Thinking in the Future Tense. New York: Touchstone, 1997.

Class 3. Can One Lead Without Authority?

What is the difference between Leadership and Authority?The role of Authority Formal versus informal Authority How does the Authority reflect the issues of the group? Are Managers Leaders?Case study.Questions for reflection Readings: Reader:De Pree, Max. Leadership is an Art. New York: Dell Publishing, 1989.

Class 4. Understanding What is Happening in the Group

Developing a systemic analysis of the group dynamicsDealing with the Dance of DistressHow we get busy with Technical workSeparating one’s self from one’s role in the groupWatching the show from the balconyMobilizing the groupQuestions for reflectionReadings: Reader:Schein, Edgar H. Organizational Culture and Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1992.

Class 5. Holding up under the Stress of Leadership: Survival skills for Leaders

What are Values and why do Leaders need them?Why leaders cannot afford to ignore passion and emotionHow failed expectations become weapons of assassinationPacing the work: when leaders push too hardManaging dependence and projections Martyrdom – is it worth it?Advanced survival skills: partnerships and alliancesQuestions for reflectionReadings:Reader:Goleman, Daniel. Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam Books, 1995.

Class 6. Leaders Through History: Were They Effective?

How did /do Jesus, Gandhi, Joan of Arc, Golda Meir, Martin Luther King, Jack Welch, and Hillary Clinton exercise leadership? Class Role Play Questions for Reflection  Readings: Reader: Bennis, Warren editor. Leaders on Leadership. Boston: Harvard Business Review Book, 1992. Jones, Laurie Beth. Jesus Ceo. New York: Hyperion, 1995. Nair, Keshavan. A Higher Standard of Leadership: Lessons from the life of Gandhi. San Francisco: Berrett- Koehler Publishers, 1997.

Class 7. Do Leaders need to be Ethical?

What do you mean when you say you are an ethical person?Why don’t we do the things we want to do, but instead do the things we don’t want to do?What is the difference between power and ethics? Questions for reflection Readings: Reader: Badaracco, Jr., Joseph L. and Richard Ellsworth. Leadership and the Quest for Integrity. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1989.    

Class 8. How the Demands of Followers Challenge the Ethics of Leaders

When are you more moral? As part of a group or when you stand alone? Why do followers expect leaders to be both ethical and successful? Is this a realistic expectation? How do leaders nourish their spirit? Role Play Questions for reflection Readings: Coelho, Paulo. The Devil and Miss Prym. London: HarperCollins, 2001 Reader:Hartman, Laura Pincus. Perspectives in Business. New York: Irwin/McGraw-Hill, 1998.Whyte David. Crossing the Unknown Sea. New York: Riverhead Books, 2001.

Class 9. Leaders in Literature: A Discussion of the book The Devil and Miss Prym by Paulo Coehlo

We will analyze this book in the light of the leadership, authority, and group dynamic lessons learned so far.Questions for reflection Readings: Continue with readings.  

Class 10. Reflection and Wrapping up

Closure and saying goodbye

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4. Bibliography
There are two textbooks for the class: Annabel Beerel, Leadership Through Strategic Planning. London: International Thomson, Ltd., 1998 and Paulo Coelho, The Devil and Miss Prym London: HarperCollins, 2001. There will also be a Reader that includes all other readings. Other handouts will be given in class from time to time.
Class discussion will assume that students will have read the required reading materials in advance of the class. This is important for class participation.
Students will also be provided with a list of recommended texts.
At this stage readings indicated in syllabus are subject to change, due to the current fact that new books on leadership are continually appearing.

For more information contact info@fivecornerstone.com

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