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1-2McGraw-Hill/Irwin copyright © 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, inc. All Rights Reserved

Leadership Is Developed through Education and Experience

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”

~John F. Kennedy

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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.

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The Spiral of Experience

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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The Role of Expectations in Social Interaction

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Changing Requirements for Success

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Anatomy of a Learning Experience

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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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.

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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 seek challenges and try to make the best of any leadership opportunity.