Applying Lessons from Leadership to Address Societal Problems Dr. William J. Soesbe III Gustavus Adolphus College Wednesday, June 10 th @8:30-9:30 Beck

Applying Lessons from Leadership to Address Societal

Problems

Dr. William J. Soesbe III

Gustavus Adolphus CollegeWednesday, June 10th

@8:30-9:30 Beck Hall Room 111

Upper Midwest Civic Engagement Summit

• Father of five amazing children

• Assistant Professor of Education• Teach within the Institute for Leadership Education• Director for the High School Leadership Institute• Iowa Campus Compact Engaged Faculty Fellows

Scholar• Been at Wartburg for the past nine years

Initially in the Center for Community Engagement

Currently teach in the Education Department

• Served as secondary science teacher and coach at Waverly-Shell Rock prior to coming to Wartburg

Who am I?

2015 Upper Midwest Civic Engagement Summit

Professional Learning Networks

Let’s not have these conversations in isolation or stop them once this session is over.

Follow me on Twitter at @drbillsoesbeand I will follow you so we can grow together.


• Let’s play “Flash”

1.Name?2.Institution?3.Position?4.Role?5.Why are you here?6.Why did you attend this presentation?

Who are you and why are you here?


1.What do you hope/need to gain from the presentation?

2.What don’t you want as part of the presentation?

Two very important questions.


Network with other educators and expand your Professional Learning Network (PLN)

Identify and differentiate the differences between adaptive and technical issues

Brainstorm ways to infuse leadership initiatives within yourclasses/program as a means to better address

adaptive problems

Collaborate with each other to determine how the presented materials and resources could be applied in new and innovative ways to further enhance teaching and learning

Goals and Objectives


What is the function of teaching and learning (i.e. education)?

“Anything worth believing is worth questioning.”

-Anonymous


It is a process and lifestyle that cannot (well should not) be turned on and off

I have been blessed with talents, abilities, education, resources, etc. that should be shared and used wisely

Ultimately it is about an obligation and responsibility that I have to society to contribute to the betterment of our communities and those I serve

Context for My Leadership…


“Taking responsibility for our communities and making them better through public

action.”

Wartburg Definition of Leadership


• Leaders can be born, but they are also made and anyone can lead

• Leadership is personal and relational; it is not about positions and roles

• Leadership is about clarity of purpose not necessarily a vision or blueprint

• Leadership is about your quality of presence more than your personality type

• Leadership is about helping to make progress not using power

Leadership Assumptions


Leadership takes place when you realize no one has the answer and you are willing to stand on the edge and try to make sense of the challenge.

Using and Applying Leadership…


Take some time to reflect deeply and intentionally about issues/problems/challenges facing you personally and professionally. Record your thoughts and ideas. Go beyond the surface.Be honest with yourself.Be transparent.

Identify Personal and Professional “Struggles”


We must first and foremost correctly identify the type of issue/problem/challenge.

Otherwise, how will we effectively address it?

We too often misidentify the problem and use the wrong methods to address.

Addressing the Issue/Problem/Challenge…


Dr. Herb Childress and Dr. Ron Heifetz have addressed the differences between each.

Tame (technical) problems - problems that are easily identifiable, can be adequately addressed, typically a solution can be found and is already identified, and are solved by those in authority

Wicked (adaptive) problems - problems that are insoluble, undefinable and urgent

Tame (Technical) vs. Wicked (Adaptive) Problems


Tame (Technical) vs. Wicked (Adaptive) Problems

Situation Problem Definition

Solution and implementation

Primary locus of responsibility for the work

Kind of work

Type I Clear Clear Leader Technical

Type II Clear Requires learning

Leader and follower

Technical and Adaptive

Type III Requires learning

Requires learning

Follower and leader

Adaptive


Take time to look at your list and identify whether the problems are tame (technical) or wicked (adaptive) problems.

Use the qualifiers previously identified to help you classify.

Classify your Personal and Professional “Struggles”


Properly Identifying Problems


Not going to address these as you already have the tools, resources, and people to address these problems.

However, take them seriously and be proactive rather than reactive as “little by little the cup fills.”

Tame (Technical) Problems


Wicked problems on a global scale: Climate changeGentrificationEducational attainmentPoverty and wealth distributionViolenceSustainability

“Wicked” problems in Waverly, Iowa: Green BridgeGentleman of the Road Tour (GOTR)

• For me personally…the last two days of the High School Leadership Institute occur during the music festival

“The world is more wicked than our disciplines. Wicked problems require judgment beyond expertise.” –Herb Childress

Wicked (Adaptive) Problems

Think about the wicked (adaptive) problems that you are dealing with personally and/or professionally.

• Have you correctly identified them?• How are you addressing them?• What is working? What is not?

In order to address these issues/problems/challenges we must understand what they are and what they are not. Then and only then can we better understand how to manage, control, and address them.



There is no definitive statement of “the problem.”Emphasizing different values can mean the problem is understood differently, and one cannot understand the problem without knowing about its context.

Wicked problems have no stopping rule.The problem-solving process ends when you run out of resources, such as time, money, or energy, not when an “optimal” solution emerges.



Solutions to wicked problems are not right or wrong, but are simply better or worse, or good enough or not good enough.The assessment of proposed solutions varies (sometimes widely) and depends on stakeholder values and goals. There is no immediate test of solutions.Solutions to wicked problems generate waves of consequences. As a result, a solution may lead to undesirable consequences that outweigh the putative advantages of the solution.



Every solution to a wicked problem is a “one-shot” deal.There is no learning by trial and error or experimentation. Every implemented solution leaves “traces” that cannot be undone and alters people’s lives in irreversible ways. Every wicked problem is essentially unique.The many factors and conditions that serve to define the problem and a dynamic social context mean that wicked problems are uniquely different. Thus, there are no principles of solution that can be applied to classes of wicked problems.



One more time…take a look at your list and reassess whether the problems are tame (technical) or wicked (adaptive) problems.

(Re)Classify your Personal and Professional “Struggles”


This is what we are doing at Wartburg

to prepare our leadership students

for adaptive and wicked problems.

Soesbe, W. J. (2012). Voices of the lived experiences of alumni who completed an undergraduate leadership program in a small liberal arts college.

The “answers” are up to you.

There are no panaceas or logarithms for wicked and adaptive problems.

None of us alone can do the work that wicked and adaptive problems demand, but as one among the many we can better and more effectively address them.

So Now What?


So what are your “answers” to your problems?•What resources are needed?•Who are the stakeholders?•What is the timeline?•What questions do you have?

Time to Reflect


Good Leadership Reads


Final Thought…

If I have left you with more questions than answers then I have

fulfilled my role today.


Questions or

Comments?


Documents

Applying Lessons from Leadership to Address Societal Problems Dr. William J. Soesbe III Gustavus Adolphus College Wednesday, June 10 th @8:30-9:30 Beck