Whenever we can become the change we seek, that day's a sheer honor, and it happened to me quite recently! It's helping me to rethink talent development, as it alters innovative leadership opportunities. It also leaves me with gratitude for keen insights gained at the MIX, and a few questions to fellow leaders, for wisdom about MBA rejuvenation.
At the invitation of a progressive Business School Dean, I recently designed an innovative MBA course (collaboratively) to begin in this spring’s session. It will start in a respected Business Dept at a nearby university. The new course is titled, LEAD INNOVATION WITH THE BRAIN IN MIND, and is based on the MITA manifesto for renewed leadership. I plan to model what the course espouses in facilitation, so that leadership is mutual and tone builds goodwill among those who disagree on topics raised.
The idea will be to build a Renaissance leadership, with authentic implementation and interactions that benefit all, at the hub. To model collaborative leadership at the helm, I plan to share facilitation of this course, with my senior VP, Dr. Robyn McMaster. Because so many innovative ideas mark leadership in this MIX community, it would be a privilege to have your suggestions as we launch. The pilot session brought back amazingly positive responses and a few good additions from MBA seniors, and we hope to use concrete suggestions from all as we progress.
For the most part:
1. Hierarchies -present teachers in charge, while learners rarely get to lead in the course
2. Equity is rarely lived so that all speak and all feel heard and all impact each topic studied.
3. Talent development is spoken of in lectures, and read about in books, yet rewarded in a few only.
4. Competition becomes elbowing others out of the way rather than encouraging innovation for a wider reach..
5. Learners listen to talk that too often does not transfer or get used in their workplaces that week.
6. Content is delivered and at times irrelevant to students who look to very different leader traits than in texts.
7. Final exam has little to do with innovations, and more to do with rote memory that students leave in test books.
8. Criteria for assigning grades are often unclear or missing completely - learners must guess what teachers want.
9. Feedback is rarely invited and even when students express ideas for change, teacher practices remain the same.
10. Tone often takes the form of attack to gain upper ground, and this is sometimes referred to as critical thinking.
The MBA department that models a more innovative leadership approach, would likey harness more talent, encourage more genuine growth in all, and empower participants to carry innovative practices into their organizations. In contrast to traditional assessments, every section of the course will focus on evidence of innovative growth. MBA students will become the solutions they hope to see in business. They'll earn grades galore for innovative performances that reconfigure broken practices into quality prototypes for leading in the 21st Century. They'll cross isolated siloes to build brainpowered communities.
Here are a few key distinctives (all based on the MITA Brain Based Manifesto) that will make this course differ from other MBA courses I’ve taught.
1. No hierarchies - leaders will be fellow learners on all topics, and learners will also lead.
2. Equity will be lived so that all speak and all feel heard on each topic studied.
3. Talent development will be linked to multiple intelligences and to tools for all to lead.
4. Competition will give way to support, encouragement and building innovation together.
5. Learners will build tools in all sessions that can be used in their workplaces that week.
6. Content will be case studies that students create to show good and poor leader traits.
7. Final exam will be a Celebration of Innovation, where all engage others in their innovations.
8. Criteria for assigning grades will be clear and same as guidelines for creating their products.
9. Feedback will be frequent so that student voices change teacher practices weekly.
10. Tone will help all to respect all, and to show evidence of that in interactions that replace lectures.
Many support the idea that to create a new kind of leadership, requires a new kind of business school model. When I piloted this brainpowered approach to 25 senior Executive MBAs we received an overwhelming response from every participant in class. Now I’d deeply value your insights and practical suggestions.
The plan is to facilitate students to develop (during class) authentic prototype approaches to leadership in one area where they spot problems currently. Their main project will start with a two-footed question, such as "What if...? Students will engage their multiple intelligences as leadership tools, will work together and on their own to build innovative business components that solve complex issues at work.
The brainpowered course will conclude with a Celebration of Innovation, that models new neuro-discoveries as leadership tools, and engages the wider business community in, "Where to from here?" investigations.
Many support the idea that to create a new kind of leadership, requires a new kind of business school model. When I piloted this brainpowered approach to 25 senior Executive MBAs we received an overwhelming response from every participant in class. Now I’d deeply value your insights and practical suggestions.
What would you suggest to make this newly developed course stand for an innovative model of business leadership that promotes more successful inventions from more participants?
Or do you have questions about changes that come to leadership with brainpowered tools in the mix? I’d be grateful for any suggestions you have, and pleased to reflect more on any questions you raise.
Thanks in advance for offering your wisdom to this exciting new venture.
Thanks Kare, You are spot on, as always. Few innovative leaders we talk to, express surprise at Tower Watson’s 2010 Global Workforce survey of 22,000 full-time workers in 22 global settings who reported extremely low staff confidence in their leaders.
Love your notion Kare, of the “sweet spot of mutual benefit up front,” and think the best organizations will continue to move toward new kinds of collaboration where people engage one another across different experiences, fields, and departments.
I too see self-managed project teams, and mutual mentoring, but I am less versed in crowdsourcing with Spigit and BrightIdea and would like to learn more about these tools across an organization.
An MBA Leadership course is an amazing setting for collaborative realities to be shaped. Where else do novices and experts alike, develop amazing brainpowered skills alongside big picture thinkers - from filmmakers to scientists to artists to finance gurus to university heads to technicians to medical experts to philosophers? One way to create diverse and talented teams is to allow them to create and cultivate themselves – through thoughtful facilitation. Hopefully that will happen in this course and we will teach one another as we proceed. Love the way you think and weave ideas into the technology that can advance them, Kare. Thanks!
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It sounds like a timely and well thought out course for this increasingly connected and complex world where no one can know it all or do it all, from the top.
Among the first steps, I'd suggest hacks for collaborative communication (such as speaking You-Us-Me or addressing the sweet spot of mutual benefit up front), followed by specific methods for collaboration and then matching them to work situations where they might be used and the related tools, if any, to support that specific kind of collaboration.
BTW, some of the most versatile methods of collaboration I've seen so far in practice are self-managed project teams, mutual mentoring (am experimenting with it myself too), crowdsourcing (especially involving tools such as Spigit and BrightIdea where it can become an ongoing part of an organization), peer2peer emergent/just-in-time learning and crisis response, ongoing/cross-functional mutual support groups and niche-centered partnerships.
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First let me congratulate you on completing your MBA, David! Thanks for your kind encouragement - in order to implement an approach that breaks out of the traditional academic model, we'll need to pool talents with folks like you to ensure that we model the leadership that gets innovative results.
I agree with your notion that: "For the MBA syllabus to be relevant, useful, applicable, meaningful, valid & provide value to the student / employer it must evolve," and students in the program (as well as new technology portals) can make that a fine reality.
It’s great that you developed a relationship with your program director because the institution that gains support (and active participation) of its leaders and staff will take innovation to higher peaks together. Thanks for your own openness and offerings and I’d love to hear what innovative contribution you will lead us in, now that you completed your program.
Why not create a hack here and get the support of other likeminded thinkers? I for one – would love to hear more!
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Having just completed my MBA, I am enthused by your energetic approach that breaks out of the traditional academic model. For the MBA syllabus to be relevant, useful, applicable, meaningful, valid & provide value to the student / employer it must evolve; as you are doing.
I still commend the activity & energy of the programme director from my MBA institution, as he is actively improving the MBA content & relevance (maybe more of a mainstream adaption, as apposed to your route). I will pass on your good ideas & methods to him with the hope of inspiring the next generation of learners.
Thank you for your inspirational planning post & hope it guides others towards the light.
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Wow Aaron, these ideas really rock, and thanks also for your generosity to share your digital syllabus! Aaron, it’s wonderful to facilitate the way you detailed here – and allow the students to rise up as leaders in their fields!
While I don’t know Wiki development tools you refer to here – they are on my agenda now, because I use amazing number of social media tools and Robyn’s especially good at setting up sites and interactive digital opportunities.
I am even thinking of creating an ebook book together with students as they submit their case studies’ assignments. Love your attention to teams and I concur! Dan Oestreich created an amazing team survey, that you’d enjoy in your endeavor to empower significant fellowship.
Love the idea of chatting on Skype Aaron, as I suspect we are doing very similar things. Perhaps we could even get students collaborating on a brief project across classes! Like you, I also teach org. management, leadership, and ethics to MBAs.
May your class tonight surprise you by joy as students leadership talents take innovation to the top!!
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Okay, I lied in my email to you Ellen. I was going to get ready for class tonight and get to your new hack in a few days. However, once I started in on the post, I had to dive on into it as I've been thinking about innovating in the classroom for a while. I've been trying a few things that may help you lever them into your course in the coming term.
1 - here's my digital syllabus, that has it all: https://sites.google.com/site/bus888managingorgchange/
2 - try using wiki development tools such as sites by google for all collaborative term projects ( & all assignments for that matter). My term project teams this term were mixed in terms of adoption by students in this format.
3- Don't accept paper for any assignment and require that they turn in digital assignments (even that small step is transformative)
4 - If were teaching a new course on leadership tomorrow, I would place an equal emphasis on followership as leadership.
I could go on, but now I do have to get to prep for class tonight. At some point, perhaps we should have a skype conversation about this, as I would love to talk over what I have been doing to "be the change I want to see in the world."
Cheers and best regards
In pursuit of knowledge, every day something is acquired;
In pursuit of wisdom, every day something is dropped.
- Lau Tzu
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windspike@yahoo.com
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