ASSOCIATES OFFSITEIntroduction to leadership & problem solving

February 24, 2015

AGENDA

Introduction & Overview of the Day (10 min)

Introduction to Leadership Presentation & Discussion (60 Mins)

BREAK (10 min)

Let’s build a tower – Teamwork Activity (60 Mins)

BREAK (10 min)

Problem Solving Styles – Teamwork Activity (40 Mins)

Wrap up (20 Mins)

LUNCH (Not mandatory, someplace nearby, BYOL)

INTRODUCTIONS & OVERVIEW

Coaches & Associates

Introduction to leadership – Guest Speaker Joanne Williams Framing the practical concepts of leadership styles

INTRODUCTION TO LEADERSHIP

Seven Transformations of Leadership

Rooke, D., & Torbert, W. (2011). Seven Transformations of Leadership. In <i>HBR'S 10 Must Reads, On Leadership</i>. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press.

OPPORTUNIST

A title that reflects the tendency to focus on personal wins and see the world and other people as opportunities to be exploited. Their approach to the outside world is largely determined by their perception of control…how they will react to an event depends primarily on whether or not they can direct the outcome.

OPPORTUNIST

Action Logic

Character-istics

Strengths % of research sample profiling at this action logic

Opportunist Wins any way possible. Self-oriented; manipula-tive; “might makes right”.

Good in emergen-cies and in sales opportun-ities.

5%

Their constant firefighting, their style of self-aggrandizement, and their freauent rule breaking is the antithesis of the kind of leader people want to work with for the long term. If you have worked for an Opportunist, you will almost certainly remember it as a difficult time.

DIPLOMAT

Loyally serving the group, the Diplomat seeks to please higher-status colleagues while avoiding conflict. According to a Diplomat’s action logic, a leader gains more enduring acceptance and influence by cooperating with group norms and by performing his daily roles well.

DIPLOMAT

Action Logic

Character-istics

Strengths % of research sample profiling at this action logic

Diplomat Avoids overt conflict. Wants to belong; obeys group norms; rarely rocks the boat.

Good as SupportiveGlue within an office; helps bring people together.

12%

Diplomats are much more problematic in top leadership roles because they try to ignore conflict. They tend to be overly polite and friendly and find it virtually impossible to give challenging feedback to others. Initiating change, with its inevitable conflicts, represents a grave threat to the Diplomat, and he will avoid it if at all possible, even to the point of self-destruction.

EXPERT

Experts try to exercise their control by perfecting their knowledge, both in their professional and personal lives. Exercising watertight thinking is extremely important to Experts. Secure in their expertise, they present hard data and logic in their efforts to gain consensus and buy-in for their proposals.

EXPERT

Action Logic

Character-istics

Strengths % of research sample profiling at this action logic

Expert Rules by logic and expertise. Seeks rational efficiency.

Good as an individual contributor.

38%

Experts are great individual contributors because of their pursuit of continuous improvement, efficiency, and perfection. But as managers, they can be problematic because they are so completely sure they are right. Experts tend to view collaboration as a waste of time.

ACHIEVER

While these leaders create a positive work environment and focus their efforts on deliverables, the downside is that their style often inhibits thinking outside the box. Achievers can also reliably lead a team to implement new strategies over a one-to three-year period, balancing immediate and long-term objectives.

ACHIEVER

Action Logic

Character-istics

Strengths % of research sample profiling at this action logic

Achiever Meets strategic goals. Effectively achieves goals through teams; juggles managerial duties and market demands.

Well suited to managerial roles; action and goal-oriented

30 %

Achievers have a more complex and integrated understanding of the world than do managers who display the three previous action logics we’ve described. They are open to feedback and realize that many of the ambiguities and conflicts of everyday life are due to differences in interpretation and ways of relating. They know that creatively transforming or resolving clashes requires sensitivity to relationships and the ability to influence others in positive ways.

INDIVIDUALIST

The individualist action logic recognizes that neither it nor any of the other action logics are “natural”; all are constructions of oneself and the world. This seemingly abstract idea enables the 10% of Individualist leaders to contribute unique practical value to their organizations; they put personalities and ways of relating into perspective and communicate well with people who have other action logics.

INDIVIDUALIST

Actions of Logic

Character-istics

Strengths % of research profiling at this action logic

Individualist

Inter-weaves competing personal and company action logics. Creates unique structures to resolve gaps between strategy and perfor-mance.

Effective in Venture and consulting roles.

10%

What sets Individualists apart from Achievers is their awareness of a possible conflict between their principles and their actions, or between the organization’s values and its implementation of those values. This conflict becomes the source of tension, creativity, and a growing desire for further development.

STRATEGIST

The Strategist is adept at creating shared visions across different action logics-visions that encourage both personal and organizational transformations. Strategists believe organizational and social change is an iterative developmental process that requires awareness and close leadership attention.

STRATEGISTAction Logic

Character-istics

Strengths % of research profiling this action logic

Strategist GeneratesOrganizational and personal transformations. Exercises the power of mutual inquiry, vigilance, and vulnerability for both the short and long term.

Effective as a transformational leader

4%

Strategists deal with conflict more comfortably than do those with other action logics, and they are better at handling people’s instinctive resistance to change. As a result, Strategists are highly effective change agents. Strategists are fascinated with: personal relationships, organizational relations, and national and international developments.

ALCHEMIST

The Alchemist has an extraordinary capacity to deal simultaneously with many situations at multiple levels. The Alchemist can talk with both kings and commoners. He can deal with immediate priorities yet never lose sight of long-term goals.

ALCHEMISTActions of Logic

Character-istcs

Strengths % of research profiling this action logic

Alchemist Generates social transform-ations. Integrates material, spiritual, and societal transformation.

Good at leading society-wide transformations.

1%

Alchemists are typically charismatic and extremely aware individuals who live by high moral standards. They focus intensely on the truth. They are able to catch unique moments in the history of their organizations, creating symbols and metaphors that speak to people’s hearts and minds. Change Management experts.

BREAK10 MINUTES!

Please say hello to someone that you’ve not had an opportunity to talk with yet.

LET’S BUILD A TOWERTeamwork Activity

OBJECTIVE: TO RECONSTRUCT THE MODEL TOWER • Appoint one member of your team as the

‘viewer’

• That person has 3 minutes to study the model tower (No notes. No pictures)

• The ‘viewer’ communicates the tower composition to the rest of the team

• Recreate the tower

TIME LIMIT – 1 HOUR

45 MINUTES TO BUILD

15 MINUTE S TO DISCUSS

DISCUSSION• What was the hardest part or biggest obstacle in

rebuilding the tower?

• Did the tower end up looking like what you thought it looked like?

• Did you assume anything about the tower that ended up making the activity harder?

• Were there real or perceived rules to the activity that impacted your team?

• Did your team use the time effectively?

• Were the resources sufficient?

• What was your time balance between talking/planning and building?

• If you did this again, what would you do differently? The same?

• Was this fun?

BREAK10 MINUTES!

Please say hello to someone that you’ve not had an opportunity to talk with yet.

PROBLEM SOLVING STYLESTeamwork Activity

OBJECTIVE: EXAMINE PROBLEM SOLVING STYLES/ROLES

Based on the Roger von Oech model, there are four roles in problem solving (or the creative process)

• The Explorer: discovering resources

• The Artist: transforming resources into ideas

• The Judge: evaluating ideas

• The Warrior: implementing ideas

These are roles and phases. Most problem solving events go through these phases AND people often tend to gravitate to a specific activity based on personality.

ACTIVITY: TEAM TALK

Each team of 5 is being given a pack of problem solving strategy cards.

In your small groups, reflect on the tower exercise.

• What phase took the most time for your team?

• What phase was the most fun or the most difficult?

• What phase were you most focused on?

Flip through the deck and see if there are any strategies that might have helped your team build the tower faster/better/easier.

WRAP UP• What’s your number one take away from today?

• If you were going to make one recommendation on how to change today’s activities for next year’s class… what would that be?

• If you could pick an agenda item for a future Associates class this year, what would it be?