GSPA

The Leadership course is a "workshop," or skill-building course. Of necessity, some theory is included, for we must know something before we can do it. Nonetheless, the emphasis in this course will be in recognizing those skills and abilities which g ood leaders possess, and in developing and practicing some of those same skills. Our objectives are threefold: 1) To gain a fundamental awareness of the prevailing theories of leadership; 2) To better "see" and recognize the qualities and characteristi cs of good leadership as they have been and are exhibited by other; and 3) To learn some of the skills typically associated with good leadership. This means, of necessity, that portions of the coursework include experiential "skill practice" sessions.

TEXTS:

1. Stephen R Covey, Principle Centered Leadership, New York: Summit Books, 1991
2. A biography of your choosing

GRADING:

Biography: 35%
Personal Mission Statement: 5%
Personal Learning/Application Journal: 15%
Analysis of Covey's Principles: 15%
Self Mastery Exercise: 15%
Leadership "Influence Peddling" Exercise: 5%

BIOGRAPHY: Choose a biography of some great leader. Read it. Then:

1. Prepare a written analysis of the person about whom you have read, answering and analyzing why the subject of your biography was a great leader.

2. Prepare notes which will guide you in talking about your chosen leader on the last day of class. Come armed with illustrations of things he or she did; be prepared to explain why he or she was a great leader; and, be prepared to look fellow studen ts in the eye and talk not read about your leader. You will be restricted to 30 minutes for this presentation.

3. Prepare a one-page Executive Summary of the biography you have read, in which you summarize your analysis telling why your subject was a great leader. Provide one copy of your Executive Summary for each of your fellow students, as well as your pro fessor.

PERSONAL MISSION STATEMENT: As leadership deals with knowing who you are and where you are going, I will anticipate each student will write a personal mission statement, the shape and content of which we will discuss in class. Because this is an intensely personal item, I will simply ask that students report it I completed. It need not be handed in for grading. However, I consider the assignment important enough that it must be completed before a course grade can be given.

PERSONAL LEARNING OR APPLICATION JOURNAL: As we cover different learning segments during the coursework, we will pause and provide time in class to develop a personal application journal (sometimes called a personal learning journal), in which you record important learnings, insights, and things you can do to apply in your own life the concepts learned. I will not ask that the journal itself be submitted for grading, but rather that a summary sheet in which you evaluate the application journal be submitted, briefly detailing the value and impact of this particular learning experience.

ANALYSIS OF COVEY'S PRINCIPLES: We will assign each student to review and analyze several of the principles covered in the primary course text. Students should prepare a written analysis for submission to me, and whatever notes necessary to ta lk about the assigned principles in class. We will devote several hours in class to a detailed analysis of the text, in which students presenting their analyses should:

1. Briefly summarize the principle under discussion

2. Answer whether it is in fact a "correct principle"

3. Provide illustrations, different from those Covey provides, of famous or historical figures who applied or failed to apply the principle, and therefore either succeeded or failed in leadership

4. If you have illustrations from your own experience where the application or absence of the principle under consideration either aided or injured your own leadership efforts, add them.

5. Outline, briefly a behavioral strategy that could be used to teach the principle(s) you discuss to others.

SELF MASTERY EXERCISE:

1. Pick something that is hard for you to do. For example , you may choose to reduce by "x" percent personal monthly expenses, stop smoking, drinking alcohol, tea, coffee, or eating chocolate; you may reduce "x" percent the number of calories you con sume daily, exercise "x" times a week for x" minutes, get up an hour earlier and use the time to do something constructive, or something similar which is difficult for you to do.

2. Then do it for 30 days. 3. Keep a record of your progress.

4. At the end of the 30 days, submit a report, summarizing your record, and briefly explaining what you chose to do, and why. Then analyze whether it has been helpful to you. Finally, draw a conclusion suggesting what this has to do with leadership.

LEADERSHIP "INFLUENCE PEDDLING" EXERCISE:

1. Leadership deals with influencing others. Pick, therefore, one of the principles of leadership we have discussed or you have read about, or simply one which you feel demonstrates a quality of leadership.

2. Develop a strategy in which you employ this principle to influence someone unobtrusively. The purpose is to see if you can influence someone (in positive and constructive ways) by using some principle we have considered without the person who is b eing influenced knowing of what you are doing.

3. Submit a short (no more that 3 pages) report summarizing both the principle and your experience.

4. Come prepared to briefly share your experience with the class on the last day of class.

SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES

1. The "7 Basic Habits:" An Overview and a Foundation

2. Overview of Leadership Theories "Great Man" and "Trait Theories"
Situational Theory
Contingency Theory
Transformational Leadership (creating vision)
Principle Centered Leadership
Case Analysis: "Twelve O'clock High"

3. Cases in Leadership

Moses:
"The Manipulation of Symbols"
"Learning As You Go"

Jesus:
"Tapping Universal Principles"

Odysseus:
"Goal Orientation and Overcoming Distractions"

Alexander the Great:
"Merging Cultures"

Solomon:
"The Wisest Man: Decision-Making"

Robin Hood:
"Surrounded by Champions"

Winston Churchill:
"The Voice of Rhetoric" (Video)

Mohandas K Gandhi:
"Experimenting with Truth"
"Experiencing Self Discipline"
"Congruency between Code and Conduct"

Anwar Sadat:
"Reframing the Paradigm"

Mussolini:
"The Power of the Dictator" (Video) Etc.

4. Some Principles of Power and Influence

Influencing Individuals:
Influencing Groups: "Twelve Angry Men" (Video)

5. Moving from Dependence to Independence: Gaining Private Victories

Covey: Habits 1, 2, and 3

6. Moving from Independence to Interdependence: Gaining Public Victories

Covey: Habits 4, 5, and 6

7. Principle-Centered Leadership

Reviewing and Analyzing the Text

8. Biographical Cases in Leadership

Student Analyses

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