Using Interpretive Using Interpretive Frameworks to Teach Frameworks to Teach

LeadershipLeadership

Presenters:Eileen Eckhart-Strauch and Jim Wolford-Ulrich, Ph.D.School of Leadership & Professional AdvancementDuquesne University

International Leadership Association Conference 2006Friday, 3 November 2006, 9:15 – 10:15 am

About Duquesne University

Founded 1878 by Spiritan order of priests– Private (Catholic); coeducational

Distinctives of the Spiritan charism:– outreach, education, inclusivity

Over 10,000 students in 10 Schools– 57% undergraduate / 43% graduate

School of Leadership & Professional Advancement (SLPA) founded in 1983

– Total current enrollment: 1,011 students– Offers 2 bachelors degrees and 5 masters

degrees“We serve God by serving students"

2Using Interpretive Frameworks to Teach Leadership

SLPA Graduate Programs

Awards 5 graduate degrees in leadership– MA in Leadership & Liberal Studies– MS in Leadership & Business Ethics– MS in Leadership & IT– MS in Sports Leadership– MS in Community Leadership

Serves students in these formats:– Pittsburgh & Harrisburg: 183 students– Online: 335 students

MLLS 717 is required for all 5 degree programs

3Using Interpretive Frameworks to Teach Leadership

MLLS 717 Course History

“Leading People and Managing Relationships”

Designed by faculty team January-April, 2005

– Offered every semester since Summer 2005

MLLS 717 enrollments:– 158 students in 11 face-to-face sections– 244 students in 18 online sections

10 faculty hold regular conference calls to review and exchange instructional practice and make curricular adjustments

4Using Interpretive Frameworks to Teach Leadership

Course Objectives

Integrate current theoretical and practical perspectives on leadership with your own practice of leading people and managing relationships.

Demonstrate effective use of self as an instrument of change.

Utilize interpretive frameworks when exercising organizational leadership.  

Design strategies for realizing change in self and others through conscious intervention and personal influence.

5Using Interpretive Frameworks to Teach Leadership

Key Assignments

Learning Style InventoryLeadership StrengthsMy Best Self ReflectionPolitical Savvy StyleFeedback: “Me At My Best” / ReflectionVignette(s) / Mini-Case(s)Be the Change / “My Best Self” SpeechLeadership Development Plan

Using Interpretive Frameworks to Teach Leadership 6

What Are Interpretive Frameworks?

Framework: – a structure designed to support or hold

something together

Interpretation: – explaining or giving meaning to something

A leadership interpretative framework is a structure, built around an idea or

a set of related concepts or principles, that provides a particular

focus for explaining or giving meaning to the act of leading.

Using Interpretive Frameworks to Teach Leadership 7

Leaders and Sense Making

“Sense-making” is what leaders do (Weick)– Focus on cues in the environment– Use frameworks to construct meaning, to

explain, and to deal with surprise– Interact to produce mutual understanding– Recognize patterns of experience– Explore the plausibility of possible

interpretations

They make sense of reality:– Retrospectively and prospectively– In collaboration with others– On an ongoing basis

Using Interpretive Frameworks to Teach Leadership 8

Framing: A Leader Skill

Organizational Frames: Examples Bolman & Deal – Four Framework

Approach

Using Interpretive Frameworks to Teach Leadership 9

–Metaphor–Stories–Traditions–Slogans

–Artifacts–Contrast–Spin

Fairhurst & Sarr – Ways of Framing Situations

–Structural–Human Resource

–Political–Symbolic

Bolman & Deal, 1991; Fairhurst & Sarr, 1996.

Implicit Interpretive Frameworks

Other Examples Situational Leadership

– Four leadership styles:•Directing, Coaching, Delegating, Supporting

– Leader must interpret team behaviors to assess levels of competence & commitment

Servant Leadership– Leader interprets what followers need

Kelley’s Followership Model– “Sheep,” “yes people,” “alienated,” “effective”– Leader interprets participation & critical

thinking

Using Interpretive Frameworks to Teach Leadership 10

Vignette Materials Developed

Teaching notesSample vignetteVignette response rubricResponse to sample (with feedback)Vignette A – “Leading Up”Vignettes B1 and B2 – “Leading Out” Sample student responses with instructor feedback

11Using Interpretive Frameworks to Teach Leadership

Feedback from Students “Life is a series of leadership vignettes. It's very

useful. Not everything is a huge term paper, or a major event. Big progress is often made in a series of small ways.”

“They are great examples to make you think about how you would handle a situation while still in a controlled environment.”

“It paints the picture of what we are discussing.” “The challenges described in my vignette are

typical of those I face on a regular basis.”

When asked in a post-course survey if vignettes should be kept as part of the course, 79% of respondents indicated

“Yes.”

12Using Interpretive Frameworks to Teach Leadership

Faculty Perceptions

“Vignettes permit me to develop case study examples specific to the needs and interests of the students.”

“Vignettes are a great alternative to standard testing, as they allow me to better assess the progress that each student has made.”

“Students appreciated the opportunity to put into practice theories we have covered in the course”

“Students indicated the vignettes helped them to pull everything together in the course.”

13Using Interpretive Frameworks to Teach Leadership

Lessons Learned

Embed interpretive frameworks in the rubric, and tie the rubric to course objectives.

Give multiple examples of what is desired; explain the rubric (and frameworks) carefully.

Encourage students to:– View leadership as “authorship”: they are

designing a solution that fits their strengths & style.

– Integrate frameworks into their leadership practice.

Vignettes can be useful in helping online students make effective application of leadership concepts, models and theories.

14Using Interpretive Frameworks to Teach Leadership

Discussion

15Using Interpretive Frameworks to Teach Leadership

16

Key Course Texts

Using Interpretive Frameworks to Teach Leadership

Clifton, D., & Buckingham, M. (2001). Now discover your strengths. New York: Free Press.

DeLuca, J. R. (1999). Political savvy: Systematic approaches to leadership behind the scenes. Berwyn, PA: Evergreen Business Group.

Goleman, D., McKee, A., & Boyatzis, R. E. (2002). Primal leadership: Realizing the power of emotional intelligence. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Hammond, S. A. (1998). The thin book of appreciative inquiry (2nd ed.). Plano, TX: Thin Book.

Jackman, J. M., & Strober, M. H. (2003). Fear of feedback. Harvard Business Review, 81(4), 101-107.

Koestenbaum, P. (1991). The leadership diamond: Four strategies for greatness. In Leadership: The inner side of greatness (pp. 83-104). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

17

Presentation References

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (1991). Reframing organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Burrell, G., & Morgan, G. (1979). Sociological paradigms and organizational analysis. London: Heineman.

Fairhurst, G. T., & Sarr, R. A. (1996). The art of framing: Managing the language of leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Kish, M. H. Z. (2004). Using vignettes to develop higher order thinking and academic achievement in adult learners in an online environment. (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University, 2004). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. (AAT 3145405)

Smircich, L., & Morgan, G. (1982). Leadership: The management of meaning. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 18(3), 257-273.

Weick, K. E. (1995). Sensemaking in organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Using Interpretive Frameworks to Teach Leadership

18

Additional Information

Using Interpretive Frameworks to Teach Leadership

Handouts and vignette materials package may be downloaded from:http://www.inflectionpoints.com/ILA

Presenter Contact Information:– Eileen Eckhart-Strauch

•Phone: 1-717-676-1186•E-mail: eckhartstrauche@duq.edu

– Jim Wolford-Ulrich, Ph.D.•Phone: 1-412-396-1640•E-mail: ulrich@duq.edu