Coursework

The Foundations of Leadership course is organized around the Ignatian methodology of transformation and the four questions: As a leader, what don’t I want, what do I want, what does this require of me, and how does this shape the person I am becoming? Through Freire’s writing, I learned that my job as a leader is not necessarily to know and impart the “right” answer but instead to create an atmosphere of respect and trust so that people can engage in reflection and dialogue to find their own best answers. This course introduced me to Northouse’s work and the basic theories and models of leadership. This foundational knowledge supported the creation of my leadership philosophy, which helped me see that there is no “one size fits all” approach to good leadership. Kouzes and Posner’s (2017) book, The Leadership Challenge and the Student Leadership Practices Inventory gave me a framework for exemplary leadership and actionable feedback, including areas for personal growth and pathways for how to uplevel my own leadership skills.

Self-awareness and emotional intelligence are foundational for good leadership. When we develop a deeper understanding of ourselves, we are better able to build relationships and work with others in healthy and productive ways. An emphasis in this immersion course is on increasing equanimity by cultivating a tool kit of mindfulness techniques to be accessed at any time. A good portion of the immersion was spent practicing various forms of meditation, field awareness, breathing techniques, and exercises to increase noticing of our heads, hearts, and bodies. A highlight of our in-person work was a discussion with the Venerable Tarpa on the Buddha’s Four Nobel Truths. As a leader, I am more aware of my attachments and how they might influence my behaviors and habits, and in the book Mastery, I learned about the science of habits and how to reshape them. Through the lens of leadership, we pondered Wheatley’s writings and the idea that Quantum Physics proves that everything influences and is influenced by everything else and that, in the end, we are all connected. I feel more grounded, mindful, calmer, and more in touch with my emotions after taking this class. I now have a tool kit to help me stay in choice around how I want to show up as a leader.

This course focuses on three important elements of leadership: Listening in its various forms, discernment through keen insight, good judgment, intuition, prayer or meditation, and strategies for making good decisions. A big takeaway from this course is the idea that communication and leadership are inextricably intertwined, and you cannot have one without the other. Burley-Allen (1995) tells us that we spend 40% of our communication time listening, and if we are not listening effectively, it can reflect poorly on our leadership. Asking the right question at the right time is also crucial; as Tom Peters (n.d.) asserts, “What do you think?” are the four most important words in any organization. I was most unfamiliar with the concept of discernment in the decision-making process, and I learned that it involves making a choice between viable and good options. We do this by observing and sorting through our feelings, noticing if, in our hearts, minds, and will, we are moving toward positive feelings and expansive energy (Consolation) or negative feelings and constricted energy (Desolation). I learned several frameworks for individual and group decision-making, which helps me serve my coaching clients to make better decisions.

Teams that makeup organizations are part of complex systems that interact on an individual, group, and organizational level. It can be unexpected and difficult to anticipate how these systems will impact each other due to myriad factors, including individual interests, errors and biases, group dynamics, and organizational structures that may or may not support the success of the team. A leader’s ability to manage the group process will determine whether members share information freely, explore common interests, and identify opportunities for mutual gain. I have learned that managing airtime, asking quiet individuals their thoughts, and requesting alternative ideas to combat groupthink in meetings are ways to support the group process. This can only happen by first fostering a culture of trust and psychological safety on the team. Our mental models can either support or undermine these efforts as they are our assumptions, beliefs, conclusions, and overall internal conversations we have about ourselves, others, and the situations we find ourselves in. At the individual level, The Ladder of Inference framework shows us the often unconscious process of going from observing a situation to taking action while using a balance of advocacy and inquiry skills to help us walk down the ladder. Systems thinking can be used to slow down our thought process at the macro level, allowing us to see the unintended consequences of the decisions we make as leaders. 

Imagination and creativity are key elements of effective leadership. In this immersion course, we experienced how two very different organizations are successfully using both to create sustainable and thriving enterprises. I learned that belonging - to ourselves, a place, a community informs and connects us as leaders. l took away five big learnings from meeting these organizations, including that it takes courage to recognize there is a problem and courage to decide to act on it. I also learned that while it is important to have a vision, it is equally important to be grounded in reality. Thirdly, in order to connect, you have to be able to meet people where they are. Lastly, I learned that my values guide my path, which can only happen if I adopt a listening-first disposition to understand from others where we are going. I believe creativity and performance flourish when I have the right mindset, which includes feeling a sense of agency and the belief that I am able to influence outcomes through my actions. I learned that my mindset is a choice in how I see the world. I can decide to see a particular challenge as an obstacle to overcome or as a means to grow both my skills and myself as a human being. I embraced these learnings as I overcame an old story of mine that “I am not creative” to write a poem and reflection as my final project. 

Ethics is about more than just deciding between right and wrong; it is also concerned with balancing the rights and needs of the individual with those of others. Critical reflection, evaluation, and ethical dialogue are necessary for ethical thinking in this moment of postmodernity. What one defines as good is driven by personal values, and through Schwarz’s Theory of Basic Values, I learned that I value universalism, security, and benevolence and that others do not always share my values or prioritize them in the same way. I used to believe that people saw and experienced the world the way I did, but now I know differently. The words “common sense” take on a new meaning in ethics as our experiences, practices, and knowledge look different for everyone. Because I love a good framework, I am taking away Rest’s Four Component Model – moral sensitivity, moral judgment, moral focus/motivation, moral character, and the Potter Box (which goes under moral judgment – facts, values, principles, loyalties) to support my clients and me when making ethical decisions. I am also taking away the concepts of ethical perspective, ethical practices, and the elements of dialogic learning. As a leader, it is important to acknowledge that my ethical perspective and practices may look very different from others, and dialogic learning is the bridge. Perhaps one of my biggest takeaways from this class is that not only do I need to know the right and good action to take, but I also need to have the courage to act on that knowledge. 

The human potential movement concerns itself with the question of how to bring out the best in people. It has its roots in positive psychology, taking a positive view of the individual and their unique creativity. In this class, we looked at human potential through the lens of Dialogic Organizational Development (OD), including Appreciative Inquiry as well as Design Thinking and Liberating Structures. Learning the fundamentals of Appreciative Inquiry has been a game-changer for me, both personally and professionally. I learned to look for the positive, amplify what I see going well, and stay “above the line” in my thoughts, words, and actions. I learned that it is more powerful to ask a generative question than to make an affirmative statement, which is something I now practice daily, both personally and as an executive coach. Design Thinking taught me where to begin and how to move forward when faced with a complex project or problem. It begins with empathy and understanding of users’ needs. From this perspective, design thinking helps mitigate cognitive biases by seeking user input early in the design process, focusing on data collection and other research methods. Knowing about Design Thinking helps me understand some of my clients’ world a little better. Liberating Structures are a set of microstructures used to increase engagement and interest in meetings to promote positive and creative dialogue and can be used to shift the power dynamics in the room. In my work as an executive coach, I use Liberating Structures in workshops and in my personal work in board meetings. I will continue to apply the tools I learned in this course in both my personal and professional life.

In this immersion course, we look at leadership through the lens of psychology. Much of our work is dedicated to attachment theory and how our attachment style may color our leadership. In the book Raising a Secure Child, I learned that being securely attached is a lifelong gift, and even if one is not securely attached, there are ways to support and shift our sensitivities to help us live happy and fulfilling lives. In the immersion, we take a deep dive into ourselves, looking at our strengths and areas of opportunity in three key emotional intelligence capacities: Self-reflection, self-regulation, and empathy. This work felt deeply personal, and I got to know parts of myself in new and different ways. Knowing yourself is foundational for building confidence and resilience, two key characteristics of successful leadership. In the book Permission to Feel, Marc Brackett introduces the RULER method of recognizing, understanding, labeling, expressing, and regulating emotions. Through this work, I am more in tune with my emotional landscape and better able to develop strategies for managing myself in ways that serve my intentions. The Psychology of Leadership course is a deeply personal exploration of who I am as a human being and how that informs my leadership.

Storytelling is the oldest and most powerful form of communication, and as human beings, we are wired for story. In this immersion course, we explored the synergies between leadership and storytelling. The content of this course clearly brought home the point that our narrative and the stories we tell ourselves shape our thinking and, thus, our realities. I was interested in learning how to rewrite my narrative to tell a different, more supportive version of my life events, shaping how I see myself now and the leader I want to be. When leaders tell their life stories, they understand their life experiences more clearly, allowing for a deeper knowledge of themselves. This process of gaining greater self-knowledge through my narrative helped me develop more authenticity in my leadership. The experience in this course serves me both personally and professionally. In my work with my coaching clients, knowing my own story grounds me when I am listening to my client's stories, and I know that the frame through which they tell their stories can work to support them and their growth or hold them back. The final assignment inspired me to look forward and create a narrative that challenged me to manifest the future I want for myself. I’ll end with this great quote: “Civilizations have existed without the wheel, but no society has ever existed without story.”