Leadership and Change - Introduction

Leadership: Building Your Personal Development Plan! How do you know a good leader when you see one? 2 An MIT Perspective on Leadership • Traditional Definition: “Leadership is the process of influencing others to contribute to a shared set of goals” – Note: Not just use of power, coercion or mandating behavior – Not just exercise of positional authority • Some MIT Additions: Leadership is : – a distributed process; not something just done by CEOs or managers or others in high level positions – personal & developmental; not “hard wired” in personalities at birth; not “one best way” – a process that creates change – involves deep personal values/ethics 3 Your Personal Leadership “Crucible” • Leadership Crucible: “A major life event from which you learned lessons that will shape your leadership behavior in the future.” • • • • • Examples: coping with death of a loved one Losing a job Overcoming some big adversity (like 8.01)!! Taking action in an emergency Not taking action in an emergency Crucibles are key opportunities to develop leadership but only help us do so if we take the time to reflect and learn from them (Warren Bennis & Robert Thomas, Geeks and Geezers) 4 So, what has been your most important leadership crucible and what did you learn from it? 5 Sloan Leadership Model Part 1: Change Signature “Each person’s change signature, like a fingerprint, is unique. Each person brings unique values, skills, experiences, tactics, and personality to the leader role…The change signature is made up of a credo and the characteristic way in which the leader creates change.” Credo: core values and beliefs—your moral code that guides your approach to leading an effort or an organization 6 The Big Dig: Scene 1 Focus on understanding the Change Signature of Fred Salvucci: – What personal traits/life experiences shaped his his approach to this project? – What features of the situation he found himself in allowed him to demonstrate/test his leadership abilities? 7 Sloan Leadership Model Part II; The Four Capabilities Relating Sensemaking Visioning Inventing 8 Key Competencies • Sensemaking [Decomposing the pieces] – identifying your own motivations (credo, values) and strengths/development needs—”Is this something I can do???” – understanding the group and organizational interdependencies (cultural, political & structural lenses) – Framing the issue: What is the problem here? • Relating [Building support; neutralizing opposition – mapping key stakeholders: allies and adversaries – building networks – negotiating and mediating 9 Key Competencies (continued) • Visioning [Observing the Gaps] – – – – creative thinking reframing the problem or challenge choosing a strategy—direction-action plan goal setting • Inventing & Implementing [Making it Happen] – – – – – – – – building & empowering the team/organization aligning incentives (broadly defined); motivating providing necessary resources communicating a consistent message (often) time & stress management conflict management holding people accountable; evaluating results feedback and learning 10 The Big Dig: Scene 2 Use the four capabilities in the Sloan model to analyze what Fred Salvucci and his team did to make the Big Dig happen. 11 To Become a Better Leader • • • • • • • • • Practice, practice, practice! Now at MIT Take time to reflect on experiences Learn from your failures!!! Observe—analyze leaders Keep a journal—now and in your internship Make a developmental plan—stretch yourself Get systematic feedback Look for Leadership Crucibles 12