Sunday March 8

Leadership and Intelligence

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Leadership is………………

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I can improve my leadership by………..

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Poor leadership qualities include………..

Framing 

Billy, Jimmy, and Benny are each holding an identical plastic cube in their hands at waist height. They all release the cube they are holding at the same time. When they do so, however, Billy’s cube descends, Jimmy’s cube ascends, and Benny’s cube does not move. 

What is your explanation for this phenomenon? Three people released three identical plastic cubes at the same time and each cube responded differently.

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Determine one more explanation for the above activity. The only requirement is that it must be a different explanation than what you thought of in your first attempt.

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You now have at least two explanations. how many more explanations could you come up with? The possibilities are endless once you start THINKING! Thinking leads to problem solving and decision making.

Agenda Sunday, March 8, 2009 9:00-6:00

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Article Review: “In Search of Intelligence,” Dickman, Blair Connecting Leadership to the Brain What is Intelligence? Dispositions and Leadership Mindful Leadership 

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Activity: Leading Iran (Article)

Article Review: Roots of School Leadership,” Sergiovanni Covey: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People Goleman Six Leadership Styles Review Final Exam Work on class project: Analyzing problems Required readings: Senge (Tuesday), Bolman and Deal (Saturday), Collins (Saturday), Evans (Thursday) Fullan??

Article Review 

In Search of Intelligence, Dickman and Blair

Mindful Leadership (Dickman and Blair, 2002) 

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Mindful leadership is a phenomenon that occurs within the intrigue and questioning of an individual brain. Attentive to the nature and nurture of intelligence 

What skills are necessary for mindful leadership?

Mindful Leadership              

Use data and research Seek diverse points of view Be creative Open-mindedness Persistence Analysis Accuracy and precision Clarity and coherence Empathy Curiosity and questioning Speculation and hypothesis Listening Risk taking humor

Mindful Leadership Promotes 2. Physical and mental health and wellness 3. Social interaction 4. Cooperation 5. Common vision 6. Inclusive planning 7. Direct and rich access to information 8. Novelty and challenge 9. Metacognition

Mindless Leadership Promotes 2. Physical and mental stress and decline 3. Isolation 4. Lack of collaboration 5. Confusion about purpose 6. Top-down planning 7. Limited and passive access to information 8. Redundancy and complacency 9. Discouragement of reflection

How is Leadership connected to the brain?  

What is intelligence? Intelligence is the ability or capacity to solve problems, organize information and act on it, reason, think, respond to novel situation, figure things out, learn, imagine and create, make judgments and decisions.

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Intelligence-what you use when you don’t’ know what to do (J. Piaget, 1923) Intelligence-a biopsychological potential to process information that can be activated in a cultural setting to solve problems or create products that are of value in a culture. (H. Gardner, 1999)

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Intelligence: “the collective attributes of the brain that contribute to the acquisition and application of knowledge in diverse and novel situations” (Dickman and Blair, p.20)

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Specific dimensions or qualities of intelligence never operate independently of each other. The multiple dimensions of human intelligence operate as an integrated whole. Human intelligence operates on a biological platform of cells, circuits, and chemicals Social experience is the great provider of thinking and learning. Emotion is the means by which the brain attends, makes judgments, and is motivated.

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The human brain is a lean, mean, pattern making machine, a biological system of extraordinary capacity for perceiving and endlessly constructing useful information patterns. (Blink study on marriage) Reflection is the capacity to consciously manipulate information and rehearse options prior to action. The cultivation and exercise of thinking dispositions are the keys to maximizing intelligence.

Developing EI 

Emotional intelligence is the circuitry that runs between the brains executive centers in the prefrontal lobes and the brains limbic system which governs feelings, impulses and drives. Skills based in the limbic areas are best learned through motivation, practice and feedback.

Problems 

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Hasty thinking, characterized by impulsiveness and mindlessness-people reacting and acting without thinking about what they are doing Narrow thinking, marked by bias and fixed, limited patterns of information. Fuzzy thinking that fails to seek clarity, precision, and distinctions in information. Sprawling thinking that wanders in a disorganized way without ever converging.

Dispositions 

A habitual inclination, a tendency (American Heritage Dictionary, 2000 p. 522)

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A propensity to act in a certain way. Viewing intelligence dispostionally says that intelligence is expressed as characteristic patterns of intellectual behavior in everyday situations. (Tishman, 2000, p. 43)

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How does information influence perception? How does perception influence behavior? What would be a historical example of a breakthrough in information leading to a shift in behavior?

Iran Activity 

Please read the recent article on Iran, “Hard times help Iranian leadership tighten its grip.” 

Two groups; one group represents the leadership of Iran, the other group is “the West.”

Leadership Legacy Activity 

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Step 1: reflect for a moment about individuals you respect as great leaders. Step 2: select four individuals from the leaders you admire to join you at a council table. Identify each of the leaders by name at the chairs numbered one to four

Leadership Legacy Activity 

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Step 3: Sit yourself at the head of the table in the chair marked “heir to the legacy.” Step 4: Moving from chair to chair, write down one or two of the distinguishing attributes of the character or behavior of each of the four leaders seated at the table. Step 5: Next ask each guest at the table to share his or her best advice about leadership. What would they say? Step 6: What have you learned from your leaders? That is your legacy. How have your perceptions of leadership been influenced by important people in your life?

Michael Fullan 

Five Components of Leadership     

Coherence Making Moral Purpose Understanding Change Relationship Building Knowledge Creation and Sharing

Fullan on Leadership 

“The job of the leaders is primarily about enhancing the skills and knowledge of people in the organization, creating a common culture of expectations around the use of those organization skills and knowledge, holding the various pieces of the together in a productive relationship with each other, and holding individuals accountable for their contributions to the collective result.” (p.65)

Article Review 

Roots of School Leadership,” Sergiovanni

Steven Covey 

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People 

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Be proactive-we are responsible for our own lives. More than just taking initiative, responsibility (the ability to chose a response) Its not what happens to us, but the response we choose. Begin with the end in mind (Funeral)-all things are created twice. There is a mental first creation and a physical second creation. Put first things first-organize and execute around priorities. Be able to distinguish between Urgent and Important. Think ahead, think prevention.

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Seek Win-Win: there is plenty for everybody and one persons success is not at the expense or exclusion of the success of others. Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Communication and listening is the key. Synergize-the whole is greater than the sum of its parts Sharpen the saw through self-renewal in physical, social and emotional, mental , and spiritual domains. Stay balanced in life.

Goleman (2001) 

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Coercive-the leader demands compliance “do whatever I tell you.” Authoritative-the leader mobilizes people toward a vision “come with me.” Affiliative-the leader creates harmony and builds emotional bonds “people come first.”

Goleman (2001) 

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Democratic-the leader forges consensus through participation “What do you think?” Pacesetting-the leader sets high standards for performance “Do as I do, now.” Coaching-the leader develops people for the future “try this.”

Is there a best style of leadership? 

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Some researchers argue the best style is: the one that maximized productivity and satisfaction, growth and development in all situations (Hersey, p. 90. However, leadership theories, like all behavioral science theories, have not been validated by scientific research. Solid evidence supporting leadership theories may be lacking because leadership theories are sets of empirical generalizations that by their very nature cannot be scientifically tested.

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The primary reason why there is no one best way of leadership is that leadership is basically situational, or contingent. The effectiveness of a particular leadership style is contingent on the situation in which it is used.

Final Take Home Exam 

See handout