OL 501

Characteristics of Effective Organization

This course introduces the imperative for effective leadership. Colleagues examine the fundamental notion that organizations operate in ways that mirror their leaders, and they discover that effective leaders are the pathway toward organizational success. Colleagues examine the characteristics that are common among successful organizations. They are introduced to the philosophic foundations of generative leadership, and they confront such issues as leadership without consensus and the development of a moral voice.

Leadership begins with the individual and radiates outward within the organization.
This course examines the principles of growth and transformation, with a specific interest in how leaders’ personal attitudes, language, and behaviors can effect large-scale organizational change. The goal of this course is to enable participants to apply the principles of effective organization while they develop a personal expression of leadership. Coursework emphasizes an examination of positive intentionality, moral purpose, and effective communication.

This course presents in-depth study of a variety of organizational philosophies and practices, with attention to the diversity in managerial and community-building strategies. Colleagues analyze case studies to determine what works and what doesn’t, and they develop a framework for assessing leadership techniques and styles. Attention is focused on modeling an organization made up of stakeholders, where individuals share in the moral purpose of the group.

In common interpretation, "supervision" is the use of incentives and disincentives to ensure that organizational goals are met. Supervision as stewardship, however, establishes performance objectives where results are measured in quantitative terms and outcomes are measured in qualitative terms. This course explores specific, results-driven supervisory tasks that can be used to steward personnel toward personal and organizational goals.

In order for stewardship to take place, leaders must be able to effectively communicate their experience and knowledge to the organization – and they must do so in a way that resonates among the organization’s stakeholders. This course examines various forms of mentorship and their appropriate application. Colleagues are encouraged to consider opportunities for mentorship within their organization, and they are introduced to mentoring techniques that increase morale and strengthen the work ethic of personnel.

Facilitation is stewardship that moves an organization along the spectrum of development, from possibility to reality. In this course, colleagues learn to make the distinction between results-based and opinion-based decision-making. Working under the premise that results-based decision-making creates a strong foundation for organizational development, colleagues learn to develop a facilitative approach that can be applied in diverse situations.

Management is the operational dimension of stewardship, in that it requires leadership that effectively integrates supervision, mentoring, and facilitation. In this course, colleagues examine various management roles and relationships, and they develop a framework for understanding how individuals are socialized into an organization. Study is focused on accommodating individual stakeholders' interests, talents, and needs in ways that best meet organizational goals.

The postmodern era has shown us that our perceptions of reality are often relative to the situations that inform our worldviews. Testing enables colleagues to explore perceived
realities and possibilities and define a functional understanding of organizational operations. In this course, colleagues learn to design quantitative and qualitative research methodologies which enable them to make informed judgments about the existing organizational culture and its current level of efficacy.

Speculation is used to determine the efficacy of new organizational constructs. This course provides colleagues with an educated approach to speculation; instead of asking "Will this construct work?" colleagues are encouraged to specifically address how a construct will impact an organization’s productivity and accountability. Colleagues exercise critical thinking and collective problem-solving skills as they examine case studies and speculate real-life constructs.

Piloting takes speculation a step further by exploring the feasibility for a new organizational construct under controlled conditions. In this course, colleagues learn how to design pilot programs, evaluate their outcomes, and make improvements. Colleagues also discover how to use quality assessment instruments as they institute piloted constructs on a larger scale within the organization.

This course integrates an understanding of testing, speculation, and piloting into the crucial leadership responsibility of optimizing organizational efficacy. Colleagues explore different strategies for incorporating these three tasks into a personal expression of leadership, and they learn to develop an approach that sustains continued organizational change and success.

While organizational leadership requires a vision for the future, management itself is grounded in day-to-day leadership. In this course, colleagues learn to attend to short-term goals for operations and morale, while remaining engaged in long-term conversations about the organization’s direction. Colleagues evaluate managerial practices and systems of control, and assess their impact on organizational possibility.

Leaders who can assess an organization’s potential and capacity for change have a strong foundation for organizational growth. Thus, exemplary leaders are able to recognize opportunities and predict possibilities for future development. In this course, colleagues advance their scope of organizational potential by examining constructs that may become viable as the organization develops. Colleagues evaluate the delicate balance between leadership, collaboration, and control within growing organizations.

This course encourages colleagues to apply the principles of organizational possibility to the testing, speculation, and piloting process. Colleagues learn to nurture feasible constructs toward implementation and to discard unworkable constructs early in the piloting process. They investigate strategies for best practice in organizational growth, exploring in detail the policies, incentives, and language that can affect the feasibility of a construct.

Managing, leading, and developing are fundamental, concrete tasks that can take an organization to the next level of possibility. In this course, colleagues integrate their understanding of organizational possibility into a personal expression of leadership. Emphasis is placed on developing leadership dispositions that build consensus, foster accountability, and generate commitment among organizational contributors and stakeholders.

As organizations grow and develop, the structure and culture of the organization also evolves. This course provides an overview of the natural/primary, secondary, and tertiary states of reality that occur during organizational evolution. A discrepancy-in-state model is used to analyze differences between an organization's perceived state and its goal state, with special attention to the relationship between morale and authority within organizations at various states of development.

The culminating experience is an opportunity to put classroom theory into action. Integrated into the coursework, this mentorship experience is an opportunity to receive on-the-job coaching from the Organizational Leadership faculty. Colleagues are encouraged to begin applying leadership skills, such as testing, speculation, piloting, managing, leading, and developing, within their organizations. Colleagues gain a real, in-depth understanding of the principles of generative leadership through applied practice, a comprehensive written report, and an oral presentation.