Course Highlight - Shared Leadership: Extreme Edition

BusinessWeek Video About Drucker School

Drucker » For Current Students » Course Highlight - Shared Leadership: Extreme Edition

Shared Leadership: Extreme Edition

From June 11-13, 2009, a group of 32 Drucker students participated in a new course entitled "Shared Leadership: Extreme Edition," taught by Craig Pearce and Charles Manz at Big Bear Lake. In a series of unique actvities, from observing a jazz band to assembling a bicycle, students gained a cutting edge perspective on what it takes to lead in effectively in the era of knowledge work. Program Director Christina Wassenaar recounts the experience below:

It was a foggy drive for most of the road up to Big Bear, California, but as we neared the lodge where we would spend the next three days learning about the practice of Shared Leadership, the sun burst through the clouds. We were just a small part of a group of 32 students, 2 prospective students and several Drucker staff members who came together to challenge ourselves to get really hands on – Shared Leadership: Extreme Edition.

There were a lot of activities scheduled for students to take advantage of besides the class. Everyone was invited to join the two professors for an afternoon horseback ride through the pine forests of Big Bear; about 12 people went on this adventure. Then, the real fun began. Class!

The first night of any new class is always a little exciting, nerve-wracking, or both…depending on which side of the table one sits. For our Professors Manz and Pearce, the first night of this particular class was the culmination of various ideas and innovations they had been talking over for several years.

They asked our own Prof. de Kluyver (an accomplished musician) to organize a group of like-skilled people into a small jazz group. The criteria for participation was that they were good at their respective instruments and…that they had not played together before. The idea was to demonstrate to the student all of the various types of communication, leadership roles and allocations of those tasks, the importance of being highly skilled, and the trust that develops as these skills, communication patterns and roles are demonstrated through performance.

Honestly, it all sounded a little… worrisome to the administration of the school when this was all proposed and then about to occur. We hoped that the students would feel as if this was a valuable and scholarly way of teaching; but our worry, our expectations and our hopes were left far in the dust when we heard and saw how the students were able to not just address the main, ‘easy’ topics they needed to learn but also express and ask questions in some very deeply subtle ways. They used the time with the band and the questions they were able to ask the groups when they broke periodically for the rest of the evening and throughout the class. It was fabulous and the learning surpassed even the professors’ expectations.

And so it went for the next two days. The students were asked to ‘buy’ their individual and team values in a Values Auction, learn about perception and trust while trying to dance the tango, and to use the readings and lectures to more effectively communicate with each other in small groups. In each group exercise different teams were formed so that students were able to get to know all of their classmates. They practiced talking and listening and learned about how and why these skills were important in implementing shared leadership in their team.

So many times, classes take place and the students hope that they are able to apply what they learned at work or in their day-to-day lives. As we listened to what each student shared about the class we realized this experience was much more than the class we had anticipated. They already had plans for how they could use the tools they learned in their office team meetings, at corporate retreats or how to handle interactions better with their own teams. Even the two prospective students realized that this experience was a special and unique component of the Drucker School’s academic programs.

If you have any questions about this course or other classes we offer at the Drucker School, or if you are interested in becoming a student or attending a future event, please contact Christina Wassenaar at 909-607-7812.