ORGL 550: Team Building & Leadership

STATED OBJECTIVE:

The purpose of this course is to, through participation, have each student increase knowledge, understanding, and skills related to leadership. Students also raise awareness and understanding of team development, and how to become a more efficient team member in working with people of diverse backgrounds, cultures, philosophies, approaches, strengths, and limitations. Students practice to improve skills related to effective problem solving and decision-making and improve communication skills.

The course examined “the concepts of organizational team building” and brilliantly demonstrated “leading teams is a critical skill to support organizations in achieving their goals, mission, and vision.” This immersion course effectively balanced theoretical understanding with practical application.

IMPACT QUOTE:

“The temptation to lead as a chess master, controlling each move of the organization, must give way to an approach as a gardener, enabling rather than directing. A gardening approach to leadership is anything but passive. The leader acts as an ‘Eyes-On, Hands-Off’ enabler who creates and maintains an ecosystem in which the
organization operates. Great teams consist of individuals who have learned to trust each other. Over time, they have discovered each other’s strengths and weaknesses, enabling them to play as a coordinated whole. Purpose affirms trust, trust affirms purpose, and together they forge individuals into a working team” – Stanley McChrystal, from Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World.

“Peter Drucker had a catchy statement: “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right thing.” If you have enough foresight to know with certainty what the “right thing” is in advance, then efficiency is an apt proxy for effectiveness. In the wayward swirl, however, the correlation between efficiency and effectiveness breaks down. The Task Force had built systems that were very good at doing things right, but too inflexible to do the right thing” – Stanley McChrystal, from Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World.

Competencies Gained:

This three-day intensive program is designed to increase students’ knowledge and understanding of leadership and team development through a combination of information sessions and active participation in cooperative, challenge activities.

Introductory activities help students to get to know each other and begin to work together to solve problems and think “out of the box.” Topics to be presented and discussed include the communication process, leadership models and styles, stages of team development, ethics, diversity, and visionary or principle-centered and creative leadership. The course will culminate in the development of personal mission statements and their presentation, along with short group presentations of key learnings. In addition to the mission statements, there are additional assignments that provide an opportunity for reflection and self-evaluation with regard to leadership styles, strengths and areas for improvement, and a plan for personal/professional development.

Challenge activities are included in the schedule for all three days but particularly emphasized on the second day when we will meet off-campus for group problem-solving activities and hiking. Challenge activities and case study-based scenarios are designed to enhance students’ critical thinking skills, creativity, problem-solving ability, and ability to work effectively as a team. Activities also included present opportunities for taking leadership roles, recognizing leadership styles, identifying what works and what doesn’t work in given situations, and applying learning to real-life situations.

Course Instructor:

Josh Armstrong, Ph.D.

Reference Materials:

Leadership the Outward Bound Way: Becoming a Better Leader in the Workplace, in the Wilderness, and in Your Community, authored by Outward Bound USA.