Integrating Leadership Theory and Practice through Computer-based Simulation

Integrating Leadership Theory and Practice through Computer-based Simulation A guide to Integrating The Leadership Experience (4th ed) and vLeader 2007 John E. Dunning Troy University

Integration Discussion • Overview of vLeader 2007 • The Fundamental Frameworks • The Leadership Scenarios • Strategy for Integrating vLeader 2007 • Experiential Learning Stages • The Five Learning Cycles • Support for integration • Getting Started

The Fundamental Frameworks • The Communications Framework • The Leadership Framework • The Business Framework

The Fundamental Frameworks • The Communications Framework • Everything we say or do, either support, oppose or is neutral toward either people, ideas or both

How We Communicate in Virtual Leader • Support of a person • “I think you really get it” • “Keep going, you’re on a roll” • Opposition of a person • “I don’t get where you are coming from” • “Obviously, you weren’t very prepared for • this discussion” • Neutral opinion of a person • “I’d like to hear what else you think” • “Can you go into some more detail?” Dialogue has been simplified by design: • for ease of learning to think and lead others at a strategic level • the “dialogue” are “sample expressions” of a positive/negative/neutral statements Personal Communication Focus on a person positive neutral negative

Your Five Options • Before we speak, • we unconsciously choose to: • Support/oppose person • Support/oppose an idea • Switch topics – refocus the conversation • Ask a question or be neutral • Do nothing – listen Idea oppose support oppose support How and when you interact and react will affect the outcome Page 5

The Fundamental Frameworks • The Leadership Framework • There are three core principles of leadership utilized to productively mobilize people to do the right work • Power • Tension • Ideas

Three-to-One Principles Power FormalAuthority Work Work Completethe RightWork Group’s Trust & Opinion Personal Influence Ideas Ideas Successfully IntroduceIdeas UncoverHiddenIdeas PreventThe WrongWork Tension Relax Moderate Excite

Three-to-One Principles • Power • Those who exercise power well do the following: • Partner with authority • Partner with competence • Introduce ideas • Challenge opponents • Confer credibility to another person

Three-to-One Principles • Ideas • To foster creativity and innovation leaders need to encourage active participation from all group members • Some strategies for generating ideas include: • Significantly increasing or decreasing tension • Listen to the discordant voice • Listen to the quiet voice • Uncover underlying issues

Three-to-One Principles • Tension • Tension like stress needs to be moderated. Approaches to moderate tension can be associated with leadership styles: • Directing (authoritative, telling, autocratic) • Participating ((selling, democratic, collaborative) • Delegating (hands off, laissez-faire) • A wide range of tactics support ways to increase of decrease tension, consistent with each leadership style

The Business Framework • Assess the situation and characters • Plan your work – Work your plan • Strategies & Tactics • Styles • Skills • Make decisions aligned with your strategic goals: • Financial Performance • Customer Satisfaction • Employee Morale

The Business Framework • Focus on the right work, prevent the wrong work • Leaders will use their influence to implement decisions, facilitate change and pursue organizational goals • In a meeting they can focus on completing the right work by: • Supporting it directly • Bringing in other people that support it • Oppose competing ideas • Keep tension at a productive levels • Avoid a false sense of accomplishment

The Business Framework • At the conclusion of every meeting the student is provided with reports on: • Leadership effectiveness • Business Results that include • Employee Morale • Customer Service • Financial Performance • After meeting report (what others are saying)

The Leadership Scenarios • The simulation includes a series of practice meetings to learn the principles and five meetings to apply the principles: • Meeting One – Setting Expectations • Meeting Two – Team Building • Meeting Three – Challenging the Status-Quo • Meeting Four – Merger of Cultures • Meeting Five – Crisis Management

The Virtual Leader Perspective These are not: • real people • real meetings • real conversations • they don’t talk like we do….. • dialogue is simplified to learn a “New Perspective”…. • But they do have real opinions, agendas and strategies However: • Real scenarios do include the opinions, behaviors, agendas and strategies in Virtual Leader • Real characters are affected by the ideas and people involved in the discussion • Real conversations are supporting, opposing and neutral comments toward people and ideas negative positive

The Virtual Leader Perspective • You will learn to rise above the specifics of the conversation, whether it be verbal or written, and recognize: • what ideas are being discussed • What opinion each person has of the ideas and each other • The more you focus on reactions, interactions, and behaviors, the more strategically and effectively you will be thinking

Meeting One - Setting Expectations

Meeting One – Setting Expectations • Setting • Your first day in the office as a new manager of a Call Center • Things are not as they seemed • You should have asked more questions before taking the job • Your first meeting is with one of your subordinates • How do you set expectations?

Meeting Two - Team Building

Meeting Two – Team Building • Setting • Your first staff meeting • You begin to realize the reasons for low morale • The Challenge • You have seemingly contradictory information from your direct reports and top management • How do you get everything moving forward and get buy into critical ideas?

Meeting Three - Challenging the Status Quo

Meeting Three - Challenging the Status Quo • Setting • You are in the conference room to discuss company plans that will impact your call center • The meeting is with your supervisor, the vice president and key staff members • The Challenge • Your boss has ideas that will perpetuate the current problems • How do you tell your boss that he is wrong without losing support?

Meeting Four – Merger of Cultures

Meeting Four – Merger of Cultures • Setting • You are a corporate retreat • You find out your company is going through a merger • You are the lowest ranking person in a room full of high powered opinionated people • Your Challenge • How do you influence the decision process with those who don’t have the same priorities?

Meeting Five – Crisis Management

Meeting Five – Crisis Management • Setting • You are in the corporate headquarters • A fire destroyed a major part of company overseas operations • The future direction of the company is at stake • Your Challenge • How do you influence outcomes to ensure the truth is told to the press, and communicate a positive vision by encouraging a decision to rebuild and move the operation to the states?

Strategy for Integrating vLeader 2007 • The Leadership Concepts and Theories discussed in “The Leadership Experience, 4th Edition” can be applied in the vLeader 2007 Scenarios • This Guide and associated presentations “walks” the instructor and student through the process

Strategy for Integrating vLeader 2007 • The Four Stages of Experiential Learning • Conceptualize (review leadership theories) • Plan (strategies and tactics for each scenario) • Experience (scenario play) • Reflect (class discussion) • Integration of the text and simulation takes five experiential learning cycles

The Four Experiential Learning Stages Conceptualize (Leadership Theories, Models and Principles) Class Lecture and Discussion Reflect Team & Class Discussion Plan (Scenario Strategy & Tactics) Team Discussions Experience vLeader 2007 Simulation

The Five Learning Cycles • For each Experiential Learning Stage, there are Five Learning Cycles • Each cycle relates to a vLeader Scenario • Each cycle covers two classes and one on-line activity: • Class Meeting • Discuss the leadership theories (Conceptualize) • Plan the application and strategy for the Simulation • On-line Activity • Complete the Simulation (Experience) • Class Meeting • Reflect on the key learning points through team and class discussion

Support for the Integration • This Guide provides • Chapter summaries relating key theories and concepts to scenario play • Sample syllabi with weekly activities • Presentations detailing five learning cycles • Learning Objectives • Text and vLeader cross reference • Planning strategies and tactics • Scenario play guidance • Reflection worksheets

Support for Integration • Purchase of vLeader 2007 includes the following • Pre-Work Folder • Background articles on the simulation • Planning worksheets • Simulator Deployment Folder • Facilitator slides and notes • Virtual Leader Workbook • Start-up instructions

Support for Integration • Purchase of vLeader 2007 includes the following • Extras Folder (Library) • Assessment questions • Competencies worksheets • Insider’s Guide • Scenario videos • Technical support • Articles

Support for vLeader 2007 • vLeader resources are available that focus on simulation and leadership principles. These are included with the purchase of the vLeader 2007 CD-ROM: • The Virtual Leader Workbook • The Virtual Leader Library • Articles

Getting Started • Load the vLeader 2007 CD-ROM • Review the following articles fro the “Pre-Work Folder” on the Virtual Leader CD-ROM: • The New Core of Leadership http://simulearn.net/pdf/tdmarch03.pdf • Using Leadership to Implement Leadership http://simulearn.net/pdf/Using%20Leadership%to%20Implement%20Leadership.pdf • Review the Virtual Leader demo: www.simulearn.net/leadershipsimulationsdemo.html

Getting Started • Complete the Self-Paced Introduction from the vLeader Workbook pages 1-8 • Review Facilitator Slides and Notes • Provides insight to Scenario Play

Summary • vLeader 2007 • Utilizes a communications, leadership and business framework • There are five leadership scenarios • Strategy for Integration • The text theories, concepts and models can be applied in the various scenarios • Integration will involve the four stages of experiential learning • Five learning cycles will be used to complete the integration

Cycle 1 (Scenario One) Chapter 1 – What Does it Mean to Be a Leader Chapter 2 – Traits, Behaviors, and Relationships Meeting One – Setting Expectations John E. Dunning Troy University

Learning Objectives • Understand the full meaning of leadership and see the leadership potential in yourself and others (Ch 1) • Recognize the traditional functions of management and the fundamental differences between leadership and management (Ch 1) • Recognize autocratic versus democratic leadership behavior and the impact of each (Ch 2) • Understand how the theory of individualized leadership has broadened the understanding of relationships between leaders and followers (Ch 2)

Learning Objectives Experience Gained from Scenario One play: • Recognize how to build partnerships for greater effectiveness • Recognize how to assimilation new leaders • Learn how to improving direct-report relationships • Recognize how active listening increases employee satisfaction/performance • Recognize how to foster creativity to increase productivity and business results

Experiential Learning • Stage One – Conceptualize • Chapters 1 & 2 • Stage Two – Plan • Discuss Scenario One – Strategies & Tactics • Stage Three – Experience • Play Scenario One – Key Learning Points • Stage Four – Reflect • Discuss scores and worksheets

Stage One - Conceptualize Class Lecture and Discussion: • Chapter 1 – The Nature of Leadership • Exhibit 1.1 – What Leadership Involves • Exhibit 1.3 – Comparing Leadership & Management • Chapter 2 – Traits, Behaviors, & Relationships • Autocratic versus Democratic Leadership • Exhibit 2.2 – Leadership Continuum • Exhibit 2.5 – Stages of Development of Individualized Leadership

Stage Two - Plan Team Planning Meeting: • Review the following handouts from the attachments • vLeader 2007 Suggestions & Scoring Screens • List of vLeader Resources • Discuss Scenario One Strategies & Tactics • Use Cycle 1 Scenario One Handout

Stage Three - Experience • Play Scenario One • Complete Scenario One Key Learning Points

Stage Four - Reflect • Team Discussion • Review and discuss individual scores • Compute team score • Discuss application of Exhibits 1.1, 2.2 and 2.5 to Scenario One • Class Discussion • Review the recorded session on Scenario # 1 http://www.simulearn.net/video/Session 1/index.html

Summary – Cycle 1 Conceptualize (Chapters 1 & 2) Class Lecture and Discussion Reflect Team & Class Discussion Plan (Scenario Strategy & Tactics) Team Discussions Experience Scenario One

Cycle 2 (Scenario Two) Chapter 2 – Traits, Behaviors, and Relationships Chapter 3 – Contingency Approaches Chapter 4 – The Leader as Individual Meeting Two – Team Building John E. Dunning Troy University

Learning Objectives • Understand how the theory of individualized leadership has broadened the understanding of relationships between leaders and followers (reinforced) (Ch 2) • Understand how leadership is often contingent on people and situations (Ch 3) • Apply Hersey and Blanchard’s situational theory of leader style to the level of follower readiness (Ch 3) • Explain the path-goal theory of leadership (Ch 3) • Use the Vroom-Jago model to identify the correct amount of follower participation in specific decision situations. (Ch 3) • Apply the concepts that distinguish transformational from transactional leadership (Ch 4)

Learning Objectives Experience Gained from Scenario Two play: • Recognize how to find common ground with others • Recognize how to resolve conflict between two employees with different agendas • Recognize the need to form an alliance with individuals to focus on the right work

Integrating Leadership Theory and Practice through Computer-based Simulation