Session One Assignments Overview

This workshop will require some preparation time for the readings and other assignments that will precede this session, including reading four articles by leading thinkers about leadership; working with a team of participants to develop a short presentation on at least two of these thinkers' views; collaborating with the other participants from your school to prepare a presentation on your school and strategic choices for your school's IT department; reviewing a case study; and reflecting on what you hope to learn from this program.

Session Assignments

1. The four articles we will look at during this session that describe different contributors’ beliefs about leadership are as follows. Please read through these four articles.

   The Work of Leadership by Ronald Heifetz and Donald Laurie
   Harvard Business Review, December 2001
   HBR_Work_of_Leadership.pdf (316 KB)
   
   What Leaders Really Do by John Kotter
   Harvard Business Review, December 2001
   HBR_What_Leaders_Really_Do.pdf (704 KB)
   
   The Leadership Advantage by Warren Bennis
   Leader to Leader, No. 12, Spring 1999
   http://www.leadertoleader.org/knowledgecenter/journal.aspx?ArticleID=53
   
   The Leaderful Community by Joseph Raelin
   Innovative Leader, Volume 12, Number 6, June 2003
   http://www.winstonbrill.com/bril001/html/article_index/articles/551-
   600/article579_body.html
   

2. Unless your primary assignment is coordinating your school’s presentation, you will see below that you have been assigned one of these authors. You are expected to confer with your colleagues who are paired with the same author to develop a brief synopsis of the author’s views on leadership to be presented to the group on Day One. Please contrast the author you are reading with at least one of the other authors’ perspectives on leadership; discuss howyour team wants to make your ten minute (or so) presentation. You are encouraged to be innovative in the how you share this work with the class. Reading PowerPoint slides does not qualify as innovative: A leader needs to have the ability to capture and hold people's attention while communicating a message.
   
   

3. You will also be asked to collaborate on the preparation of five slides: three slides for Day One providing an overview of your school and its IT organization, and an additional two slides for Day Two describing strategic choices in your IT organization. These five slides are intended to provide background on your school for the other participants. One person from your school has been assigned the task of preparing the overview slides and another has been assigned the strategic choices slides. Their names appear in the assignments. The slides are as follows:
   
   Overview/Background Slides for Day One
   
   • Background on Your School
   • IT Facts at Your School
   • High Level or Hot Issues Your IT Department Has
   
   Strategy Slides for Day Two*
   

   • Past strategic choices of your IT organization

   • Future strategic choices for your IT organization
   

   Your school's presentations are not meant to be an exhaustive analysis. In some cases you may already have this information on hand and you can shape it to fit this task.
   
   *Day Two will be devoted to strategic thinking. We will use IT in higher education as the focus for our strategic analysis.
   

4. We will be looking at a case study on Context, Catalyzing Action, Change Signature, and Credibility. Readings will be posted or sent by October 10th for this segment.


5. On Day Three the only prep is to think about the goals you want to work on during this time in the IT Leaders Program. What is it you would like to develop this year? If you have a chance to process your 360° feedback with your coach, this will set the stage for you to finalize your goals at the session.

We're Here to Help

Please feel free to consult Jim or Brian if you need any clarification or help as you prepare for this kickoff session. While participants will ultimately have designated coaches*, Jim's and Brian's intent is for you to be able to look to either of them to support your learning throughout this year.

*You will be contacted by your coach.

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Session One Individual Assignments

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