H. Skipton Leonard

Leadership development as an intervention for organizational transformation: A case study.

Increasingly, client organizations are interested in accomplishing organizational transformation and persoml developn~ent goals in inlplernenfing leadership developn~ent goals. A case study in which these drralgoals were explicitly stared is presented. In addition to a description of the various components of the program, otrtcomes research data arepresented to assess the effectiveness of the progrant in achieving the organizational and individual development goals. No changes in individual skills or behavior were obtained. Nur~lerorcs n~ethodological explanations are advanced to explain the lack of improvement at the individrial level. Evidence is presented to sr~pporl tlie conclusion lhat signijicanl inrprovement in organizational functioning was achieved as a res~ilt ofthis progranr.

From scientific management through fun and games to high performing teams: A historical perspective on consulting to team-based organizations.

The history of team theory, research, and practice in the 20th century is discussed. The influence of important schools of social and organizational psychology as well as the political and social milieu of the times on the research and theory of teams is identified: scientific management in the 1920s, the emergence of social psychology in the 1930s, World War II, group dynamics in the 1950s, social action of the 1960s, team building in the 1970s, economic turmoil in the 1980s, and the ascendance of team-based organizations in the 1990s. The absence of recent teamfocused research is noted, and recommendations are offered to revive the research activity needed to support team development practice in the 21st century.

A teachable approach to leadership.

Although excellent tools and methodologies for developing leadership skills/competencies exist, there is an absence of a practical and easily teachable model for the development of leadership that is research-based, yet practical, and can be easily understood and applied by leaders, managers, and administrators. Starting with a definition of leadership that focuses on getting results rather than on idealized and abstract processes, this article presents an approach that provides a framework for developing a strategy for applying leadership skills/competencies to achieve organizational objectives in a wide variety of situations and contexts. Furthermore, the development of leadership skills is best achieved when this teachable model of leadership is introduced using pedagogical principles that (a) employ inductive, inquiry-based/discovery learning that emphasizes “homegrown” theories; (b) provide opportunities for realistic and real-world practice; (c) provide opportunities for real-time feedback and process debriefing; and (d) ensure participant accountability. The success of this approach is illustrated by describing a leadership-development program where it was used.