Leadership 401: The practicum

  I enrolled in Leadership 401: Leadership Practicum in the spring of my senior year with Dr. Michael Whyte and Jeff Boian.  It was a class filled with graduating seniors taking their last course in the Leadership minor.  It was presented in primarily discussion-based lecture style which was the best way to hear varied opinions and perspectives on all that we were learning.  The course helped equip my leadership tool-belt with various nuggets of wisdom and practicality even if there was not an overarching objective.  

• "Praise in public, rebuke in private."  This phrase was mentioned numerous times by Dr. Whyte and the more I heard it, the more I appreciated the simple wisdom of it.  I think back on the various teams I have been a part of, professional or athletic, and remember that the critiques that were best received often were conducted in private.  I believe this was due to avoiding the accompanying embarrassment of a public rebuke.  
• "First who then what."  This idea came from Good to Great by Jim Collins and concerned any great team.  Collins suggested that team members are often worried about finding a team member to fill the role they need.  A job interview process will look for who has the most qualifications and abilities to succeed in the job description.  Despite this, Collins suggests that we need to first worry about who fits into the company culture and then we can find them a "seat on the bus" where they can succeed.  In this way, Collins foreshadowed Zappos' company hiring model in which they ensure an applicant will fit into the culture and then they determine if they can accomplish the tasks of the position.  
• Flywheel.  Another idea from Good to Great that holds that small, consistent improvements across an entire team or company results in forward momentum.  These sustained improvements and the subsequent delivery of results create a momentum that eventually will carry itself forward.  When this momentum continues to carry itself toward a goal, the goal does not even need to be explicitly stated throughout the team because the final destination is self-declared by the direction of the momentum.  

Collins, J (2001) Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… And Others Don't. New York: HarperBusiness