Developing_Leaders

The Way of the Developing Leader Terence J. Sullivan Universiti Brunei Darussalam Abstract Research into the art and science of leading, the act of becoming a leader and how leaders develop, is continually expanding to the point where the search for an effective leader development programme has become a continuous search in a sea of diversity.

The latest addition to the postgraduate programme in educational management at Universiti Brunei Darussalam includes a three-day reflective leader development experience of the type that anthropologists have documented as being in use since pre-history. For the developing leader, it involves immersion into a personal journey of interaction, discussion, reflection and finally emergence from this ‘rite of passage’ to an invigorated sense of being a leader from which there is no turning back.

When supported from other parts of the programme, by methods of instruction such as lecturing, research and practicum, experiencing this pathway of the developing leader produces deep learning and personal understanding. Observable behaviour change occurs as the participants become more aware and begin emulating effective leader character traits, behaviours and personalities. From this new way of acting and seeing their world, also comes a refinement of their leadership skills and strategies.

Group cohesion is strengthened giving real hope to establishing lasting leader support networks within the education system. Such networks will eventually strengthen the education system and lead to opportunities for research and consultancies in the schools.

Current master participants are working with past participants to uncover the long-term benefits of this ‘rite of passage’ way of the developing leader.

Introduction Since the middle of last century, leadership research focus and the consequent leader development focus has centred on a progression of various aspects of leadership. In the 40s, the focus was on character and behaviour traits. Throughout the 50s, the focus included task and relationship orientations. In the 60s, the emphasis moved to situational contingencies. During the 70s, the quality of leader and follower interactions was considered to be at the heart of most organisational development. The significance of being a visionary leader who can transform people’s lives was much discussed during the 80s. By the 90s, we were interested in the inner strength and authenticity of a leader.

Overlaying each changing leadership research focus, there was an evolution in consequent leader development programme focus from the instructor-centred mass-development of leaders to recognising the uniqueness of each leader through personalised leader-centred action-reflection praxis. This personal and reflective process of development is what we see as the way of the developing leader.

The way of the developing leader involves acting out and experimenting with creative ways of leading and emulating the most personally aligned character, behaviour and personality qualities. Such a method of alternating reflection and action is a pragmatic and purposeful way of natural learning.

It is a learner-centred paradigm of personal transformation that is grounded in social constructivism and symbolic interactionism which are theories of meaning creation and construction of reality. On a personal level, it is a ‘rite of passage’ highlighted by significant phases of co-creation of one’s self and others.

Brookfield (1986) and later Glover and Law (1996, urged professional development consultants to design programmes that would assist participants to reflect and critically analyse their personal and career lives. They believed that such programmes would help participants plan longer-lasting and more fulfilling careers that would benefit not only the participants, but also their organisation and the profession itself.

Background What Do Leaders Do? Leadership is a personal experience as well as a public experience. Being the harbinger of new ideas, they act using their whole being and not just their professional character. In so doing, they are forever discovering themselves and others through their experiences with the unknown. The way of the leader is a dynamic humanising journey of self-understanding, understanding others and understanding context.

A leader’s work does not always embody the consensus of ideal practice because it often involves new ideas, innovation and change – ideas that have not necessarily been agreed upon before. In consequence, leaders are continually taking calculated and sometimes intuitive journeys of risk into the unknown and back again.

Mai and Akerson (2003) tell us that leaders communicate the unknown in order to make it known. They are meaning-makers, storytellers and builders of trust. They fulfill their central role of maintaining effective communication, genuine and authentic relationships and overall organisational harmony yet their authority position and their leading of people into the unknown often marginalises them. Gronn (2003) believes that leaders are truly of this world and yet simultaneously many remain apart. Consequently, their personal and professional relationships with their followers can be so close, yet so distant.

This act of discovering and communicating an unknown vision and then leading followers to come to know that vision as reality, emphasises the creative personality within a leader that raises the way of the developing leader to an art form. Like all artists, leaders tell us about their selves and ourselves and in so doing, become an art form themselves. Antonacopoulou and Bento (2004) believe that in the same way we learn to appreciate truly great works of art, we learn to appreciate the timeless quality of leaders.

Developing Art Forms at the Heart of Creation Leaders come to understand their leadership as their journey of their becoming a whole person. This is why Mole (2004) thought that when leaders learn about leadership, they are learning to appreciate their deeper selves.

This implies that an effective leadership workshop must couple experienced leader facilitators who know how to motivate and inspire participants, with a powerful experiential program that brings the participants’ personal and professional life-changing experiences closer together.

Such a programme must act as a way of renewal and building by enabling constructive self-criticism, criticism of others, reflection, vision, and innovation to flourish. It must set direction and create personal and professional bridges across the gaping chasm of individual needs and desires of its participants whilst plumbing the shoals of their past. It must be designed so that the participants experience reflective leader development as an artist would experience reflection at the very heart of their being during the creation of an art form.

The Way of the Developing Leader For the leadership programme at Universiti Brunei Darussalam, the overarching teaching and learning method was adapted from the seminal work of Turner (1969) on the use of ‘rites of passage’ to shape the most significant physical, social and temporal life experiences of developing individuals and groups since the dawn of civilisation. Even today, anthropologists continue to document such transitions using Turner’s (1969) terms of reference in all primitive and all modern societies. These transitions are phases of deep experiential learning – art forms that affect the very heart of a participant’s psyche which is his or her creative source – the heart of creation.

In Turner’s (1969) terms, the growth of a leader in awareness occurs in spurts as in a ‘rite of passage’ in which the participant makes the transition from his or her normal everyday life, to a liminal phase of intense development, and finally returns to a restructured post-normal phase characterised by more effective leadership.

Such phases stimulate creativity and lead to visionary breakthroughs for the leader. The leader finds his or her way to a more developed and integrated state of being.

The first phase is a rite of separation from the participants’ usual everyday livelihood. They embark on a physical, social, reflective and temporal journey of unknown territory which can only succeed through group trust, cooperation, challenge and commitment.

The second phase is a liminal period throughout which the participants’ leader characters, behaviours and personalities are ambiguous. This is because they are in a state that has little of their normal everyday structure.

To some degree, they are passively in the realm of the workshop facilitators with the expectancy of emerging from an unknown teaching and learning process with new insight into what it means to be a leader.

The third phase is an integration period of strength, confidence and hope that comes with reincorporation and their return to familiar ground. There is also a sense of accomplishment that is a sign of new learning and effectiveness. A certain sense of authenticity is renewed in their leader characters, behaviours and personalities.

The participants experience a sense of comradeship, insightfulness, spirituality, creativity, achievement and vision.

Throughout, there is a sense of what Turner (1969) would have called, ‘communitas’. Usually in a ‘rite of passage’ a community-building element gives support to the group members. This element gives a sense of belonging as a result of shared experience and eventually of group and individual achievement. Personal and professional status is usually levelled, allowing various individual differences amongst the group to be recognised and more easily accepted, thus enabling collaborative learning.

During the ‘rite of passage’, the participants are together yet isolated by the liminal aspect of self-reflection and awareness, thus enabling individual and group growth. There is a certain satisfaction of being given the opportunity to grow and develop whilst simultaneously seeing growth and development in one’s companions.

The way of the developing leader is a journey through experiences that encourage cycles of reflection; analytical, emotional and creative thinking; and action. It is a journey that is completed with others but at the same time, it is completed alone. The way of the developing leader crosses the paths of other developing leaders to form evolving collaborative leader support networks that enable collaborative and reflective learning to impact on character, behaviour and personality. Leaders become aware of their leadership as they experience it in dialogue with others.

When educational leaders think reflectively about their own practice and the practice of others, their professional knowledge becomes embedded in their personal life. They use their life experiences then as evidence to justify and confirm their personal theories (Schon, 1987b). Evers (2000a, 2000b) points out that the more often this expanding spiralling process takes place, the more the person grows in personal theory and thoughtful practice, to eventually become one with the wisdom of the profession.

Procedure Evers and Lakomski (1991, 1996, 2000) proposed that reflection on practice, together with the disciplinary knowledge of educational management theory encourages the developing leader to experience authentic personal and professional development. The Master of Education (Educational Management) programme provides opportunities for leadership to emerge and to be discovered by the participants. The structure of “PF5407 Introduction to Leadership in Education” provides; (a) context-laden leader training in which specific role expectation competencies are rehearsed; and (b) context-free leader development in which their personal and professional character, behaviour and personality are reflected upon.

Designing Leaders In an era of innovation, the leadership course deals with international leadership trends in the literature and those set by Ministry of Education policy and practice in Brunei Darussalam. The course highlights the responsibility and accountability that the participants have to their colleagues and the future generation of Brunei Darussalam. Its ultimate goal is to develop an effective way of managing and leading others toward ways of caring deeply about educational outcomes.

The course meets its task by integrating the participant’s cognitive theorising with his or her experience. In order to complete the course, the participants must attend weekly lectures and become actively involved in critical discussions each week. In addition, they must participate in a practical three day reflective leader development experience. Making this practical component compulsory ensures that the whole group is involved in this reflective workshop and leadership challenge.

During the three-day workshop, the participants complete 30% of the total course marks. This mark is awarded in consensus by the coordinators of the Master of Education (Educational Management) programme.

They observe of the participants’ quality and commitment of character, behaviour and personality during the workshop and assess the participants’ reflective diaries describing their journey of development as leaders throughout the three day workshop.

Upon returning to campus and participating in the usual weekly lectures and critical discussions, they are presented with a variety of opportunities to demonstrate longer-term development of their character, behaviour and personality as a leader. In so doing, the participants complete another 20% of the total course marks.

Finally, they sit for a three hour reflective essay-type examination worth 50% of the course marks.

Designing the Way of the Developing Leader The three day / two night challenge and reflective workshop are conducted in the Temburong District on normal workdays but completely away from their usual livelihood. This important feature highlights the significance of the ‘rite of passage’ journey as a focus of learning and becoming that is very different from the usual. Also being away, the developmental process is concentrated and without any extraneous interruptions.

The process begins at the dawn of the first day as the participants leave their respective families. It continues at the Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre and concludes on the morning of the third day with an achievement ceremony on the banks of the Temburong River in the middle of the primary tropical rainforest.

The field studies centre is part of the University and is used for biological research and retreats or reflective type workshops. It is set in the heart of a primary tropical rainforest on the island of Borneo. This pristine part of the rainforest is world-renown for its beauty and unique plant and animal diversity. It is visited by local schools and scientists worldwide. It truly is the ‘Abode of Peace’.

The site for the workshop was chosen because it embodies; (a) a sense of isolation from the participant’s usual lifestyle; (b) a sense of hardship and effort that requires participant cooperation to succeed; and (c) a sense of serenity that inspires uninhibited analytical, emotive and creative reflection.

Such a reflective leader development experience can make some participants anxious. Cooperation and discussion helps participants to harmonise this temporary state. Throughout the three day workshop, opportunities are presented for the group to help each other manage their anxieties. At appropriate phases in the workshop, participants consider their feelings of inadequacy and achievement and document their feelings in their reflective diary. The three day workshop is also designed to be ready to deal with any leakage of conflict displacement amongst the participants as a result of being challenged and pushed to overcome their inadequacies in the presence of others who might appear more adequate.

The workshop has four main aims: 1. The first aim is to observe and discuss various leadership practices. This involves observing theory in action. On arrival in the town of Bangar in the Temburong District, the Senior District Officer and a Principal and his or her Administrative Team are interviewed and observed in their usual work environments. Later, after the journey up river into the middle of the rainforest at the field studies centre, interviewees’ characters, behaviours and personalities are critically discussed. Appropriate aspects are considered for personal modelling and emulating. The aim is to heighten the participants’ powers of reflective observation and to provide models for instilling certain desirable aspects of leader characters, behaviours and personalities.

2. The second aim is to participate in specific leader development exercises to improve group dynamics by giving each participant an opportunity to take the leader position in the group, to solve management problems, to role play management scenarios, to analyse case studies and to chair critical discussions. These experiences take place in the activity room of the field studies centre. These exercises make the participants aware of their characters, behaviours and personalities and thus provide the foundation for improving their strategies for leading people.

3. The third aim is to give the participants peaceful reflective time away from their normal lives, in which they can consider their professional vocation as a leader of an educational community. Personal individual time is timetabled to allow the participants to take a rainforest walk, swim or sit where they can consider their vision of education for Brunei Darussalam.

4. The fourth aim is to develop a professional group bond amongst the current Master of Education (Educational Management) group so that after they complete the Masters programme, they have the necessary wherewithal to form productive leader support networks throughout the education system. This is emphasised throughout the course and is especially built into the collaborative group involvement of the planned workshop challenges such as the river rapids ride, the rainforest trek and the rainforest canopy climb.

To help the participants reflect more deeply, they are required through the course assessment process to report on their developing leader experience throughout the ‘rite of passage’. The participants are instructed to keep their diaries confidential so that their entries are from their own personal perspective. This reflective diary gives the participants the opportunity to reflect on their practice in terms of the ideas and theories discussed in the course and to grow from their personal and group experience. The educational management programme coordinators also use these diaries to evaluate the unique reflections of each participant.

Measuring the way of the developing leader Measuring the various aspects of a person’s leadership involves measuring a leader’s; (a) application of emotional intelligence in areas such as self and social awareness; (b) ability to manage human relationships in diverse situations; and (c) commitment to vision (Tyler, 2004). This is a mixture of attitude, responsibility and commitment as well as some very complex management skills and wisdom in decision making.

Thus, leader development on the individual level is measured by evidence of improvements in (a) the personality of the developing leader; (b) the knowledge and skills of the developing leader; and (c) in the behaviour of the developing leader. Leader development at the group level is measured by evidence of improvements in (a) the group culture; (b) the group’s capacity for greater effectiveness; and (c) in actual outcomes in higher productivity of the group.

To measure the way of the developing leader, pre- and post- measures need to be taken. The coordinator’s assessment documentation begins in the first week of the fourteen week course and is added to with each progressive week. At the same time, this progressive benchmarking acts as a progressive indicator for course evaluation purposes.

Each participant submits a self-reflection on their leadership characteristics, how they acquired such characteristics and the direction in which they think that they are heading. Throughout the fourteen week course, they keep a Journal of Leadership Learning in which they summarise each weekly lecture topic and following critical discussion, as well as their personal reflections on the topics in relation to themselves and their workplace context. The participants also keep a special reflective diary throughout their Reflective Leader Development Workshop at the rainforest retreat.

To discover and verify each participant’s deeper commitment to appropriate attitudes and values, the coordinator also observes the developing leader’s applied knowledge and skills in action as well as engaging him or her in informal unstructured interviews throughout the course.

Results For these city dwellers, the reflective leader development experience itinerary outlined significant growth phases along the way. The journey of there and back again was significant for the individual and the group. It required the participants to travel as a team from the comforts of the city of Bandar Seri Begawan, into the heart of a pristine tropical rainforest where the potential for danger was effectively held at bay by experienced rainforest guides, and back again.

The journey of the developing leader Emotions surfaced as the group left their families and travelled into the possibility of danger on the river.

The further the group travelled, the greater was their sense of entering the unknown. Group trust, cooperation, challenge and the commitment to succeed needed to be mastered by each participant before reaching the Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre.

For some, their journey began before sunrise with an hour-long car journey from Kuala Belait to meet up with the rest of the group at the wharf in Bandar Seri Begawan. Their journey continued by boat for another hour across the Brunei River delta to the mouth of the Temburong River. There was another hour bus journey to the road-end beside the upper reaches of the Temburong River. Finally, it took another hour in longboats riding the rapids further upstream to reach the Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre in the heart of the rainforest.

At the Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre the participants were required to master a range of leadership tasks and reflect and evaluate themselves as leaders. They became aware of certain aspects of their leadership that were previously hidden. At their own point along the way, each member of the team crossed the threshold of deep learning at which point, they discovered what being a leader means to them personally and professionally.

On their return journey, they came out of the rainforest and travelled back over known territory with confidence and a sense of achievement. The group now knew where the difficult rapids were. There was the hope and excitement of returning to their families with new stories of achievement to tell. They understood more clearly their path as a leader.

Each stage in their journey was a completely new experience for each participant. The context of this new experience provided the opportunity for some of the group to express and stretch their leader characters, behaviours and personalities whilst at other times the same participants had to rely on those whom they were previously helping, to overcome their fears of the unknown and potential dangers of the journey.

Thus, the three day reflective workshop and challenge became a ‘rite of passage’ alternating between the leader and the follower experience. As Turner (1969) would have explained, such transitions shaped the participants’ appreciation of their leader-follower relationship.

Whilst at the Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre, individual professional status was levelled, thus allowing each participant to take the leadership position depending on how appropriate the situation was for them. Many of the participants noted a boost in their confidence in group situations. All the participants stated that their commitment to being a leader had increased and that they could visualise their personal and professional goals more clearly. Most stated that they had glimpsed a vision for education in Brunei Darussalam.

The three day workshop experiences included a range of group activities and an equal amount of time for individual reflection and diary writing. In their reflective diary, the participants stated their personally held values and beliefs as a leader and described how they thought others saw them as a leader throughout their three day experience.

The act of documenting their personal reflections was a strategy devised by the coordinator to help the participants reach deeper levels of understanding and commitment as the three day workshop progressed. This exercise helped them to be aware of their leader image and how their image is reflected in their leadership style.

Once documented, each reflection could then be expanded upon with further reflections. In this way, deeper levels of learning and more accurate understanding could be generated.

Completing the diary ‘on the run’ ensured documentation of the participants’ raw thoughts rather than a set of revised and sanitised reflections. Submitting the diary at the end-of-workshop achievement ceremony, increased continuity and meaning throughout the liminal phase of the reflective leader development experience.

Outcomes of the journey The participants’ behaviours were monitored in a range of situations. As well, after each workshop session, several group and individual discussions were conducted. The participants wrote more personal reflections into their diaries. Afterwards, their reflective diaries were analysed to discover their thoughts and opinions on the various leadership topics that made up the reflective leader development experience. Finally a narrative picture of each participant as they developed throughout the reflective leader development workshop was constructed.

In the immediate short-term, the participants; • were able to express what being a leader meant to them

• developed empathy for their followers • recognised the importance of reconnecting with their personal, social and professional communities.

• were exposed to local and international best practices of community development.

• connected with potential resources and developed beneficial collaborations in the form of lasting professional support networks.

• strengthened their sense of group cohesion.

• improved their leader skills such as communicating and interviewing, project management, decisionmaking, conflict resolution and consensus building and meeting management.

• increased their awareness of critical issues facing their communities and the nation.

In the longer-term, lasting observable behaviour change occurred as the participants; • became more aware and began emulating effective leader character traits, behaviours and personalities.

• developed and maintained lasting interpersonal and professional relationships which continued for the remainder of their Master programme studies and are still currently intact in their professional world.

Discussion One overarching purpose of PF5407 “Introduction to Leadership in Education” is to develop a cadre of leaders energised to form leader support networks that will eventually strengthen the education system and lead to opportunities for research and consultancies in the schools. These networks will also provide opportunities for senior officers to be invited to present guest lectures to educational management participants at Universiti Brunei Darussalam.

Developing effective school community leaders is achieved through a series of lectures and related reflective workshop activities which focus on the themes of; (a) being an ethical leader; (b) communicating a vision; (c) team leadership; (d) developing others; (e) showing understanding; and (f) appreciating diversity.

These lectures, discussions and the reflective workshop emphasise; • an overview of the characteristics of leaders and their influence in educational settings.

• leader skills including effective inquiry, interviewing and listening, school community decision-making and consensus building, organisational analysis, meeting management and facilitation, the art of reflection and appraisal of self and others.

• the importance of collaboration and consensus building for effective school community development.

• building social capital for positive school community development.

• the importance of quality of life issues to overall school community stabilisation.

The journey in perspective The reflective leader development experience deals with all the weekly content themes of PF5407 “Introduction to Leadership in Education”. This requires that it be conducted seven weeks (almost halfway) into the course to enable enough preparation to make the ‘rite of passage’ relevant and yet leave the remainder of the course lectures and discussions for consolidation and to initiate longer-term development of an appropriate leader character, behaviour and personality. At least two course coordinators from the educational management programme need to facilitate the reflective leader development workshop in the role of elders of leadership passing on the wisdom of their own experiences. This diversifies the teaching and learning experience.

The individuality of the reflective leader development experience enhances course teaching methods by being inclusive of varying adult learning styles and offering a range of enhanced learning environments. Nilson (2003) and Withers and Lewis (2003) believe that many professional development coordinators omit this important key to effective adult teaching and learning.

Whilst in the liminal period at the field studies centre, individual professional status is levelled to allow greater collaborative learning. At some stage, depending on the nature of the circumstance, every individual is presented with the opportunity to demonstrate their leadership amongst the group. Considering that some have much more leadership knowledge, skills and experience than others, the experience to shine in front of the group during this liminal period greatly boosts confidence and commitment.

Throughout the liminal process of self-reflection and awareness, the participants experience a feeling of being together yet apart. Thus, the way of the developing leader mirrors the leader–follower relationship and leads to more thoughtful cooperation throughout the second half of the semester course back on campus. This bonding aspect of ‘communitas’ amongst the group, about which Turner (1969) spoke, helps to achieve the goal of developing leader support networks and enhancing collaborative learning.

Conclusion The course coordinators of the educational management programme are still experimenting with this innovative leader development strategy that is firmly rooted in international leadership teaching methodologies as well as universal anthropological and local traditional teaching practices characterised by Brunei Malayrooted notions of knowledge, learning and wisdom. Lu (1992) would consider such foundations as necessary to enable the programme participants to find personal meaning.

It appears that this ‘rite of passage’ method of teaching and learning invokes a far deeper understanding of being a leader when integrated with those more commonly used lecturing, research and practicum methods.

Observable behaviour change occurs as the participants become more aware and begin emulating effective leader character traits, behaviours and personalities. Leadership skills and strategies are refined. Hopefully the leader support networks that have been created will remain strong and continue to sustain the leaders of the educational system through times of change.

Current master participants and the course coordinator are working with past participants to uncover further long-term benefits of this ‘rite of passage’ way of developing leaders. Already the growth in positive outlook on life in the profession and new found skills and confidence of vision is obvious amongst past participants.

As with all effective redesigning procedures, the leadership course will be refined again and again, with each new intake of participants.

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Author: Dr Terence J. Sullivan is Head of Department of Educational Foundations at the Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Education, Universiti Brunei Darussalam. His research interests lie in educational technology and educational management, leader development and organisational theory.