facilitated by ellen kagen, georgetown university charlie biss, consultant, georgetown university

Effective Leadership for Early Childhood Systems Change:

The art and practice of adaptive leadership

Facilitated byEllen Kagen, Georgetown University

Charlie Biss, Consultant, Georgetown University

© 2010 NATIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER FOR CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

What are you trying to accomplish? What are your challenges?

Reflect on a change issue that you are in the midst of addressing; a change which may be easier to tackle with improved leadership skills. The change can be with an individual, within your team, up the chain of command, within your organization or cross department/ cross agency.


DEFINING LEADERSHIP


Leaders and Managers

• Managers – Maintain Stability

• Leaders – Involved in Change

Managing the Polarities and Having the Capacity

for “Double Vision”


Bottom Line

“Leaders lead people; managers manage things. Understanding the difference is the first step to understanding ones role as a leader.”

(unknown source)


Leadership is a Function

Leadership is a combination of values, skills, and observable behaviors that:•can be learned, improved and expanded •can be adapted and changed to address various situations in a changing environment.•result in mobilizing others towards expanding their capacity to learn together and take actions to create a vision they share.

Source: Ellen B. Kagen, Georgetown University, 2010

© 2010 NATIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER FOR CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY6-8

Leadership and Authority

LeadershipA combination of values, skills, and observable behaviors that result in mobilizing others toward expanding their capacity to learn together and take actions to create a vision they share.

AuthorityA social contract used to define who or what has power to perform activities such as enforce laws, make judgments, or supervise the actions of others. Authority is also the power to influence or persuade from a solid base of knowledge or experience.

Source: Ellen B. Kagen, Georgetown University 2010


Leadership is a set of personal

attributes, qualities, and skills either

intuitive and/or acquired that rouses and motivates

others. (Northouse, 2001).

Slide Source: National Center for Cultural Competence, 2010

Leadershipby

Position

Leadershipby

Influence


Leadership and Advocacy

• Advocacy is the act of pleading or arguing in favor of something such as a cause. It is the pursuit of influencing by putting hard issues on the agenda.

• Leadership is the mobilization of resources to bring about the change.

• Both leadership and advocacy keep people focused on the issues…leadership galvanizes the people to change their ways.


Defining Leadership as a function

Leadership can be seen as the process of envisioning and initiating change, by mobilizing others to alter the status quo, in response to an urgent challenge or a compelling opportunity.

Leadership is a type of behavior that embraces relationships and has change as its essential goal.

Leadership is a “function” in systems change.

Source: Ellen B. Kagen , Georgetown University. Adapted from Laufer, N., The Genesis of Leadership, 2008


Altering the Status Quo

• Nature of Change - Urgent challenge or compelling opportunity

• Changes in Best Practices to address the needs of people which impacts organizations, agencies, workforce,

• Huge Paradigm Shifts. Family Driven, Youth Guided, Data Driven, Evidence Based, Collaborative, Integrated….etc.

• Feels Chaotic? Need a framework for how to address and lead change


Leadership and Change

“ The changes required will be not only in our organizations but in ourselves as well.

….Only by changing how we think, can we change policies and practices.

…Only by changing how we interact can shared vision, shared understandings and new capacities for coordinated action be established.”

Senge, P. M. (1990) The Fifth Discipline


Organic Organizations

“……one that is responsive, acts quickly and in a coordinated way and can adjust and learn and grow.”

Quinn, R. (1996) Deep Change


Organic Individuals

“….Only organic individuals can create organic organizations.”

Quinn, R. (1996) Deep Change


“There is solid evidence that the best leaders are highly attuned to what’s going on inside themselves

as they are leading and to what’s going on with others. They’re very self-aware and very socially

aware.”

Kouzes J. and Posner, B., The Leadership Challenge, 2008


SystemSystemResistance Resistance to Changeto Change


Personal Personal Resistance Resistance to Changeto Change

19

Understanding and Reframing our Mental Models

• Personal Values• Culture• Mental Models• Views of Leadership• Advocacy and Inquiry• Discussion and Dialogue


Personal Values• Beliefs or standards• Qualities• Intrinsic worth• Guiding principles

Guides for how you behave or highly valued qualities that fit and support

your way of life

Communities Can! Leadership AcademyGeorgetown University Center forChild and Human Development


Leadership Development for System ChangeGeorgetown University21

Values in Leadership

Those personal, organizational, or community beliefs, standards, or qualities that influence your work and interaction with others. Personal values are critical in defining a personal vision.

Ultimately personal values of individuals will shape the shared values and vision of a leadership group


Personal Values Clarity

“The very first step on the journey to credible leadership is clarifying your own values…”

The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes & Posner, 4th edition,

2007

Exercise: Hierarchy of Values

Communities Can! Leadership AcademyGeorgetown University Center forChild and Human Development



Culture is… the total way of life - Culture is… the total way of life - Internal guidance on how to behave Internal guidance on how to behave

and provides identityand provides identity

Culture• a communities beliefs, customs, habits,

conventions, lore, arts, sciences - it’s what makes us ‘humans’

• is shared by all or almost all members of a group• is socially transmitted from generation to

generation• Structures our perceptions… shapes our behaviors

source: TeamWorks, 2003

conscious awareness

Iceberg as a Metaphor for Culture

eye behavior sense of “self” notions of modesty authority figures & roles

patterns of handling emotions concept of justicegroup decision-making patterns levels of acculturation

patterns of superior/subordinate roles sense of power theory of disease concept of cleanliness risk interpretation

body language problem-solving approaches religion & spirituality

attitude toward the dependent sense of competition/cooperationsocial interaction rate patterns of visual perception

facial expressions definitions of mental illness concept of justice

roles in relation to status by age, sex, class and much more

“out-of awareness”

dress agerace/ethnicity language

food music gender art

source: Sockalingam, S. - TeamWorks, 2003, adapted from source unknown



• Ethnic/Racial/Tribal Identity• Socioeconomic Status/Class• Nationality• Language• Family Constellation• Social History• Health Beliefs & Practices• Perception of Disability• Education

• Perception of Health (including mental health

• Age & Life Cycle Issues• Spatial & Regional Patterns• Gender & Sexuality• Sexual Orientation• Religion & Spiritual Views• Political Orientation & Affiliation• Acculturation/assimilation level

Source: NCCC, 2002 - modified from James Mason, Ph.D., NCCC Senior Consultant

Internal

Cultural Factors That Influence Diversity



Cultural Factors That Influence Diversity

• Institutional Biases• Community Economics• Intergroup Relations• Natural Networks of Support• Community History• Race relations

• Political Climate• Workforce Diversity• Community Demographics• Migratory Patterns• Group & Community resiliency

Source: NCCC, 2002 - modified from James Mason, Ph.D., NCCC Senior Consultant

External



Impact of Cultural Values

Value Cultural Messages Impact on Actions and Behaviors

Learning • Education is a way for people to become secure and successful

• You have to work hard for a good education

• Education will allow you to have impact on the world

• I seek opportunities for learning

• I learn from my interactions with all people

• I have a passion for new ideas and reflection

• I make higher education a personal goal



Impact of Cultural Values

Value Cultural Messages Impact on Actions and Behaviors

Adventure and Risk

• The world is a dangerous place

• Always be careful

• Better to be secure and play it safe

• Airplane Travel• Gilligans Island

• When I was 13- Send me someplace – Miami

• Desire of “out of tribe” experiences

• South Africa• Soviet Union• Bahamian Mail Boat• Israeli-Palestinian Dialogue

UNDERSTANDING MENTAL MODELS



Mental Models

Mental Models are:

• Beliefs, assumptions, and models we have about every aspect of ourselves, others, our organizations, and how the world works

• Habits of thought

• Ancestral voices



Attributes of Mental Models• Everyone has them

• They affect how we perceive, relate and act in the world.

• They can impede or enhance our learning.

• They may be conscious, or unconscious, and they can get us in trouble.

• It’s easier to see others’ mental models and harder to see our own.



Mental Models• Teenager• Teacher

• Police• Religion• Family Traditions• Silence• President• Hospital

Ladder of InferenceTake ACTIONS

(based on beliefs)

Adopt BELIEFS

Draw CONCLUSIONS

Make ASSUMPTIONS (based on meaning added)

Add MEANING (cultural and personal)

Select DATA

OBSERVABLE DATA and EXPERIENCE

(the “video tape”)Leadership Development for System ChangeGeorgetown University33


Managing Mental Models

• Limiting assumptions— based on our mental model when it blocks or interferes with our ability to think clearly about any particular issue

• Mental Models must be tested and evaluated

• Advocacy and Inquiry as tools to support our understanding of the mental models impacting our work


Leadership Development for Systems ChangeGeorgetown University36

Chinese Characters – To Listen


Managing Mental Models to Support Common Ground

HIGH

1. High Advocacy-Low Inquiry

HIGH

4. High Advocacy-High Inquiry

LOW

3. Low Inquiry-Low Advocacy

LOW

HIGH

2. High Inquiry-Low Advocacy


Leadership Development for Systems ChangeGeorgetown University38

Discussion vs. Dialogue

• Discussion - way that most people communicate.

• Ideas presented and everyone analyzes and dissects them.

• Purpose of discussion - to make sure you win.

• Purpose - to support your idea and stress your points more strongly.

• Dialogue - an exploration of ideas.

• Everyone works together contributing towards idea.

• More is achieved as each person adds to the ideas.

• No one tries to win. All are learning and creating.

• Everyone suspends individual assumptions and explores ideas and issues.



Seven Views of Leadership

The Genetic View

The Learned View

The Heroic View

The Top-Only View

The Social Script View

The Position View

The Calling View

source: adapted from Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro, NC, 2008

facilitated by ellen kagen, georgetown university charlie biss, consultant, georgetown university

Documents

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