Thread by @MarkHertling

A thread on theories, leadership & learning....

I had the pleasure of engaging a group of Professional MBA students this weekend in a"Strategic Leadership" class

As an adjunct, these classes are fun, especially since we discuss application of knowledge in the real world 1/12

Last semester, these students received an introduction to "leadership theories."

For info, there are literally *dozens* of theories on leadership, but we wanted groups of students to do a deeper dive on 4 different theories, their meaning & potential application. 2/

The theories the 4 groups analyzed were:
1. Leader-Member Exchange (or LMX) theory
2. Servant Leadership Theory (which most wanted to analyze, because they felt they were "servant leaders")
3. Transactional Leadership Theory, and
4. Transformational Leadership Theory 3/

For those who may not remember from your time in school, academic theories are interesting things.

While most layman use the term "theory" to mean an untested hunch, or your best guess about something without supporting evidence,

Academics see theories differently. 4/

Scientists, historians & researchers use theory as an expanded & substantiated explanation of what is observed in the natural world.

Then, researchers incorporate observations, scientific laws, hypotheses & known facts gained during their research.5/

Theories then allow the researcher to predict what they observe if a theory is true.

If new evidence comes along that is compatible, the theory is refined. If facts disprove a theory, it's rejected.

With predictable observations over time, the theory becomes stronger. 6/

The most important part of any theory is that it drives further understanding and knowledge of the subject.

So what happened in the class? Couple of things. 7/

In analyzing the 4 theories, these *professional* (meaning part-time students who have other jobs) MBAs realized:
a. They had assumed they personally would fit in one of the 4 styles (none did)
b. They thought the theories would describe things they actually didn't describe 8/

c. That discovered some theories had been coopted by those who didn't understand them to means things they didn't describe. (Servant leadership theory being one).
d. That studying the theories helped them better understand things that occur outside the theory's boundaries. 9/

e. Most importantly (for the class' understanding of strategic leadership application), they realized strategic leaders can't just fit one leadership description...strategic leaders must apply the elements of different theories at different times under changing context. 10/

During a break, one of the students approached me with an observation...

"It seems," she said, "that some people who make a lot of noise about not wanting to teach or learn about theories really don't understand what they actually say."

I agree with that. 11/

Finally, during the class I also showed this chart from a research paper, and reminded them that all leaders need to learn & grow every day.

If they don't, pretty soon their knowledge is depleted. 12/End