1.5 - About University

1.6 L EADERSHIP: THE B OARDS OF P LAYInspired by Will McWhinney, Bernie Novokowsky, Doug Smith, and Jim Webber.Leadership fads and their terminology are tossed around like so much confetti—empowerment,quality, reengineering, values, goals, vision, networking, strategic advantage, transformation,to mention but a few. Often, proponents of each management theory sell the value oftheir own approach while pointing out deficiencies in other approaches. On occasion, a theoristcomes along who tries to integrate these theories into a larger model.This tool presents such a model, a way of looking at leadership in a novel way—as a boardgame (e.g., chessboard, Monopoly, or checkers game board). This model has four boards ofplay, each with its own rules, customs, and stakes. Playing a board game in a social setting isone way to learn a lot about players and leadership.➠➠➠The “games” leaders select depend on their worldviews and personalities. Some leadersexpect others to define the rules and get very annoyed when rules are not clear or whenthey are violated; others want to define or redefine the rules to suit their needs.All leaders implicitly or explicitly select a board of play, based upon assumptions theymake about their freedom of action, ranging from accepting and playing within all therules (Board 1) to accepting no rules—trying to create a whole new game (Board 4).Leaders who can “play” at higher board levels necessarily have more power and influencethan those at the lower levels.BreakthroughLeadershipleadershipManagementSupervisionBoards of play 1 2 3 4Strategy of theleaderGoal ofleadershipactionSuccessmeasureWork withinpolicies—the“rules.”Enforce rulesestablished byothers.Rules are followed.Establish policies—the “rules”; gainadvantage.Set the rules forothers to followwithin establishedorganizationalnorms.New rules areestablished andenforced.Motivate throughvision, values, andpurpose.Determine thenorms—what reallymatters inside theorganization.The organizationworks well withinaccepted benchmarks.Create new standards,strategic advantage,and paradigms.Invent new andbetter ways oforganizing throughnew purposes,meanings, andstrategies.A new organizationalparadigm orbenchmark is set.18 SECTION 1 FOUNDATIONAL CONCEPTS