It has been said that it takes two people to paint a masterpiece. The first person is the actual artist. The second person is the trusted one who tells the artist
to stop.
This week you will complete the Problem of Practice Template by pulling all of the brush strokes together and giving the final recommendations to President
Nancy Sims. Choosing one of the three options may suffice as long as the rationale is compelling. However, you may have an additional option that you can
foresee the Toigo Foundation implementing as it moves forward.
What You Need To Know: Read further on mindsets for effective leadership, including using a VUCA framework (vision, understanding, clarity, and agility);
seeking feedback on how to do better; navigating empathy, vulnerability, ambiguity, and building trust; thinking strategically; and transformational leadership.
Assignment: Complete your Problems of Practice Template for the Toigo case, adding an introduction, recommendations supported by evidence, and a logic
model representing the way forward.
Assignment Overview
This week’s assignment will require you to complete the Problems of Practice Template by making the culminating recommendation to President Nancy
Sims and by supporting your advice with data and evidence and a logic model-based plan for moving forward.
What You Need to Know
How much better if our leadership, in the addressing of problems of practice, results in a learning organization with a culture of problem-solving versus one
that depends solely on leadership?
Leading the Way – A Skillset Drawing on Design and Systems Thinking
You may be familiar with the VUCA environment—volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. This article proposes a way forward in this type of
environment with VUCA approach—vision, understanding, clarity, and agility. Acronyms aside, you will see an affirmation of the type of leadership mindsets
expressed in the course’s systems thinking, action research, and design thinking resources.
Codreanu, A. (2016). A VUCA action framework for a VUCA environment: Leadership challenges and solutions. Journal of Defense Resources Management,
7(2), 31–38.
This reading is from the IDEO design thinking website but could also have been from a systems thinking site. It recommends “asking what each of you could
have done better to improve a situation or outcome.”
IDEO U. (n.d.). How to ask for and receive feedback as a leader [Blog post]. https://www.ideou.com/blogs/inspiration/how-to-ask-for-and-receive-feedbackas-a-leader
Leadership involves navigating empathy, vulnerability, and ambiguity, and building trust. This article is a good example of these leadership skills that are
valuable in many situations.
Bason, C., & Austin, R. D. (2019). The right way to lead design thinking. Harvard Business Review, 97(2), 82–91.
In the following article, Kwan challenges leaders to understand and take actions related to the complex dynamics of cross-group collaboration.
Kwan, L. B. (2019). The collaboration blind spot. Harvard Business Review, 97(2), 66–73.
Finally, a direct connection exists between systems leadership and servant leadership.
McGee-Cooper, A., & Looper, G. (2001). Pocket guide: Servant leadership. https://thesystemsthinker.com/pocket-guide-servant-leadership/
In this article, servant leadership, authentic leadership, and transformational leadership are discussed and compared. The authors believe transformational
leadership best serves effective knowledge management. Do you agree? Are there organizations for which other types of leadership would be better suited?
Ghasabeh, M. S., & Provitera, M. J. (2017). Transformational leadership: Building an effective culture to manage organisational knowledge. The Journal of
Values-Based Leadership, 10(2).
Sample Solution