LEVELTHREE

LEADERSHIP
CultureeatsStrategyforBreakfast

CourseSyllabus

JamesClawson
TheDardenGraduateSchoolofBusiness
Administration
UniversityofVirginia
Spring2009

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LEVELTHREELEADERSHIP

TheDardenGraduateSchoolofBusinessAdministrationisaprofessionalschoolthat
seekstobettersocietybydevelopingleadersintheworldofpracticalaffairs.
DardenSchoolMissionStatement,AcademicPoliciesandProceduresManual

Consistentwiththemissionoftheschool,allstudentsarerequiredtohavea
leadershiplearningexperienceofatleast1.5credithourswhileattendingDardeninorderto
graduate.
AcademicPoliciesandProceduresManual

Toeverymanthereopenthahighway,
Somementakethehighroad
Andsometakethelow,
Therestareonthemistyflats
Wheretheydrifttofro
Onlyyoucanchoosewhichroad,
Theoneweallhavetotake
OvertheBridgeofSighsintoeternity"

COURSEOBJECTIVES

Thegoalofthiscourseistohelpyouavoidthemistyflatsoflifebyhelpingyouto
clarifyyourmissioninlife,tobecomemoreselfawareofyourpersonalleadershipmodel,and
tostrengthenyoureffortsatinfluencingothers.Inparticular,thiscoursefocusesoninfluencing
atLevelThree,orthebasicvaluelevel.Ihopetohaveyouchallengeandreexamineyour
thinkingandassumptiononseveralveryfundamentalandkeyissues.Moresuperficially,the
courseisintendedtohelpyou:

1. Becomemoreselfaware
a. Identifyorclarifyyourlifespurposeanddream
b. Identifyorclarifyyourpersonalleadershipmodel
2. Developskillsininfluencingotherswhetherornotyouhavepositionalauthority
3. Enhanceyourabilitytothinkstrategicallyandwithvision
4. Preparetodevelopandextendyourleadershipthroughoutyourlifetime
5. Enhanceyourmodelofleadingandmanagingchange

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COURSEORGANIZATION

LevelThreeLeadershipisorganizedaroundasetofmodulesthatcomprisethe
leadershipchallenge(asopposedtomanaging).Thesemodulesandtheirrelatedcore
questionsare:

VABEs
(Values,Assumptions,BeliefsandExpectationsaboutthewaytheworldisorshouldbe.)
Whydoyou(andothers)behavethewayyoudo?
CREATION
Whatdoyouwanttocreatewithyourlife?
EXPERIENCE Doeshowyoufeelaffectyourperformance?
EXECUTION HowcanIgetpeopletodowhatIwantthemtodo?
CHANGE
HowcanI/acompanykeepupwiththechangingworldaroundus?
MODELING Whomdoyouadmireandwhy?
RESULTS
Whatissuccess?

Themeaningofthesemoduleswillbecomecleartoyouasthecourseunfolds.Seethe
CourseSchedulebelow.

REQUIREDMATERIALS
1. LevelThreeLeadership:GettingBelowtheSurfaceFourthEdition(Clawson,
PrenticeHall,2008)
2. ThePathofLeastResistance,(RobertFritz,1989)
3. PoweredbyFeel:howindividuals,teams,andcompaniesexcel,(Clawson&Newburg,
2009)
4. Outliers,(MalcolmGladwell,2009)
5. AccesstoCOURSEWEBSITE:http://faculty.darden.virginia.edu/levelthree/index.htm
6. AccesstoMYWEBPAGE:http://faculty.darden.virginia.edu/clawsonj/index.htm
7. CasePacketfromDEMS

ONRESERVEINTHELIBRARY
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

PunishedbyRewards,AlfieKohn
TheStructureofScientificRevolutions,ThomasKuhn
TheVirusoftheMind,Brodie
LeadershipandOrganizationalCulture,EdSchein
LevelThreeLeadership4thEdition,(Clawson,PrenticeHall,2008)
ThePathofLeastResistance,(Fritz,1989)
PoweredbyFeel:howindividuals,teamsandcompaniesexcel,(Clawson&Newburg,
WorldScientific,2009)
8. Outliers,(Gladwell,2009)

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COURSEREQUIREMENTSandPRINCIPLES

1. PREPARATIONANDPARTICIPATION:(50%ofyourgrade)OnaverageIexpectabout
twohoursofpreparationtimeforeachclass.Youllnoticethatonthreeclasses,Ive
assignedanentirebookforoneclass.Myrequestisthatyoulearnhowtoreadabook
intwohours.Mostbookshaveafewcoreprinciplesandmultipleanecdotesand
examplesthatmakethepoints.Ifyoucangetthecoreprinciplesquickly,youwont
havetoreadalloftheexamplesandanecdotes.Also,ifyoucansummarizeabookina
PowerPointfileon24slides,youllhavethatbook,atleastitscoreprinciples,forthe
restofyourlife.YoumaywishtoworkwithyourDyadPartneraswelltocollaborateon
thereadinghoweverthiswillmeanmeetingwithyourpartnerbeforeclassto
consolidateyourinsights.

Onparticipation,ifyoulearnalotbutneversharethatwithotherswhatgoodisit?I
placeahighvalueonhonest,forthrightdiscussionanddebateaboutrealissues.You
areinclassasmuchforwhatyoucontributeasforwhatyoutakeaway.Iexpectyouto
becontributingtothediscussionineveryclass.

2. FINALPROJECT:(50%ofyourgrade.)Seebelow.

3. WIKICASE:Atatimeofyourchoosing,Iaskthatyoumakeaonepagecontributionto
theDardenwikicasesite.Thesiteisdesignedsoyoucanaddpagesonnewtopicsor
alreadyestablishedtopics.SendmetheURLforyourcontributioninanemail.This
writeupwillcountasoneclasscontributiongrade.

http://mbaportal.darden.virginia.edu/ca/casewiki/Wiki%20Pages/Home.aspx
4. DYADPARTNER:DuringthecourseofthetermyouwillbeassignedtoaDyadPartner.
YourassignmentwillbetomeetwithyourDyadPartnerperiodicallytodiscusstopicsin
thecourse,sharenotes,andgivethemfeedbackdataandsuggestions.Sometimeswell
maketimeforthisinclass.YourDyadPartnerwillgiveyoutwoclassparticipation
gradesbasedonthequalityandhelpfulnessofyourfeedback.Sometimesyoumaywish
to(read:pleasedo)COLLABORATEwithyourDYADPARTNERonlargeassignmentsby
dividingandconquering.

5. LEADERSHIPMODEL:Duringthecourseyouwillbeaskedtoidentifyaleaderyou
admireandfindoutallyoucanabouthowtheymanagedtobesoeffective.Student
teamswillgivetheirreportsontheseleadersinclasses12and13onApril20and21.

6. STUDENTLEADERSHIP:Itshardtopracticeleadershipwaitingforsomeoneelse
(instructor)tosettheagenda.Consequently,therewillbetimeswhenIllaskmembers
oftheclasstoleadthediscussion.Thisactivitywillhelpyoudevelopyourplanningand
leadershipskills.
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CLASSDEPORTMENTREQUESTS

Iinviteyouandaskyouto:

1. Sharemyinterestinhavingactive,honest,deepdiscussionsaboutimportantprinciples
inleadingandliving(helpcreateahighenergylearningbubbleintheroom).
2. Comeontime.(toprotectthebubble)
3. Donotcomeandgofromclass;itdisruptsthediscussion.(breaksthebubble)
4. Comepreparedhavingreadallofthematerialsfortheclass.(creatingthebubble,see
ClawsonFamilyPrinciple#7onmywebsite.)
5. Donotwearhatsinclass,please.(respectforclassmates,aVABEfrommymother)

GRADING

Yourfinalcoursegradewillbederived50%fromclassroomcontributionsincludingthe
ancillaryassignmentsoutlinedaboveand50%fromyourfinalproject.Attendance
requirementswillconformtoDardenSchoolpolicy.

FACULTY

ProfessorJamesG.Clawson

CourseSecretaryBarbaraRichards

Tel:9247488
Tel:9247331

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(Room293B)
(Room264)

LEVELTHREELEADERSHIP
COURSESCHEDULE
MarchApril2009

Day Date

1.

Tu

3/17

2.

We

3/18

3.

Mo

3/23

MODULE
VABEs

Tu

3/24

5.

Mo

3/30
EXPERIENCE

Method&CoreMaterial

TheVirusoftheMind

CASE:JohnWolfordA

WhenceVABEs?

BOOK:Outliers

SolvingProblems
CREATION

4.

Topic

TheProblemwith
Problems
CreatingWorldClass
Teams

CASE:PeterBrowningand
ContinentalWhitecapA
BOOK:ThePathofLeast
Resistance
CASE:Greenland

6.

Tu

3/31

Feel&Performance

FILM:EasySpeed
BOOK:PoweredbyFeel

7.

We

4/01

ChangingVABES

FILM:Crash

8.

Mo

4/06

LevelsOne&Two
Leadership

SHORTSTORY:TheUseofForce&
ToughGuy

9.

Tu

4/07

LevelThreeLeadership

ORALCASE:JLC

10.

Mo

4/13

LeadingbyDesign

CASE:HausserFoodProducts

11.

Tu

4/14

LeadingChange

CASE:EdNorris&theBaltimore
PoliceDepartmentA

12.

Mo

4/20

StudentPresentations

13.

Tu

4/21

StudentPresentations

14.

Mo

4/27

IntegratedWhole

CASE:BobJohnsonatHoneywell
AerospaceA

EXECUTION

CHANGE

MODELS

RESULTS
15.

Tu

4/28

Mo

5/04

LooseEnds&
Conclusion
FinalProjectDue4:30
pm

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LEVELTHREELEADERSHIPFINALPROJECT

Purpose

The purpose of your final project is to create a selfrunning PowerPoint file that will
summarizeandremindyouinthefutureofthemajorinsightsyouvegleanedfromthecourse.
Theexpectationisthatyouwouldbeabletoreviewthispresentationthree,fiveandtenyears
aftergraduationasameansofleveringorextendingyourlearningandtrackingyourevolving
viewofleadership.Thispresentationshouldcontain,ataminimum,thefollowing:

Majorinsightsthatyougleanedfromthecourse
Yourpersonalmodelofleadership
YourPersonalCharterasexplainedinthecourse
YourInternalLifesDream(LDint)asexplainedinthecourse
Yourpersonalmodelformanagingchange
Adescriptionoftheleadershipprinciplesofapersonofyourchoosing.Thisperson
canbelivingordead,butnotsomeonefromyourownfamily.Myrequestisthatyou
choosethispersonearlyinthecourseandthenbegingatheringasmuchdataasyou
can about him/her and learning as much as you can about this persons leadership
style.

Structure

Yourfinalprojectpresentationshouldbeselfrunning.BythisImeanIcandoubleclick
onthefileanditimmediatelybeginstorun.YoucansaveyourPowerPointfileinawaythat
makesitaselfrunningfile.Thereismoredataonthetechniquesforcreatingselfrunningfiles
at the course website: http://faculty.darden.edu/levelthree/Index.htm. The presentation
shouldtakelessthaneightminutestowatch.Illaskyoutoemailthisfiletomeattheendof
theterm.

Yourpresentationshouldbecompletelyselfcontained.Assumeyouregoingtoviewitin
three to five years and will need a complete package: introduction, purpose, content,
conclusion, allflowinginalogicalsequence.Thiswillbeachanceto practiceyourMCskills.
Strength of logic, ease of comprehension, and powerfulness of presentation will all count as
wellasqualityofcontent.

Iinviteyoutousevoiceover,music,andotheraudioconnectionsasyouseefittoclarify
and explain your presentation. Be careful and prepare in advance so that you know how to
embedvoiceand/ormusicinaPPTfilesothatwhenyou sendit,everythingcomesthrough.
Thereareacoupleofexamplespostedonthecoursewebsite.DoNOTcopytheexactformat
ofthosepresentations;justusethemasexamplesofoneswelldone.

If you keep up with the assignments in the course, youll be well prepared to develop
your Final Project efficiently. Ive designed the course so that if you do all of the daily
assignmentsmostofyourfinalprojectisdraftedifnotpolishedandintegrated.
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DueDate

YourFinalProjectisdueinmyemailinboxby4:30pmasshownontheCourseSchedule
above.Youmaysendyourprojectinearlyifyouwish;however,becarefulthatyoudonotdo
itsoearlythatyoudontbenefitfromallofthecontentinthecourse.

ADMIREDLEADERSTUDENTPRESENTATIONS

At the beginning of the term, you will be assigned to or choose a small team who will
select and research a leader whom youd like to know more about. This person must be
someone other than a family member. On April 20 or 21 your team will give a 10 minute
presentationontheleadershipofthepersonyouchose.Inbetween,youllfindoutwhatever
you can on this person and consolidate your learnings into this brief presentation for the
benefitofyourclassmates.Thispresentationwillbetheequivalentof4classcontributionsfor
you.Eachteammemberwillgetthesameclasscontributiongrade.

WIKICASECONTRIBUTION

At some time during the course I ask that you contribute a onepage new case to the
Darden wikiCase project. At present the Darden wikiCase project is limited to the Darden
community. Your contribution will be the equivalent of one class contribution grade. When
youve made your contribution, simply send me an email with the web address of your
wikiCaseincludedsoIcangoreadit.

TheDardenwikiCasesiteis

http://mbaportal.darden.virginia.edu/ca/casewiki/Wiki%20Pages/Home.aspx.

YoucaneditanypagebyclickingontheEDITbuttonintheupperrighthandportionof
thepage.Feelfreetoaddnewcasesonanytopicrelatedtothecourse.Ifyoufindcases
alreadythereonyourchosentopic,youcanaddasecondcase.WhenwritingyourwikiCase,
pleasefollowtheseguidelines:

1. Allcasesmustbereal,nothingfictionalormadeup.
2. Pleasechangeallofthenamessothatwhilereal,thesituationcannotbeattributedtoan
actualperson.
3. Keepyourcasestoonepageorless.
4. Writeallofyourcasesinthepasttense.
5. Besuretoendeachcasewithadecisionpointinwhichsomeoneinthecaseneedstomake
adecisionanddosomething.This willlikelymeanthatyouwriteupasituationthatyou
knowaboutbutdonttellthewholestory,justuptoapointwheresomeonehadtodecide
andthenact.
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DAILYASSIGNMENTS
LevelThreeLeadership

Legend

L3L= LevelThreeLeadership,FourthEdition

CP= CasePacket,

TBD= ToBeDistributed

VABEs
Class#/Topic

1. TheVirusoftheMind
Syllabus(website:http://faculty.darden.edu/levelthree/)

JohnWolfordA(CP,UVAOB0167)
SelfLeadership,ALeadersGuide,TheREBModel(L3L,Chapters9,10
&11)

GivingandReceivingFeedback(CP,UVAOB0322)

CompletetheBalancingYourLifeexercise(L3L,p.405.)
NOTE:thereisamissingexhibitinthisprinting.Youcandownloadthe

Read:

BalanceWheelExcelspreadsheetfromthecoursewebsiteorfrommypersonal
webpage.

Study
Questions:

1.
2.
3.
4.

Whataretheproblemshere?
WhydoesJohndowhathedoes?
WhatwouldJohnsBalanceWheellooklike?
IfyouwereJohnWolfordsboss,whatwouldyoudowithhim?

Class#/Topic 2. WhenceVABEs?

Read:
Outliers(MalcolmGladwell)

1. Whatarethekeyconceptsforyouinthisbook?
2. Howdoesthischange,ifatall,yourviewofleadership?
3. Howdoesthischangeyourviewofparenting?
Study
5. WhatarethetoptenVABEsthatyourmotherandfathertaught
Questions:
you?
4. Whatarethekeylessonsfromthisbookforleadershipinthe
privatesector?

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CREATION
Class#/Topic 3. SolvingProblems

PeterBrowningandContinentalWhitecapA(case)
Read:

StrategicThinking(L3LCh5)

Complete:SurveyofManagerialStyle(L3L,p.384andinputyouranswers

Study
Questions:

onmywebpage.)

1. IfyouwereinPeterspositiononyourwaytoChicago,whatwould
youbeconcernedabout?
2. WhatdoyouthinkPetersVCMprofileshouldlookliketosucceed
inthisjob?
3. WhatwouldyoudoifyouwereinPetersposition?(Havea
multistepplanready)

Class#/Topic 4. TheProblemwithProblems

Read:
ThePathofLeastResistancebyRobertFritz

1. Whatarethekeyconceptsforyoufromthisbook?
2. Howdoesthisbookchangeyourviewofleadershipifatall?
3. Whatistheproblemwithproblems?
4. WhatisthefourstepprocessthatFritzrecommends?
Study
5. Wheninyourlifehaveyouusedthisprocess?
Questions:

EMAILtoBARBARARICHARDSandMEyourchoiceofLEADERtostudy
thisterm.(Seeassignmentabove.)Withwhomwillyoube
working?

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EXPERIENCE
Class#/Topic
Read:

Study
Questions:

5 LeadingWorldClassTeams

Greenland(CP)
LeadingTeams(L3L,Ch21)

1. Whatcanwelearnaboutworldclassteamsfromthisexpedition?
2. Whydopeopledothis?
3. DYADFEEDBACK:WhatfeedbackwouldyougiveyourDyad
Partnerafterfiveclasses?

Class#/Topic

Read:

Study
Questions:

6FeelandPerformance

ManageYourEnergy,NotYourTime,(HBROct07,R0710B)
Resonance,LeadershipandthePurposeofLife(L3L,Ch.13)

CompletetheEnergyManagementExercise(L3L,workbook,page398)
CompletetheLifesDreamExercise(L3L,workbook,page401)

1. Whatenhancesyourenergy?
2. Whaterodesyourenergy?
3. DevelopafirstdraftofyourInternalLifesDream:howdoyou
wanttofeel?

EXECUTION
Class#/Topic

Read:

Study
Questions:

7ChangingVABEs

View:CRASH(fulllengthfeaturefilm)
Timestobeannounced.
ViewersGuidetoCRASH(CP:UVAOB0860)

Learnasmuchasyoucanonlineaboutthemillennialgeneration.

1. Duringthefilm,keeptrackasbestyoucanoftheVABEsheldby
thevariousplayersandhowtheychanged.Practicewritingup
eachVABEinasinglesentence.
2. WhataretheVABEsofthemillennialgeneration?
3. HowdoVABEschange?
4. Whataretheimplicationsforleaders?

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Class#/Topic

Read:

Study
Questions:

8LevelsOne&TwoLeadership

TheUseofForce(CP:WilliamWilliams)
ToughGuy(CP:UVAOB0913)

WhyIncentivePlansCannotWork,AlfieKohn(CP)
LeadingOthers(L3L,Ch15)
TheAppealofLevelOneLeadership(L3L,Ch16)
TheChallengesofLevelTwoLeadership(L3L,Ch17)

1. Haveyoueverhadanexperiencesimilartotheoneinthisshort
story?Bepreparedtodescribeitinclass.
2. Whatifthedoctorhadusedlogic?
3. WhatshouldFrazerdowithMazey?Whatwillwork?
4. WhyarethereMazeysinbusiness?
5. Whatarethelongtermeffectsoftheuseofforce?
6. Whatarethecommonlongtermeffectsoflogicandscientific
method?

Class#/Topic
Read:

Study
Questions:

9 LevelThreeLeadership

CompletetheLeadershipStepsAssessment(L3L,workbook,page413and
insertyouranswersonmywebpage.)

1. Makealistofalloftheorganizationsthatyoumightbecalledon
toleadduringyourlifetime.
2. MakealistofyourcurrentVABEsaboutleadership.

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CHANGE
Class#/Topic
Read:

StudyQuestions:

10 LeadingbyDesign

TheEthicalImperativeofLevelThreeLeadership(L3L,Ch6)
HausserFoodProductsCompany(CP)

1. Whatdoesseniormanagementwant?
2. WhatdoesBrendawant?
3. WhatdoestheFloridaSalesTeamwant?
4. WhatcounseldoyouhaveforyourDyadPartnerafterten
classes?
5. WhatfeedbackwouldyougiveyourDyadPartnerafterten
classes?

Class#/Topic

Read:

StudyQuestions:

11 LeadingChange:CultureEatsStrategyforBreakfast

EdNorrisandtheBaltimorePoliceDepartmentA(CP)
LeadingChange(L3L,Ch24)

ViewCDROMclipsonline.

LearnasmuchaboutEdNorrisasyoucanonline.(Holdthe
epilogueuntillaterintheclass.)

COMPLETEtheOHinstrument(L3Lp.432andinsertyour
scoresonmywebsite.NOTE:arevisionofthisinstrument
appearsonlineonmywebsite.

1. IfyouwereinEdNorrisposition,whatwouldyoudo?
2. Howdoesonemanage/leadchangeinlargeorganizations?
3. HowwouldOHaffectthat?

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MODELS
Class#/Topic
Read:

StudyQuestions:

12 StudentPresentations
Bepreparedtowithyourteamtopresentyourlearningsabout
yourchosenleaderasplanned.Eachpresentationneedstobe
eightminutesorless.
Whoisyouradmiredleader?Whydoyouadmirethem?What
wastheirleadershipphilosophy/model?

Class#/Topic
Read:

StudyQuestions:

13 StudentPresentations
Bepreparedtowithyourteamtopresentyourlearningsabout
yourchosenleaderasplanned.Eachpresentationneedstobe
eightminutesorless.
Whoisyouradmiredleader?Whydoyouadmirethem?What
wastheirleadershipphilosophy/model?

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RESULTS
Class#/Topic

Read:

StudyQuestions:

14 IntegratedWhole

TheLifeandCareerofaDivisionalCEO:BobJohnsonat
HoneywellAerospace

TheGlobalLeader(L3L,Ch14)

ViewCDROMonline.

1. WhatsyourassessmentofBobsCareer?Ofhislife?
2. WhatVABEsareyourassessmentsbasedon?Trytobeclear
aboutwhatthoseare.
3. WhatadvicewouldyougivehimattheendoftheAcase?
WhatVABEsisyouradvicebasedon.

Class#/Topic
Read:
StudyQuestions:

15 LooseEnds&Conclusions

Whatlingeringquestionsdoyouhaveaboutleadership?

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