Kouzes & Posner Practices Journal

Practice Three

Kelsey McMillan - SFASU-PADM 5335

Executive Summary

Chapters 7 and 8 of Kouzes and Posner’s guide to exemplary leadership, The Leadership Challenge,

covers the third practice in their Five Practice model, Challenge the Process. The Third Practice,

Challenge the Process, can be summed up as the need for a leader always to seek to improve and grow

themselves and their organizations through originality and informed risk-taking. The two commitments

associated with Practice 3 are:

1. Search for opportunities by seizing the initiative and looking outward for innovative ways to

improve.

2. Experiment and take risks by consistently generating small wins and learning from experience.

The third practice follows Model the Way and Inspire a Shared Vision, both foundational to the

Exemplary Leadership Process. Once an organization is rooted through the first two practices, a leader

can begin challenging the process in ways that are productive to their organization without worrying

about disrupting the foundation of their team. As the saying goes, you have to learn the rules before you

can break them.

Chapter 7 encompasses the first commitment of Practice 3, Search for Opportunities, by seizing the

initiative and looking outward for innovative ways to improve. In this chapter, the authors discuss a

leaders’ need to search for opportunities by seizing the initiative and exercising outsight. Kouzes and

Posner begin by describing how exemplary leaders make sweeping and transformative changes in their

organizations. First, they tackle Seizing the Initiative, which they break down into three actionable

categories, Make Something Happen, Encourage Initiative in Others, and Challenge with Purpose. Make

Something Happen explain to the reader how highly effective leaders only become that way by being

proactive and going above and beyond the status quo. Based on data within this segment, the authors note

that proactive leaders consistently score higher on average in effectiveness and performance standards
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than those who are reactive. Leaders who effectively utilize Make Something Happen respond to

problems as they see them. They take initiative and Are the classic self-starter. Moving on, Kouzes and

Posner begin talking about Encouraging Initiative in Others as the second pillar of Searching for

Opportunities. This pillar expands on the need for leaders to encourage their constituents and followers to

be self-starters and proactive problem solvers. Kouzes and Posner also note that leaders must give

constituents the resources and the tools they require to be efficient problem solvers. This can come in the

form of processes to facilitate group brainstorms, Town Hall meetings with open forums, or even a

message board aimed at an open discussion about what's working and what isn't. Lastly, Kouzes and

Posner note the need for leaders to Challenge with a Purpose. They begin by saying that “Purpose is a

tremendously powerful source of motivation...” (p. 155). the point here is that leaders must challenge the

status quo simply to create challenge or disruption is neither practical nor advisable. Leaders must choose

to create challenges that matter and serve the purpose of benefiting and helping their organization’s

growth. Suppose a leader is challenging the status quo in their organization and can show their

constituents that it is truly in their best interest and benefit their organization. In that case, they will get

their members on board with their changes and work hard to make it happen. When people genuinely

care about the work that they're doing, they understand their purpose, and they know what's at stake. They

can put their whole heart and effort into their job in a way that they cannot if it's just for a paycheck.

Chapter 7 continues with Exercise Outsight, which is purposefully in opposition to insight. The authors

explain outsight to mean being aware of outside forces and willing to accept innovation and inspiration

from anywhere. They continued that a good leader must Look outside of their experience, Listen to and

promote diverse perspectives, and Treat every job as an adventure to Exercise Outsight effectively. Look

outside your experience talks about the importance of leaders collecting Knowledge from as many

sources as possible. Leaders should ask questions, attend training programs and conferences, read

multiple news sources, and talk to as many people as possible. Next, leaders should Listen to and promote

diverse perspectives. This is the idea that leaders need to seek diverse points of view to take them in

actively. Kouzes and Posner specifically talk about the fact that research shows that without actively
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seeking this kind of diversity in your life, it will not come to leaders organically. Lastly, to Exercise

Outsight, a leader should treat every job as an adventure, meaning every day on the job should be like the

first day on the job. Each day influential leaders should ask themselves what new and exciting things they

can bring to the table and what parts of their organization can they explore and enhance.

The second commitment of Practice 3 Challenge the Process is detailed in chapter 8, Experiment and

Take Risks. In this chapter, the authors will talk about Generating Small Wins and Learning from

Experience. The authors begin the chapter by noting that attacking challenges in this way can help a

leader turn something that is merely a problem into an exciting adventure. First talked about generating

small wins. I need to discuss how building psychological hardiness and breaking it down to accentuate

progress are the best tools for mastering this essential skill. The idea of Generating small wins is

simplified as breaking projects down into small attainable goals that followers can celebrate as they are

reached. They begin by discussing building psychological hardiness, and they note that giving

constituents too much or too big of a picture can make them feel overwhelmed. Breaking projects down

into small attainable tasks and goals allows them to focus on one problem at a time and feel mentally

prepared and able. Through those small successes, constituents can build up their ability to tackle more

and more complex issues. Next, they discussed how breaking things down to accentuate progress can

also help with generating small wins. When projects are broken down into small pieces, it's easier to see

precisely where things are going right and where things have possibly veered off the path and are going

wrong. It's easier to accentuate or notice the progress being made when it's happening in recognizable

segments. When projects are broken up into these segments seeing where things have gone off course can

be a temporary blip because it is surrounded by so many elements that have gone right. It’s harder for

constituents to focus on the negative when there is so much positive surrounding it. Chapter 8 continues

with the second essential skill of Experimenting and Taking Risks, learning from experience. This section

focuses on the very well-known idea that failures are the best learning experiences. In Learn from

Experience, Kouzes and Posner talk about Being an active learner, Creating a climate for learning, and

Strengthening your resilience and Grit. Research shows that leaders who can reflect on and learn from
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their own experiences are more effective overall. They quote Carol Dweck, who refers to the capacity for

being an active learner as a growth mindset. An effective leader must learn from their successes and

failures and use that learning to grow. This leads to Creating a climate for learning, which notes that the

most crucial thing across all research for creating a growth mindset and nurturing an environment of

learning is trust. Leaders who foster a culture of confidence in their organizations will be more successful

at creating a welcoming learning environment for all. Lastly, to succeed in all of those, a leader must

strengthen their resilience and grit, which is their ability to bounce back from setbacks and failure.

Leaders who have high resilience and grit are committed to moving forward no matter their setbacks and

are constantly looking to the future for their next steps.

Reflective Connectivity

In my field, Theatre Production, collaboration, and teamwork are key but being a leader who can use

foresight and creative thinking is imperative. When Kouzes and Posner wrote the Leadership Challenge, I

doubt they had the theatre director in mind as their typical leader. Most business texts don’t, and why

would they? So, I have to put everything in the context of my industry and leadership needs. So when I

read about and think of Challenging the Process, in my mind, I don’t go right to coming into my office

and developing a new blueprint for x,y, or z procedures. I think how do I implement this thinking into the

revolving door process of play production and this practice, in particular, is what I do every time I

develop new shows and begin working with new teams.

Chapter 7 talks about finding new opportunities by taking the initiative and looking outward for

innovation. When I am directing professionally, I work as a contracted employee, and I’m hired to direct a

show which allows me to hire my crew, cast, and designers. Each new project affords me the ability to

look outward for innovation, even from the very first act I take of choosing who to work with. I like to

work with new people often to continue getting new perspectives and ideas. As for being active learners,

Any theatre person worth their salt will tell you that to be good at theatre, especially as a director, you

must be a lifelong student of everything. I love to learn and read and challenge myself and my ideas. I try

to bring that spirit to my rehearsals as well. William Ball talks a lot about creating an environment in the
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rehearsal room that nurtures trust and opens the door for honest dialogue that fosters learning in his book

A Sense of Direction: Some Observations on the Art of Directing. (Ball, 1995) I first encountered the idea

of using trust to create learning there, and I was interested to see it reiterated here. The concept isn’t new;

Northouse talks about building trust within some specific leadership styles and behaviors. (Northouse,

2018) and I think the idea of being genuine and fostering trust is at the heart of Rowe’s discussion on

Authentic Leadership in our most recent reading. (Rowe, 2019) Overall, I very much resonate with the

idea that a leader needs to be an innovator and a lifelong learner who promotes learning in their followers.

In Chapter 8, they break down how a leader can Challenge the Process by talking about how leaders can

use to make these significant challenges more likely to succeed. Here’s where I’m lucky because I have

tools built into the nature of my work that help me. The very heart of what I do is that it’s fleeting. We

work to create a hopefully impactful piece of art, and then when we’re finished, it’s gone. So when

Kouzes and Posner talk about Experimenting and Taking Risks, I feel right at home. From a leadership

perspective, Each show I take on, each new script, new cast, and new crew is an experiment, and I’m

constantly moving pieces around for each show to see how we can improve from the last. Any theatre

management text will tell you about the importance of season planning and the need to take calculated

risks with show choices. In Theatre Management, Producing and Managing the Performing Arts, the

authors David Conte and Stephen Langley speak on the process of season planning and play selection

which is nothing if not calculated risk-taking based on knowledge gained from past personal experience.

(Conte & Langley, 2007) When I am directing, I like to break things into chunks. There’s a method for

memorization called “chunking” that I teach to my students, and I also tend to use it as an overall tactic

for large projects. I break things into smaller, more attainable goals. This is exactly what Kouzes and

Posner are talking about with Generating Small Wins.

In general, this entire Practice is about being brave in your leadership. Using your knowledge to see

where changes can be made and taking the initiative to make those changes happen through creativity,

innovation, and risk. It’s about being honest with yourself and your constituents so that everyone can find

ways to challenge processes. What I love about this is that when everyone is free and able to Challenge
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the process, things will improve. I’m bringing up Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead again because it’s

resonated with me so profoundly. A significant cornerstone of her philosophy is that establishing trust in

your team to foster open dialogues and learning is the best way to make sure your organization and you

keep growing and improving. (Brown, 2019) I find myself feeling that same connection with this Practice

as well.

Conclusion

Practice 3 Challenge the Process must be preceded by Model the Way and Inspire a Shared Vision to

survive, but when built upon that solid foundation is the most exciting part of being a leader. The trick is

not to look at Challenging the Process as a one-time deal that must occur when a leader first enters an

organization but as an ongoing, perpetual process of learning, trying, failing, and succeeding, and learning

again. Public sector leaders should look at Challenge the Process as their blueprint for meeting and

defeating challenges, improving and growing their business, and enabling their followers to learn and

teach others.
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References

Ball, W. (1995). A sense of direction: Some observations on the art of directing. New York: Drama ,

an imprint of Quite Specific Media Group.

Brown, B. (2019). Dare to lead: Brave work, tough conversations, whole hearts. Random House

Large Print Publishing.

Conte, D. M., & Langley, S. (2007). Theatre management: Producing and managing the

performing arts. Hollywood, CA: EntertainmentPro.

Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2017). The leadership challenge (Sixth ed.). Hoboken: John Wiley

& Sons.

Northouse, P. G. (2018). Introduction to leadership: Concepts and practice (Fourth ed.). Los

Angeles: SAGE.

Rowe, W. G., & Guerrero, L. K. (2019). Cases in leadership.

Los Angeles: SAGE.