Case Study: Teaching MBA Students to be Connective Leaders
Project Name: Teaching MBA Students to be Connective Leaders
Project Director: Kathie Pelletier, Ph.D.
Project Location: California State University campus
Project Description: Teaching Connective Leadership in an MBA-level leadership course at a university in Southern California.
Project Purpose(s): To teach graduate students about the main tenets of Connective Leadership and to help them understand and strengthen their achieving styles. Since this group of MBA students are working in various industries and have the responsibility to lead their respective work teams, I had them complete the Individual Achieving Styles Inventory, and we discussed their results and developed strategies for them to strengthen their underutilized achieving styles.
Participants: I taught 42 students who enrolled in my graduate leadership course “Leadership for Modern Organizations” about the nature of Connective Leadership and why this leadership concept is important for organizational success in a global business environment.
Results: Each student took the Individual Achieving Styles Inventory, and we discussed their results and how the students might strengthen their Connective Leadership Profiles. I administered a brief survey after we had completed the section on Connective Leadership. The students rated the extent to which they felt Connective Leadership and the Achieving Styles Inventory 1) were relevant to their roles as leaders, 2) increased their level of engagement in the class, 3) facilitated their learning, and 4) increased their motivation to learn. On a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), the means for each of these dimensions were over 4.3. They thoroughly appreciated learning about this topic and felt it would benefit them in their careers.
General Comments: Connective Leadership is a highly relevant theoretical perspective of the skills that are imperative for meeting today’s global leadership challenges. My graduate students stated that they appreciated learning about this important leadership perspective; they were inspired by the work of the Connective Leadership Institute and Dr. Lipman-Blumen’s book, “Connective Leadership: Managing in a Changing World.” I will be incorporating Connective Leadership in all of my leadership courses, based on their feedback and the results of class evaluations.