In their book Leadership on the Line, Ron Heifetz and Marty Linsky suggest that, “Habits, values, and attitudes, even dysfunctional ones, are part of one’s identity. To change the way people see and do things is to challenge how they define themselves.” I feel that leadership (large or small acts) is about aligning perceptions/beliefs with the “right” course of action. Below are a couple songs that touch upon the concept of “beliefs” or paradigms and the influence they have on all of us.  What songs come to mind for you? – Scott J. Allen

1. Paradigms - John Mayer – Belief
2. Paradigms – Rush – The Way the Wind Blows
3. Paradigms – Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On

My wife and I went to see Arlo Guthrie in concert the other night and when he sang his song Alice’s Restaurant, I began to think about Kouzes and Posner’s concept of Challenging the Process. After all, musicians have been challenging the process for years. So what are some songs that exemplify this practice from their book The Leadership Challenge? Some examples may include:

1. Ohio – Neil Young
2. Bullet the Blue Sky – U2
3. Throwing Stones – The Grateful Dead
4. Waiting on the World to Change – John Mayer
5. Power to the People/Imagine -John Lennon
6. American Idiot – Green Day

What are others songs that you can think of? – Scott J. Allen

I came across an interesting article in the Drake Business Review by Watson Wyatt Worldwide. According to the article, “the more companies do to develop their leaders, the greater their financial success.”  Take a look and see what you think! – Scott J. Allen

Looking for a more academic perspective on leadership education and/or development?  Take a look at the online journal, The Journal of Leadership Education.  The Journal “is an international, refereed journal that serves scholars and professional practitioners engaged in leadership education (and it) provides a forum for the development of the knowledge base and professional practice of leadership education world wide.” – Scott J. Allen

For those of you in leadership education/development, you regularly work through many challenges. As a step toward identifying and addressing the issues, we are surveying individuals engaged in some form of leadership education. And, for that we need your help!

We would greatly appreciate your participation in this research by completing the electronic survey. The survey asks about your leadership education context and challenges.

Just click here to share your thoughts:

Thanks so much in advance!  We will be certain that the results are shared so we can use them to keep advancing our practice. – Scott J. Allen