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Executive Book Summary

EADM 826

By Yajie Hua

“The Leadership Wheel reveals an inspiring and original five-point picture of what it takes to be an emotionally intelligent, resonant leader. Clint Sidle has managed to combine fresh and important insights with practical advice for developing resonant leaders, great teams, and vibrant, successful organizations. Great exercises!”

ANNIE MCKEE

The Leadership Wheel

Inside This Issue: Introduction………………… .2 The Heroic Journey and the Creation of Enlightened Society ………………………………..3 The Leadership Wheel and the Wisdom of the Five Directions ……………………..................4 Discovering Leadership: Awakening the Power Within ………………………………..6 Turning the Wheel Ⅰ: Tapping the Wisdom of Teams ……………………………….7 Turning the Wheel Ⅱ: Creating Enlightened Organizations ……………………………….8 The Heroic Journey in Organizations: Designing the Total Experience ………………………………..9 Reference ……………………………...10

C. Clinton Sidle is director of the prestigious Roy H. Park Leadership Fellows Program at the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University and a top consultant in strategic change, teambuilding, and leadership development. His program has been taught at universities such as Wharton and Duke. His consulting clients include Citigroup, Corning Inc., Kellogg’s, the American Red Cross, and many others. After reviews some opinions of ancient philosophers and psychologists, he provided a new approach to understand leadership in this book. This approach is based on the Medicine Wheel. The aim of this book is to help individuals to understand themselves and explore their own potential.

About the author: C. Clinton Sidle

THE LEADERSHIP WHEEL C. Clinton Sidle

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Introduction

Nowadays, great challenges take place in the society. Generally speaking, the development of globalization and technology greatly enriches the material aspect of human life. However, along with satisfaction from the material world, the environment of the planet and the health of human spirit are threatened. In terms of economic system, there is too much profit in too few hands. This phenomenon will lead to the instability. In terms of human spirit, the excessive pursuit of material success contributes to the ignorance of spiritual construction. Apart from what mentioned above, leaders may meet some specific challenges, one of which is that self-interest hinders their pursuit of balanced and principled leadership. The negative effect of these challenges is that people “have lost sight of wealth as a means to life and not life’s goal”. The excessive desire for wealth results in the misunderstanding of the role of capitalism and the purpose of business. Consequently, people lose the balance between self-interest and service.

In this book, the author

realized this problem and argued that leadership is key to solve it. However, it is difficult to define leadership. After reviewing ancient cultures, traditions, and philosophical systems, Sidle generated his understanding of leadership -- “leadership is a vehicle for personal and organizational transformation in a way that redefines both leadership and the purposes of business”. He divided leaders’ work into two parts: the inner work and the outer work. The former one refers to the work of personal development, and the latter one refers to the work of developing healthy relationships, teams, and organizations.

“The most exciting breakthrough of the 21st century will occur not because of technology, but because of an expanding concept of what it means to be human.”

--John Naisbitt

“The salvation of this world

lies nowhere else but in the

human heart…. Without a

global revolution of

consciousness nothing will

change for the better, and the

catastrophe towards which

this world is headed will be

unavoidable.”

--Vaclav Havel

THE LEADERSHIP WHEEL

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C. Clinton Sidle

The Heroic Journey and the Creation of Enlightened Society The final aim of the Heroic Journey is to create enlightened society. This kind of society is based on “the highest human virtues of order, dignity, and human fulfillment” (Sidle, 2005, p. 28). In enlightened society, it is benefits of everyone that is important. Many philosophical thoughts contribute to enlightened society.

in Greek, Plato’s Republic Francis Bacon: a paradise of peace

in China, the works of Confucius and Lao Tzu Sir Thomas More: Utopia

in Japan, the Samurai tradition Thomas More: human fulfillment

Heroic Journey: “the attempt to harness this evolutionary urge to become and find meaning” (Sidle, 2005, p. 16).

Heroic person: “anyone able to face the risks and challenges of change despite fears and uncertainties”

(Sidle, 2005, p. 17). Before: driven by inner quest

Heroic Journey Now: driven by outer quest

The premise of heroic journey is knowing who we are,

and then prepare to doing something extraordinary.

The heroic journey can be found in the management theory. As Sidle said, “leadership is a journey of self-discovery, for breaking through old habits of thinking in order to

achieve more than what seems possible, and to help oneself and others learn and find meaning in working together” (2005, p. 18).

All of these thoughts express the urge to construct a better world. Also, this urge greatly influenced the development of business.

the agricultural revolution

the industrial revolution

a commerce based on balance and sustainability

THE LEADERSHIP WHEEL C. Clinton Sidle

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The Leadership Wheel and the Wisdom of the Five Directions

EAST: The way of the teacher – knowing the world LEARNING ROUTINES Curiosity: drives people to acquire expertise and knowledge Logic: be logical and rational in handling affairs, assessing chances, and judging reality in a critical way Objectives: avoid biases in order to help others to understand reality DEFENSIVE ROUTINES Fixation: has strong sense of right and wrong and stubbornly fixation on own opinions Righteousness: be self-righteous Analysis Paralysis: be “so enamored with problem solving that they suffer from analysis paralysis” (Sidle, 2005, p. 47) The Shadow of Teacher “The wisdom activity of the Teacher is an absolute clarity that pacifies the struggle to understand with peaceful, objective, and insightful observations and knowledge” (Sidle, 2005, p. 47).

WEST: The way of the visionary – seeing the way LEARNING ROUTINES Judgment: tend to challenge the existing ideas and make own judgment Perspective: sees things in multiple ways Creativity: be creative in synthesizing concepts and mental models DEFENSIVE ROUTINES Scattered: always pursues new ideals and ignores the details Overcommitment: wants to grasp all opportunities and leaves little time to handle them Compulsiveness: be addicted to chasing the new The Shadow of Visionary “The wisdom activity of the Visionary is a discriminating vision that is magnetizing, as in the sense of drawing self and others into what is most important” (Sidle, 2005, p. 58).

SOUTH: The way of the nurturer – awakening the heart LEARNING ROUTINES Empathy: is the base of effective relationships which is critical to success Values-Guided: is important to build trust Resilience: offers “a sense of worth and resourcefulness” (Sidle, 2005, p. 48) DEFENSIVE ROUTINES Oversensitivity: likely to keep away from conflict Dependence: needs support from others Pride: for protecting their feelings The Shadow of Nurturer “The wisdom activity of Nurturers is equanimity, and that equanimity allows them to relax and feel an enriching depth, expansiveness, and abundance of all life” (Sidle, 2005, p. 51).

THE LEADERSHIP WHEEL

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C. Clinton Sidle

The Leadership Wheel and the Wisdom of the Five Directions

NORTH: The way of the warrior – embodying the way LEARNING ROUTINES Courage: has courage to deal with tough situation Integrity: able to crate a world of uncompromising integrity Discipline: be disciplined in fulfilling the belief DEFENSIVE ROUTINES Busyness: keeps on doing tasks without classification of the tasks Intimidation: fear of falling behind Micromanagement: be overcontrolling of others The Shadow of Warrior “The wisdom activity of the Warrior is all-accomplishing action in the sense that it draws on the formative powers of the first three directions to willfully subjugate and cut through obstacles of self-interest” (Sidle, 2005, p. 60).

Center: The way of the sage – learning to learn LEARNING ROUTINES Awareness: understands one’s inner power and has ability to have balanced personal development Optimism: understands personal strengths and weaknesses and is willing to make differences Agility: always be prepared to meet and learn the new things DEFENSIVE ROUTINES Complacency: likely to deal with something that people are familiar with Victim Mentality: feels like “victim rather than masters of circumstance” (Sidle, 2005, p. 64) Self-Delusion: turns a blind eye to reality and be stubborn on them The Shadow of Sage “The wisdom activity of the Sage is a vast alert awareness, or consciousness, and it is all-encompassing in the sense that it awakens all the directions and all aspects of being” (Sidle, 2005, p. 65).

THE LEADERSHIP WHEEL C. Clinton Sidle

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Discovering Leadership: Awakening the Power Within

THE

LEA

RN

ING

WH

EE

L

Enacting

Planning

Connecting

Analyzing

The ability to close the gap between knowing and doing, express plans in words and actions, and take risks in

learning through trial and error.

The

abili

ty to

see

the

poss

ibili

ties f

or

the

futu

re, d

isce

rn w

hat i

nspi

res a

nd

give

s mea

ning

, and

con

cept

ualiz

e a

plan

for m

ovin

g fo

rwar

d.

The ability to recognize the emotional impact of reality on self and others, work with that impact, and learn through relationship.

The ability to seek data, analyze it objectively, and acquire the intellectual know

ledge needed for understanding the current reality.

The ability to reflect on experience, learn through greater levels of awareness, and incorporate each direction into the learning process.

HOW TO MAKE A LEADER: 1. PLANTING THE EMOTIONAL HOOK 2. GIVING STRUCTURED SUPPORT 3. SUSTAINING ENERGY FOR THE EFFORT

THE LEADERSHIP WHEEL

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C. Clinton Sidle

Turning the Wheel Ⅰ: Tapping the Wisdom of Teams

1.Form

a real team.

2.Provide inform

ation and resource support.

5. S

hape

shar

ed v

isio

n an

d pr

oces

s goa

ls.

6. C

0-cr

eate

to m

otiv

ate.

3. Develop team values and norms. 4. Process the interpersonal dynamic.

7. Supporting follow-through. 8. Encouraging walking the talk.

9. Foster action learning. 10. Practice dialogue.

“…cooperation and working together in a community are essential for human productivity, growth, and satisfaction.”

-- C. Clinton Sidle

“The honor of one if the honor of all, the hurt of one if the hurt of all.”

-- Native American saying

THE LEADERSHIP WHEEL C. Clinton Sidle

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Turning the Wheel Ⅱ: Creating Enlightened Organizations

1.D

evelop a Norm of Inquiry.

2.M

easure What C

ounts. 3.

Foster a Shared Understanding

of Reality

4. Identify Core Values. 5. Establish Social Networks. 6. Build Trusting Relationships.

7. D

evel

op a

Sha

red

Visi

on o

f th

e Fu

ture

. 8.

Tak

e a

Syst

ems A

ppro

ach.

9.

Edu

cate

to C

omm

unic

ate.

10. Instill a Culture of Authenticity. 11. Experiment and Create Short-Term Wins. 12. Localize the Action.

13. Manage the Learning Process. 14. Build the Leadership Team. 15. Pass It On.

THE LEADERSHIP WHEEL

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C. Clinton Sidle

The Heroic Journey in Organizations: Designing the Total Experience

With the development of economy and society, the definition of leadership calls for innovation. And the Heroic Journey provides ways to illustrate the new style leadership. However, people will meet some challenges in the Heroic Journey. One of the main challenges is “to change the world from right where you are, one step at a time” (p. 214). As is mentioned above, the Heroic Journey is to help people to do self-discovery. People can find out their strengths and weakness in the journey, and then explore their personal potential. After doing that, people can devote their natural gifts to construction the world and serve the others and the whole society. Yet, people should realize that they would never fulfill this journey without help from others. They can obtain the opportunities and help from the teams and the organizations. The challenge of beginning this journey in organization setting is “to engage the change process in a way that makes you more capable, more resilient, and more whole as individuals” (p. 214).

INDIVIDUAL WORKSHOP Objective: “to hook the energy of becoming, the desire to learn and develop, through insight into the self and increasing self-awareness” (p.216). Ways to strengthen the individual workshop: 1. Design personal

learning plan and strategies that contain the action learning process of the Wheel.

2. Assess and revise learning plan by sharing it with team members.

3. Find a mentor to promote the plan.

4. Share a dialogue that contains a interpersonal problem and a solution

TEAM WORKSHOP Objective: “to develop trust and relationships through continuing the practice of dialogue in building teams” (p. 217). Ways to strengthen the team workshop: 1. Follow the action

learning structure of the Wheel to build the team and deal with the assigned tasks.

2. Act as team-building consultants to evaluate one of the teams in the workshop.

3. Work with teams and mentors to revise their personal learning plan.

SYSTEM WORKSHOP Objective: “to learn to use change efforts as a vehicle for developing leadership skills and building a learning culture” (p. 218). Ways to strengthen the system workshop: 1. Learn about the

theory of change in accord with the Wheel.

2. Practice the theory in a simulation.

3. Practice the theory in live case study

4. Design a strategic system-level change process, and them implement the process.

Executive Book Review

Reference

Sidle, C. C. (2005). The leadership wheel: five steps for achieving individual and organizational greatness. New York, N.Y.: PALGRAVE MACMILLAN.

Additional work by C. Clinton Sidle

“This Hungry Spirit: Your Need for Basic Goodness” (2009) by C. Clinton Sidle

Yajie Hua EADM 826 Human Resource Leadership

For Bob Bayles and Keith Walker

University of Saskatchewan