WEEK ONE - The Meaning of Leadership Overview Background Andrew Rockfish, part owner and head of Global Delivery Direct (GDD), North American Division, was watching “Undercover Boss” on TV last night and was considering the idea for himself.  He thought it was a great way to get honest feedback from the frontline workers.  While the lack of honest feedback was important to him, what bothered him the most was the lack of personal mentoring!  He could see weaknesses in his leadership staff that concerned him more than ever.  GDD was losing market share in North America, and he knew that leading innovation and change was critical for GDD to stay in the game. This change would only come from leadership and committed workers. As he was mulling this idea over in his mind the next morning at work, he overheard a conversation between a few human resource employees discussing the paperwork for the new management hires.  It occurred to him that were he to get the seasoned managers (including himself) to lead the training sessions, the experienced managers might benefit from a review of some of the major leadership concepts as well as from being exposed to some of the contemporary leadership ideas.  These training sessions could facilitate reflection on the strengths and weaknesses each may have in a constructive and much less threatening manner.  The new recruits would gain the most because they would get the benefit of mentoring from the seasoned managers while becoming familiar with the GDD way of doing things.  Personally, Rockfish thought, “I will get to see the new hires and how they work.”  As these ideas began to grow on Rockfish, he went to see the Director of Human Resource to discuss the ideas further. Fortunate for you, GDD has given you a new managerial spot.  A recent e-mail sent to you revealed that you would be receiving eight weeks of training before entering your assigned job. The focus of the training is leadership led by the Division Head, Andrew Rockfish.  The existing managers (your instructors), will lead you in discussions and assignments that will focus on a variety of leadership topics.  Each week you will be provided with an agenda (schedule) along with Rockfish’s personal comments on the topics and material to read that will hopefully allow you to comprehend the importance of good leadership to GDD and how it is best accomplished.   Rockfish has put the following agenda out for his management mentees.  Staff managers have prepared the weekly topics for discussion.  In putting the schedule together, Rockfish has provided key take-away points.  Rockfish - Welcome Remarks: Welcome to GDD! It is exciting to have you here at GDD. This is the start of a new program for “Managers to Leaders”  and one I hope will prove a great success.  GDD is at a critical time in its history.  Although still a sound viable business, we face a market position that will reverse our growth trends unless we find new and sustainable ways of supportin.

1. WEEK ONE - The Meaning of Leadership Overview
Background
Andrew Rockfish, part owner and head of Global Delivery
Direct (GDD), North American Division, was watching
“Undercover Boss” on TV last night and was considering the
idea for himself. He thought it was a great way to get honest
feedback from the frontline workers. While the lack of honest
feedback was important to him, what bothered him the most was
the lack of personal mentoring! He could see weaknesses in his
leadership staff that concerned him more than ever. GDD was
losing market share in North America, and he knew that leading
innovation and change was critical for GDD to stay in the game.
This change would only come from leadership and committed
workers. As he was mulling this idea over in his mind the next
morning at work, he overheard a conversation between a few
human resource employees discussing the paperwork for the
new management hires. It occurred to him that were he to get
the seasoned managers (including himself) to lead the training
sessions, the experienced managers might benefit from a review
of some of the major leadership concepts as well as from being
exposed to some of the contemporary leadership ideas. These
training sessions could facilitate reflection on the strengths and
weaknesses each may have in a constructive and much less
threatening manner. The new recruits would gain the most
because they would get the benefit of mentoring from the
seasoned managers while becoming familiar with the GDD way
of doing things. Personally, Rockfish thought, “I will get to see
the new hires and how they work.” As these ideas began to
grow on Rockfish, he went to see the Director of Human
Resource to discuss the ideas further.
Fortunate for you, GDD has given you a new managerial spot.
A recent e-mail sent to you revealed that you would be
receiving eight weeks of training before entering your assigned
job. The focus of the training is leadership led by the Division

2. Head, Andrew Rockfish. The existing managers (your
instructors), will lead you in discussions and assignments that
will focus on a variety of leadership topics. Each week you will
be provided with an agenda (schedule) along with Rockfish’s
personal comments on the topics and material to read that will
hopefully allow you to comprehend the importance of good
leadership to GDD and how it is best accomplished.
Rockfish has put the following agenda out for his management
mentees. Staff managers have prepared the weekly topics for
discussion. In putting the schedule together, Rockfish has
provided key take-away points.
Rockfish - Welcome Remarks:
Welcome to GDD!
It is exciting to have you here at GDD. This is the start of a new
program for “Managers to Leaders” and one I hope will prove a
great success. GDD is at a critical time in its history. Although
still a sound viable business, we face a market position that will
reverse our growth trends unless we find new and sustainable
ways of supporting our customer base. This challenge is one
facing many businesses today. It is our obligation as the
leaders of the company to accept the challenge. Leadership,
hand in hand with management, will accomplish this goal.
However, the leadership must drive the change and new ideas
needed to meet the challenge. That is why today we will begin a
journey towards understanding leadership in the 21st Century
and how it will apply to making leadership great at GDD. The
destination for this journey is to arm each of you, as a future
leader of GDD, with the knowledge useful to meet the challenge
we are facing. We want you to be learning leaders, which starts
with knowing what you need to learn about leadership. Our
focus in this class will be on developing an understanding of the
skills useful to being a good leader in today’s business
environment. So, let us begin the journey.

3. Agenda:
THEME ONE: Understanding the nature of leadership helps to
frame the viewpoint of a leader
Rockfish- Topic Introductory Remarks
DEFINING LEADERSHIP
Many scholars have defined leadership over the years, but the
definition of leadership is dynamic. The definition has changed
as the years have passed and organizations change to meet the
business environment of the times. In fact, many recognized
scholars have disagreed on the nature or essential
characteristics of leadership but offer a variety of perspectives.
The second theme for the week details these perspectives. How
you view leadership will influence the beliefs, values and
behaviors you maintain while leading and relating to others.
One common thread in these perspectives is that leadership is
about relationships especially between leaders and followers.
Leadership is about recognizing the skills and qualities of
others and acting upon this knowledge to complete a task. Here
is an everyday example of leadership that we wish to share with
you.
Juan Carlos was a college intern at GDD. He was 18 years old
and considered by his peers to be the “go to guy” whenever they
had a problem with their cell phones. In one day, five people
asked Juan Carlos for help with a cell phone problem. Two
other interns, his immediate supervisor and two managers all
asked for help with retrieving information from the phone,
activating an app or installing updates with key chain issues.
He happily helped solve the problem and shared information
that would help them in the future. Juan Carlos was just 18 but
was seen a leader with respect to the situation. Juan Carlos

4. demonstrated his leadership skills by being dependably
knowledgeable, by being approachable, and by teaching others
about the cell phone.
Effective organizational leaders must recognize the
opportunities for leadership all around them and thus influence
others to bring about change for the better. Further, effective
leaders must recognize “leaders”, like Juan Carlos, and act to
enable them to lead.
Just as it is important to define leadership creating a leadership
perspective, it is equally important to know what leadership is
not. Leadership is not a position and it is not power. Telling
someone what to do does not mean the work will be done or,
more importantly, done well. Having the power to create
change does not mean it will succeed.
Read:
What is Leadership?
Leadership Definitions - Input into browser:
www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/wmg/ftmsc/modules/modulelist/le
/content_store_2012/leadership_definitions.doc
The Difference Between Influence and Leadership
Ambler, G. (2016, Nov 16). Leadership is Not Title or Position
Satel, G. (2014, June 1). To Create Real Change, Leadership Is
More Important Than Authority
Maxwell, J. C. (2007, July 13). Position Leaders: Destined to
Disappoint
THEME TWO: The evolution of leadership theory can help to
explain what makes a good leader today.
Topic Introductory Remarks via E-Mail from Andrew Rockfish

5. to Management Trainees and Mentors
Hello New Leaders,
I am sending this e-mail so that you will have time to review the
material in advance of this week’s discussion. As mentioned
earlier, leadership experts have perspectives/ theories about
leadership. It is important to understand the history of
leadership theories, because it will help define the way
leadership today. The business environment controls the view of
the leader as it controls the actions needed for a company to
survive. By reviewing the chart below and the leadership
theories from the attached readings, it should become clear to
you how leadership has evolved. Understanding how leadership
theory has evolved to meet the needs of the organization over
time will help to define us as leaders today.
Decade(s)
1950-60
1960-80
1980-2000
2000-Now
Theories
Great Man/Trait
Behavior/
Contingency
Influence
Relational
Organizational Structure
Vertical/
Pre-bureaucratic
Vertical Hierarchy/
Bureaucratic
Horizontal/Cross-Teams

6. Flat/
Functional
Leader View
Single Hero
Command and Control
Team/Change Leader
Shared Vision/ Alignment/
Change Agent
Environment
Post-War Stable
American Business Growth/ Stable
MNC Dominance/Japanese Model/ Chaotic
Technology Revolution/
Disrupted/
Chaotic
Source Document: Daft, 2008
Read:
Leadership Theories
Sincerely,
Andrew Rockfish
==================
TAKE AWAY POINT FROM LEADERSHIP THEORY
EVOLUTION
The flow from “Great Man” views of leadership to “Learning
Leader” illustrates that the view of good leadership is colored
by the demands of the business landscape of its time.
Leadership, and its definition, is dynamic and complex. It is
changing in response to the needs of the organization in society.
Presently, many business leaders are continuing to transition

7. from the “Calm Chaos” of the latter half of the 20th century to
the “Turbulent Chaos” of the 21st. Leaders are focusing on
change management, facilitating vision and values to encourage
high performance and continuous adaptation. New theorists,
such as Jacob Morgan, are modeling the organizations of today
blending the vertical structures of the 80’s and 90’s with the
flat structure of the 21st century. Morgan maintains that it is
costly and inefficient to dismantle the vertical structures that
currently house most of the viable business organizations.
Instead, Morgan proposes a new structure known as a
“flatarchy”. A flatarchy can be relatively flat yet can create an
ad hoc hierarchy to work on a project or function and then
disband. The organization can also have a loose hierarchy that
can flatten when required and then return to a loose hierarchy
when the need is over. The leader of today must find ways to
transition quickly the old with the new. Implementing fast
change and getting people to accept and implement the change
is the greatest task facing leaders.
The leader must combine the “soft” skills of leadership with the
“hard” skills of management to guide effectively organizations.
Read:
Leadership Theories
Who Are Hersey and Blanchard - Drs. of Leadership
The Relational Leadership Model
Complete:
Review syllabus
Post your introduction
Participate in week 1 learning activities - Response due by
Sunday, 11:59 p.m.EST.

8. WEEK ONE
Learning Activity 1 – Theme One: Understanding the nature of
leadership helps to frame the viewpoint of a leader.
View: Drew Dudley:
In conjunction with the opening comments in the week 1 course
schedule, the readings for week 1, theme 1, consider the point
stated by Drew Dudley in Everyday Leadership. Then, reflect
on your experiences with leaders, and in your own words, define
leadership. How does your definition differ from what you
read and viewed and explain why.
Learning Activity 2 Theme Two: The evolution of leadership
theory can help to explain what makes a good leader today.
Explain the meaning behind theme two and describe the GDD
leader of today based on the evolution of theory. What you will
need to do is look at the different leadership theories and apply
the theories to support your reasoning.