These slides were prepared for Masters of Management students at Massey University, New Zealand. They focus on how to write a reflective journal for assignment 3 of Leading and Organising Change (152.707).

1. WRITING WORKSHOP 5
152707 Leading and Organizing Change
These slides can be viewed at:
tinyurl.com/152707W5

2. You will learn how to:
• Make connections between different
sections (vignettes) of your reflective
journal.
• Write an introduction and conclusion
section to your reflective journal
Learning outcome

3. ASSIGNMENT QUESTION

4. The assignment question
workshop 5
(today)

5. Suggested Journal Structure
Introduction (one short paragraph)
Vignette 1 (three paragraphs)
Vignette 2 (three paragraphs)
Vignette 3 (three paragraphs)
Conclusion (one or two paragraphs)

6. Suggested structure for each vignette
Story of leadership experience (1 paragraph)
workshops 1 & 2
Analysis of leadership experience (1 paragraph)
workshop 3
Scholarly critique of leadership experience (1
paragraph)
workshop 4

7. ANOTHER EXAMPLE
VIGNETTE

8. TASK 1: Story of a leadership experience
What elements can you identify in this story?
How does it link to the previous vignette?

9. My next opportunity to exercise educational leadership was when I came
to New Zealand several years later. This time, the main challenge was not
how to implement change, but how to communicate effectively with my
team of part-time, hourly paid staff. Face to face meetings were rare, as
the teachers worked at different centres and times. This meant I relied on
group emails as a means of influencing their behaviour. I found this
frustrating and restrictive and felt, once again, that I was a leader in name
only, without the necessary tools for the job. On one occasion, for
instance, I emailed the group to remind them to use our branding on
training materials. I’d found some handouts in the photocopier with the
logo of a competitor one trainer had worked for. This trainer (who I hadn’t
named in my email) sent an angry response complaining that she had no
time to produce new materials. She used ‘reply all’, so the whole team
became involved. Several phone calls were required to sort out the
confusion and calm everyone down. Unlike the previous experience, it did
not lead to my resignation, but did, once more, make me question my
competence as a leader.
context
response
problem
outcome
evaluation

10. My next opportunity to exercise educational leadership was when I came to New
Zealand several years later. This time, the main challenge was not how to implement
change, but how to communicate effectively with my team of part-time, hourly paid staff.
Face to face meetings were rare, as the teachers worked at different centres and times.
This meant I relied on group emails as a means of influencing their behaviour. I found this
frustrating and restrictive and felt, once again, that I was a leader in name only, without
the necessary tools for the job. On one occasion, for instance, I emailed the group to
remind them to use our branding on training materials. I’d found some handouts in the
photocopier with the logo of a competitor one trainer had worked for. This trainer (who I
hadn’t named in my email) sent an angry response complaining that she had no time to
produce new materials. She used ‘reply all’, so the whole team became involved. Several
phone calls were required to sort out the confusion and calm everyone down. Unlike the
previous experience, it did not lead to my resignation, but did, once more, make me
question my competence as a leader.
These links help to show development through the three vignettes

11. TASK 2: Analysis of a leadership experience
Which leadership issues do I focus on?
Which causes and effects do I identify?
What question(s) do I raise about leadership?

12. As in my earlier experience in London, the immediate causes of the problem were not
hard to find. My choice of email was clearly inappropriate. I had seen it as a
straightforward and simple reminder to staff, but it is a basic principle of business
communication that any message that can be perceived as disciplinary is best
delivered face-to-face (citation). I realised, on reflection, that my use of email had
reinforced an impression of distance between the staff and me (as a representative of
institutional bureaucracy). Communication is much more than the transmission of
information; every interaction either builds or erodes the foundation of mutual trust
and respect that supports organisational capacity and growth (citation). As I reflected
more deeply on what had happened, I began to focus less on the issue of matching
communication purpose and channel and more on how I could be a more effective
leader at the level of value and identity. The fundamental questions here, I began to
feel, were: If staff feel the branding is irrelevant, do they also feel their work is no
different from any other institution? And how, as a leader, could I help my team of
part-time, casual staff develop a sense of common purpose, which is a hallmark of
productive, self-sustaining teams (citation)?

13. presenting
issue
underlying
issue
As in my earlier experience in London, the immediate causes of the
problem were not hard to find. My choice of email was clearly
inappropriate. I had seen it as a straightforward and simple reminder to
staff, but it is a basic principle of business communication that any
message that can be perceived as disciplinary is best delivered face-to-
face (citation). I realised, on reflection, that my use of email had
reinforced an impression of distance between the staff and me (as a
representative of institutional bureaucracy). Communication is much
more than the transmission of information; every interaction either builds
or erodes the foundation of mutual trust and respect that supports
organisational capacity and growth (citation). As I reflected more deeply
on what had happened, I began to focus less on the issue of matching
communication purpose and channel and more on how I could be a more
effective leader at the level of value and identity. The fundamental
questions here, I began to feel, were: If staff feel the branding is
irrelevant, do they also feel their work is no different from any other
institution? And how, as a leader, could I help my team of part-time,
casual staff develop a sense of common purpose, which is a hallmark of
productive, self-sustaining teams (citation)?

14. As in my earlier experience in London, the immediate causes of the
problem were not hard to find. My choice of email was clearly inappropriate.
I had seen it as a straightforward and simple reminder to staff, but it is a
basic principle of business communication that any message that can be
perceived as disciplinary is best delivered face-to-face (citation). I realised,
on reflection, that my use of email had reinforced an impression of
distance between the staff and me (as a representative of institutional
bureaucracy). Communication is much more than the transmission of
information; every interaction either builds or erodes the foundation of
mutual trust and respect that supports organisational capacity and growth
(citation). …..
cause
effect

15. The fundamental questions here, I began to feel, were: If staff
feel the branding is irrelevant, do they also feel their work is
no different from any other institution? And how, as a
leader, could I help my team of part-time, casual staff
develop a sense of common purpose, which is a hallmark of
productive, self-sustaining teams (citation)?
Questions

16. TASK 3: Scholarly critique
Read the third paragraph of this vignette and
look for examples of:
• evidence of learning about leadership.

17. As in my earlier reflections on power, my developing understanding of leadership has led
me to reframe my experience. My thinking was initially limited to the functional level of
communication, as in a classical concept of management (citation). I now see my problem
not in terms of what I did or did not do as a leader, but in how my actions constructed my
relationship with my team. In other words, I see leadership as more about being, than
doing. This perspective is similar to virtue ethics, which views conduct not in terms of its
effects on others (like Utilitarianism) or in terms of rules (like Kantianism), but as a means
of developing moral character (citation). My email response was not just ineffective
functionally, but damaged my moral authority as a leader. A greater understanding of the
loosely-coupled nature of my organisational context could have allowed me to align my
practice with ‘respectful leadership’: tolerating error, respecting boundaries and
encouraging potential (citation). I could, for instance, have used a ‘fine-tuning’ approach
(citation) to the copying problem, offering administrative support, which might have reduced
teachers’ stress while subtly reminding them of their responsibility to submit professional
work for copying. This would have respected their boundaries, encouraged their capacity
and contributed towards the ongoing construction of individual and group identity and
capacity.

18. As in my earlier reflections on power, my developing understanding of
leadership has led me to reframe my experience. My thinking was
initially limited to the functional level of communication, as in a classical
concept of management (citation). I now see my problem not in terms of
what I did or did not do as a leader, but in how my actions constructed my
relationship with my team. In other words, I see leadership as more
about being, than doing. This perspective is similar to virtue ethics, which
views conduct not in terms of its effects on others (like Utilitarianism) or in
terms of rules (like Kantianism), but as a means of developing moral
character (citation). My email response was not just ineffective functionally,
but damaged my moral authority as a leader. A greater understanding of
the loosely-coupled nature of my organisational context could have
allowed me to align my practice with ‘respectful leadership’: tolerating
error, respecting boundaries and encouraging potential (citation). I could,
for instance, have used a ‘fine-tuning’ approach (citation) to the copying
problem, offering administrative support, which might have reduced
teachers’ stress while subtly reminding them of their responsibility to
submit professional work for copying. This would have respected their
boundaries, encouraged their capacity and contributed towards the
ongoing construction of individual and group identity and capacity.
Evidence of
learning about
leadership

19. INTRODUCTION

20. The introduction explains to the reader:
• the purpose, focus and structure of the journal.
• the choice of experiences in each vignette.
• how the journal traces your developing understanding
of leadership.

21. TASK 4: Introduction
• On the next slide, there is an introduction paragraph
for the example reflective journal.
• But the extracts have been put in the wrong order.
• Read them and try to find the original order

22. E This journal traces my developing understanding of leadership through critical reflection on three
personal experiences of leadership.
A In choosing two examples of failure to achieve intended outcomes, I am representing not only
my own experience of unsuccessful leadership, but the broader social context in which four out of
every five change initiatives are said to fail (citation).
B In the course of my first two reflections, I develop a more distributed process-oriented
understanding of leadership (e.g. citations), which I explore further through my third reflection on a
more positive experience of leadership in a non-professional context.
C My reflections also represent an evolution in my understanding of leadership which parallels that
which I have found in the literature. I begin my journey with a narrow, individual concept of
leadership, which seeks to define the future and direct followers along a predetermined path
(citation).
D The first two experiences involve unsuccessful attempts at leadership in a professional context:
one in which I attempted to impose a change in practice and one in which I tried to impose existing
rules.

23. E This journal traces my developing understanding of leadership through critical reflection on three
personal experiences of leadership.
A In choosing two examples of failure to achieve intended outcomes, I am representing not only
my own experience of unsuccessful leadership, but the broader social context in which four out of
every five change initiatives are said to fail (citation).
B In the course of my first two reflections, I develop a more distributed process-oriented
understanding of leadership (e.g. citations), which I explore further through my third reflection on a
more positive experience of leadership in a non-professional context.
C My reflections also represent an evolution in my understanding of leadership which parallels that
which I have found in the literature. I begin my journey with a narrow, individual concept of
leadership, which seeks to define the future and direct followers along a predetermined path
(citation).
D The first two experiences involve unsuccessful attempts at leadership in a professional context:
one in which I attempted to impose a change in practice and one in which I tried to impose existing
rules.
ORIGINAL ORDER

24. This journal traces my developing understanding of leadership through critical
reflection on three personal experiences of leadership. The first two experiences
involve unsuccessful attempts at leadership in a professional context: one in which
I attempted to impose a change in practice and one in which I tried to impose
existing rules. In choosing two examples of failure to achieve intended outcomes, I am
representing not only my own experience of unsuccessful leadership, but the broader
social context in which four out of every five change initiatives are said to fail (citation). My
reflections also represent an evolution in my understanding of leadership which parallels
that which I have found in the literature. I begin my journey with a narrow, individual
concept of leadership, which seeks to define the future and direct followers along a
predetermined path (citation). In the course of my first two reflections, I develop a more
distributed process-oriented understanding of leadership (e.g. citations), which I explore
further through my third reflection on a more positive experience of leadership in a
non-professional context.
PURPOSE & STRUCTURE

25. This journal traces my developing understanding of leadership through critical reflection
on three personal experiences of leadership. The first two experiences involve
unsuccessful attempts at leadership in a professional context: one in which I attempted to
impose a change in practice and one in which I tried to impose existing rules. In
choosing two examples of failure to achieve intended outcomes, I am representing
not only my own experience of unsuccessful leadership, but the broader social
context in which four out of every five change initiatives are said to fail (citation).
My reflections also represent an evolution in my understanding of leadership which
parallels that which I have found in the literature. I begin my journey with a narrow,
individual concept of leadership, which seeks to define the future and direct followers
along a predetermined path (citation). In the course of my first two reflections, I develop a
more distributed process-oriented understanding of leadership (e.g. citations), which I
explore further through my third reflection on a more positive experience of leadership in a
non-professional context.
CHOICE OF EXPERIENCES

26. This journal traces my developing understanding of leadership through critical reflection
on three personal experiences of leadership. The first two experiences involve
unsuccessful attempts at leadership in a professional context: one in which I attempted to
impose a change in practice and one in which I tried to impose existing rules. In choosing
two examples of failure to achieve intended outcomes, I am representing not only my own
experience of unsuccessful leadership, but the broader social context in which four out of
every five change initiatives are said to fail (citation). My reflections also represent an
evolution in my understanding of leadership which parallels that which I have
found in the literature. I begin my journey with a narrow, individual concept of
leadership, which seeks to define the future and direct followers along a
predetermined path (citation). In the course of my first two reflections, I develop a
more distributed process-oriented understanding of leadership (e.g. citations),
which I explore further through my third reflection on a more positive experience of
leadership in a non-professional context.
DEVELOPING UNDERSTANDING OF LEADERSHIP

27. CONCLUSION

28. The conclusion
• summarises your learning through reflection.
• explains what has changed (and / or stayed the same)
in your understanding of leadership.

29. One way to do this could be to write one paragraph or
two short paragraphs (200 words in total):
• Your understanding of leadership before the course (1
- 2 sentences)
• Key ideas you have learnt during the course which
have changed your understanding of your leadership
experience? (3 sentences)
• Your current understanding of leadership and how it
may impact your future practice (2 sentences)

30. Task 5: Changing understanding of Leadership
Discuss in your pairs / groups
• Which concepts of leadership did you have before this course?
• How had you acquired these concepts? (e.g. family, upbringing,
culture, education?
• Have you given up, adapted or added to your original concepts during the
course?
• Have you changed your understanding of any of your leadership experiences
as a result of this course?

31. © 2018
This PowerPoint Presentation and the accompanying handouts are
copyrighted by Centre for Teaching and Learning, Massey University
and may not be used, except for personal study, without written
permission from the copyright owner. Please note that examples are
provided for illustration of writing principles only and no reliance
should be placed on any of the ideas referred to in the texts.
Martin McMorrow, Centre for Teaching and Learning
09 212 7117 ctlalb@massey.ac.nz
These slides can be viewed at: tinyurl.com/152707W5