The document outlines a workshop on leadership for the 21st century focused on sustainable learning and education. It discusses the limitations of conventional leadership and how leaders are developed. The workshop aims to develop a shared understanding of the challenges of modern leadership, articulate assumptions about effective leadership, and explore how to close the gap between current practices and leadership demands. Key topics include requisite 21st century leader behaviors, implications of existing programs, and actions needed to better prepare new leaders.

1. The Leader’s New Work for the 21st Century:
Sustainable Learning and Education
Jay Hays
Unitec Institute of Technology
CORE Education’s ulearn15 Conference, Breakout 3,
Thursday October 8, Auckland, New Zealand 7-9 Oct 2015

2. Terrain We’ll Traverse
Limitations of Conventional
Leadership and Leadership
Development Programmes and
Strategies
Conventional Views
of Leadership
Current, Emerging, and Prospective
Realities (the Shape of the World and
Where it’s Headed)
How Leaders are Developed
(and on what they are Promoted)
How Leaders Behave
Consequences / Implications
of Leader Behaviour
Requisite 21st Century
Leader Behaviour
Closing the Gap
Gap
Implications / Demands of
Leadership for the 21st Century
I
II
III IV
V
VIII
VI
VII
IX

3. Sustainable Learning, Education, and Innovation
Limitations of Conventional
Leadership and Leadership
Development Programmes and
Strategies
Conventional Views
of Leadership
Current, Emerging, and Prospective
Realities (the Shape of the World and
Where it’s Headed)
How Leaders are Developed
(and on what they are Promoted)
How Leaders Behave
Consequences / Implications
of Leader Behaviour
Requisite 21st Century
Leader Behaviour
Closing the Gap
Gap
Implications / Demands of
Leadership for the 21st Century
I
II
III IV
V
VIII
VI
VII
IX

4. Develop a shared understanding of the 21st Century leadership
environment, and its issues and opportunities.
Articulate common assumptions and beliefs about the leader’s role
and how leadership is best developed.
Explore the outcomes and implications of conventional leadership
development in the context of 21st Century challenges and
opportunities.
Enumerate essential qualities of the 21st Century leader that
overcome outmoded and counterproductive beliefs and practices.
Based on an informed understanding of the shortcomings of
current developmental practices and 21st Century leadership
demands, formulate an action plan for individual professional
development and organisational leadership development.
Workshop Objectives

5.  Develop a shared understanding of the 21st Century
leadership environment, and its issues and
opportunities.
 Articulate common assumptions and beliefs about
the leader’s role and how leadership is best
developed.
 Explore the outcomes and implications of
conventional leadership development in the context
of 21st Century challenges and opportunities.
 Enumerate essential qualities of the 21st Century
leader that overcome outmoded and
counterproductive beliefs and practices.
 Based on an informed understanding of the
shortcomings of current developmental practices
and 21st Century leadership demands, formulate an
action plan for individual professional development
and organisational leadership development.
Key Focus (Context) for these Objectives
Sustainable learning and education
 How can we cultivate leaders and
leadership that embody, champion, and
enable sustainable principles, practices,
and values in educational institutions and
other learning environments?.
Learning InnovationSustainability
The Leader’s New Work:
Integrating Learning, Innovation, and Sustainability

6.  Background and orientation.
 Round 1: Small Group Discussions (I-IV)
 Reporting-out / Sharing with the plenary
 Round 2: Reflective Questions.
 Round 3: Small Group Discussions (V-VIII)
 Reporting-out / Sharing with the plenary.
 Round 4: Reflective Questions.
 Round 5: Small Group Discussions (IX-XI).
 Concluding, Synthesising, Commitments, and
Next Steps.
Workshop Format / Overview
10 mins.
10 mins.
10 mins.
10 mins.
10 mins.
10 mins.
10 mins.
10 mins.
10 mins.

7. ► What are the characteristics we look for (and promote)
in leaders today?
► How do we identify potential in prospective leaders?
► What do leaders do that is different than non-leaders?
► What does it take to get ahead (as a leader) in today’s
world?
► What traditional views of leadership continue to reign
in today’s organisations and institutions?
Conventional Views of Leadership
I

8. ► How do we develop leaders?
► How do we identify and select potential leaders for
further development?
► How do we know that a leadership development
strategy or program is effective?
► What are the components / essential features of a
leadership development program?
► What capabilities and dispositions are we
emphasising, and what do we dismiss or neglect?
Conventional Leadership Development
II

9. ► What are leaders doing or failing to do that compounds
the problems of today or explains our continued failure
to resolve them?
► What are the results of / what can we expect from
current leadership development strategies?
► Do we train leaders to meet our expectations or to
create new ones?
► Are leaders likely to break with tradition or maintain it?
Limitations and Implications of Existing
Leadership Development Programs
III

10. ► Given prevailing views of leadership and conventional
leadership development programs and strategies, what
is the most we can really expect of leaders?
► What are our likely responses to leadership weakness
and failure?
► What might be the downsides of leader behaviours
such as decisiveness, authoritativeness, charisma, and
other heroic leader traits?
► What do leaders do (often with best intentions) that
undermines the effectiveness, performance, and growth
of others?
► [What] do we really learn from leader successes and
failures?
Leader Behaviour
IV

11. ► What, if anything, makes the world today different than
any other time in history?
► What problems (and opportunities) exist today that
make our modern period unique?
► What special demands and challenges does the
modern age pose?
► In what ways are leadership issues today new or
different than in the past?
Current Realities, Challenges, and Demands
V

12. ► Given your understanding of current views of leadership,
leadership behaviour, and leadership development, what
are the implications for leadership theory and practice?
► What is likely to happen if we persist with current
leadership views and practices?
► What must change if we are to become more effective in
developing and promoting leadership for the modern age?
► How would you describe “the best case scenario” for
leadership in the 21st Century? What are its key features?
Implications and Demands of
Leadership for the 21st Century
VVI

13. ► What capabilities and dispositions do leaders need to
possess and demonstrate in the modern age?
► What new and different demands of the emerging 21st
Century suggest / require leaders today do differently?
► How must leader behaviour change to assure
organisations and communities thrive in an uncertain
world?
► What should be priorities for skill development for
leaders today?
► How must the leader of today (and tomorrow) be and
act to help others create and sustain a world worth
living in?
Requisite 21st Century Leader Behaviour
VII

14. ► How aligned are leadership development programs and
strategies with the realities and demands of the modern
age?
► Can we expect contemporary leadership development
programs and strategies to sufficiently equip and enable
leaders to contend with today’s realities and issues?
► How large is the gap? Do we need to deal with it?
► What are some of the ways existing programs and
strategies fail to meet contemporary demands?
► What are the implications of persisting with current
leadership development programs and strategies?
The GAP
VIII

15. ► What do we need to do differently to better prepare the
next generation of leaders for the modern age?
► In what ways do we need to “shift” current leader views
to arrive at a way of viewing leadership that is more in
keeping with modern times?
► What leader behaviours need to change to make our
organisations and communities more effective in
contending with contemporary issues and challenges?
► What can we as followers and peers do to help our
leaders become more effective?
Closing the GAP
IX

16. ► How can we measure our progress /success in closing
the gap? What will we see more of or less of? What
differences will we see in leader behaviour? What
differences will we see in the behaviour on “non-
leaders”?
► How would our organisations, communities, or society
be better or healthier if our leaders were more
effectively equipped to deal with the realities and
demands of the world today?
► What kinds of training, education, and professional
development are needed to help today’s leaders
become more effective?
Closing the GAP
X

17. ► How do we need to change to become more effective
leaders ourselves?
► How do we need to change / what must we do
differently to support those in leadership positions to
become more effective in meeting the demands of
the modern age and better prepare for the uncertain
emerging 21st Century ?
► How can we better equip and prepare our young
leaders of tomorrow for the unpredictable, chaotic,
and complex world of the coming era?
► Can we / should we prepare for the unknown and
unknowable?
Closing the GAP
XI

18. ► Why do we need leaders? Do we need leaders? If so,
what kind of leaders do we need?
► What do we do when there are no leaders around?
► What do we do when our leaders fail us? Which of our
responses are really constructive?
► Why do leaders get all of the blame and all of the glory
for how things go?
► In what ways do leaders get in the way of getting things
done?
► In a perfect world our leaders would…
Leaders
XII

19. ► What are the key take-aways from this session?
► What are some of the big questions remaining or
generated?
► What does it mean for you?
► What are some of the major linkages between this
session and other conference themes and activities?
► What can we do individually and collectively to keep
the conversation going?
► What are the main practical, theoretical, and research
implications and possibilities spawned by this session?
► In what ways does this workshop embody PPV of
sustainable learning and education?
Conclusions, Synthesis,
Commitments, Next Steps
XIII

20. Thank You
Till We Meet Again
Jay Hays
Unitec Institute of Technology
jhays@unitec.ac.nz www.unitec.ac.nz
Tel +64 9 815 4321 Ext 8599 Mob +64 (0) 21 024 77707
LinkedIn Page:
https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=107245923&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile_pic
Leadership and Wisdom Site: http://jayhays.weebly.com/