Applied Organizational Studies—Nye Exercise
For this unit, you are to have read Joseph Nye’s The Powers to Lead (NY: Oxford University Press, 2008). You could do this assignment by jumping to the
Appendix at the back of the book and using his 12 quick take-aways. But that
would be a b-i-g
mistake, because to really understand those twelve points you need to have the context
that comes from the chapters that explain them. And you would be cheating
yourself—this assignment is designed to help you think about your own leadership
style—your strengths, and your weaknesses, but above all your blind spots.
So, here’s the assignment:
- Identify
five important ideas from Powers
that you think are your characteristics (you have it in spades); identify
five ideas that you have known for awhile are weaknesses; and identify
five that “hit you up the side of the head” (Where did that come from?). Write a short (several paragraph) essay
about each.
- Reflect
on these 15 characteristics as they relate to the portfolio you are
building—which items in your portfolio exemplify your strengths (and
how/why)? What experiences are you
planning to undertake, or have you undertaken, to
deal with what you perceive as your weaknesses? And what about those “unexpected”? How are you going to deal with them?
- Finally,
consider these 15 characteristics and the leadership story you are
writing. How do they appear in the
story? Which are completely absent
(and what difference does it make that they are absent)? What does this person’s story tell you
about your own story?