The Leadership Catalyst: a New Paradigm for Helping Leadership Flourish in Organizations
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University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics Theses Organizational Dynamics Programs 5-1-2011 The Leadership Catalyst: A New Paradigm for Helping Leadership Flourish in Organizations Kevin M. Zachery University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/od_theses_msod Part of the Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, and the Nonprofit Administration and Management Commons Zachery, Kevin M., "The Leadership Catalyst: A New Paradigm for Helping Leadership Flourish in Organizations" (2011). Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics Theses. 65. https://repository.upenn.edu/od_theses_msod/65 Submitted to the Program of Organizational Dynamics in the Graduate Division of the School of Arts and Sciences in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics at the University of Pennsylvania Advisor: Rodney Napier This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/od_theses_msod/65 For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Leadership Catalyst: A New Paradigm for Helping Leadership Flourish in Organizations Abstract This thesis codifies a leadership paradigm that was born out of my experience as a naval officer, a corporate manager, and a director in a non-profit program and is informed by my study of leadership over the last 30 years—culminating in my completion of the Organizational Dynamics program. The basis for my model is a declaration that a good leader is someone who develops, creates, or otherwise inspires leadership abilities or improved performance in others—a leadership catalyst. My premise is that by becoming leadership catalysts, people can become force multipliers in their organizations by helping to exponentially improve the organization’s leadership capability. In a chemical solution, the catalyst creates a reaction that enables the original materials to become more than they are capable of becoming by themselves. Likewise, a person who is being a leadership catalyst enables others to become more than they are capable of becoming by themselves. My model melds concepts from neuroscience, cognitive psychology, ontology, and even quantum physics to describe how a person can become a leadership catalyst by being mindful, connected, intentional, generative, and heretical. Each of these five components represents particular intentions by the leader and serves as a guide for the leader to be authentic, generous, and effective at producing results. Keywords Leadership, Organizations Disciplines Business Administration, Management, and Operations | Nonprofit Administration and Management Comments Submitted to the Program of Organizational Dynamics in the Graduate Division of the School of Arts and Sciences in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics at the University of Pennsylvania Advisor: Rodney Napier This thesis or dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/od_theses_msod/65 THE LEADERSHIP CATALYST: A NEW PARADIGM FOR HELPING LEADERSHIP FLOURISH IN ORGANIZATIONS by Kevin M. Zachery Submitted to the Program of Organizational Dynamics in the Graduate Division of the School of Arts and Sciences in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics at the University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2011 THE LEADERSHIP CATALYST: A NEW PARADIGM FOR HELPING LEADERSHIP FLOURISH IN ORGANIZATIONS Approved by: Rodney Napier, PhD, Advisor Charline S. Russo, EdD, Reader Janet Greco, PhD, Reader ABSTRACT This thesis codifies a leadership paradigm that was born out of my experience as a naval officer, a corporate manager, and a director in a non-profit program and is informed by my study of leadership over the last 30 years—culminating in my completion of the Organizational Dynamics program. The basis for my model is a declaration that a good leader is someone who develops, creates, or otherwise inspires leadership abilities or improved performance in others—a leadership catalyst. My premise is that by becoming leadership catalysts, people can become force multipliers in their organizations by helping to exponentially improve the organization’s leadership capability. In a chemical solution, the catalyst creates a reaction that enables the original materials to become more than they are capable of becoming by themselves. Likewise, a person who is being a leadership catalyst enables others to become more than they are capable of becoming by themselves. My model melds concepts from neuroscience, cognitive psychology, ontology, and even quantum physics to describe how a person can become a leadership catalyst by being mindful, connected, intentional, generative, and heretical. Each of these five components represents particular intentions by the leader and serves as a guide for the leader to be authentic, generous, and effective at producing results. i ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I acknowledge the following people for their support, advice, and encouragement throughout my tenure in the Organizational Dynamics program: First, I’d like to thank my wife, Christine, who provided such wonderful support and encouragement—and more patience than I deserved—while I took time out to complete my master’s degree. I am truly grateful for her belief in me as I struggled to coalesce the ideas in my head into a coherent model and capture it on paper. You were a great sounding board for me and a great editor on my thesis. Thank you, honey, for always believing in me and in what I do. You are such a good model of a leadership catalyst. I love you. I also need to thank my kids, Ashley and Caughey, for understanding that going to school and writing my thesis was my work for a while, even though I was at home most of the time. They were very patient when I had to hole up for long periods to write. I love you both very much. Next, I thank Rod Napier for his mentorship, friendship, and example. He does the kind of work I want to do and has given me many tools and skills that will help me in my consulting practice. His classes were a cornerstone in my OD development. I look forward to many more years of working with you, Rod. I also want to acknowledge Ginny Vanderslice. It was her course, “Organizational Culture Change,” (along with Rod’s course, “Knowing Yourself: The Coach as an Instrument of Change,”) during my first semester that made me feel I had already gotten my money’s worth for my degree. Ginny, you gave me the confidence to step into an organization and know where to start. Charline Russo was instrumental as well. She demonstrates how important it is for people in management to care for and develop their people. She provided a great example of a company that takes that concept to heart. Thank you, Charline, for having us create a model of leadership as our final paper in your course. It was the seed that bloomed into my thesis. Thanks also to Janet Greco for sharing her approach to organizational and personal improvement through the use of stories. In her courses, I discovered the value of journaling and the power of sharing oneself in stories. I now incorporate both in my developmental processes. Thank you, Janet, for also helping me round out the final components in my model and setting the sights for my story arrow. To all of my classmates and professors in the Organizational Dynamics program, thank you very much for all of the conversations about the art and science of iii people and organizations. You were all instrumental to me learning and synthesizing these concepts. Moreover, I loved talking about this stuff with you. I’d also like to thank some of the people who were influential in helping me find my way to what I feel is my calling, which is helping others learn how to live more powerful, playful, and passionate lives: • Chris King, Jim Wilhelm, Bob Steere, Dave Wren, Mansur Hasib, and Dick Powell—variously, you were part of the Objectifiers of the Universe, USi Champions, the Avatar Group, Leadership Insights, Friends of Fast Company, and The Gentleman’s Breakfast Club…all of which contributed to the manifestation of my leadership catalyst concept. Thank you for the many conversations on possibility, leadership, and purpose. • Betsy Holmes—you have been a great mentor and friend. Thank you for your quiet, calm, encouraging support ever since working together at the Naval Academy. You have been a welcome voice of reason and ideals through some turbulent times for me. • The positive examples of naval leadership that helped me keep faith in the possibility of being a successful leader while still treating people with respect, kindness, and dignity—Ann Stencil; Robert Gurczynski; Will Dewes; Edward Moore, Jr.; and Tom Gorski. Finally, I’d like to thank my parents for giving me such a good foundation to build on and my sisters for always loving me no matter what. I love you all very much. iv LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1 Abraham Lincoln’s journey to being president 51 2 Napier’s Self-Help Inventory Traits List 72 3 Emergent design considerations 125 4 Contrasts between brain hemisphere effects 190 5 Categories of best practices for high-performing teams App C 6 Diagnosis and design considerations for team-building sessions App C 7 Leadership Catalyst Developmental Process Outline App F v LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1 Ratio of Engaged to Disengaged Workers