Gonzaga ORGL Coursework and Competencies
I came to Gonzaga's Organizational Leadership program with the desire to move towards deeper understandings of myself and others, in order to more greatly serve others and be with others in more life-giving ways. Listed in chronological order of course taken, the below outlines the competencies developed throughout my Gonzaga ORGL journey. The competencies developed are in reference to the capacities of the servant-leader disposition conceptualized by Larry Spears and John Horsman.
Looking through my particular lens of development, the development of a leadership coach and a leadership coaching program that produces measurable results and outcomes through evidenced-based practices might occur on parallel tracks. Some forms of development are external. This client-facing development is in the form of frameworks, theories, or tools that support the development of others becoming better leaders. But these external frameworks are often limited without the internal development of the leadership coach. In servant-leadership and leadership coaching, the person becomes the instrument. And similarly, some of the competencies developed concerned itself first and foremost with the self as servant-leader, with the self as leadership coach. This development often occurred through identity and mental model shifts, and supported the internal transformation necessary to develop more and better leaders, and help leaders become servant-leaders.
ORGL 600: Foundations of Leadership
This course served as a foundation of leadership theory, developing an increasing capacity for self-reflection, and exploring the movements of internal transformation through the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises. And through the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises, this course introduced a framework and helped put into context my own internal transformation that resulted in me leaving a career in Division-I men’s college basketball to pursue leadership coaching, and movement towards a different vision for leadership. In addition to supporting the initial development of my own leadership philosophy, this framework has also progressed to serve as a model for coaching within a client session, supporting the internal transformation of clients towards deeper understandings of themselves and others, and more powerful leadership.
Additionally, Margaret Wheatley’s Leadership and the New Science provided internal development towards a vision for leadership more based in who we are as persons (our being) rather than tools, strategies, or tactics implemented. This represents my continued transformation away from leadership as a technical capacity grounded in increased knowledge, and towards leadership as an emotional and relational domain.
Capacities Developed: A servant-leader listens first seeking clarity before influence
Artifact: "Pre" Leadership Philosophy Paper
ORGL 530: Servant Leadership
Despite core competencies identified by the International Coaching Federation, the world of professional coaching is often fraught with mystery and misunderstanding. Through Robert Greenleaf’s Best Test of servant-leadership, this course helped me to develop an operating framework for my work as a leadership coach, and models for adult development along my own journey and the journeys of the clients whom I serve.
“The best test and the most difficult to administer is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And what is the effect on the least privileged in society; will they benefit or, at least, not be further deprived?”
- Robert Greenleaf
Capacities Developed: A servant-leader models a principle-centered empathetic moral capacity; A servant-leader promotes community; A servant-leader listens-first seeking clarity before influence; A servant-leader practices foresight; A servant-leader models a capacity for systems thinking
Artifact: Servant-Leader Assessment Paper
ORGL 550: Team Building & Leadership
Through experiential learning and team building activities, this course developed the capacities of working with others and building community. Developing trust and safety is one of the International Coaching Federation’s Core Competencies, and this course helped me to create a container of trust and safety in coaching relationships through understanding the primal processes of a team as building safety and sharing vulnerability (cultivating Identity), then establishing purpose.
Capacities Developed: A servant-leader promotes community; A servant-leader listens first seeking clarity before influence; A servant-leader models a principle-centered empathetic moral capacity
Artifact: Working understanding of a team as a group of people combining Identity plus Purpose
ORGL 605: Imagine. Create. Lead
In this course we were led through an exercise on Leadership and Metanoia by Dr. Adrian Popa. The exercise began with each of us listing the 4 most important people in our lives, 4 qualities/skills/values we hold most dear, 4 material possessions crucial to our lives and our work, and 4 external achievements or goals, each on a small rectangular piece of paper. As the exercise went along, slowly but surely each one of these paper tiles were taken away until there was only 1 remaining. Some of these items were removed by our choice. Some of them were removed by others. And some were removed completely arbitrarily, just a matter of random circumstance. Our 16 tiles were whittled down to 1.
This exercise confronted us with who we are, who we choose to be, and what is most important in our lives. We were being asked to learn, to recreate ourselves, and extend our capacity to create.
And 'Love' was the 1 tile left for me.
The tile has been taped to my desk since.
Capacities Developed: A servant-leader models a principle-centered empathetic moral capacity; A servant-leader promotes community
Artifact: 'Love' Tile
ORGL 537: Foresight & Strategy
Foresight & Strategy introduced me to Theory U, presenting an additional model for personal and collective transformation. The U-Process outlined through this course often serves as a framework for the coaching journey, helping the client to learn from their highest possible Self and Work through letting go and Presencing, in order to let come and lead from the emerging future. This course also further developed the internal capacities of healing and generative listening.
Capacities Developed: A servant-leader listens-first seeking clarity before influence; A servant-leader practices foresight; A servant-leader models a capacity for systems thinking
Artifact: Presencing Institute: Theory U
ORGL 615: Organizational Theory & Behavior
Through the unique experience of working in teams and mini-organizations, ORGL 615 helped to clarify my vision for leadership as combining collective growth and creating the results you truly desire. If this is to be the case, then anything achieved is only accomplished in the context of relationships. When relationships are undermined or pushed to the side, the possibility for great work, creating the results truly desired, and fulfilling our highest potentials is greatly diminished or sadly eliminated. If a leader is to be concerned with results, the primal role of a leader then becomes the emotional and relational domains.
Capacities Developed: A servant-leader promotes community; A servant-leader listens-first seeking clarity before influence; A servant-leader models a capacity for systems thinking
Artifact: Everest Simulation Final Lessons Learned
ORGL 532: Leadership, Restorative Justice,
& Forgiveness
Leadership, Restorative Justice, and Forgiveness was one of the more impactful courses throughout my time in the ORGL program. Despite my best intentions, my past as a person and leader has often been filled with fracture, and relationships that resulted in greater harm or diminishment. This course helped to illuminate the ways we consciously or unconsciously create cycles of diminishment, and the power of restorative justice and forgiveness asking to move towards repair, redemption, and unification in relationships. This course helped me to develop language around forgiveness, outlined the power of healing, and furthered my own capacities in these areas.
Capacities Developed: A servant-leader models a principle-centered empathetic moral capacity; A servant-leader promotes community; A servant-leader listens-first seeking clarity before influence
Artifact: Contemplation & Action Paper - "Vicious Cycles"
ORGL 689: Leadership
& Hardiness
In Leadership and Hardiness, I was introduced to Maddi and Khoshaba’s process of resilient coping, which is outlined as broadening perspective, deepening understanding, and then taking action. This might stand in contrast to traditional Western notions of leadership or resilience, which primarily center around pivoting, agility, and quick, decisive action. Through the process of resilient coping I further clarified my niche as a leadership coach, and more specifically the work I desire to do out in the world.
Capacities Developed: A servant-leader models a capacity for systems thinking; A servant-leader promotes community
Artifact: This marketing document was created shortly after my participation in ORGL 689, and represents hardy-coping in my business.
ORGL 522: Leadership
& Community
The central question of this course is: How does the leader develop community to facilitate individual growth and collective flourishing? This course deepened the learnings from ORGL 600 and ORGL 615, with the Benedictine Practice of Lectio Divina serving as an additional framework for internal transformation, and mutual trust and feedback as a mechanism by which leaders and communities may facilitate individual growth and collective flourishing. Both of these learnings resulted in further clarification for me of the emotional and relational domains as the primal responsibilities of a leader. This outlines a clear case for the value of leadership coaching and emotional intelligence development to result in individual growth and collective flourishing through mutual service and giving to one another.
Capacities Developed: A servant-leader promotes community
Artifact: Leadership & Community Paper - "Individual Growth and Collective Flourishing"
ORGL 535: Listen, Discern, Decide
Effective communication through active listening is listed as one of the core competencies of a coach, as outlined by the International Coaching Federation. And oftentimes, a professional coach may only be as effective as his or her listening skills allows. It is from this place that powerful questions, appropriate coach challenges, and the facilitation of client growth arises. This course deepened my models of listening and further developed my capacities of empathetic and generative listening. While not directly tied to the course, the Love In Basketball Podcast, was developed as a function of the course, and represents listening, discernment, and decision-making skills in action.
Capacities Developed: A servant-leader listens-first seeking clarity before influence
Artifact: Love In Basketball Podcast