Leadership disciplines and practice

The strategic leadership principles used in this presentation draws on the vast literature in the field of leadership and will incorporate the five “leadership disciplines” introduced by Peter Senge in his seminal book, The Fifth Discipline. The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization (1990). These disciplines, which are adapted to developing country contexts, include personal mastery, mental models, shared vision, team learning, and systems thinking. The Seminar ingrains these Disciplines and a range of leadership principles and analytical tools through interactive lectures, class exercises and presentations, and critical discussions. Small group work is facilitated with an original computer-assisted learning tool called STARGuide – Strategic Thinking, Action and Reflection Guide.

The STAR is used to represent the five leadership disciplines. The following five questions are used to explore these disciplines in depth.

1.How can I continuously improve myself to become more creative and open to change? (Personal Mastery) 2.How can I better understand my mental models and revise them to enhance my effectiveness as a leader? (Mental Models) 3.How can I understand everything from a systems perspective? (Systems Thinking) 4.How can I nurture action learning among all members of the team? (Team Learning) 5.How can I best nurture a shared vision? (Shared Vision)

The Guide framework outlines the step by step process that participants can use to develop and nurture an action-learning organization. This is led by five guiding principles classified as desired future, current reality, root causes analysis, strategy design, and implementation with accountability. As participants engage in this learning process and work through the leadership discipline questions they will hone their skills for effective leadership by recognizing core concepts and drawing from real life scenarios.