Leadership as Reflective Praxis

The School of Advanced Studies' scholar-practitioner-leader model promotes the integration of theory and practical application. Knowledge of leadership theories allows students to conceptualize their own leadership practice within a larger historical and cultural context.

Familiarity with leadership research also helps students to self-reflect, asking questions about themselves and how they lead. Reflection enables students to self-assess their own leadership skills in efforts to enhance their leadership effectiveness.

In preparation for Year 1 residency, students will continue the self-reflection process by completing a Personal Reflection pre-residency assignment.

The pre-residency assignment establishes a framework for students to engage in deeper critical reflection during the residency course.

Critical reflection is the activity of making explicit one's subjective understanding of reality to better assess the impact of personal beliefs, assumptions, and values on actions and relationships (Cunliffe, 2004). Cunliffe (2004) posited that critical reflection is essential to developing not just "more effective organizational citizens," but "critical thinkers and moral practitioners" (p. 408).

At residency, students engage in critical reflection by consciously integrating their own personal beliefs and value systems into the learning process. For example, students might question their own assumptions and behaviors in a classroom situation or identify possibilities for self-development by revising or modifying previous assumptions and beliefs (Cunliffe, 2004). Critical reflection enhances a student's ability to maximize the experiential learning that is unique to the doctoral residency environment.

Experiential Learning

Experiential learning occurs when an individual engages in an activity, reflects upon and analyzes the experience, generalizes principles from the analysis, and applies those principles to bring about a change in future behavior. The underlying philosophy behind experiential learning is that participation in an activity provides a more valuable learning experience than hearing someone else's opinion about the activity (or only watching someone demonstrate the activity). This learning model reflects the developmental learning individuals experience throughout their lives.

Experiential learning is essential to leadership development. Mintzberg (as cited in Reingold, 2000) claimed that "you can't create a leader in a classroom," and in keeping with this proposition, the Reflective Leadership Plan is a vehicle to translate class learning into tools that students can use to invent themselves as leaders (¶ 6). In future courses, students will be asked to revisit, addend, and revise their leadership plan to document changes that have come from the stimuli of learning and acting on that learning.

As doctoral students progress down their path of scholarly inquiry, the more they learn about themselves, the more they learn about how to influence others in positive and substantive ways. However, learning how to be an effective leader entails more than simply conducting research. In keeping with the scholar-practitioner-leader model, research creates a foundation for informed, reflective, purposeful action.

The Personal Reflection pre-residency assignment helps students expand on their research and build a foundation for action as scholars, practitioners, and leaders.

References

Cunliffe, A. L. (2004). On becoming a critically reflexive practitioner. Journal of Management Education, 28(4), 407-426.

Reingold, J. (2000, November). You can't create a leader in a classroom. Fast Company, 40, 286.