GM550

Summer 2007
FSW - Phoenix
GM550
Heuser

GM550: LEADERSHIP AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. Roger Heuser

DESCRIPTION: This course examines leadership theory and practice from the light of spirituality and character

formation. Additionally, students will explore the dynamic interplay of the leader’s interior life, interpersonal relationships, and the roles that serve the congregation in order to fulfill its mission.

COURSE OBJECTIVES / LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students completing this course will: (a) explore the

spirituality of leadership; (b) examine gift and compulsion and dynamics of true self and false self; (c) understand the interplay between contemplation and action; (d) explore how the formation of character is embedded within community; (e) define power and stages of personal power, (f) identify and define leadership styles and their degree of effectiveness, (g) examine selected issues of leading mixed-gender and ethnically diverse teams, and (h) understand the leader’s role in mission, vision, and change initiatives.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: Leaders who experience deep change in their interior life -- and who form

purposive teams -- are more able to lead organizations through seasons of change and transformation. Participants will examine their own spirituality and interior dynamics to see how individual character is related to the character of teams and the entire organization. Attention will also be given to gender and ethnic issues related to team building and ministry opportunities. Assessment inventories, case studies, videos, group dialogue, and lectures will be used to probe leadership assumptions and to provide alternatives for leadership challenges in congregations and religious organizations.

COURSE FORMAT: The course will meet in intensive format for a total of 30 hours.

REQUIRED READING:

· Janet O. Hagberg, Real Power: Stages of Personal Power in Organizations. Salem, WI: Sheffield Publishing Company, 2003; and Personal Power Profile Inventory. [316 pp.] ISBN: 1879215462

· Ronald A. Heifetz and Marty Linsky, Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through Dangers of Leading. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2003. [252 pp.] ISBN: 1578514371

· M. Robert Mulholland, Jr., The Deeper Journey: The Spirituality of Discovering Your True Self. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2006. [168 pp.] ISBN:0830832777

· Henri J.M. Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership. New York: Crossroads, 1989. [107 pp.] ISBN:0824512596

· Norman Shawchuck and Roger Heuser, Leading the Congregation: Caring for Yourself While Serving Others. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993. [339 pp.] ISBN:0687084202

Complete selected instruments:

· Porter, Elias H., and Sara E. Maloney. Strength Deployment Inventory. Pacific Palisades, CA: Personal Strengths Publishing.

· Janet Hagberg Personal Power Profile, published by Personal Power Products.

· Norman Shawchuck, How to be a More Effective Church Leader. Leith, ND: Spiritual Growth Resources.