Leadership: Leaders, Followers, Environments

CLASS ACTIVITIES (FACE TO FACE OR ONLINE)

ACTIVITY 1: Winning Wooden

Instructor: Show the TED talk and ask students to discuss the elements of context that influenced John Wooden's success.

John Wooden is arguably one of America's best college coaches. Read a short biography about him here: http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/woo0bio-1

Watch the 16-minute talk (closed-captioning available) by entering the URL below in a web browser: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/john_wooden_on_the_difference_between_winning_and_success.html

Instructions to students: In this talk, Wooden mentions concepts you have learned about in this course. Wooden discusses self-awareness, reputation, motivating others, leadership, and the context. When you watch the video, think about what is going on organizationally that may have contributed to his success. You will have to think about this. (Hint: Would he have been a great basketball coach on the Hopi Reservation or during Henry V's time—why or why not?)

ACTIVITY 2: Situations in the News

Instructor: Ask students to spend 15 to 20 minutes to conduct an Internet search on news sites, such as the New York Times or Wall Street Journal. The goal is to find a story about an organization that reflects the importance of the situation in understanding leadership. Come to class with (or post on class discussion board) the following:

1. The URL and a short description (in their own words) of the story.
2. Describe how the organization has influenced the leadership ...