Learning to be an Information Renaissance Leader
In reading Frydman, Wilson, & Wyer’s book, The Power of Collaborative Leadership, (2000, Butterworth-Heinemann), I had the following thoughts as I read the section on Seventh Learning: No Single Path in Chapter 9, Leadership: An Inquiry and contemplated its relevance to us as Information Renaissance Leaders.
The last paragraph on page 203 says:
“The OL (organizational learning) leaders of today are leaders in transition. They are willing to go where the path leads them, never rejecting the possibility of learning no matter what the source. They are passionate about and committed to a vision that they think is infinitely practical and attainable if we are willing to learn—and unlearn—all along the way.”
I think one can easily substitute “Information Renaissance Leaders” for OL leaders here and nothing changes because these are the same attributes an Information Renaissance Leader has.
The last three sentences in the paragraph are very insightful and are something we, as Information Renaissance Leaders-in-training, should give attention to. These sentences are:
“But where will these much-needed transition leaders come from? Can they be produced by our customary management education? Bill Obrien thinks not.”
First, where will the much-needed Information Renaissance Leaders come from? I would say that they will come from our ranks here in CICS since leadership is one of the skills that a CICS graduate learns as they go through the program and is one of the shared values.
Second, can Information Renaissance Leaders be produced by a customary management education? Before answering this I feel this statement made by Bill O’Brien, a former CEO of Hanover Insurance, in a subsequent paragraph is something that we need to pay heed to, along with another statement by Frydman, Wilson, & Wyer.
Bill O’Brien states: “Today I’m afraid that we’re not producing great leaders in our graduate schools. We may even be producing great plunders—people who know how to siphon off wealth others have created.”
The later statement by Frydman, Wilson, & Wyer is where after stating agreement that a customary management education will not produce leaders they state: “Rather, these leaders need to be forged by life experience.”
I think that Bill O’Brien’s statement illustrates how important it is that Information Renaissance Leaders understand and practice ethics and integrity. And in reading the CICS shared values document these are found in the CICS goals.
As for Frydman, Wilson, & Wyer’s statement, I would agree that customary management education does not produce leaders and that leaders do need to be forged by life experience. However, I will go on to say this. The reason customary management education does not produce leaders is because it is designed to produce managers. Thus, people from these programs do not have a foundation to build upon as they start to learn to be leaders. This is where CICS is different, and should not be described as customary, since not only is leadership a shared CICS value, leadership skills are taught in CICS. Thus, while CICS may not produce “instant Information Renaissance Leaders” I would argue that “Information Renaissance Leaders-In-Training” are being produced because they are leaving the CICS program with foundational leadership skills with which they can then hone and sharpen through life experience.