Syllabus

University of Denver
Daniels College of Business
Values-Based Leadership in Practice
Spring, 2007
1/15/07

Course Number: LGST 4701-1

Faculty: Robert Vanourek, Adjunct Professor

Texts: Various readings from selected texts and articles. Core textbook is Daft,
The Leadership Experience, Thomson-Southwestern, 2005, (selected chapters).
All readings will be posted on Blackboard.

Course description and Purpose: This course is for learners seriously

interested in developing their leadership capabilities for the real world. The
instructor is an experienced CEO who has been responsible for companies from
start-ups to a billion dollar NYSE firm. Many of these companies involved
dramatic turnarounds or serious ethical challenges.
The course examines the complexities, paradoxes, and dangers of leadership.
The platform for the course is a Core Leadership Model (and logical deviations
from it) which can result in Great Leadership. At the heart of Great Leadership
one finds a values base. Through in-depth analysis of the key dimensions of the
Core Model and its accompanying deviations, participants will gain a deep
understanding ofand practical experience withValues-Based Leadership in
todays world.
Readings in the course are from selected outstanding texts as well as relevant
published articles. Lecture material and stories from the instructor and guest
speakers will be rich with illustrative examples of successes and failures based on
practical experiences in the trenches of business, government, and nonprofit
leadership (with a focus on business). Video and case examples of numerous
leadership types will be analyzed. Leadership myths and principles for leadership
development will be discussed. Individual and team projects will be undertaken,
including the development of a Personal Leadership Development Plan for each
learner. Central to the course will be peer-to-peer learning from oral
presentations, dialogue, and experiential exercises involving all learners.
This course is not for those merely interested in an intellectual understanding
of leadership. It is for the serious learner who recognizes that each of us is called
to lead at some point --- in a business, a non-profit, a neighborhood, or a family.
Developing the skills and behavior habits of great leadership requires work, risk,
and commitment. The practice of leadership will be illustrated by the instructor,
the leaders studied, the guests, and, most importantly, by the learners themselves
within the classroom.
Due to the requirement for class interaction, the class size of this course will
be limited to twenty-five learners and auditing will not be allowed.

 Principle Course Learning Objectives:

1. To convey the complexity and artfulness of Great Leadership.
2. To provide rich immersion into the principles of Great Leadership, the many
different approaches to leadership, and the essential traits of Great Leaders,
especially a values-based approach.
3. To elicit from the participants their insights into Great Leadership.
4. To demonstrate the deviations in leadership involved for unique
circumstances such as high-performance teams, non-profit and community
leadership, and crisis situations.
5. To explore and expose common myths about leadership.
6. To have each participant develop a Personal Leadership Development Plan
that will anchor their own authentic, personalized approach to leadership for
years to come.
7. To develop practical skills that will improve each participants personal
leadership effectiveness.
8. To provide opportunities for participants to demonstrate leadership (and
follower-ship) in the class itself.

Performance Criteria and Grading:

The final grade in the course will be a compiled average based on:
1. The quality of class participation .............................
35 %
(measured at each class)
2. Oral &/or written reports (10%) including their Personal Leadership
Development Plans (25%) .....................................
35 %
3. Mid-term (10%) and Final Exam (20%) ....................
30 %
(Note: Final will cover entire course.)

Methods and Components of Instruction:

The learning objectives will be accomplished through:
1. Instructor and guest speaker lectures and stories
2. Peer dialogue
3. The creation of a Personal Leadership Development Plan
4. Text and article readings
5. Videos on various leaders (e.g., Patton, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr,
and Hitler)
6. Oral reports on selected leaders
7. Team reports on various leadership types
8. Case analysis
9. Case-in-point discussions (where the class acts as the live case).
10. Mid-term and Final Exams.

Tentative Class Schedule, Readings, and Key Assignments:

Note: Daft indicates textbook, The Leadership Experience, ThomsonSouthwestern, 2005; HBR indicates Harvard Business Review.
Date Class Topic

3/27

3/29

4/3

4/5

4/10

4/12

4/17

4/19

4/ 24

4/26

10

5/1

11

Introduction, course overview, Core Leadership

Model, old paradigm of leadership
Reading: None
Healthy personal core, moral compass, roles/self,
sanctuary
Reading: Daft, ch 5, Leadership Mind & Heart; George,
Authentic Leadership, ch 1, Leadership is Authenticity, Not
Style
Sincere belief in people, trust, vulnerability, servant
leadership
Reading: Daft, ch 6, Personal Values; Covey, The Speed
of Trust, ch 1, The One Thing that Changes
Everything/Nothing is as Fast as the Speed of Trust; Spears,
Reflections on Leadership, ch 24, Servant Leadership and
the Future (Vanourek)
Skilled approach to work, management versus leadership,
management tools, work avoidance
Reading: Collins, Good to Great, ch 2, Level 5 Leaders;
DePree, The Art of Leadership, What is Leadership?;
Brousseau, HBR, The Seasoned Executives DecisionMaking Style
Effective communication
Reading: Daft, ch 9, Leadership Communication
Oral reports in class
Synthesize a shared future, purpose, values, vision, goals
Reading: Daft, ch 13, Creating Vision & Strategic Direction;
Kouzes & Posner, A Leaders Legacy, ch 13, Its Not the
Leaders Vision; Gardner, HBR, The Synthesizing Leader
Oral reports in class
Collaborative alignment
Reading: Kaplan & Norton, Alignment, ch 10, Total Strategic
Alignment
Willingness to risk substantive change, loss, casualties
Reading: Daft, ch 16, Leading Change; Heifetz & Linsky,
Leadership on the Line, ch 1, The Heart of Danger
Deviations from Core Model, style flex, organizations, and
people
Reading: Daft, ch 11, Developing Leadership Diversity;
Kallasvuo, HBR, Humility
Deviations, situations, crisis, corporate turnarounds
Reading: OToole, Leading Change, ch 4, Why Amoral
Leadership Doesnt Work; Heifetz, Leadership Without Easy
Answers, ch 10, Assassination; Heifetz & Linsky,
Leadership on the Line, ch 2, The Faces of Danger
Review of course to date, great leadership, values-based
leadership

5/3

12

5/8

13

5/10

14

5/15

15

5/17

16

5/22

17

5/24

18

5/29

19

5/31

20

6/5

21

Reading: Jones, Jesus CEO, Table of Contents

Mid-term exam and discussion
Reading: None
Creativity and Great Leadership
Reading: Christensen & Raynor, The Innovators Solution, ch
10, The Role of Senior Executives in Leading Growth
Turn-in draft Personal Leadership Development Plan
Plural leadership, leadership without authority
Reading: OToole, Leading Change, ch 5, Leaders of
Leaders; DePree, The Art of Leadership, Roving
Leadership; Heider, The Tao of Leadership, items 9, 17, 28,
78
High-performance teams
Reading: Goffee & Jones, HBR, Why Should Anyone Be Led
By You?; Saj-Nicole, HBR, How to Lead Leaders; Labich,
Fortune, Elite Teams
Get the Job Done
Toxic leadership, leadership traps
Reading: Kellerman, Bad Leadership, ch 3, Making Meaning
of Being Bad, ch12, Comments & Corrections
Culture and the legacy of leadership
Reading: Daft, ch 14, Shaping Culture & Values; Kouzes &
Posner, A Leaders Legacy, Afterword, The Legacy You
Leave is the Life You Live; Vanourek, A Framework for
Culture Change; Fisher, Like It or Not Culture Matters
Myths, leadership development practices, and various
leadership types
Reading: Badaracco, HBR, We Dont Need Another Hero;
Kramer, HBR, The Great Intimidators; Maccoby, HBR,
Narcissistic Leaders; Caro, HBR; Lesson in Power: LBJ
Team reports on leaders
Surviving in leadership, how to stay alive
Reading: None
Course Summary and conclusions
Reading: None
Submission of Personal Leadership Development Plan
Final Exam and open discussion
Reading: None

Note: The instructor reserves the right and intends to make mid-course adjustments
based on continuous feedback from the participants in a collaborative process.
GRADE SCHEMATIC
Percentage range

Letter grade

Grade point

95.0%-100.0%............ A................4.0
90.0%-94.9%.............. A-.............. 3.7
87.6%-89.9%.............. B+............. 3.3
83.0%-87.5%.............. B .............. 3.0
80.0%-82.9%.................. B-.............. 2.7
76.7%-79.9%.............. C+............. 2.3
73.4%-76.6%.................. C............... 2.0
70.0%-73.3%.................. C-.............. 1.7
66.7%-69.9%.............. D+............. 1.3
63.4%-66.6%.................. D............... 1.0
60.0%-63.3%.................. D-.............. 0.7
0.0%-59.9%................... F................ 0.0
All grades will be calculated on a 100-point basis and carried to one decimal place. All
decimals will be rounded UP to determine the letter grade with respect to percentage
score. Some exams may be given under an Honor Code Pledge.
It is the intent of the Graduate School of Business to operate in an atmosphere of
intellectual honesty and behavior that would set the highest standards in the business
community. We expect professional behavior from every class member. This includes
(among other things): being prepared for each class, turning in assignments on time,
showing respect and consideration for all members of the learning community, and
avoiding academic dishonesty of any sort. Violations of our standards of honesty and of
professional behavior, which are further described in the Student Handbook, and The
Code of Academic Integrity may result in an F in the course and a recommendation for
dismissal from the Graduate School. The DU honor code appears at the following link:
http://www.du.edu/ccs/honorcode.html

Field Code Changed