Leadership in (Work-Based) Action

In the 1940s, management scholar Reg Revans had a new idea. He wanted people working in organizations at all levels to learn from each other.

Fast-forward to today and you'll find people from all industries practicing what Revans called Action Learning: sharing and comparing problems, 的想法, 和解决方案.

在SAU Master of Organizational Leadership (摩尔)项目, Revans' Action Learning methodology takes the form of the Work-Based Action Project (WBAP), a 16-week hands-on course. 在这门课上, MOL students identify a problem they can solve at their workplace or volunteer organization.

"WBAP incorporates and applies lessons learned from the entire MOL curriculum with heavy emphasis on leading change, 冲突管理, 团队合作, 对话的技巧, strategy and communication," said Randy Richards '71, 博士学位, a founding MOL faculty member who was introduced to the concept as a visiting professor at the Zagreb School of Economics and Management in Croatia and brought it back to St. galaxy银河娱乐场app.

This experiential learning model is actually a hallmark of many SAU graduate and undergraduate programs. By pairing theory with action, students can fully understand-and solve-work-based problems.

"The WBAP is tremendously important to the MOL program," said Program Director and Professor Ron Wastyn, 博士学位. "Rather than just reading about what other people have done, our students practice what they learned in a guided, 以工作实践为基础的场景."

At the start, students are required to gain buy-in from whomever their projects affect. And while WBAP instructors don't actively seek comments or feedback from those businesses and organizations, Richards said a decade of positive WBAP results are proof that the MOL program affects real change.

"Our students have made uncounted, successful interventions in their work organizations and saved money, improved work processes, 打开的机会, 改善行动, 改变了的文化,他说.

Students routinely have shared their appreciation for the WBAP learning process in reflection papers about their projects and experience.

"In looking back over the past 16 weeks of the Work-Based Action Project, I found myself using many 的想法 and tools from previous MOL classes," said Joe Garrity '17 MOL. "It was amazing to be able to implement these 的想法 into action and see how they provided real results in my project."

莎拉·琼斯07, “16摩尔, “18 MBA, said the WBAP gave her a profound appreciation for the project management process-enough so that she wants to do more in the future. "The combination of what I learned in this class and my boss making me take on a project of this size makes me want to do more projects like it,她写道.

Reaching difficult points during the project-or even failing-is also part of the WBAP learning experience.

"There is a fundamental guiding rule that I gained in the MOL: Make it work," said Arta Fazliu “16摩尔. "If ‘A' doesn't work, then you still have an entire alphabet left of possible solutions. There is never one way to look at, approach, or attempt a problem. That versatility can only be learned when you are taught to question and think on your own."