Knowledge Leadership

The authors argue that most leaders fall into stylistic habits that can narrow how and what they learn, a realization that occurred to Steve Cavaleri during his time as a Visiting Scholar under Peter Senges direction in the Organizational Learning Center at MIT. If leaders can become aware of their learning styles and expand them, Cavaleri, Seivert, and Lee argue, then they will be able to create new and effective knowledge from their experiences. These are the leaders who will enable their organizations to succeed in challenging times. This approach is supported by their study of several hundred managers in the United States and Asia, which shows a significant correlation between a leaders beliefs, worldview, and leadership style. Yogi leaders work with trying to achieve change by transforming peoples beliefs and values, while Commissar leaders believe that change occurs primarily from without-through structures, systems, and change must be forced on people. Proteus, on the other hand, is a legendary sea-god, a natural learner who can show us how to navigate the spectrum between these two opposites to learn effectively and motivate people to change in positive ways.