Herein is the nuts-and-bolts of Gonzaga’s Organizational Leadership program. The fundamentals of leadership were presented and practiced: elements of organizational structure, team management, creating alignment, employee motivation, creating and managing culture, systems thinking, and mental models. The apex of the class was a team simulation climbing Mount Everest. Everest provided an opportunity to practice leadership, communication and team building skills. The importance of clear communication and systemic thinking proved to be the difference between success and failure. Once our team established open communication and a safe environment to challenge and explore all possibilities we made better decisions in less time and with greater buy-in. 

 

As the assigned leader of our Everest expedition, I centered discussions around problem solving and filling “learning gaps.” We became a learning team. Our dialogue created operational trust and leveraged strengths for the purpose of advancing our shared vision. Our shared vision was to play the game well but more importantly to use the game as a means to practice leadership skills, advocacy and inquiry, checking assumptions, and movement up and down the inference ladder. We successfully reduced learning gaps and increased collaboration and effective decisions making. Personal key takeaways were first, a new awareness of mental models that inhibited my ability to think systemically. Second, I acquired tools to productively challenge assumptions and engage in inquiry and advocacy. I utilize these tools in teams to communicate a shared vision and promote systems thinking in order to solve dynamic, complex problems.