Finding an experiential approach in graduate leadership curricula

Today's society is frequently described as being textured by change and ambiguity. Leadership that is both adaptive and effective is needed. Colleges and Universities have, in part, responded to this social need with the proliferation of graduate leadership programs. These programs often assume not only that leadership can be taught, but also that a traditional graduate level curriculum is a practical, efficient and effective approach to leadership education. This paper questions these assumptions by arguing for a more experientially-based approach to leadership education at the graduate level. A specific qualitative research methodology that incorporates experiential learning in graduate leadership programs is presented.

Keywords: higher education, experiential education, leadership, leadership education, rapid assessment process, and qualitative research

Introduction

The question, "can leadership be taught?" has been debated for many years (Bennis & Goldsmith, 1997; Gardner, 1990; Wren, 1995). However, if one is to look at the proliferation of leadership training and development programs over the last couple of decades (Rost, 1993) one can conclude that the question is less controversial than the ongoing debate would indicate. The debate has shifted from the somewhat cliched question of "are leaders born or made?" to the more practical question of "what is the best way to train leaders?" (Komives, Lucas, & McMahon, 1998).

These authors believe this shift has grown more out of necessity than of evolution. The need for leaders is growing as our world becomes increasingly complex. Postmodernists would indicate that the ability to cope with volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity will be the skills of success for the coming decades. As Bergquist (1993) explains, the leaders of the future will be the people "who can master the unexpected, and often the unwanted," and "must be able to tolerate ambiguity" (p. 113). It does not matter if one subscribes to the postmodern vision of the future, the evidence that the world is increasingly complex can be seen in our personal lives, our communities, and nearly every institution or structure of our society (Toffler, 1970). In short, the successful leader will need an array of adaptive leadership skills (Heifetz, 1994) to meet the leadership demands of the future.

Efforts to provide opportunities for leadership development in the next millennium should carefully explore how leadership education can be most effective. The study of leadership can be found in many university departments, especially at the graduate level. While steeped in the hierarchy of higher education, leadership programs attempt to deliver a curriculum capable of inspiring students to personally transform into leaders. Leadership education often takes place within specific disciplines such as schools of Business Administration, schools of Education or schools of Public Policy. However, as the study of leadership develops, it is emerging into a field of its own (Bennis & Goldsmith, 1997; Gardner, 1990; Komives et al., 1998; Rost, 1993). The authors take the perspective of, and draw from, experience in a program that focuses on leadership as its own discipline.

To be receptive to the changing nature of our world, leadership education programs may need to consider pedagogical approaches outside, or peripheral, to the traditional approaches of graduate academia. Authors believe that experiential methodology represents one such alternative approach. By experiential methodology the authors imply a pedagogical approach that places the learner as close as possible to the experience from which she or he is learning (Kolb, 1984). Integration of any non-traditional pedagogy into the institutions of the United States' system of higher education is problematic at best, but it is this kind of problem that represents the call for leadership for the coming decades (Komives et al., 1998; Wood, 1995).

An approach for integrating experience-based learning with graduate leadership programs will be presented herein. The paper delineates a brief overview of experiential approaches to education, followed by a more specific review of the potential role these approaches can play in leadership education. Some obstacles to implementing experiential strategies in teaching leadership at the graduate level will also be discussed. The authors will include a description of the Rapid Assessment Process (RAP), an experientially-based qualitative research methodology, which can be utilized as an experientially based vehicle to teach adaptive leadership skills and concepts (Beebe, 2001). The authors will draw from personal experience with the RAP methodology to present an example of the integration of experiential pedagogy and graduate education in leadership. The article will close with a call for further inquiry into, and experimentation with, the application of experiential pedagogy in graduate leadership programs.

Experiential Approaches

There are a variety of conceptual frameworks in the literature defining experiential approaches to education. This variation, as explained by Minnich (1999), is partly "related to differing epistemological, socio-political, and moral traditions and experiences" (p. 6).

Models of Experiential Learning

Two popular models of the experiential learning process inform the perspective of this article. The first model presented by Kolb (1984) is based on his interpretation of Lewin. Kolb describes a repeating four-stage cycle beginning with: (a) a concrete experience, followed by, (b) reflective observation of the experience, followed by, (c) abstract conceptualization of the experience and reflection, which ultimately results in, (d) active experimentation that in turn leads to another concrete experience. Immediate, concrete experiences form "the basis for observation and reflection" (Kolb, p. 21). Observations and reflections are organized into an abstract conceptualization (theory) that helps develop a new hypothesis for testing. The testing of the new hypothesis leads to a new immediate concrete experience. In this way, the experiential process is iterative.

Joplin (1995) provides another model for understanding experiential learning: focus, action, support, feedback, and debrief. First, the attention of the student is directed to the subject of study (focus). Second, the learner is placed in a situation where she or he is faced with the responsibility of solving a challenging problem (action). Third, while confronting the problem, the student receives timely and helpful support, as well as feedback from their instructor, their peers, or both. When the student has attempted to solve the problem, the instructor then engages the student in a debriefing of the experience in an attempt to identify and evaluate what was learned. This final step is a reflective opportunity for the student and instructor to articulate what needs to be done next time. The debriefing leads, quite naturally, into the focusing step to restart the cycle of experiential education.

For the purposes of this discussion, the authors are generally conceiving experiential education to be a purposeful inquiry emphasizing an iterative process of doing, observing, thinking, and reflecting (Dewey, 1938; Joplin 1995; Kolb, 1984; Minnich, 1999). Specifically, the authors are interested in how experiential approaches apply in the development of leadership skills and abilities at the graduate level.

Experiential Approaches in Leadership Development

Graduate programs seek to provide students with a deeper level of understanding within a particular discipline, field, or industry (Mauch & Birch, 1993). The role of experience, although critical in most educational contexts, is not well utilized by traditional pedagogical approaches that "tend to give primary emphasis to acquisition, manipulation, and recall of abstract symbols" (Kolb, 1984, p. 20). However, Kolb describes "a growing group of educators-faculty, administrators, and interested outsiders-who see experiential education as a way to revitalize the university curriculum and to cope with many of the changes facing higher education today" (p. 4).

Graduate leadership programs specialize in developing a deeper student understanding of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of leadership. Two issues emerge when considering this mission: (a) the possibility of teaching leadership and (b) the practicality of teaching leadership.

To the issue regarding teaching leadership, Gardner (1990) answers with "an emphatic but qualified 'Yes'emphatic because most of the ingredients of leadership can be taught, qualified because the ingredients that cannot be taught may be quite important" (p. 157). An education system that favors individual cognitive prowess over teamwork, and teaches the specialization of experts as being superior to the liberal arts dimension of leadership, contributes to a general apathy and skepticism toward leadership (p. 160). The idea of a graduate program devoted to leadership "provokes skepticism in many faculty members" (p. 165). To this skepticism, Gardner reasons, "the nature of leadership should be of interest to all thinking people" (p. 166), especially to those who are charged with the responsibility of preparing the next generation of leaders.

Gardner (1990) offers several practical, experientially-based recommendations for programs designed to deliver leadership curricula. First, "opportunities for students to experience the shared responsibilities of group action" (p. 168) must be provided. Second, opportunities for students to test their judgment and sharpen their intuitive gifts will help future leaders cope with changing circumstances. Third, student exposure to new constituencies is fundamental to the development of ethical leadership. Finally, students need "exposure to the untidy world, where decisions must be made on inadequate information," while the decision-makers are immersed in ambiguity (p. 168).

Challenges Faced by Graduate Leadership Programs

If we are to heed Gardner's (1990) advice that the teaching of leadership must have an experiential component within curricula, there are several challenges that must be faced and overcome to make the theory a reality. Most notably these challenges are: the change resistant nature of the academy, the characteristics of the Graduate student, and the nature of the adult learner. To bring the value of experiential pedagogy to the teaching of leadership at the graduate level will require more than just being open to non-traditional methods. It will require specific tools and techniques to be developed and utilized within graduate leadership programs that build bridges across the obstacles previously mentioned.

The world of the academia is steeped in tradition. Wilson and Daviss (1994) state it this way, "the United States clings to a concept of education's nature and power that is rooted in the last [19th] century" (p. 2). Sizer (1992) remarks, "it is no surprise that school people [and school institutions] are instinctively resistant to change" (p. 218). The very idea of change is often too threatening for the educational system to consider. For institutions to openly accept experiential methodology into the graduate leadership curricula, the institutions themselves must be more open to change. This change does not have to be radical, but opportunities are needed to expand the curriculum to better meet the needs of a student population facing a rapidly changing reality (Jernstedt, 1995).

Here, the relatively young discipline of leadership studies may have a distinct advantage over the more established traditions in higher education. The established norms of the academy that lead to the resistance to change may not apply as stringently to a newly emerged discipline such as leadership studies. Of course, this sword cuts both ways; while being a new and different academic discipline can warrant a little latitude, it also is challenged to adhere to the norms of institutional culture to establish validity, rank and position. This situation provides opportunity for less traditional pedagogic methods, such as experiential education, to take root. The authors would like to see experiential education be more integrated in the emerging discipline of leadership studies, and these authors believe that the time is right for such integration. This integration, however, must meet the needs of the programs involved, and of the students within those programs.

An increasing number of graduate students in leadership studies are working professionals looking to increase their personal knowledge and abilities. For example, in one graduate leadership program in the Pacific Northwest, the average age of a student is between 40 and 49 years, with the vast majority holding full-time jobs. These students bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the field of study. They also bring complex and busy lives. The "busy nature" of students in graduate leadership programs often limits the time and energy they are able to dedicate to their studies.

This reality can lead faculty to design curricula that are compact and limit the demands on the student outside the classroom. A more creative and effective way to solve this problem may be to draw upon the students' experience and knowledge in the graduate leadership studies curriculum. Experiential pedagogy that both values and challenges the leadership skill and knowledge that these students bring can be integrated into the curriculum. One of the central debates in adult learning today (Palmer, 1998) is how to better integrate the acquired experience of the adult learner with the new experience and knowledge of graduate curriculum. This calls for a more holistic approach to graduate curriculum development. Jernstedt (1995), quoting the Bennington College catalog of 1978, describes this holistic approach to adult learning as developing "through `rigorous study and the acquisition of information and technique, on the one hand; and a sustained and productive effort and vigorous personal expression on the other' " (p. 397).

The authors do not wish to suggest that the holistic model suggested here is limited solely to higher education; we believe this model is particularly important to all adult learning. If graduate programs in general, and leadership studies programs in particular, are to meet the needs of their students, attention must to be paid to how those students learn best within the contexts of their lives. Alternative methodologies, such as experiential education, may provide useful mechanisms to adult learners for integrating their needs for content and experience.

To make use of experiential pedagogy in leadership education, as previously suggested, will require new tools that fit within the existing models and programs for leadership education; this will need to be a central concept if the goal of integration, outlined in this article, is to become common practice. This will require that bridges be built between the skills, knowledge and abilities connected with leadership and the constraints of the academy. It will also require that those bridges utilize the characteristics of adult learners and the experience they bring to the study of leadership. The changes the authors are calling for must take place within the academy's constraints and constructs if the change is to be meaningful and lasting. The authors recognize that the development of the tools and techniques to create these bridges can come in many forms. One particular form that the authors find particularly exemplary in this regard, is a qualitative research methodology called Rapid Assessment Process (RAP).

Rapid Assessment Process

An important curricular component of nearly any graduate program in higher education, leadership studies being no exception, is research methodology. The design of empirical research can be divided into two broad categories of research: (a) designs that produce numerical data, and (b) designs that produce nonnumerical data (Babbie, 1998, p. 38). The former, the quantitative approach, makes it possible to deliver explicitly summarized data that may sometimes be statistically analyzable. The latter, the qualitative approach, is often chosen for its ability to produce rich idiographic data. There are many different ways to characterize research methodologies; the qualitative and quantitative differentiation being just one of those. The skills involved in performing qualitative research, are often (a) learned using an experiential approach, and (b) very similar to the skills and knowledge necessary for effective leadership (Kim, 1995). The authors personally experienced RAP as a powerful tool for learning about qualitative research in general as well as learning the specifics of the RAP methodology. Further, through the personal and experiential exploration of RAP the value of RAP in the development of leadership skills and knowledge became strongly apparent. When studied experientially, RAP not only teaches qualitative research, but also can teach leadership as well.

RAP is a type of qualitative research that is closely akin to ethnography. Miles and Huberman (1994) explain that an ethnographic study is one in which "extended contact with a given community, concern for mundane, day-to-day events, as well as for unusual ones" (p. 8) is given particular attention. However, the RAP, as pioneered by Beebe (2001), is distinct from ethnography in two important ways. First, the RAP uses a team for data collection, a critical aspect for data triangulation. Second, "more than one researcher is involved in an iterative approach to data analysis" (p. 8). The teamwork aspect of RAP distinguishes this method from nearly every other type of qualitative approach, noting that "RAP is a direct descendent of Rapid Appraisal, Rapid Assessment, and Rapid Rural Appraisal" (p. 193).

The RAP method, as detailed by Beebe (2001) is designed to quickly develop an understanding of a situation from an insider's perspective (i.e., emic perspective). The RAP uses a "multi-disciplinary team [that] works together to collect data from different sources through semi-structured interviews" (p. 36). The use of a team of researchers makes it possible to collect significantly more information in a given unit of time than a solo researcher. Data analysis begins simultaneously with the collection of data. "RAP is divided between time for collecting information and time for analysis of information" (p. 86). Underlying the spirit of the RAP method is the goal of getting people to tell their stories, not to answer the researcher's questions.

RAP and Experiential Approaches

Qualitative research is best learned through a combination of background literature review, mentorship, and practical application (Mauch & Birch, 1993). After the student becomes familiar enough with a specific topic, she or he will be able to formulate an appropriate research question. In many situations, students and faculty build and maintain mentorships wherein students are supported by a faculty member or committee through advising and constructive feedback (p. 29-59).

Once the student begins to apply a qualitative research design (e.g., through interviews, participant observations, etc.), a much deeper understanding of both the research methodology and the subject being studied are made available to the student (Ely, Anzul, Friedman, Garner, & Steinmetz, 1991). Qualitative research "is often experienced as the wellspring of personal and professional transformations" (p. 198). Why is qualitative research so powerful for the researcher? The authors believe it is because qualitative methods place the student very close to a multi-faceted educative experience. When conducting qualitative research, students become very familiar with: (a) a specific qualitative research methodology, (b) the subject of their study, and (c) their own beliefs, values, and biases.

RAP takes qualitative research one-step further; RAP introduces the dynamic of teamwork. As a team, students move through the conception, the design, and the application of a qualitative inquiry. The team aspect of RAP incorporates an interactive element not easily found in solo research models.

The experiential aspects of the RAP method begin with its emphasis on direct experience with the process. As with most methods for empirical research, the learners of the RAP methodology learn from their collective attempts to use the method in an actual study. Beebe (2001) notes that learning takes place during all parts of the RAP, although such learning is not automatic. "Without explicit attention to lessons that can be learned, mistakes are likely to be repeated" (p. 168). To improve effectiveness with the method, teams need to be continually assessing which techniques are working and which are not. Joplin (1995) underscores the importance of support and feedback in the experiential cycle because it "provides information to the student about what he [sic] has been doing" (p. 19). The next step in Joplin's cyclic model-debriefing-is an opportunity to recognize what has been learned.

RAP inquiry is directed by the perceptions of the research team, not a prescribed theory. "The RAP team is searching for trends, patterns, and opportunities for generalization, the iterative nature of the process allows for the discovery of the unexpected" (Beebe, 2001, pp. 86-87). This, too, renders additional parallels between RAP and an experiential approach. Joplin (1995) points out that experiential learning are "perception based rather than theory based" (p. 21). Experiential learners develop an understanding of a subject by organizing knowledge around experience.

The intentional iterative nature of the RAP approach is another similarity this qualitative method shares with experiential learning. The iterative process in RAP is a cycle of replications aimed at establishing a degree of redundancy in data. Kolb (1984) suggests that experiential learning may be best understood as a nonlinear, recursive learning cycle in which a "holistic adaptive posture toward the world" is sought (p. 32).

RAP and Leadership Development

The general arrangement of the RAP method lends itself to providing opportunities for team members to learn about leadership. Beebe (2001) recommends that teams be assembled to incorporate diversity (e.g., ethnicity, gender, age, etc.). In terms of collecting and analyzing data, "diversity of the team can be critical in building linkages" (p. 114). In RAP the more diverse the research team, the better the results will be, provided the research team has the ability to make positive use of the diversity of the team. In many leadership models, particularly relational models, the ability to embrace and utilize diversity is absolutely essential. "Effective leaders need to develop an appreciation for multiculturalism to build inclusiveness, collaboration and common purposes" (Komives et al., 1998, p. 143). The authors found that learning the skills and knowledge necessary to make use of the diversity of our research teams was critical to the success of the research endeavor.

RAP also requires the researcher to search for the emic definitions and understandings that are integral to understanding the holistic realities of the subject of study. These emic definitions must reflect the "story" of the research participants as closely as possible in both depth and breadth (Beebe, 2001). This requires that the researcher understand and utilize the skills and knowledge of the systems perspective. This idea is also critical to the study and practice of leadership (Hackman & Johnson, 2000; Rost, 1993; Senge, 1990). "Systems thinking does not mean ignoring complexity. Rather, it means organizing complexity into a coherent story that illuminates the caused of the problems and how they can be remedied in enduring ways" (Senge, p. 128).

Beyond the skills and knowledge of the systems perspective, communication skills are critical to RAP. Members of the RAP team rely on their abilities to listen and understand the voices of those who are being interviewed. The goal of a RAP study is to "construct a model of the local situation consistent with the way the local people understand it" (Beebe, 2001, p. 51). From many different perspectives, listening and understanding are imperative leadership skills. Gardner (1990) emphasizes that the single most important skill in leadership development is communication. Leadership, as described by Heifetz (1994), "requires the inner discipline to step back and test the accuracy of one's own perceptions" (p. 271). Listening with empathy is characterized by Komives and al. (1998) as an obligation in any leadership dynamic (p. 190).

Many works on leadership cite ethics as a critical area for concentration in the study of leadership (Gardner, 1990; Greenleaf, 1977, 1998; Komives et al. 1998; Northouse, 2001; Vaill, 1998).

We must hope, too, that our leaders will help us keep alive values that are not so easy to embed in laws-our feelings about individual moral responsibility, about caring for others, about honor and integrity, about tolerance and mutual respect, about individual fulfillment within a framework of values (Gardner, 1990, p. 77).

In the RAP methodology ethics is a primary concern in all aspects of the research. Researchers using RAP (and all other research methods) have ethical obligations to their participants and to the audience to which they are reporting. RAP requires the researcher to understand the moral responsibility of accurate data gathering and handling; RAP requires empathetic understanding to arrive at emic definitions; RAP requires developing an understanding of not only the value systems of others, but also of one's own value systems (Beebe, 2001).

To work well, the RAP team requires leadership. As highlighted by Beebe (2001), "teamwork depends on leadership" (p. 130). Further more, Beebe notes the similarities between the leadership in the RAP team and the adaptive leadership approach presented by Heifetz (1994). Heifetz identifies several other principles of adaptive leadership relevant to RAP including: "providing `holding environments' (p. 66), identifying adaptive challenges, and keeping distress within a productive range" (pp. 130-131). Beebe describes five critical responsibilities of a RAP team leader: (a) provide orientation, (b) keep focused and responsive to changing condition, (c) maintain morale, (d) encourage teamwork, and (e) ensure administrative support (p. 131). The parallels between the skills required in a RAP study and the skills required of effective leadership are multi-fold.

In these ways RAP strengthens the students' understanding of skills recognized as critical to leadership. RAP is also best learned through experiential methods. If used with appropriate intent, the RAP method can teach graduate students much more than the mechanics of qualitative research. The RAP method offers graduate leadership programs an inherently experiential approach for students to interactively learn about leadership, teamwork, and themselves. In this way, RAP provides an excellent example of a means to incorporate experiential education pedagogy into existing graduate curricula in leadership. The authors would like to stress the point that RAP is just one example of the kind of tool that can be used to bring the full force of experiential education to bear on the teaching of leadership. The important point is that we must look for more of these tools and methods, and find ways of using existing practice and curricula in experiential ways if we are to improve the current status of leadership educaiton.

Conclusion

By many measures, the rate at which our world is changing appears to be increasing. Accompanying this increased rate of change is an increase in the challenges our leaders must face. The leadership skills of yesterday may not suffice to meet the leadership challenges of tomorrow. Although this outlook may seem cliched, there is a real danger in our becoming desensitized and complacent to the preparatory needs of tomorrow's leaders. The authors believe that leadership development is never a work completed; it is always a work in progress.

To meet the challenges presented by our changing society, the United States system of higher education, specifically graduate programs, must devise practical, efficient, and effective approaches to leadership development. This presents an opportunity for proponents of experiential education to help institutions of higher education adapt to the prevailing changes of our contemporary society. If experiential approaches to learning are more fully integrated into the leadership curricula of higher education, the authors believe the leaders of tomorrow will be better equipped to face the challenges tomorrow presents.

In this discussion, the authors have attempted to make the case that: (a) leadership, as a discipline can, and should, be taught at the graduate level; (b) alternative pedagogical approaches may be of great use to leadership curricula; and (c) RAP provides an excellent example of how experiential education can be integrated into the discipline of leadership development. In the future, higher education increasingly could, and should, incorporate experiential approaches in an effort to improve the delivery of its curricula. In the case of leadership studies specifically, the authors believe the curricula must become more experientially-based if it is to meet the leadership needs of our twenty-first century society. The only question for us is how that integration will take place.

RAP is introduced as one possible approach for integrating experience-based learning with leadership development in the context of a graduate curriculum. The authors recognize there are additional integrational approaches currently in use, and many waiting to be discovered. There is a demonstrated need to explore additional avenues for integrating experiential approaches with graduate curricula, not only in leadership, but in all curricula.

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Matthew M. Mitchell and Michael I. Poutiatine

Matthew M. Mitchell is a graduate advisor for Prescott College. Michael I. Poutiatine is a doctoral student in Gonzaga University's Doctoral Program in Leadership Studies. Both authors have worked as experiential educators, qualitative researchers, and leadership program administrators. Correspondence concerning this article should be sent to either author, c/o School of Professional Studies, Department of Doctoral Studies, Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA, 99258. e-mail: Makalu@iea.com.

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