Statistics, numbers, dates… information. School is full of information. Starting in Kindergarten, students are taught all kinds of information in a variety of subjects and are expected to recall it year after year. Students are taught and tested on the information they retain. Instructors are called upon to differentiate instruction to increase the retention of data by all students.
Higher education and graduate school is no exception to the “information” rule. MBA programs are designed to teach people how to operate a business. These programs are primarily focused on management and cater to those who seek to scale the corporate ladder (U.S. News & World Report, 2018).
Likewise, law schools clearly focus on conveying the information needed to pass the bar exam. In addition to understanding the law, students in law school can expect to learn other soft skills like research and analytical skills. They may learn to communicate with a colleague or in the courtroom. Problem solving is a key component of practicing law (The University of Law, 2017). Clearly, law students need to know how to work under pressure. Despite learning about the subject of law and the peripheral skills related to practicing, there is a lack of leadership education particularly with regard to increasing capacity for leadership.
The National Center for Education Statistics (2019) publishes that an average of more than 150,000 students per year graduate with an MBA. Drew Hansen (2011) writes for Forbes Magazine about why MBA students are not prepared to serve as leaders in their organizations after graduation. He claims that MBA students focus on numbers and data rather than learning to understand people as true leaders do. He also claims that MBA students learn about individual parts of a business or industry. They often fail to see the big picture. Finally, Hansen (2001) writes, “Leaders execute. MBAs focus on strategy, divorcing it from implementation” (para 20).
Vertical leadership studies indicate that a large majority of professional workers and middle managers are operating in the conventional action logics. In fact, Susanne Cook-Greuter (2002) outlines that 75 percent of today’s workers are in an Achiever, Expert or Diplomat mindset. The Achievers and Experts are the workhorses behind productivity in the workplace. So, it makes sense that MBA graduates would focus on data, specific components and minor strategy.
When I entered the Ed.D. Organizational Leadership program, I deferred a Law School admission in a prominent school. After the first class of the Ed.D program, I knew this leadership development program was different from other graduate schools, particularly law school. The leadership development is the hub around which the entire graduate degree is structured. At the same time in the first course, I understood that I needed to go through the process of learning about leadership capacity while expanding my own vertical leadership growth.
The first set of courses in the Ed.D. program were disruptive. Some would say they were disrupted by the slideshow design in which each slide was packed with useful information that radically challenged and changed us. The volume of information transferred in those classes was unprecedented in my education thus far.
In each class, we heard from dynamic leaders from various industries who shared personal and professional experiences. Each speaker challenged us to grow in a different way and added to our individual capacity for leadership. Some speakers shared mindfulness instruction. Others explained how to get to know new staff when we are in positions of leadership and encouraged us to pay attention to the people in the organization who normally go unnoticed.
While the Ed.D. program is loaded with information, all of that information is rooted in the concepts of formation and, ultimately, transformation. The program is transformational. What kind of impact can we have if we infuse this leadership-learning approach of the Ed.D. program into the existing management and graduate programs? We would have more leaders who understand people, have awareness of and increased capacity for leadership and have the skills to perform their jobs, as well.