MLD-501: Fundamentals of Leadership Across Difference
Faculty: Robert W. Livingston
Delta Meeting Time: M/W 8:45am – 10:00am in Starr Auditorium (Belfer 200)
Office Hours: Mondays 10:30-12:00; 2-3pm; Weds 10:30-12:00; or by appointment
Course Assistants: Lauren Powell and Hamada Zahawi
Office: Taubman 150; phone: 6-4271
Course Description
Whether your aspirations are to work domestically or internationally, collaboration across
difference is an inescapable imperative of leadership for the public interest. Contemporary
levels of conflict and instability make the capacity to work effectively across difference a
fundamental requirement of political, diplomatic, and military leadership. Innovation in the
government sector is dependent on the capacity for policy makers to work across political
divides and increasingly involves collaboration across agencies and with business and civic
leaders. Service to communities in need—whether from the private, public or nonprofit
sectors—requires a capacity to analyze and bridge differences in perspective on the barriers to
and opportunities for enhancing social and economic welfare, health, and education. Whether
managed locally or internationally, environmental sustainability requires the engagement of a
broad range of stakeholders. Moreover, in all sectors and policy areas, work teams have
become progressively demographically diverse in terms of gender, sexual orientation, race,
ethnicity, and national culture.
This module will equip students with fundamental concepts and frameworks for analyzing
pitfalls and opportunities for collaboration across social identity- and group-based differences
within teams and across organizational boundaries. Key concepts are drawn from research on
biases in individual and group decision-making, group dynamics, social network analysis, and
organizational diversity perspectives. The module is designed for students to learn and practice
applying course material through interactive exercises, case analyses, and self-reflection so that
students enhance their personal potential to lead in the global work environment.
Some students will have had more exposure than others to the theories and practice of
management, leadership and decision-making. By employing teaching methods derived from
executive education and designed to enhance peer-to-peer learning, we are optimistic that all
students in this course will gain in their capacity to lead across differences.
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Learning Objectives
The objective of this module is to enhance students’ capacity to lead and work effectively in
culturally, ideologically, and demographically diverse and dispersed teams and networks.
Our aim is for the students to gain in their ability to:
 Recognize, anticipate, and circumvent common pitfalls in diverse and dispersed work
groups.
 Employ fundamental concepts in network analysis to strategically enhance and leverage
the value of social networks.
 Analyze diversity challenges in organizations, while being mindful of differences
between strategies that focus on achieving demographic balance and equity, tapping
diverse markets and stakeholders, and integrating diverse perspectives in teams and
collaborative efforts.
 Identify and reflect on their personal strengths, blind spots, and areas for development
to be maximally effective leading and working in diverse and dispersed teams and
networks.
Grading and Course Requirements
General Participation Norms
Bring your name card to each class. This is essential for faculty and classmates to get to know
students by name and for course assistants to track class participation.
Choose a permanent seat by the 2nd class session. A stable seating chart will help us to get to
know one another and help the teaching team track participation.
On-time attendance is mandatory. Classes will begin on time, and students are expected to be
in their seats and ready to begin work when class starts. Repeated lateness or other
interruptions to class attendance will negatively affect your participation grade. Notify your CAs
or faculty if you anticipate lateness or any other interruptions to your class attendance.
Absences. Anticipated absences should be cleared as soon as possible with faculty. Unexcused
absences will negatively affect your participation grade.
Assignment Submissions. All assignments should be submitted on time. Students are strongly
advised to read assignment expectations because faculty will use those explicit expectations to
evaluate the quality of the assignment. Anticipated delays in the submission of assignments
should be cleared as soon as possible with faculty. It is up to the faculty’s discretion how much
credit to give for late submissions.
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Communication. Course-related information will be emailed to students at their HKS email
accounts, and all general information will be posted to the course page on Canvas. Students are
warmly welcome and encouraged to visit office hours to talk with faculty about the course and
their personal experiences in it. Never hesitate to reach out to course assistants or faculty with
questions about class preparation or assignments. Others are likely to share your questions.
You do the teaching team and your classmates a favor by raising questions early.
Class Preparation. For each class session, the course page on Canvas contains links to the Class
Preparation Notes as well as readings and other preparation materials (e.g., online lectures,
worksheets, etc.). You should always start your class preparation by reading the Class
Preparation Notes, which will help you prepare efficiently as well as effectively for class.
Written Assignments. Basic information on expectations for and grading of written
assignments is provided below. More detailed information will be posted to the course page or
announced in class. Always feel free to seek additional guidance from CAs and faculty.
Use of Electronic Devices in Class. There are times when the use of laptops and other
electronic devices will be explicitly permitted to enhance learning. However, evidence suggests
that broader access to laptops and hand-held devices during class creates distractions for both
their users and other students sitting nearby. Therefore, we do not permit the use of laptops,
tablets, cellphones, or similar electronic devices during class unless explicitly permitted. Past
experience in our own and other classrooms has demonstrated that this policy will significantly
enhance attention, learning, and interpersonal interaction. Students may request exemptions
to this policy (e.g., for assistive technology or emergency phone calls).
Respectful conduct is expected at all times in interaction with classmates, course assistants,
and faculty. If you have any concerns about disrespectful behavior in class or in the conduct of
course-related work, we encourage you to approach your course assistants, faculty instructor,
or the MLD-501 course head, Hannah Riley Bowles ([email protected]).
Academic Integrity. In accordance with its mission to prepare individuals for public leadership,
Harvard Kennedy School has a commitment and obligation to produce graduates who are
ethical professionals. Integral to this training is the value of academic honesty. High standards
reflect the school’s academic integrity, foster a respectful environment for work and study, and
provide an example of academic excellence for others. Faculty teaching MLD-101 will strictly
follow the HKS Academic Code. Students are expected to do the same, including taking
seriously their Ethical Responsibilities and Standards of Conduct. See the following website for
the further details: http://www.hks.harvard.edu/degrees/registrar/procedures/integrity
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Grading
Overview of Grade Calculation
Following is an overview of how grades will be calculated in MLD-501m. Read further for an
explanation of each of these grade components.
Primary Components
Subcomponents
A. Class Participation (30%)
Evidence of Preparedness
1. Attendance
2. Questions or Comments about Readings
3. Pop Quiz Performance
Contributions to Collective Learning
1. Large-Group Discussion
2. Buzz Group Products
B. Individual Paper (30%)
“Memo to Self on Enhancing Diverse and Dispersed
Collaboration” due by 5pm Friday 11/18
C. Final Exam (40%)
Take-home Exam due by 5pm on December 14
Explanation of Grade Components
A. Class Participation (30%) will be graded based on 1) evidence of your preparedness for class
(e.g., comments, quizzes) and 2) the quality of your contributions to collective learning in class
(e.g., contributions to large-group discussion, buzz-group products). Faculty and course
assistants will record all of these forms of participation (explained in more detail below).
Faculty will send each student feedback on class participation midway through the module and
then grade students on a curve.
Grading class participation we take both quantity and quality into account. As you prepare
your contributions, remember that cases and exercises are designed to teach about
generalizable concepts (e.g., common organizational dynamics or strategies of analysis) and not
about the specific details of particular situations. Examples of high-quality comments follow:

Translating theory and research findings from an academic articles into useful
principles and questions that you and your classmates that can carry forward
into your professional work.
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




In case analyses, offering analytic insights (e.g., instead of simply reporting case
facts, explain what you think is happening or what the case protagonist should
do and why)
In cases analyses and the debrief of experiential exercises, applying concepts
from the readings and stretching to develop insight that you and your classmates
can carry forward into your professional work
Helping classmates recognize the generalizable ideas and dynamics in cases and
exercises by drawing connections to other “real-world” examples (e.g., sharing
personal experiences, making connections to current events or other cases)
Drawing conceptual connections across class sessions
Relating MLD-501 class discussion to material covered in other core courses
Finally, high quality contributions are always respectful of other class participants. This includes
being cognizant of the amount of airtime one is taking as well as the potential to offend other
class members. We do not expect you always to agree. Students are encouraged to challenge
one another’s thinking and to debate conflicting perspectives.
Multiple avenues for class participation credit. We have designed these varied avenues for
gaining credit for class participation in response to student feedback and new teaching
strategies for maximizing the value of time in class. Class participation grades have traditionally
been based on students’ contributions to large-group discussion. We still value highly students’
contributions to large-group discussion, and believe strongly that students should stretch
themselves to contribute to the large-group discussion for collective learning and their own
professional development. However, we recognize that students contribute to collective
learning in other important ways as well.
Evidence of Preparedness
1. Attendance. Just showing up for classing and being engaged (rather than on your
smartphone) sets the tone for a healthy learning environment. Valid excuses for
missing class include illness or mourning. Missing for interviews is permissible but
does not constitute an “excused” absence.
2. Questions or Comments on the Readings. Your reactions to the readings will form
one basis for evaluating class participating. Good questions or comments go beyond
“Why did X say Y?”, or “I found X sentence really interesting” to include substantive
observation or inquiry.
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3. Pop Quizzes. To assess student comprehension of key concepts and to give students
a sense of types of questions faculty have in mind for the final exam, there will be
occasional pop quizzes.
Contributions to In-Class Learning
1. Large-Group Discussion. Students will receive credit for participating in large-group
discussion. As noted above, more credit is given for higher-quality contributions.
Students will receive points for each class in which they contribute, so in-class
contributions will reflect an average profile of class participation rather than a
simple accumulation (e.g., a single high-quality comment in three separate classes
counts more than talking three times in one class). Contributions to in-class
discussion will be weighted similarly to pre-class comments.
2. Buzz Group Products. During particular class sessions, you will be randomly assigned
to work in buzz groups to apply course concepts to a case. Each buzz group will hand
in a copy of their final products to the course assistants at the end class. These will
be graded by the CAs with faculty oversight with a check or check plus or minus and
handed back to the students. Buzz group products will be weighted similarly to inclass and pre-class comments.
These multiple avenues for class participation enable us to recognize a broad range of
contributions to collective learning in MLD-501. Some are visibly high-quality contributors to
large-group discussion and make regular preclass contributions. Others are relatively quiet in
large-group discussion, but consistently demonstrate positive presence, strong, high-quality
class preparation in quizzes and questions.
B. Paper (30%). Students will submit a three-page analytic paper entitled “Memo to Self on
Enhancing Diverse and Dispersed Collaboration.” The learning purpose of this paper is to give
you an opportunity to integrate course concepts and apply them to a work context that is
relevant to your career aspirations. The goal of this paper is to produce a document that you
could keep as a personal reference in your professional work in diverse and dispersed groups.
This paper is due by 5pm on Friday, November 18.
Following the HKS Academic Code (see link below, specifically Part 2 on Work Products), this is
a “Type 1” assignment (i.e., “work alone and write up alone”).
https://knet.hks.harvard.edu/dp_student_affairs/Student_Life/Documents/academic%20code.pdf
We will distribute more information on this paper assignment in class and via the course page.
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C. Final Exam (40%). The final exam will be a take-home exam due by 5pm on December 14.
Students will have access to samples of the types of questions that will appear on the final
exam in the Pre-Course Packet MLD-501 Baseline Questions and through in-class quizzes.
We will distribute more information on the Final Exam in class and via the course page.
Papers and Exam responses will be graded for quality and usefulness, with more weight
placed on quality:
“Quality” refers to: (1) the analytic coherence of the recommendations, and (2) the
clear demonstration of a command of course concepts (e.g., application of theories and
analytical frameworks). The demonstration of course concepts should span material
covered over multiple class sessions.
“Usefulness” will be reflected in the practicality of your recommendations, for instance,
their feasibility (e.g., within time and budget constraints) and their relevance to the
targeted context of application.
Students will receive more information on grading criteria in class and on the course page.
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Calendar
Mon
(Delta, Beta)
Tues
(Gamma, Alpha)
Wed
(Delta, Beta)
The
(Gamma, Alpha)
Fr
10/10
10/11
10/12
10/13
10/14
Submit Responses
to Pre-Course
Survey & Baseline
Qs by 5pm
Week 1
Intro &
Key Concepts
Week 2
Factors that Make LAD
More Challenging
Week 3
Group Decision Making
(DM)
Week 4
Group DM
&
Social Networks
10/17
10/18
10/19
Why Should Aspiring Public Leaders Care
about “Leadership Across Difference” (LAD)?
10/24
10/31
11/7
10/26
11/8
Group DM III
Greg James at Sun (case)
10/27
10/28
Partisanship and Perspective-Taking
11/1
Group DM I
Debrief Hiring Exercise
10/9
What Makes LAD Hard?
10/25
Power
Dimes Game (in-class exercise)
10/20
11/2
11/3
11/4
Group DM II
Harnessing the Power of Diverse Teams
11/9
11/10
11/11
Social Networks I
Whitney Young (case)
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Week 5
Social Networks
&
Integrate Key Concepts
Week 6
Paper Workshop
&
Leveraging Diversity
Week 7
Leveraging Diversity
&
Wrap-Up
Week 8
Mon
(Delta, Beta)
11/14
Tues
(Gamma, Alpha)
11/15
Wed
(Delta, Beta)
11/16
Social Networks II
Debrief Social Network Assessment
11/21
11/22
Guest Speaker
11/23
Paper Workshop &
Leveraging Diversity I
11/28
11/29
Leveraging Diversity II
ActionAid (case)
The
(Gamma, Alpha)
11/17
Fr
11/18
Submit Paper
by 5pm
11/24
11/25
Thanksgiving Day Holiday
11/30
12/1
12/2
Leveraging Diversity III
Debrief
12/5
12/6
12/7
12/8
12/9
12/12
12/13
12/14
12/3
12/4
Reading Week & Finals
Week 9
Finals
Take-home Exam
due by 5pm
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Class Prep Notes
Week 1. Intro & Key Concepts
Class 1.1
Class Description
Why Should
Aspiring Public
Leaders Care
About
“Leadership
Across
Difference”
(LAD)?
The purpose of this class session is to motivate and introduce the course.
During this first class session, we’ll talk about why aspiring public leaders like
yourselves care about “leadership across difference” (LAD).
We’ll spark this conversation with readings from two books on contemporary
public leadership challenges and draw on your own professional experiences.
REMINDER: Complete online Pre-Course Packet (i.e., Pre-Course Survey and
Baseline Questions) by 5pm FRI 10/14. [See MLD-501 Welcome Email.]
Advance Preparation
In advance of class, you should review the information in the MLD-501m
syllabus and familiarize yourself with the Canvas page. Come with questions.
Required Reading (56 pages)
IMPORTANT NOTE: The purpose of the readings for this first class is simply to
spark a conversation about leadership across difference. The readings present
two case examples that are very different in some respects—the perspectives
of a U.S. general and a British social entrepreneur—and very similar in others
(e.g., stories of leaders attempting to integrate big visions by reaching out
across traditional boundaries).
This is not a case preparation exercise. We will not dig into the details of
either case example, but rather try to capture some of the big points and
connect them to your own experiences.
It’s pretty easy reading. Read quickly for the big ideas. That’s the level at
which we will discuss them in class.
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1. Excerpts from Edmonson & Reynolds (2016) Building the Future: Big
Teaming for Audacious Innovation (28 pages)
NOTE: The Prologue and Intro (pp. ix-xii, 1-3) provide useful context before you
dive into the excerpts from Chapter 8. Read the excerpts from Chapter 8 (pp.
143-155, 160-167 for the big ideas. This is not a course on sustainable cities or
social enterprise. The point of the reading is to spark discussion about the
opportunities for and barriers to leadership across difference in a social
entrepreneurial context.
2. Excerpts from McChrystal et al. (2015). Team of Teams (28 pages: 3637, 51-52, 55-57, 60-63, 118-120, 125-130, 159-161, 175-180, 231232).
NOTE: We have aggressively extracted passages of the book to capture a few
key points (e.g., complicated vs. complex systems, team of teams, etc.). This
approach risks losing some meaning and creating some disjointed transitions.
We hope the benefits of a shorter reading assignment outweigh these costs.
Following are links to two Wikipedia entries that might be helpful as you jump
into these extracts:
 Who is Frederick Winslow Taylor?
 What is Balad?
Class Preparation Notes
The required readings reflective distinctive perspectives on contemporary
challenges of public leadership. In Building the Future, Edmondson and
Reynolds document the path of a social entrepreneur aspiring to develop
sustainable cities. Common to the experience of social entrepreneurs, success
was only attainable through sustained multi-sector partnerships. In Team of
Teams, McChrystal and co-authors describe how large institutions from the
U.S. military and NASA to global corporations are finding that bridging siloes
of specialization is imperative to innovation and agility of response to
disruptive events—political, natural, or technical.
Following are study questions to guide your class preparation.
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1. What does “Big Teaming” mean and why it is important for social
innovation?
2. Why do McChrystal and colleagues argue for a “team of teams”
approach?
3. What do you recognize in these books from your own work
experience? How have you seen organizations flourish or falter on
their capacity to collaborate across traditional boundaries?
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Class 1.2
Class Description
What Makes
LAD Hard?
The purpose of this class session is to help you gain greater depth of
perspective into why LAD is hard and to introduce fundamental concepts
from psychological and organizational research that we will return to
repeatedly throughout the module.
During this class session, we’ll discuss the fundamentals of social identity and
intergroup bias and discuss findings and propositions presented in the reading
by Elizabeth Mannix and Maggie Neale on “What Differences Make a
Difference.”
Advance Preparation
Complete Implicit Association Test (IAT)
If you are not already familiar with the Implicit Association Test (IAT), you
should take a few minutes to try it out.
Before you do the background reading, go to the following website to the
take the “Project Implicit Social Attitudes” test.
Continue as a “guest” by selecting from available language/nation
demonstration sites (i.e., look for “GO!” in the center-left of the screen by the
American flag).
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/
From there you need to indicate “I wish to proceed” at bottom of screen.*
On the next screen, you will see a list of IATs. Try out a couple of them, noting
your results.
If you are already familiar with the IAT, completion of the IAT is optional.
Required Reading (19 pages)
Mannix, E. & Neal, M. (2005). What differences make a difference? The
promise and reality of diverse teams in organizations. Psychological Science in
the Public Interest, 6(2), 31-55.
Quick References
Following is a little background information on the Implicit Bias and the IAT
that might interest you after you complete the IAT yourself. For a deeper and
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more engaging discussion of implicit bias, see the excerpts from the Benaji
book under Supplemental Materials.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implicit_stereotype
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implicit-association_test
Following are a few Wikipedia references that might be useful background for
the Mannix & Neale article.
Meta-Analysis is a statistical study of studies.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta-analysis
Mediation (e.g., “information sharing largely mediated the diversityperformance relationship” [p. 42]) means in short to explain with statistical
significance why an effect of x on y occurred (e.g., information sharing
explained why team diversity had an effect on performance).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediation_(statistics)
Class Preparation Notes
Slog Alert!!! The Mannix & Neale reading takes some endurance.
The Mannix & Neale article is only 19 pages long (references excluded), but it
likely to take you a long time to read thoughtfully. It is an excellent review of
the research related to the benefits and pitfalls of diverse teams. We will
return repeatedly to fundamental concepts in this article throughout the
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module. Failure to engage seriously with the ideas in this article will impede
your learning in this module.
Following are study questions to guide your class preparation.
Related to IAT
1. Why do people hold implicit biases?
2. What do you think are some of the causes of implicit bias, segregation,
discrimination, and intergroup conflict ? (to be discussed in lecture)
Related to Mannix & Neale
3. What is the “optimistic” view of diversity in teams? What is the
“pessimistic” view?
4. What are important dimensions of diversity for LAD?
5. What is the “similarity-attraction” hypothesis? What implications does
it have for LAD?
6. How does “social categorization” operate? What implications does it
have to LAD?
7. What is the “information processing” perspective on diversity in
teams? What implications does it have for LAD?
8. What is the importance of “social networks”
9. What advice does this article offer for LAD?
Supplemental Resources
NOTE: "Supplemental Resources" are additional materials to which faculty might refer during class, but
we do not expect students to read these material in preparation for class.
Excerpts on implicit vs. explicit bias from Banaji, M. & Greenwald, A. (2013).
Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People. New York: Delacorte. Chapter 6, pp.
94-122.
Duguid, M. M., & Thomas-Hunt, M. C. (2015). Condoning Stereotyping? How
Awareness of Stereotyping Prevalence Impacts Expression of Stereotypes.
Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(2), 343–359.
Gratton, Voigt, & Erikson (2007). Bridging faultlines in diverse teams. Sloan
Management Review.
http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/bridging-faultlines-in-diverseteams/
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Lau, D. C., & Murnighan, J. K. (1998). Demographic diversity in faultlines: The
compositional dynamics of organizational groups. Academy of Management
Review, 23(2), 325-340.
Ridgeway, C. L., & Erickson, K. G. (2000). Creating and spreading status beliefs.
American Journal of Sociology, 106(3), 579-615.
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Week 2. Factors that Make LAD More Challenging
Class 2.1
Class Description
Power
The purpose of this class session is to help you recognize ways in which being
in a high- or low-power position influences how one perceives others and
how one is perceived.
During this class session, we will conduct an interactive exercise, The New
Proposal, and debrief it exercising concepts from the readings.
Advance Preparation
Required Reading (19 pages)
1. Excerpts on “Transactional and Transformational Leadership” from
Burns, J. M. (1979). Leadership.
2. Russell, A. M. & Fiske, S. T. (2010). CHAPTER 8. Power and Social
Perception. In A. Guinote and T. K. Vescio (eds), The Social Psychology
of Power. New York: Guilford Publications, pp. 231-250.
Class Preparation Notes
There is no advance preparation for the exercise.
After we run The New Proposal exercise, we’ll talk about how Burns defines
leadership as distinct from naked power wielding.
There are many definitions of leadership. In Bass & Stodgill’s (1990)
Handbook of Leadership, the authors argue that, “There are almost as many
different definitions of leadership as there are persons who have attempted
to define the concept” (p. 11). We draw on Burns because his definition has
been a particularly influential one and because it is closely related to
fundamental concepts in Negotiation.
When reading the Burns book excerpts, focus on how he defines power and
leadership and contrasts transactional and transformational leadership.
The Russell & Fiske chapter will help you understand how being in a high- or
low-power position can influence how one perceives others and how one is
perceived. This chapter is only 17 pages, but—like the Mannix & Neale
reading—it will take you a while to read thoughtfully.
Following are study questions to guide your reading.
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1. How does Burns distinguish power and leadership?
2. From the Russell & Fiske chapter, how does being in a high- as
compared to low-power position influence one’s perceptions of
others?
3. How might biases associated with the psychological experience of
power impede one’s leadership potential?
Supplemental Resources
NOTE: "Supplemental Resources" are additional materials to which faculty might refer during class, but
we do not expect students to read these material in preparation for class.
Castilla, E.J.. (2015). Accounting for the Gap: A Firm Study Manipulating
Organizational Accountability in Pay Decisions. Organization Science 26 (2):
311-333.
Dunning, D., Griffin, D. W., Milojkovic, J. D., & Ross, L. (1990). The
overconfidence effect in social prediction. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 58(4), 568-581.
Galinsky, A. D., Magee, J. C., Inesi, M. E., & Gruenfeld, D. H. (2006). Power and
perspectives not taken. Psychological Science, 17(12), 1068-1074.
Lord, C. G., Lepper, M. R., and Preston, E. (1984). Considering the Opposite: A
Corrective Strategy for Social Judgment. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 47(6), 1231-1243.
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Class 2.2.
Class Description
Partisanship
The purpose of this class session is to help you understand some of the
psychology underlying why people become entrenched and polarized and
why perceptions of procedural fairness can be so important in managing
conflict.
Advance Preparation
Required Reading (13 pages)
1. Robinson, R. J. 1997. Errors in Social Judgment: Implications for
Negotiation and Conflict Resolution; Part 2: Partisan Perceptions (HBS
Case 897-104) (8 pages)
2. Abstract and Intro only of See, K. E. (2009). Reactions to Decisions
With Uncertain Consequences: Reliance on Perceived Fairness Versus
Predicted Outcomes Depends on Knowledge. Journal of Personality &
Social Psychology, 96(1), 104-107. (3 pages)
3. Excerpts from the “Meaning of Procedural Justice” from Lind & Tyler
(1988). The Social Psychology of Procedural Justice, 215-217. (2 pages)
Class Preparation Notes
Complete the background readings before preparing case. That will make it
more easy and obvious how to apply concepts from the readings to the case.
The Robinson note summarizes key findings in the literature on the
psychology of partisan conflict in a few short pages.
The See article combines insights from behavioral decision theory and the
procedural justice literature to explain how people make decisions about
whether to support change. Focus your reading on first 3.25 pages including
the abstract and introduction (pp. 104-107). Feel free to skip or skim the
studies and general discussion. In short, they support the theory laid out in
the intro. What we’ll discuss in class are the main ideas presented in the intro.
Feel free to come by office hours if you would like to discuss the studies in
greater depth.
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The Lind & Tyler book extract explains in a little more detail what is meant by
“procedural justice” in the See article, for instance, differentiating perceived
control from perceived fairness.
Supplemental Resources
NOTE: "Supplemental Resources" are additional materials to which faculty might refer during class, but
we do not expect students to read these material in preparation for class.
Ross, L., & Ward, A. (1995). Psychological barriers to dispute resolution.
Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 27, 255-303.
Babcock, L., & Loewenstein, G. (1997). Explaining bargaining impasse: The role
of self-serving biases. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 11(1), 109-126.
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Weeks 3-4. Group Decision Making
Class 3.1.
Class Description
Group
Decision
Making I
The purposes of this class are two-fold: 1) to enhance your capacity to
recognize and anticipate common barriers to information sharing in group
decision making and 2) to offer you strategies for improving group decision
making by circumventing predictable barriers to information sharing.
The Hiring
Committee
During this class, we will debrief your experience with the Hiring Decision
Exercise and collectively generate strategies that you can take forward to
improve the quality of your work in groups.
Advance Preparation
Complete “Hiring Decision Exercise” on Tuesday afternoon 10/25.
Required Reading (25 pages)
1. Excerpts from Sunstein & Hastie (2015). Wiser: Getting Beyond
Groupthink to Make Groups Smarter, pp. 103-124 (Chapter 6: Eight
Ways to Reduce Failure).
2. Notes on Biases in Individual and Group Decision Making
Class Preparation Notes
Following are study questions to guide your background reading. What types
of group processes tend to open information flow?
1. What are some of the reasons that open information exchange is
important to effective decision making in groups?
2. What types of group processes tend to open information exchange?
3. What types of group processes tend to constrict information
exchange?
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Class 3.2.
Group
Decision
Making II
Class Description
This class session will serve as a continuation of the debrief of the hiring
exercise. We will discuss several theoretical approaches and strategies for
increasing the productivity, creativity, and overall effectiveness of diverse
teams.
Advance Preparation
Required Background Reading (31 pages)
1. Armstrong, D. J., & Cole, P. (2002). Managing distances and differences
in geographically distributed work groups. In P. J. Hinds & S. Kiesler
(Eds.), Distributed work. (pp. 167-189). Cambridge, MA US: MIT Press.
(22 pages)
2. Ely, R. J., Meyerson, D. E., & Davidson, M. N. (2006). Rethinking Political
Correctness. Harvard Business Review, 84(9), 78-87. (9 pages)
Class Preparation Notes
The background reading sets the context for the types of group-decision making
challenges we’ll focus during the next two class sessions.
Following are study questions to guide your background reading.
1. Are some of the dynamics described in the Armstrong & Cole chapter
familiar in your own work or educational experience?
2. Working in domestic or international contexts, what are some of the
challenges you’ve encountered working in dispersed teams?
3. What are some challenges of communication in diverse teams?
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Class 4.1.
Class Description
Group
Decision
Making III
The purpose of this class session is to enhance your capacity to develop
strategies for improving the effectiveness of work in diverse and dispersed
teams.
Greg James at
Sun
Microsystems
During this class session, we will analyze the challenges facing an
internationally distributed work team in the case of Greg James at Sun
Microsystems, Inc. (A) and apply insights from Hackman’s book on
Collaborative Intelligence. This case complements the Safewater exercise you
completed earlier in the week.
Advance Preparation
Required Reading (16 pages)
Excerpts from Hackman (2011). Collaborative Intelligence, pp. 51-113, 152.
Prepare Case (11 pages plus appendices)
Managing a Global Team: Greg James at Sun Microsystems, Inc. (A) (HBS case
9-409-003)
Class Preparation Notes
Start with the Hackman reading. Hackman is one of the leading thinkers on
the design of effective teams. The excerpt is drawn from a book he wrote
based on research with defense intelligence teams, but it also integrates
decades of research he conducted in a broad range of other field and lab
contexts. On page 52, is a checklist he developed for assessing whether teams
are full enabled for maximum performance. The reading from Chapter 7 is
about establishing effective work norms.
When preparing the Sun case, keep in mind the following study questions.
1. Who is responsible for the HS Holdings crisis?
2. Running down the Group Design Checklist on page 153, what
questions or suggestions would you have for Greg James that might
help him improve his team’s performance?
3. Drawing on the chapter on team norms and previous material covered
in this course, what suggestions would you offer Greg James to
improve the quality of collaboration and performance in his team?
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Supplemental Resources
NOTE: "Supplemental Resources" are additional materials to which faculty might refer during class, but
we do not expect students to read these material in preparation for class.
Polzer, J. T. (2009). Leading Teams Note. Harvard Business School Publishing
(N9-410-051).
Brewer, M. B. (1979). In-group bias in the minimal intergroup situation: A
cognitive-motivational analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 86(2), 307-324.
Cramton, C. D. (2001). The Mutual Knowledge Problem and Its Consequences
for Dispersed Collaboration. Organization Science, 12(3), 346-371.
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup
conflict. The social psychology of intergroup relations?, 33, 47.
Page 24 of 34
Weeks 4-5. Social Networks
Class 4.2.
Class Description
Social
Networks I
The purpose of our two class sessions on Social Networks is to enhance your
capacity to employ fundamental concepts in network analysis to strategically
enhance and leverage value in social networks.
Whitney
Young
We will launch our coverage of Social Networks with a discussion of the case
of Whitney Young based on excerpts from his biography by Dennis Dickerson,
Militant Mediator.
Whitney Young (1921-1971) was Executive Director of the National Urban
League (1961-1971), during which time he raised unprecedented financial
support from corporations and foundations for urban development and civil
rights movement. Within his first four years, he grew the annual budget from
$325,000 to $6,100,000, expanded employees from 38 to 1,600, and
increased the number of Urban League chapters from 60 to 98.
Young was an adviser to U.S. Presidents Kennedy and Johnson (both
Democrats) and later to President Nixon (a Republican). He proposed a
"Domestic Marshall Plan,” which was integrated into Johnson’s “War on
Poverty.” Nixon eulogized him as a man who “knew how to accomplish things
that other people were merely for.”
We’ll discuss Whitney’s leadership at an early stage of his career and then as
head of the National Urban League and analyze how his social network
shaped his leadership potential.
Advance Preparation
Prepare Case (~30 pages)
Part I on “Becoming a Leader”
Excerpts from Dickerson, Dennis. 1998. “Becoming a Leader: The
Omaha Years.” In Militant Mediator: Whitney M. Young Jr. Lexington:
University Press of Kentucky. Pages 56-87; 326-329.
Part II on “Maintaining the Middle Ground”
Note: This chapter describes Young’s involvement in the organization of the
March on Washington at which Martin Luther King made his famous “I Have A
Dream” speech.
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Excerpts from Dickerson, Dennis. 1998. “Maintaining the Middle
Ground.” In Militant Mediator: Whitney M. Young Jr. Lexington:
University Press of Kentucky. Pages 161-171, 183; 339-342.
Watch Video (6 mins)
Link here to a video overview of the March on Washington. In the closing
press conference scene, you can see Whitney Young standing to the left of
Philip Randolph (to Randolph’s right).
Class Preparation Notes
Part I of the case materials describes Young’s emergence as a leader heading
a local chapter of the Urban League. Part II describes an important chapter in
his later leadership of the National Urban League.
Following are study questions to guide your case preparation and background
reading.
1. Sketch out for yourself a rough map of Young’s social network in the
“Becoming a Leader” chapter.
2. In the “Becoming a Leader” chapter, how did Young’s social network
help him achieve his strategic objectives? What were the strategic
strengths and weaknesses in his social network?
3. In the “Maintaining the Middle Ground” chapter, Young assumes
leadership of the National Urban League. How does Young use his
networking skills to strategically situate the Urban League as a player
in the Civil Rights Movement?
Supplemental Resources
NOTE: "Supplemental Resources" are additional materials to which faculty might refer during class, but
we do not expect students to read these material in preparation for class.
Wei-Skillern, J., & Marciano, S. (2008). The Networked Nonprofit. Stanford
Social Innovation Review, 6(2), 38-43.
Page 26 of 34
Class 5.1.
Class Description
Social
Networks II:
This class discussion will build on ideas from our analysis of the Whitney
Young case. We will delve more deeply into fundamental concepts in social
network analysis through an interactive lecture and debrief of your responses
to the Network Assessment Survey.
Network
Assessment
Debrief
Advance Preparation
Required Reading (23 pages)
1. Excerpt from Ibarra, H. (1993). Personal networks of women and
minorities in management. The Academy of Management Review,
18(1), 56-78 (skip “Implications for Theory and Research”).
NOTE: Only read the first 23 pages of this article, skipping the section on
“Implications for Theory and Research.”
Class Preparation Notes
Don’t be misled by the title of the Ibarra article to think that the paper is only
about or relevant to the “personal networks of women and minorities.” The
paper provides a general overview of key concepts in the networks literature
before it begins laying out propositions related to women and minorities. This
general overview is directly relevant to the Network Assessment Survey you
completed in the Pre-Course Packet.
It is also noteworthy that Ibarra explains on pages 65-66 that, “this article
focuses on commonalities, rather than differences, between women and
minorities” in three respects: 1) they tend to be a numerical minority among
power elites, 2) they belong to lower status social groups within society (e.g.,
associated with lower levels of wealth and authority than the dominant
group), and 3) they are subject to negative stereotypes associated with lower
power/status social groups (recall Week 2 discussion of Stereotype Content
Model). We encourage you to think about the propositions presented for
women and minorities as potentially broadly applicable to “power minorities”
in organizations, which may break down along other dimensions of diversity.
Following are study questions to guide your reading.
Page 27 of 34
1. Reflect on your own personal network in light of Figure 1.
2. In Figure 2, Ibarra summarizes her discussion of how networks are
shaped by opportunities and constraints in the social context but also
by the individual style, preferences, and objectives the actor. How do
your personality and career aspirations shape your professional
network?
Supplemental Resources
NOTE: "Supplemental Resources" are additional materials to which faculty might refer during class, but
we do not expect students to read these material in preparation for class.
Ibarra, H., & Hunter, M. (2007). How Leaders Create and Use Networks.
Harvard Business Review, 85(1), 40-47.
Krackhardt, D., & Hanson, J. R. (1993). Informal networks: The company
behind the charts. Harvard Business Review, 71(4), 104-111.
Burt, R. S. (2000). The Network Structure of Social Capital. Research in
Organizational Behavior, 22, 345.
Burt, R. S. (1998). The gender of social capital. Rationality and Society, 10(1),
5-46.
Page 28 of 34
Class 5.2.
Class Description
Guest Speaker
The purpose of this class session is to give you an opportunity to integrate
class concepts in conversation with a practitioner who engages regularly with
the challenges of leadership across difference.
Advance Preparation
Required Reading
Guest speaker’s bio.
Page 29 of 34
Weeks 6 and 7. Leveraging Diversity
Class 6.1.
Class Description
Paper
Workshop
The purposes of this class will be two-fold: 1) to debrief the paper assignment
and 2) to begin discussion of key concepts for the Leveraging Diversity classes.
&
We will take 30 minutes at the beginning of class to “workshop” your papers
in small-group discussion. We will explain this process in more detail as the
date approaches.
Leveraging
Diversity I
We will use the remainder of class to begin discussing the “diversity
perspectives” presented in the Ely & Thomas article.
Advance Preparation
Submit “Improving Teamwork” reflection paper via Canvas by 5pm on Friday,
11/18.
Required Background Reading (40 pages)
Ely, R. J., & Thomas, D. A. (2001). Cultural diversity at work: The effects of
diversity perspectives on work group processes and outcomes. Administrative
Science Quarterly, 46, 229-273.
Class Preparation Notes
Slog Alert!!! The Ely & Thomas paper is long and dense.
Page 30 of 34
The Ely & Thomas article is a rich and influential piece of research. It contrasts
three strategies for coping with diversity: the integration-and-learning
perspective, the access-and-legitimacy perspective, and the discriminationand-fairness perspective.
We strongly encourage you to block some time to thoughtfully connect with
the ideas presented. We will start delving into the ideas in this reading in this
class and continue to apply and explore them during the final two class
sessions. Failure to do this reading will put you at a disadvantage in the final
Leveraging Difference section of the course.
Use the following study questions to guide your case preparation and reading.
1. What personal connections do you have to the examples and ideas
presented in the Ely & Thomas article? Are the “discrimination and
fairness,” “access and legitimacy,” or “learning and integration”
perspectives familiar to you?
2. Can you offer an example from your own experience of one of these
perspectives and their strengths and weaknesses?
Supplemental Resources
NOTE: "Supplemental Resources" are additional materials to which faculty might refer during class, but
we do not expect students to read these material in preparation for class.
Thomas, D. A. & Ely, R. J. (1996). Making Differences Matter: A New Paradigm
for Managing Diversity, Harvard Business Review, pp. 1-12.
Page 31 of 34
Week 7.1.
Class Description
Leveraging
Diversity II
The purpose of this class is practice analyzing diversity challenges as a
function of organizational strategy.
ActionAid
International
Advance Preparation
Prepare Case (15 pages)
ActionAid International: Globalizing Governance, Localizing Accountability
(HBS case 311-004)
Required Background Reading (14 pages)
Excerpts from Davidson, M. N. (2011). The End of Diversity as We Know It. San
Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. Read: Page 47 on comparing
managing diversity with leveraging difference; pp. 76-83 on the leveraging
difference cycle (explaining Figure 1); and pp. 184-188 on how leaders
leverage difference (elaborating Figure 6 on feedback loops).
Class Preparation Notes
During class, we will discuss how ActionAid’s organizational theory of change
and strategy evolve and how this evolution creates new diversity-related
imperatives and challenges. Drawing on the Ely & Thomas article (from last
class) and the Davidson readings, we’ll talk about how engagement with
diversity becomes increasingly relevant to the work of the organization over
time and how the organization’s diversity perspective evolves.
Use the following study questions to guide your case preparation and reading.
1. How has ActionAid’s strategy evolved? Identify the three distinct
turning points.
2. How has ActionAid’s diversity perspective evolved with the evolution
of its strategy?
Supplemental Materials
NOTE: "Supplemental Resources" are additional materials to which faculty might refer during class, but
we do not expect students to read these material in preparation for class.
Page 32 of 34
W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Logic Model Development Guide, pp. 1-8 of Chapter
1. See also table on page 54.
Page 33 of 34
Week 6.1.
Leveraging
Diversity III
&
Class Wrap
Class Description
During this class session, we will return to the case of ActionAid International,
focusing on the final scene of the case in which they are entering the 2010
General Assembly with three controversial motions on the table.
We will also cover theoretical material related to the case and synthesize all
of the information presented to date. to help you develop interpersonal
strategies to implement a “learning and integration” perspective. There will
also be opportunities in this discussion to integrate strategies from earlier in
the course and your Negotiation module.
Class Preparation Notes
The reading by Ely et al. is a practical complement to the Ely & Thomas and
Davidson book excerpts you read for the last two classes.
Use the following study questions to guide your case preparation and reading.
1. Here is an organization with an ambitious “learning and integration”
diversity perspective. What challenges from the first week of class do
you see in this case (e.g., implicit biases, intergroup dynamics, statushierarchies, faultlines)?
2. At the end of the case, global North-South differences are creating
tensions in the organization, as evidenced by the motions submitted
for vote at the General Assembly. How would you encourage the
organizational leadership to view and manage this challenge?
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