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Psychology 1508:

Janusian Thinking

The goal in leadership development, it is important to

remember, is to develop well-rounded leaders, ones with

the skills and personal attributes needed to adapt, actwith flexibility, and combine what appear to be

opposites: toughness and compassion, self-confidence

and humility, strong individuals and good team players.

Russ Moxley, Center for Creative Leadership

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Janusian Thinking

conceiving two or more opposite or antithetical

ideas, images or concepts simultaneously.Robert Rothenberg

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Turning and turning in the widening gyre

The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhereThe ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The best lack all convictions, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity.

W.B. Yeats

We see everything as this or that, plus or minus, on

or off, black or white; and we fragment reality into an

endless series of either-ors. In a phrase, we think

the world apart.Parker Palmer

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Thinking the World Together

Paradoxical thinking requires that we embrace a

view of the world in which opposites are joined,so that we can see the world clearly and see it

whole... The result is a world more complex and

confusing than the one made simple by either-orthoughtbut that simplicity is merely the

dullness of death. When we think together, we

reclaim the life force in the world, in our students,in ourselves.

Parker Palmer

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Janusian LeadershipBen Franklin was a paradox. He fiercely believed in

the power of the individual, but he was a relentlessadvocate for acting on behalf of the community. He

believed in competition, but he never hesitated to

cooperate with competitors when it was in his

interest. He could be the most partisan ofpoliticiansand the most accomodating of

diplomats.

Jack Uldrich

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Myth : You cant have your cake and eat it too.

Reality : Rather than succumbing to the tyranny

of the OR they embrace the genius of the AND.

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Progress through Synthesis

Person OR Situation? Democratic OR Authoritarian?

Dogmatism OR Relativism?

Tough OR Nice?

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Person OR Situation?

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The history of the world is but the biography of great

men.

Thomas Carlyle

Man lives consciously for himself, but is an

unconscious instrument in the attainment of historic,

universal, aims of humanity. A deed done is

irrevocable, and its result coinciding in time with the

actions of millions of other men assumes an historic

significance. The higher a man stands on the social

ladder, the more people he is connected with andthe more power he has over others, the more

evident is the predestination and inevitability of his

every action.... A king is historys slave.

Leo Tolstoy

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The Negro race, like all

races, is going to be saved

by its exceptional men. The

problem of education, then,among Negroes must first of

all deal with the Talented

Tenth; it is the problem ofdeveloping the Best of this

race that they may guide the

Mass away from thecontamination and death of

the Worst, in their own and

other races.

W. E. B. Du Bois

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Does Leadership Matter?

No! (Lieberson & OConnor, 1972)

Studies estimating the effect of administrators

have found them to account for about 10percent of the variance in organizational

performance. [This is] a striking contrast to the

90 percent of intellectual effort that has beendevoted to developing theories of individual

action.

Pfeffer & Salancik

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Leadership Matters

Between versus Within (Thomas, 1987)

Skipper Effect (Thorlindsson, 1987)

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Historical forces create the circumstances in which

leaders emerge, but the characteristics of the

particular leader in turn have their impact on history.

John Gardner

Person AND Situation

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Historical forces create the circumstances in which

leaders emerge, but the characteristics of the

particular leader in turn have their impact on history.

John Gardner

Historical performances come from great

opportunities greatly met.

John Gardner

Person AND Situation

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Hitler Ataturk Ayatollah Humeini

It would be a profound disservice to leaders to suggest

that they are ordinary people who happened to be in theright place at the right time. Maybe the place matters,

but it takes a special kind of person to master the

challenges of opportunity.

Locke & Kilpatrick

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Democratic OR Authoritarian?

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Democracy as Solution to Authoritarianism

Hierarchical organizations are simply too inflexible

and rigid to compete effectively in todays business

environment... They need to be replaced by lateralforms of organizations that rely heavily on teams,

information technology, networks, shared leadership,

and involved employees.

Edward Lawler

Kurt Lewin (1939)

democratic leadership

laissez faire leadership

authoritarian leadership

D I N t E h

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One sure way to miss truth in any field is to count

the votes: had Copernicus and Galileo done so, thesun might still be circling the earth.

Parker Palmer

I wonder how far Moses would have gone had hed

taken a poll in Egypt.Harry Truman

Going against the grain(when necessary)

Pseudo leaders

Democracy Is Not Enough

C ti Th (Fi dl 1969)

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The ablest and most effective leaders do not hold to a

single style; they may be highly supportive in personal

relations when that is needed, yet capable of a quick,authoritative decision when the situation requires it.

John Gardner

Contingency Theory (Fiedler, 1969)

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Dogmatism OR Relativism?

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[Relativism is a] theory, especially in ethics or

aesthetics, that conceptions of truth and moral

values are not absolute but are relative to the

persons or groups holding them.

American Heritage Dictionary

Dogmatism is a condition of mind in which essential

practical concepts are perceived with such clarity

that only one possible interpretation of reality exists.

In such a case, all evidence suggesting contraryinterpretationsand therefore alternate courses of

actionsimply disappears from sight, indeed is

inconceivable.

Yoram Hazony

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Almost every student entering the university

believes, or says he believes, that truth is relative.Allan Bloom

Moral Relativism

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Relativist

A commitment to open-mindedness andflexibility

Lacks conviction and certainty for sustained

actionDogmatist

Possesses conviction and certainty

Lacks openness and flexibility

M l R l ti i t H d

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Question 1, first: 78% say No

Question 1 after 2: 79% say Yes

(Pearson Chi-Square=10.04; p< .002)

Moral Relativism at Harvard(Ben-Shahar & Grant, 2003)

Question 2:

Is a culture that supports gender equality morallysuperior to a culture that oppresses women?

Question 1:Is any culture morally superior to another culture?

J h l !!!

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The dangers of dogmatism

The dangers of relativism

The best lack all convictions, while the worstAre full of passionate intensity.

W.B. Yeats

Janus, help!!!

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is

for good men to do nothing.Edmund Burke

Regaining a strong belief in a cause

J i S th i

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If we regard truth as something handed down

from authorities on high, the classroom will looklike a dictatorship. If we regard truth as a fiction

determined by personal whim, the classroom will

look like anarchy. If we regard truth as emerging

from a complex process of mutual inquiry, the

classroom will look like a resourceful and

interdependent community.

Parker Palmer

Janusian Synthesis

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Tough OR Nice?

B tif l E

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Beautiful Enemy(Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1841)

Nothing will sink a leader faster than surrounding

him- or herself with yes-men and women. Even

when principled nay-sayers are wrong, they force

leaders to re-evaluate their positions and to pokeand prod their assumptions for weaknesses. Good

ideas are only made stronger by being challenged.

Warren Bennis

He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves,and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our

helper.

Edmund Burke

Bea tif l Enem

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Beautiful Enemy(Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1841)

The real heroism of leadership involves having

the courage to face realityand helping thepeople around you to face reality.

Ron Heifetz

McKinsey had a culture that fostered rigorousdebate over the right answer without that debate

resulting in personal criticism.

Lou Gerstner

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Espoused Versus In-Use

Most individuals studied seem to be able to

detect the discrepancies between their espoused

theories and theories-in-use of others, but were

not able to detect similar discrepancies in

themselves.

Chris Argyris

Espoused theories of action are those that

people report as a basis for actions. Theories-in-

use are the theories of action inferred from how

people actually behave.

Chris Argyris

Th Ch ll f Ch ll i

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The Challenge of Challenging

CEO disease: the information vacuum around a

leader created when people withhold important

(and usually unpleasant) information.

Daniel Goleman

It takes one kind of courage to face a duelist, but

its nothing like the courage it takes to tell afriend, No.

Harry Truman

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The Challenge of Being Challenged

Faced with the choice between changing ones

mind and proving that there is no need to do so,

almost everybody gets busy on the proof.

John Kenneth Galbraith

We say we want the truth, what we mean is that

we want to be correct.Mihnea Moldoveanu

Rationalizing over rationality

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The leader needs a circle of associates who are

willing to be both supportive and critical. Pity theleader caught between unloving critics and

uncritical lovers. Leaders need reassurance, but

just as important they need advisors who tell

them the truth, gently but candidly.

John Gardner

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Healthy Synthesis

Person AND Situation Democratic AND Authoritarian

Dogmatism AND Relativism

Tough AND Nice