Learning to Lead: A Pedagogy of Practice

Abstract

In this chapter we argue that we can teach leadership using a pedagogy of practice. We can teach leadership by practicing lead- ership, aligning the content of what we teach with the way in which we teach it. We describe principles of this pedagogy, share a curricular framework, and cite examples drawn from a diversity of contexts in classrooms, workshops, campaigns, and organiza- tions. We understand leadership as a practice of accepting respon- sibility for enabling others to achieve shared purpose under conditions of uncertainty. As teachers we create conditions of uncertainty by requiring our students to accept responsibility for leading a project rooted in their values, intended to achieve a specific goal within a specified time and that requires the collabo- ration of others. We “enable” them to achieve purpose in this context by providing behavioral, conceptual, and emotional scaf- folding combined with critical reflection and cross-contextual learning. Just as a result of effective leadership can be the cascad- ing development of more leadership, our pedagogy generates teaching capacity among our students—an approach that we suggest will equip us to meet the challenges of an uncertain, frag- mented world in a more sustainable, interdependent way.