This is an interactive activity stated below.

So today, we're going to talk about leadership and management, and we're going to take part in an exercise that's really going to help us understand what leaders and managers do and how these two roles intersect. We're also going to see how employees factor into this dynamic of leadership and management. So you have been put into a team of four. And in your team, you will have a CEO, you'll have a manager, and you'll have two employees, and that's sort of the basis of this task. The objective of the organization is to make a tangible product based on the vision of the CEO. And the CEO will communicate his or her vision to the manager. And a manager will, in turn, communicate the vision that the CEO came up with and take that to the employees. And the employees will then use that vision to make a product that is going to be aligned with the vision that the CEO came up with. So the manager will guide the employees in creating this product, but the manager will not be on the frontline, so will not be engaged in the actual building of this tangible product. Then he or she will communicate to the employees the vision, which will then inform or influence or guide the product that they develop. So as an example, let's look at what a vision is, an example of a vision. So one example would be to encourage a healthy lifestyle is a vision of an organization. So based on this vision, a product would be a mockup of an electronic fitness armband, right? So when you think of the product and you look at the vision, you see how that product is aligned with the vision. Another example of a vision would be making golf equipment for the masses. So let's think of that as a vision. And what would a product for that vision look like? A product would be an adjustable golf putter, a golf putter that has angles, that putts, and the height of the club can be fully adjusted accordingly. So when you look at the vision and you look at the product, you can see how that vision aligns with the product, where if you want to build something for the masses, that adjustment, so that it can fit people of, let's say, different heights and other dimensions, it's really important to bring that vision to light. So for this specific exercise, the CEO can only communicate with the manager, OK? So there's that direct communication, and no talk between the CEO and the employees. The manager can guide the employees on how to implement the vision, but again, the manager would not be involved in actually generating the product. They cannot assist in any way once the instructions have been given and that initial communication has taken place. And the manager must gather the components that the employees need in order to build that tangible product based on the CEO's vision. Employees must then implement the strategy, as they understood it from the manager, and cannot allow managers to touch any of the components. So employees have control once they're handed the product, the vision, and whatever information the manager hands over to them to generate that product. So that's all the instructions you'll get at this point. What I want you to do is I want the manager and the CEO to spend about five minutes discussing the vision that the CEO came up with, and think through what this vision would look like if it was to translate into our product. So take five minutes, CEO and manager, to do that. The manager will then spend five minutes thinking about their approach to communicating this information to the employees and give some information to the employees. So five minutes to come up with your strategy and to also interact with the employees and tell them what the vision is, what you discussed with the CEO, and what the product would potentially look like for them to put that together. And then once that five minutes has taken place, then the employees will have 10 minutes to come up with a product. That is, again, if you think back to the examples that I just gave, a product that's aligned with the vision that the CEO came up with. Any questions? Great. So if there are no questions, the CEO and the manager should step away into a corner and discuss the vision and what the strategy or plan should be for what this product could be like. And it's important that the employees do that over here. So take five minutes to do that. Reflections may focus on, but are not limited to, the following:

What concept, argument, fact, theory, or explanation do you find most persuasive, inspiring, problematic, or encouraging about any aspect of the exercise?

How does the exercise challenge or advance your thinking?

Describe how you would use or apply insights from the exercise.