COURSE NUMBER: EWMBA291C-11: ACTIVE COMMUNICATING--THE LEADER ON STAGE

INSTRUCTORS:
Mark A. Rittenberg  (rittenbe@haas.berkeley.edu)
Doy Charnsupharindr  (doy@haas.berkeley.edu)

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
When an authentic and inspirational leader steps on stage, they motivate, inspire and connect to the minds and hearts of their audience. They demonstrate the five powers of leadership: presence, communication, conviction, intention and knowledge. Similarly, when a great actor steps on stage, they captivate and move their audience. They connect authentically to the role they are portraying. They feel every line, every word they are speaking. Both the inspirational leader and the actor need to have a deep knowledge and understanding of the message they are sharing with their audience. Furthermore, they need creativity to bring “magic” into the room.

In a theatre ensemble, leaders can also find examples of leadership practices to build trust, collaboration. They understand that, in order to be successful, a leader’s job is to enable everyone on stage to be able to perform at their highest level. Even the preparation process requires teamwork and collaboration. Through the class exercises, students get a chance to develop their own preparation process for themselves as well as when they need to collaborate with others.

This advanced leadership course focuses on the skillset that enables a leader to play the various roles necessary to lead and inspire others. Through the experiential exercises, students will understand the benefits and applicability of the actor's discipline to professional communication needs and the expression of one’s own creativity to become an inspirational leader.  The course builds on the basic building blocks of effective communication introduced in EWMBA200c, drawing from the skills and discipline of the actors. These skills include energy, spontaneity, vocal variety, listening, awareness and communicating with presence. By drawing on these skills as well as working with scenes (in order to bring language alive), class participants will have the opportunity to break out of the box, unleash their passion, develop their authentic voice and utilize the power of intention through performance.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:
To become a leader on stage who is capable of playing the leading role and being part of the ensemble.
To learn and practice the self-preparation process in order to be exceptional as an authentic and inspirational leader.
To stretch beyond your comfort zone in order to discover who you are and what you are really capable of.  

MEETING DAY(S)/TIME: The course will meet over 2 Sundays: 3/19 and 4/9 9AM-6PM

PREREQUISITE:                              
EWMBA 200C: Leadership Communications

REQUIRED READING:
Rittenberg, Mark.  “The Active Communicating Survival Kit"
 
BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE:
Course Requirements:
Attendance during all hours of the course.
Participation in a coaching session between the first and second class.
Essay submission that relates in-class activities and reading to observation of inspirational leaders.

Grading Criteria:
40% In-class Exercises;
25% Class Attendance and Participation;
25% Final Written Assignment;
10% Coaching Session
 
SAMPLE SYLLABUS: bCourses Electives Forum ASSIGNMENTS

For Day 1:

Between Day 1 and Day 2:
About Scene Performance (25% of final grade)
Each student will select a scene to perform with another student. The scene should be 3 minutes in length. Performances will take place during the second day of the course.

Samples of scenes are posted on bCourses. If you have a scene you wish to perform that will stretch you--take you out of your comfort zone, allowing you to reach for new heights in your leadership presence--feel free to utilize that.

Becoming a Leader On Stage (25% of final grade)

On Day 1 of class, we discussed the 3 main areas of focus for you:

Now that you've been through the class, what have you learned about yourself pertaining to each of those areas? Write an article reflecting on your key learning. Your article should include the following:
Remember that we want the article to reflect your personal experiences and viewpoints. The article should be between 1,500-2,000 words.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Dr. Mark Rittenberg
Dr. Rittenberg is CEO of Corporate Scenes, Inc. and is the designer of ACTIVE COMMUNICATING corporate education programs. He served for seven years as Associate Professor at Lesley College Graduate School. He currently serves on the core faculty of the Walter Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley where he heads the Leadership Communications program for the evening/weekend MBA students as well as for the MBA for Executives Program/

In 1985, Professor Rittenberg was visiting Artist and Teaching Fellow at Harvard University where he conducted seminars in the Graduate School of Education and the Harvard Business School. In 1993, he was awarded the J. William Fulbright Senior Scholar awarded by the United States Information Agency and traveled to Soweto, South Africa, where he served as Diversity Specialist in building black/white relationships in South African corporations and education institutions. He returned to South Africa in 1994, 1995, and 1996 in order to implement Active Communicating Educational Programs as a communication intervention to assist corporate and political leadership in the transition to a multicultural, democratic, non-racial South Africa. His doctorate in International and Multicultural Education is based on his work in South Africa.

Dr. Rittenberg evolved the ACTIVE COMMUNICATING methodology from his own background as an actor and director. The methodology draws upon acting skills and anthropological principles in skilling managers, aspiring leaders and the critical mass in becoming both powerful communicators and authentic leaders. He currently provides educational programs and executive coaching programs for corporations including, Lucent Technologies, AT&T, The Gap, Levi Strauss, Lockheed Martin and Sandia National Laboratories. In addition he heads an annual Executive Coaching Institute at UC Berkeley where he trains new executive coaches as well as executives who want to avail themselves of a coaching training in order to become more effective leaders.

Recently he served as chief designer and consultant for the National Principals Leadership academy conducted at Washington University in June 2009 dedicated to high school principals becoming coaches and mentors for teachers teaching in disadvantaged situations. The leadership academy was funded in part by President Obama’s White House initiative dedicated to building better schools through outstanding leadership.