COURSE NUMBER: MBA291T.1B

COURSE TITLE: Interpersonal Skills and Embodied Leadership: 3-day Intensive

UNITS OF CREDIT: 2 

INSTRUCTOR: Erica Peng

E-MAIL ADDRESS: erica_peng@haas.berkeley.edu

PREREQUISITE(S): None

ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS: Due to the experiential learning methodology, attendance at every session is mandatory. If you are not able to attend a portion of the 3-day course, you will need to take the course at a different time. At our first meeting, we immediately begin laying a foundation of skills, shared experience, and safety that we will build upon in subsequent sessions. If you are unable to make a portion of any day, you will need to take the course a different time.

CLASS FORMAT: This course is structured as a 3-day intensive. The format is majority experiential learning supported by readings and conceptual frameworks drawn from research: 60% experiential, 20% conceptual, 20% readings and reflection writing assignments. The experiential learning occurs through experiential activities and skills practice, both 1:1 and in an innovative small-group learning lab called T Group (“training group”). There are also two written assignments, one to be completed prior to the course, and one after.

The T Group methodology was developed in the 1950s by Kurt Lewin, who is often recognized as the founder of social psychology. T Group participants practice self-awareness and interpersonal skills as they engage and interact directly with each other, with the guidance of professional T Group facilitator/coaches. This format requires active participation vs. learning through observation. Enrolling in this course is agreement to stretch out of your comfort zone to practice new skills and behaviors, to support learning for yourself and others.

T Group is the pillar of the renowned Interpersonal Dynamics course (“Touchy Feely”) at Stanford University Graduate School of Business (GSB). Taught for over 50 years, alumni consistently rate it the course that has most contributed to their development as leaders in personal and professional arenas.

Why is T Group such an effective format?

· T Group is a supportive learning environment where participants can freely practice interpersonal skills and competencies, take some risks, make “mistakes,” and receive immediate feedback and support from facilitators and other participants. This is a profoundly effective and powerful process for group members to learn about how they impact others, and what behaviors are effective and influential (or not).

· Participants become aware of unconscious “blind spots” and bias in reactions, behaviors, and verbal and non-verbal communication.

· Skilled and experienced facilitators build safety, provide skilled in-the-moment coaching, model effective behaviors, and raise awareness by pointing out interpersonal and group dynamics that emerge from social identity, power, and status.

· In the absence of structured activities, the T Group format supports participants to practice skills and behaviors as actual dynamics arise (vs. scripted role plays). For example, T Group is an opportunity for participants to practice behaviors and approaches in effort to build safety and trust among a diverse group in a short amount of time.

REQUIRED READINGS: Articles and short videos (before and after the weekend class) on interpersonal development topics and research: neuroscience, emotions and emotional intelligence, cultural differences, interpersonal communication, social identity and stereotypes, management theory.

BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE: Attendance to all sessions, active participation in experiential activities and T Group, readings and two reflection assignments (one before the class and one after), and final self- and peer-assessment.

ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:

The growing complexity of our diverse and dynamic global context challenges us in how we “show up” as leaders, in both our personal and professional lives. Many of us can define what we believe “good leadership” looks like in this context. Far fewer understand the actual skills and behaviors that enable effective and capable leadership, let alone the steps that help one develop these competencies.

In a spirit of discovery, this 3-day intensive course will guide you through experiential practice and development of skills and behaviors foundational to leading teams, organizations – and your own life and career progression. The combination of awareness and skills development is critical for leading with more choice, capacity, and resilience amidst the uncertainty and pressures common to our lives today.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

· Generate learning and growth through stretching out of your comfort zone and taking interpersonal risks: personal sharing, empathetic listening, giving and receiving feedback, etc.

· Increase awareness about your emotional reactions and what tends to trigger them.

· Manage and “self-regulate” emotional reactivity that can derail you from being present and effective.

· Engage in somatic practices that transform limiting beliefs and internal barriers (inner critic, perfectionism, self-doubt, etc.) and cultivate grounded presence.

· Build safety, trust, and rapport in personal and professional relationships as an individual contributor, team member, or leader, during your time at Haas and beyond.

· Give and receive feedback as a collaborative process of learning how to align impact with intention.

· Better understand how social identity, power, and status impact reactions and behavior, as well as individual, interpersonal, and team dynamics.

· ”Show up” in your leadership with greater awareness of interdependency and impact within a global system and context. 

INVENTORY OF SKILLS:

Self-awareness

Physiological sensations and emotional reactions

Stories and assumptions I hold about myself and others

Strengths

Internal barriers to growth and development (inner critic, perfectionist, etc.)

How social context shapes what I’m aware of and what I’m unconscious to

My interdependency with greater systems, including team, organizational, ecological systems

Interpersonal Influence

Grounded presence (being comfortable in my own skin, embodied “Dignity”)
Self-regulation (managing emotional “hot buttons” and “triggers”)
Increased comfort with discomfort and uncertainty
Personal sharing/building trust and rapport
Empathetic listening 
Be willing to be vulnerable and take risks that generate learning  
Acknowledge others’ positive influence on me through appreciation and gratitude
Express curiosity, openness, and inquiry (vs. advocacy)  
Be willing to be influenced by others, especially those with less status

Learning from Feedback
Give: Assess how I am impacted by others and communicate that effectively
Receive: Acknowledge and own the impact I have on others
Request: Proactively seek feedback for learning and growth

CAREER FIELD: Developing interpersonal skills is foundational to being more effective and successful in personal and professional relationships and in all career fields.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:
As a leadership development coach and instructor, Erica’s expertise is supporting others to develop both internal grounded presence, along with external skills and competencies. She incorporates somatic* awareness and whole body practices to develop embodied interpersonal and leadership behaviors and presence.

[*The Greek root of somatic is “soma” which means body. Somatic refers to the body of an individual in contrast to the mind and psyche.]

Having lived, worked, and traveled extensively in Asia, Latin America and Europe, Erica brings nuanced awareness and skill in navigating leadership and performance issues across language, culture and other dimensions of difference.

Erica facilitates and delivers interpersonal development courses at Haas School of Business, Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB), and coaches senior leaders through Stanford GSB Executive Education Leadership Programs, as well as through her coaching and consulting practice, Deep Stream Leadership. Erica offers high-impact experiential leadership development workshops based on the popular "T Group" format used in leadership courses at Haas and Stanford GSB. At Haas, Erica also works as a career coach, helping students align core skills, purpose, and values with career development.