COURSE NUMBER: MBA257.2B

Please note that there is no add/drop period for this course. Do not bid on it unless you are fully committed as you will not be able to drop the course if your bid is successful.

COURSE TITLE: Extreme Leadership: Patagonia

UNITS OF CREDIT: 2

INSTRUCTOR: Professor Jenny Chatman & Professor Omri Even Tov

EMAIL: chatman@berkeley.edu & omri_eventov@berkeley.edu

MEETING DATES: Fall B (exact dates TBD) and January 19, 2018 (time TBD). Required travel from January 2-14, 2018.

PREREQUISITE(S): MBA205 Leading People

CLASS FORMAT: 8-day experiential leadership expedition to Patagonia, discussions, cases, cutting edge research briefings

REQUIRED READINGS: TBD

BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE: In-class participation, reflection paper, peer-assessments

ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:

This course is designed to support your leadership development by first giving students a stronger understanding of their own leadership style through in-class exercises and cases, and then testing their leadership skills during an 8-day field-based expedition to Patagonia. The in-class portion of the course is led by premier Haas faculty members who will help students understand their personal leadership style and how to adapt their style to the challenges of the specific situation, which will include motivating and enabling people to accomplish difficult tasks under physically and mentally challenging circumstances. The expedition is led by experienced instructors from professional outdoors schools (NOLS or Vertical) where students will learn leadership skills through structured lessons based on a leadership curriculum.

The experience emphasizes self-discipline and self-reliance for overcoming a host of obstacles under harsh conditions. It also requires team reliance, trust, and leadership. Participants will define leadership development goals and track progress, learn to effectively manage interpersonal relationships, and gain experience in team development, conflict resolution, and group facilitation. They will also learn by responding to the dynamic situations that arise while exploring unfamiliar mountains in unpredictable weather with a diverse group. When acting as leader of a climbing team, students have to make decisions in ambiguous situations and maintain morale often under strenuous conditions. When in the role of team member, students will have to practice “active followership,” acting to support the leader and the team. The expedition becomes a laboratory for expanding one’s leadership repertoire because each student is placed in different roles and receives granular feedback from the instructor and from peers every day. This opportunity to focus on one’s teamwork skills enables powerful and lasting self-insights, which students in past years have called “life changing.”

This course is designed to help you refine your leadership style and has three specific components:

● Build leadership self-awareness and an active followership mindset using innovative assessments that detail your leadership profile

● Motivate and empower others to to overcome seemingly intractable challenges

● Develop judgment to make effective team-based decisions under risky and ambiguous circumstances

The experience trip to Patagonia will include multiple days of backcountry travel where students will not have access to modern amenities. No previous hiking or backpacking experience is required and individuals of all outdoor backgrounds are encouraged to bid. The mountain guides will provide all the training necessary to safely live and travel in the Patagonia backcountry. Students should have at least a moderate level of physical conditioning by the travel window.

Final trip dates and cost will be finalized in the coming months. Students must be available for all class meetings and the January 2-14, 2018 travel window. The total trip cost will be $4,000-$5,000 (NOLS fee, airfare, gear, transportation, and food) and will be entirely student-funded. Drops will not be permitted.

This course runs in conjunction with Extreme Leadership: Andes and all in-class sessions will be shared between the sections. Two volunteer “Expedition Captains” will be selected from the student pool to coordinate administrative requirements. Applications for Expedition Captains will be distributed and collected after bidding.

Dual degree candidates graduating after the Fall of 2017 are not eligible for the course.

CAREER FIELD:

All executive, leadership, and management roles regardless of sector or industry. This course will be useful for anyone aspiring to be an influential leader or individual contributor at some point in their career.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:

Professor Jenny Chatman is the Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management at the Haas School of Business. She has won the Cheit Award for Teaching Excellence at Haas, and this course has received a 6.9 out of 7 rating for the last two years in the Executive MBA Program. Prior to joining the faculty at Berkeley she was a faculty member at Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern and the Bower Fellow at Harvard Business School. Professor Chatman's research on leveraging organizational culture for financial success, leadership, and leading diverse teams has won awards and has frequently been featured in the media. She has served as a consultant to a wide range of organizations including Cisco Systems, Genentech, Mars Inc., The Portland Trailblazers, and Salesforce.com. She is the faculty director of the Center for Executive Education's Berkeley Executive Leader Program, and on the board of directors of Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE: SSD) and Prospect Sierra School. She was recently the keynote speaker at the Private Equity Women's Conference and the AACSB's Dean's Conference.

Professor Omri Even Tov is an Accounting professor at the Haas School of Business. His accounting course has received a 7 out of 7 rating for the last two years in the full time MBA program. Prior to joining the faculty at Berkeley, Omri worked as an analyst for PwC in its financial advisory services department, where he was in charge of the debt-restructuring of large international real estate firms during the financial crisis. Additionally, Omri served as a CFO to several small-medium sized businesses and also owned and managed a number of businesses. He currently works as a consultant for the Israeli SEC. Omri received his PhD from the Anderson School of Management and also holds a B.A. in Accounting and Economics from Tel Aviv University. During his time at Anderson, Omri led two groups of over 50 students on 8-day trips in Israel with a focus on entrepreneurship. Prior to earning his B.A., Omri served as an officer for the Israeli Defense Forces. Omri looks forward to sharing his leadership experience in the business world and in the army.