Exercising Leadership: The Prospects of Social Entrepreneurship and High Impact Philanthropy (HSG 2004)

Abstract

Global mega-trends are rearranging social reality. They affect formal contexts, individual identities, and group dynamics on a scale that seems historically unprecedented. We often look to people in positions of formal authority for the necessary leadership to steer groups and organizations safely through this changing environment. But leading is getting more difficult. The effectiveness of different types of tools or interventions is changing, and new actors enter the stage. How can one exercise responsible and effective leadership in today's runaway world? This course takes a strategic perspective on public leadership. It asks how two types of emerging leaders, social entrepreneurs and high-impact philanthropists, can stimulate systemic change through local interventions and collaboration, and how philanthropy banking can support their efforts. This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the public leadership exercised by social entrepreneurs and philanthropic leaders. The course was developed and taught by Maximilian Martin at HSG for the 2004 fall semester. To be practical, it deploys a variety of case studies. The course is divided into three parts. Unit one sets the stage. To pace our work effectively, the course first sets the stage by introducing the core conceptual material relevant to the derivation of effective leadership strategies in a globalizing world, introducing the figure of the social entrepreneur through a set of case studies. Exercising public leadership is about identifying the right issues and mobilizing and empowering groups to tackle them effectively. This is far from a risk-free undertaking. Unit two examines the perils of leadership. We are fortunate to be able to discuss these issues with an expert on leadership from Harvard, Prof. Barbara Kellerman, who will share insights from her research on bad leadership during a special lecture. Social entrepreneurs are innovators who create systemic change. Unit three asks how we can strategically orchestrate social innovation. Which factors can one rely upon to accelerate the diffusion of innovations? What role can and should intermediaries, philanthropists and philanthropy banking play? One case study as well as student presentations will help us to translate the challenge into an actionable personal agenda.