Chicago GSB Lead Program

I don't know if you are asking because you are actually interested, or because you need to write about it in your essays. I'll answer it both ways:

If you are actually asking because you are curious: IMHO, LEAD is a waste of time, effort and space.... but... other people say they really get something out of it.

Basically LEAD is an introductory quarter long mandatory course (the only mandatory course) taught by LEAD Facilitators (2nd year students who are selected and trained in this insanely intense schedule) that teaches the basic fundamental theories of leadership, teamwork and handling difficult situations. It provides avenues for some introspection and personal growth for those who take the course seriously, but, I admit that few do. The LEAD program consists of a mix of theory and practice - you learn some basic theories behind leadership concepts (and I admit that there are some interesting tidbits at times) and then you get one or two 'role play cases' where you act out what you've learned in fictional situations.

Thats all good and well, but the fictional situations are, in my own opinion, worthlessly inapplicable to a MBA students reality. You role play positions like CEO, CFO, CMO or EVP, SVP of Operations for a $5B firm, etc. You debate things like whether or not to have a multinational merger or, as the CFO of a Hospital being bought out by a PE firm if you should disclose that Nurses have been secretly helping poor people without insurance... crap like that. That can be fun if you get into it - and some people really do - but I just always looked around the table and thought 'WTF?'. I hated the role plays because they felt so contrived - I'd be pretending to be a CFO of a Hospital? What? How am I supposed to seriously have an opinion on subject X? The case would also tell me what opinion I should take - why, what if I don't actually agree? Often it would also describe my character style - aggressive, submissive, dominant, etc - as well as everyone elses... so was I supposed to be submissive even if I'm not? Whats the point of that? Then I'd just be acting... Often the case would leave out tons of important details (like, really, how much does it cost the hospital to help the poor?) meaning you couldn't really take an educated position anyway and people would just argue the same points that everyone already knew because everyone already read the case.

LEAD could have been good, if for instance, the role plays included, lets say, confrontational interviewers, or how to deal with a team member at school who isn't pulling his or her weight, or anything else more applicable to being a twenty something MBA student. Or if the outcomes actually had winners and losers. For instance, in strategies and processes of negotiations (another course, which I do recommend) you role play in different negotiations - many are just as contrived as LEAD's, but the difference is that there is a clear winner and a clear loser in each one. In that course, just like real life, you have some information the other side does not and the other side knows things you don't. At the end of that you get a z-score comparing how you did in role X as compared to everyone else in the class - so you can see whether or not you did better or worse than average. Thats actually helpful....

Of course, I'm being harsh..... and to be fair, a lot of people think they got something out it. Some people, I can see how they benefited: the internationals who need to learn to speak up in a group (so many of them just sit there quietly) - they seem to finally find 'a voice' - or maybe the younger kids who don't have a lot of experience - they seem to get a lot of out it too. I don't know, but in general I find that LEAD people fall into two views: It's either an amazing experience that fundamentally changes how you think, or it's arguably the stupidest thing you've done in the last ten years. You can probably guess which side of the fence I sit on.

The people who really benefit? The 2nd years who go through a TON of training to teach the course. They get to stand in front of 60 people and practice lecturing, answering questions, moderating and leading role plays. Those are the people who benefit. So much so, that I seriously thought about signing up as a 2nd year facilitator, but in the end two things stopped me : 1) its a ridiculous time commitment -- you take a *whole day* Friday class in the spring, teach one night a week in the spring and then have to teach twice a week (3 hours each! - the same as TWO classes!) in the Fall, to say nothing of all the meetings and other related stuff you have to participate in... and 2) I wasn't sure I could pretend that I actually thought any of the LEAD material wasn't completely useless.

If you are asking because you need something to write about: LEAD provides the foundations for a lifetime of leadership development through various risk-free practical applications of theory. These are achieved through "role plays" which occur nearly weekly. Through these meaningful efforts, journal entries, and introspection, students continue to grow during their two years, becoming able bodied leaders as they leave their MBA program. Or something.