There’s a level shift that you will encounter when you’re a successful leader of a media company. You have to be able to handle complicated moral conflicts that have lots of consequences for lots of people and create an environment in which the people who report to you can handle these value conflicts.

You have a responsibility as a leader to create an environment in which moral people want to work. You have to allow the people who work for you also to work in a moral way that allows them to be comfortable.

The leadership curriculum at the Media Management Center is designed to help participants to begin to create organizations of leaders.

The Advanced Executive Program has a track record of creating those leaders: Within 18 months of graduation, 95 percent of the participants are promoted or given new assignments. With that glaring fact in mind, the Media Management Center infuses AEP with change leadership.

We call it transformational leadership because if the trend holds, the participants will see dramatic change in their lives, their careers and their companies. “It would be best if they lead the transformation rather than let it happen to them,” says AEP director Michael P. Smith. “Most of the men and women who come to our programs are already good leaders,” he says, “We want them to understand that change leadership is an ongoing process and necessary today for media to survive and thrive.”

To assist the participants in setting an ongoing change process in motion, Professor Leslie Nathanson teaches an approach to successful leadership. At the core of her classes are helping the participants understand the role of a change leader — from creating and communicating a vision to modeling behavior and measuring success. Her classes are filled with practical advise for reducing employee resistance and keeping the change process alive. Her expertise comes not only from her Kellogg School of Management background but also from her years of consulting media companies and executives from other industries. Change happens. Leadership can make it a valuable experience.

 

			Leslie Nathanson Professor of Change Management Center New Index