University of Bath
Developing female leaders
“I had a fabulous learning experience! I experienced increased role flexibility with ease and humour! I enjoyed the group dynamic very much, sharing my learning with others, and the opportunity to jointly practice ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking. It was just fantastic!”
Case:
University of Bath,
School of Management
Sector: Executive Education
Contact: Dr. Jan Stiles, Director of Executive Development
Date: 23 May 2016
Assignment: 30-minute presentation of research on the gender gap in business schools; 2½ -hour Mosaic® facilitation.
The School of Management at University of Bath invited On the Agenda’s Dr. Lynn Roseberry to teach a 3-hour session of the School’s “Women in Leadership” program, which was first offered to the university’s senior female faculty and later offered as an open corporate program in London. Dr. Stiles, the director of the programme, asked that the session should include a presentation of On the Agenda’s recent research on women in European business schools and facilitation of group work to help the participants relate the research to their own individual context and experience. It was agreed that Mosaic® would serve as the basis for the group work.
The session for the open corporate program followed the same format although On the Agenda’s book, Bridging the Gender Gap, provided the starting point Instead of the research on women in European business schools,
“We were delighted with the Mosaic session. It provided a wealth of learning both individually and for the group work on our programme. The introduction was informative and just the right pace and length, allowing space for the game. Overall a really useful and productive session.”
How did it work?
Fifteen senior female members of the faculty at the University of Bath participated in the first session. Ten senior female managers from different private and public organisations participated in the first session of the open corporate program. Each session began with a 30-minute presentation of On the Agenda’s research concerning the role of leadership in achieving gender-balance.
After a short break, the participants were divided into groups of 5. Each group sat at its own table, each with its own game set. They played 3 rounds simultaneously using 3 of the game’s pre-printed dilemmas selected by On the Agenda to facilitate reflection on the main points of the 30-minute presentation.
After each round each group was asked to share the highlights of its discussion of the selected dilemma and share their responses to different elements of the game, e.g. giving each other points for contributions, performing tasks printed on achievement cards to earn points, and how the elements of the game affected their individual engagement and the group discussion.
