School for Leadership Schools

How does one start a School of Leadership?

Major crossovers may be one trigger for starting a school of leadership.

Theoretical Crossovers

Theoretical crossovers happen when the dominant understanding of a large scale problem becomes inadequate and a new theory of change emerges, requiring a cohort of leaders equipped with new skill sets to replace the old leaders, who are now bottlenecks for inducing the change. There are two types of theoretical crossover, namely crossovers in leadership theory, and crossovers in solution concepts.

There would be crossovers in leadership theory, such as Theory U or Adaptive Leadership that propose a fundamental shift in the understanding of leadership itself. The New Organizing Institute and Center for Bridging Leadership at the Asian Institute of Management shows the way for organizers to organize through engagement based campaigns, and is a more empowering alternative to other forms of organizing.

Problem or Solution Crossovers

Crossovers in solutions concepts usually emanate from breakthroughs through transdisciplinary approaches, and teach students leadership skills to lead across two or more pre-existing domains. For example, the Climate Reality Leadership Corps and the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative provide a transdisciplinary approach to their respective problem spaces, and teach their students skills on how to lead in the translation of theories from different disciplines into action for a sector or community.

Narrative Crossovers

Narrative crossovers are usually constituency-based, and provide an alternative empowering narrative to replace the prevalent narrative of marginalization or oppression. The Indigenous Leadership Development Institute and Diaspora Leadership Fellows provide alternative narratives and spaces for pursuing empowerment.