2017Compass

2 Mersedes Engle Leadership and Problem Solving: A Qualitative Report on How Pi Beta Phi Exec Problem Solves Introduction: The Pi Beta Phi Executive Group (Pi Phi Exec) is comprised of ten college students ranging from sophomores to seniors. Pi Phi Exec acts as the executive body within the chapter and for the chapter. The chapter is comprised of 64 college women, also known as members. In addition to the members and the exec, there are five committees with their respective committee chairperson. The structure of power and leadership within the Pi Phi chapter is not particularly unique to the chapter, as this structure of power and leadership can be seen in many other student organizations on Birmingham-Southern College’s (BSC) campus, including other Greek organizations on campus. What makes the Pi Phi exec group unique as an organization for systematic study is the way the group deals with problems, balances commitments, and carries out leadership. Pi Beta Phi is an organization that is both unique, but that also holds universal organization characteristics that make it an interesting system to study. As a system for study, the main focus of concern will be how the exec group deals with problems between the exec and the rest of the chapter, balances commitments from the members to the Chapter Evaluation, and engages in “adaptive leadership” as the so called leading body of the chapter. Adaptive Leadership is when people carry out adaptive work by providing new and innovative solutions to existing problems. This final focus of concern, adaptive leadership, can be viewed as the aspect of the systematic study that can be applicable to other social organizations of similar caliber to Pi Beta Phi. Adaptive leadership is important to any organization as it allows the organization to view leadership and problems in a specific lens, and thus carry out leadership and problem solving in a specific manner. Conceptual Framework: Problem solving skills are crucial to all people. From solving the problem of being hungry to solving the problem of organizational participation, people face problems, and how they solve the problem determines whether the problem will arise again or whether that problem will be solved. In Ronald Heifetz, Alexander Grashow and Marty Linsky’s book, The Practice of Adaptive Leadership , Heifetz et al. organize problems into two categories: technical problems and adaptive challenges. Technical problems are the problems that require problem solving based upon known procedures, or procedures done in the past. Per these authors, technical problem solving is marked by straightforward problem solving that does not require additional learning. The straightforwardness of technical problem solving comes from the idea that the solution to the problem can be diagnosed and solved by looking at past procedures and solutions. In this sense, such solutions are often derived from expertise and authority figures (Heifetz et al., 1994). In short, technical problems can be complex, but they have known solutions. While technical problem solving relies on past solutions or authoritative expertise, adaptive challenges require new learning, which Heifetz et al. refer to as adaptive work. Heifetz et al. (1994) define adaptive challenges as the “gap between the values people stand for (that constitutes thriving) and the reality of what they face (their current lack of capacity to realize those values in their environment” (pg. 303). For example, a group may stand for open communication and value all opinions within their group, but in fact may not allow anyone to speak up during meetings, nor voice Mersedes is a junior Psychology major who is double minoring in Economics and Human Rights and Conflict Studies. She is also a student of the Distinction in Leadership Studies program. This paper, titled “Leadership and Problem Solving: A Qualitative Report on How Pi Beta Phi Exec Problem Solves” was written for Leadership Studies 400 taught by Dr. Kent Andersen. Mersedes participates and is a member of Quest II, the Order of Omega, Omicron Delta Kappa, Psi Chi, Cross Cultural Committee, Southern Ambassadors, and Greek Life.