896: Building Blocks of Leadership: A Lego-Based Experience of Work Design Impact on Leaders’ Perspective (16649)

We argue when leaders understand their impact on the work context that can create engagement and productivity they can realize that it is not just people’s own personal attributes that lead them to be engaged and productive. Drawing on experiential learning theory, self-determination theory, and job design theory, we employ a Lego game incorporating work design principles—featuring either an enriched and diversified job with high autonomy or a poor and monotonous job with high managerial control—in an in-classroom exercise tailored for police leaders in the German Police University Master program. During the TLC@AOM session, participants will experience how having own positive (i.e., enriched diversified autonomous) or negative (i.e., poor simplified controlled) work design experiences shifts how one’s orientation changes from a control-focused towards an autonomy-focused work design understanding. We will engage in discussions with participants on how experiencing the effects of poor and enriched work design in a safe and reflection-promoting environment can support leadership development, broadening leaders’ perspective and attitude toward work design. In the new world of work, leaders’ perspective on supporting the health and well-being of their followers is crucial. With this focus, our session contributes to recent calls for building leadership development on theory and aligns with the AOM 2024 theme, “Innovation for the Future.”

This session is part of the Teaching and Learning Conference (TLC@AOM). A separate TLC@AOM registration fee of $120 (USD) is required. Space is limited and registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. The deadline to register is 11 August, unless sold out. Register for TLC@AOM.