Teaching

705A0022.jpg

The overarching purpose of Michael’s teaching is to help leaders develop the ability to unleash the full potential of their employees while simultaneously achieving organizational alignment. The courses he designs and teaches are based on the principle that students learn best when they have the opportunity to actively participate in their own learning. His courses combine diverse learning modalities - didactic lectures, case-based discussion, and experiential exercises - to create learning experiences that are engaging, motivating, and impactful. 

Collaborative Leadership: Building the Organization of the Future

As the business landscape becomes increasingly dynamic, successful companies are tasked with building their capacity for agility, adaptability, and speed in order to maintain competitive advantage. Business leaders globally are responding by transitioning from hierarchical organizational structures to more flexible, team-centric models that foster collaboration, information sharing, and empowerment.

In this course, which is inspired by Michael's research on novel, non-hierarchical forms of organizing, participants explore the current evolution of organizational design from traditional, command-and-control models to a system of empowered networks—and learn about the opportunities to increase their business performance by introducing principles of collaborative leadership in their teams and organization. Through interactive lectures and engaging group exercises, participants cultivate essential collaborative leadership competencies and gain the conceptual frameworks and actionable tools they need to effectively incorporate these principles in practice.

100% of participants in the Collaborative Leadership course would recommend the course to colleagues. Sample course feedback:

“It was an amazing mix of presentations, interaction and discussion that kept us engaged throughout.”

“I would love for our entire leadership team to take this course, so that we could all discuss together!”

"Great course to self-reflect and be a better leader and also to bring an innovative, more human approach to organizations. This is a unique program.”

Designed and taught with Carlo Giardinetti, Michael most recently delivered this course to senior managers and executives through Harvard’s Professional Development Programs. More information about the course can be found here,  

705A0115.jpg

MBA Teaching

Michael also teaches the core organizational behavior course as part of INSEAD’s full time MBA program. Topics in his course include leadership and management, organizational design, culture, power, social networks, routines, and organizational change.

As an instructor, Michael excels at communicating complex ideas in a clear fashion and facilitating interactive discussion. Michael's courses and teaching have received extremely positive feedback from participants. He has earned the Dean’s Commendation for Excellence in in MBA Teaching every year he has taught with an average 4.8 out of 5 rating. Sample feedback from students includes:

Mike is a phenomenal teacher. He is exceptionally comfortable speaking about difficult social dynamics, which is crucial to the success of a 21st century, global MBA curriculum. Starting each class with a breathing exercise and emotional check-in was a brilliant idea, and very well executed.

Great professor! Very engaging and thoughtful and really got our section to have proper discussions on topics in class between each other. Pushed us to explain our reasoning behind comments, and encouraged debates beyond just commenting. Which not only got us to learn more, but also to get more comfortable with each other. Along with MCV, it's the only course so far to truly do this, and make me feel this is what the MBA experience is meant to be like. Mike was an educator and facilitator, not a delivery mechanism.

I think this was the best course I have ever had (not just at INSEAD), and I think it is thanks to Mike that the course was so valuable. Mike is so flexible in his teaching method by allowing discussions to take place in class or students can have control over what is being taught and discussed in classes. Mike made the course in a way that encourages reflection. He remembers students and their contributions too. The way he finished his last session was just an evidence of how much how thinks about students and their inputs.

Every lesson had something valuable that I will carry with me for a long time. I think I am a better thinker after this course.

 

Teaching Cases

Michael writes cases related to organizational design and new forms of organizing. Most recently, he wrote a teaching case on the recent evolution of Haier’s radically decentralized, market-based organizing model, Rendanheyi, that explores how its evolution supports Haier’s strategy of creating a platform ecosystem of interconnected products and services that adapts ‘intelligently’ to users’ needs. The case explores the importance of structure linking with strategy, how decentralized and market-based forms of organizing work, and the tensions inherent in them. The case can be accessed here.