JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION / August 1999

Ballou et al. / FELLOWSHIP IN LIFELONG LEARNING

FELLOWSHIP IN LIFELONG LEARNING: AN

EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
FOR ADVANCED PROFESSIONALS

Ronald Ballou
David Bowers
Richard E. Boyatzis
David A. Kolb
Weatherhead School of Management,
Case Western Reserve University

In the 15 years since the publication of Malcolm Knowles’s (1984) land-

mark book The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species, there has been a growing
awareness that traditional educational methods developed for children are
inappropriate for mature adults. This is particularly true for the advanced pro-
fessional whose life and career requires a commitment to continuous renewal
and learning. Advanced professionals are skilled, experienced learners with
complex and unique learning needs. This study describes our attempt to cre-
ate such a program and reports on the impact of the program on members of
four classes of Professional Fellows. The program includes personal life and
career assessment focused on the development of an individualized Learning
Plan, in addition to seminars, projects, and other learning activities organized
around the learning priorities of a given group of Fellows. The program
attempts to transcend the hierarchical confines of the teacher-student rela-
tionship through the creation of a spirit of fellowship. Program faculty are

Authors’ Note: We wish to acknowledge the contributions and commitment of Betty Bowers,
Susan Case, Stan Cort, Scott Cowen, Ron Fry, Louella Hein, Robert Mason, Richard Osborne,
Suzette Williamson, Don Wolfe, and Rob Wright to the Professional Fellows Program. Corre-
spondence should be addressed to Richard E. Boyatzis, Weatherhead School of Management,
Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106-7235; (phone)
216-368-2055; (fax) 216-368-4785; (e-mail) reb2@po.cwru.edu.
JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION, Vol. 23 No. 4, August 1999 338-354
© 1999 Sage Publications, Inc.

338
 Ballou et al. / FELLOWSHIP IN LIFELONG LEARNING 339

Fellows, and the curriculum is created collaboratively by all members of the

group.

THE GROWING DESIRE FOR LEARNING

The composition of the workforce is changing, and its needs for ongoing
education and development are changing. The demographics of the U.S.
population indicate that our workforce is aging and becoming more diverse in
terms of gender, race, and ethnicity. An atypical bulge in the workforce (i.e.,
baby boomers) entering and passing through various career and life transi-
tions is resulting in people seeking education and development at all ages
(Mergenhagen, 1995). At the same time, the needs of organizations are
changing—from the increased managerial orientation of hospitals, law firms,
and other professional service firms to the flattening of industrial organiza-
tions. To cope with this different environment, fight off obsolescence, and/or
to become more valuable, there is an increased demand for lifelong learning
and development. The professions are changing as well. In the past, physi-
cians and lawyers had successful lives with few demands on them as manag-
ers. Their social status and relatively few numbers placed little pressure on
them justifying their practices or prices. Other professionals, such as engi-
neers and scientists, would enter management positions as part of their career
progression.
As part of career progression and to serve organizational needs, many pro-
fessionals enter management each year. Whether in hospitals, government
agencies, not-for-profits, or small or large companies, the challenges of man-
agement are added to the challenges of their professions, occupations, life,
families, and careers. While searching for ways to increase their effective-
ness as managers, many want to have significant impact as leaders of organi-
zations and contribute to society. Some want to advance in their career paths.
Some want to have a transition in their work. Some are seeking personal ful-
fillment. Where do they turn for help and development?
The changing needs of adult education are dramatic. Not many years ago,
adult education was either (a) job training, with periodic updates of relevant
information (Nowlen, 1988), (b) a vehicle for placement in advancing one’s
career, or (c) entertainment or distraction. The entertainment or distraction
consisted of courses on topics such as sculpture, investing, gardening, and
cooking. In this context, a school of management has a unique opportunity
and challenge. The difficulty for the institution is that undergraduate and
MBA curricula are steeped in a long history—with faculty ensconced in
discipline-defined departments. Although significant changes can be made
to an MBA program and significant increases in the beneficial impact on the
340 JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION / August 1999

students can be demonstrated (Boyatzis, Cowen, & Kolb, 1995b), curriculum

change is a long and arduous journey.

EXECUTIVE EDUCATION AS
AN ARENA OF OPPORTUNITY

Executive education offers a fertile ground for innovation. Many schools,

such as the University of Michigan and Northwestern University, have used
their executive education programs as a testing ground for improvement and
changes in the MBA program. Executive education programs have much less
of a tradition in academia and, therefore, are amenable to change. Their
objectives are rooted in the problems of managers and executives. Their com-
petition often consists of internal, company-sponsored programs (which
have been largely outsourced in recent years) and consulting companies.
These competitors create an environment of fast adaptation to requests of the
executive education client and operate in the pragmatic world of responding
to customer needs and wants.
Executive education is used as a title for various activities in a school of
management. It is often meant as management education for people older
than 35 or those not enrolled in degree-granting programs. A more accurate
definition would be that executive education is management education for
people who are in executive roles or who hope to be; that is, they are on a
career path toward an executive role.
Professional education is typically a program provided to those who want
to enter or who are in the various occupations classified as professions, such
as physicians, lawyers, nurses, engineers, psychologists, scientists, archi-
tects, accountants, and so forth. Advanced professional education takes two
forms: (a) continuing education in the technical aspects of the profession,
such as an update (Nowlen, 1988), or (b) management education. For profes-
sionals, continuing education in management is similar to executive educa-
tion because of the frame of mind, experience base, and critical perspective of
the prospective student or participant.

The Professional Fellows Program

The Professional Fellows Program (PFP) was developed in response to

the changing educational environment and opportunities mentioned above.
The audience was midcareer professionals who had little formal education in
management but were in or entering into management positions. The PFP has
the following four distinct elements:
 Ballou et al. / FELLOWSHIP IN LIFELONG LEARNING 341

1. An assessment and development course resulting in a personal Learning Plan;

2. A series of seminars on current challenges in leadership and management, es-
pecially the management of professionals;
3. An individualized, in-depth exploration of particular topics through a project
and electives; and
4. Membership in the Society of Fellows as the development of an active network
of peers committed to continuous, lifelong learning.

With respect for the experiences and history of lifelong learning of

advanced professionals, the PFP was designed as a learner-directed, nonde-
gree program. The desire is for the participants to take responsibility for their
learning and make the program and their learning self-directed (Boyatzis,
Cowen, & Kolb, 1995a). Therefore, although a great deal of personal, quali-
tative feedback is given to participants by faculty and the other participants,
no grades are given; however, grades can be given to individuals for purposes
of tuition reimbursement.
In the design of the PFP, we defined a learning environment as one from
which the adversarial element between teacher and student has been
removed. At its worst, the adversarial relationship manifests itself as a zero-
sum game. The student is seeking to obtain a desired grade in a course while
outputting the least amount of effort, whereas the faculty member is trying to
get the student to learn as much as possible in achieving that grade. This has
been turned around in the PFP: There is no grade. The students are there
solely to learn. They paid tuition and are very demanding. They want more
and longer sessions rather than fewer and shorter sessions. The instructor and
the student have the common goal of a mutually rewarding educational expe-
rience. Instead of faculty evaluating student performance, the aim is to
encourage exploration of ideas and personal development. The formal activi-
ties of the program take place within the 9 months of the academic year but
are not tied to the academic calendar.

ASSESSMENT LEADING TO A LEARNING PLAN

The participants take a course designed to assist in constructing a personal

Learning Plan. Based on a similar course for the MBA program at the
Weatherhead School of Management (WSOM) (Boyatzis, 1994), the partici-
pants explore their values, philosophy, and personal vision and establish a
desired career and personal direction for the next era of their lives (i.e., 7- to
10-year period) in the context of a long-range, work-life scenario. The course
consists of several days at residencies (i.e., retreats) during the first week of
the program in late August, January, and May, and all-day Saturday sessions
342 JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION / August 1999

in October, November, and December. The residencies help to create an

atmosphere of mutual support for learning and change.
Through assessment on 22 abilities related to effectiveness in manage-
ment, participants conduct a thorough diagnosis of their strengths and weak-
nesses. The Learning Plan is developed to build on strengths and address
weaknesses either by constructing a new career and life direction or by devel-
oping abilities needed. The diagnosis uses behavioral data collected from
audiotaped critical incident interviews and videotaped group discussion
exercises. These tapes are coded by advanced doctoral students and faculty
who have established appropriate interrater reliability. In addition, a skill
inventory, called the Learning Skills Profile (LSP), is used to assess their
demonstrated behavior and the demands of their current job. The LSP is a
72-item card sort, reporting 12 skill scales and a total score shown to relate to
effectiveness in management in previous studies (Boyatzis & Kolb, 1991,
1995). The participant completes the LSP and then asks his or her spouse,
boss, peers, and subordinates to do the same. Additional tests are used to help
the participant understand his or her learning style and learning flexibility,
personal values and philosophy, and so forth.
The course involves intensive discussions of career and life stages. Having
already been successful in at least one career, the participants use this course
as more than merely a vehicle for improving their job performance. Often,
they evaluate, or reevaluate, the idea of continuing in management. The
opportunity to revisit the values and purpose with which they entered their
professions, as well as parts of themselves that have been lost, forgotten, or
shelved during their intense focus on professional demands and career suc-
cess, are brought into the conversation. The Learning Plan is developed as
their personal agenda for development for the next 5 to 7 years. If the partici-
pants are part of caring relationships, it is recommended that they construct
this plan with their spouses or significant others.

SEMINARS ON LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Early in the fall, the faculty select topics selected from key management
functional areas that are considered currently “hot” issues in organizations.
Later in the fall and throughout the spring, topics are chosen based on partici-
pant interests and corresponding faculty recommendations. For example,
some of the topics have been (a) conversation as a source of and vehicle for
learning, (b) marketing professional services, and (c) ethical dilemmas of
professional services in the context of financial constraints. Preparation for a
seminar may require reading several articles or a book or two. Reading
 Ballou et al. / FELLOWSHIP IN LIFELONG LEARNING 343

material is selected for its currency and not for its comprehensive coverage of
a particular subject. Faculty from throughout the WSOM are chosen as semi-
nar leaders. The role of seminar leader is to be a facilitator of learning and
coach rather than the traditional role of lecturer.
Each year the incoming class resists taking control of its learning process
during the first few months. The participants’ prior socialization into believ-
ing that a student should be a passive recipient is so strong that it overrides the
individual’s history as an active, lifelong learner. The classes evolve a highly
interactive set of norms with little tolerance for expert-driven lectures of
more than 20 minutes. During the first 2 years of the PFP, four to six faculty
members would attend most sessions. Getting caught up in the intellectual
excitement of dialogue and debate with other professionals, they often domi-
nated discussions. Although they felt this was a relatively rare opportunity to
interact with colleagues from other disciplines about ideas, reminding the
faculty about the objectives of the PFP resulted in appropriate levels of verbal
self-regulation.
The participants value the seminars as a way to get exposed to manage-
ment topics and interact with professional peers from a diversity of fields.
They often cite the uniqueness of this opportunity to discuss issues with pro-
fessionals outside of their specialty or field. During the early years of the PFP,
the spring seminars were devoted to participants’ projects. They wanted a
continuation of the fall process. Currently, management seminars similar to
those of the late fall are held in the spring.
To stimulate interaction between face-to-face meetings, e-mail is encour-
aged. In the first years of the program, participants were given laptop com-
puters with appropriate software to encourage this type of communication. In
subsequent years, computers were not provided because participants have
access to computers at home or work with modems for off-site communica-
tions. It was hoped that the participants, often referred to as a “two-beeper
crowd,” would use early morning hours (e.g., 5:00 a.m.) or late night hours
(e.g., 12:00 a.m.) to interact with others without the obstacle of their horren-
dous work schedules.
The use of e-mail had limited success. First, there was equipment failure
due to overload and breakdown of the school’s computer network and serv-
ers. Gaining access to e-mail was unacceptably long or impossible. Switch-
ing to a commercial online service corrected the technical problems.
Second, e-mail has not proved as valuable as hoped. Less than half of the
participants use it in any given month. Two reasons appeared to get in the way
of its use: First, participants were reluctant to initiate messages when there
were no messages awaiting them. Second, some of the participants were older
344 JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION / August 1999

professionals who did not “grow-up” with computers; they were still hesitant
to use them. Supporting this reluctance had been the limited use of e-mail by
the faculty. With the fifth entering class, a commercial service was provided,
and the use of e-mail increased dramatically. By the sixth and seventh classes,
e-mail became a vital and active component of communication among the
Fellows, both during and after the program.

PROJECTS AND ELECTIVES

Participants may enroll in any WSOM course for which they have the nec-
essary prerequisites during a period of up to 3 years after matriculating into
the program. Tuition covers two 3-hour courses or their equivalent in con-
tinuing education short courses. The purpose of these courses is to allow the
Fellows to develop their skills and knowledge in areas of choice. Fellows
report high satisfaction with the courses they have selected, but less than 25%
of the Fellows have taken electives to date.
In the second semester of the program, participants are encouraged to
engage in a project. It can be a research project, an applications project, or an
additional developmental experience. Topics for these have varied. For
example, a radiologist from one class and a pathologist from the next class
conducted a quality survey on a medical topic and subsequently published the
results in a professional journal. Other examples of the spring projects
include the following: A study group sought to learn from mergers in industry
and identify implications for the current wave of hospital mergers; one team
explored the financial feasibility of importing high-quality coffee from Hon-
duras into the Cleveland market; and a team of educators set up a leadership
training course for their local school district. Some Fellows chose an individ-
ual project. For example, a reengineering of a dental practice increasing net
revenues by 20% to 30%, a study on the availability of OB/GYN care to
inner-city high school girls, and a marketing plan for a psychiatric treatment
center were several of the projects.
The program asks the participants to be self-directed in choosing the sub-
ject, working toward it, and determining the point of completion. Because
they are not graded and the PFP encourages the perspective of lifelong learn-
ing, the spring projects often involve participants into the following summer
and fall. The projects are allowed to follow their natural rhythm rather than
artificially end in one semester as an administrative convenience to faculty.
The major criticism of the projects by the participants has been the desire to
have more guidance from the faculty in selection and execution of the
projects.
 Ballou et al. / FELLOWSHIP IN LIFELONG LEARNING 345

MEMBERSHIP IN THE SOCIETY OF FELLOWS

The Society of Fellows is viewed as a major component of the PFP. It is the

mechanism for the Fellows to remain connected over the years and among
classes. Each May, those participants who have completed the year’s activi-
ties are inducted into the Society during a dinner ceremony.
The Society is an organization formed by the first graduating class, with
its own by-laws and mission. Its officers are elected from the Fellows that
have been inducted into the Society. Formal programs are presented about
four to five times per year with a dinner and speaker or a workshop. The Soci-
ety determines the amount to be charged to Fellows for attendance. Atten-
dance averages about 25% of the Society.
The original intent of the Society was to create a Learning Maintenance
Organization (LMO) that can be a vehicle for lifelong learning. Through the
Society, the Fellows create access to all of the WSOM executive education
programs, as well as those offered within the larger context of Case Western
Reserve University. It also was hoped that Fellows would mentor and coach
others at earlier stages in their careers in management, such as MBA or
EMBA students.

An Outcome Study

As part of an outcome study, each of the Fellows from the first four classes
were asked to complete (a) a questionnaire about their reactions to program
elements and developmental activities since completing the 1st year of the
PFP, (b) the LSP, and (3) an interview. During the interview, each Fellow was
asked about their initial involvement in the PFP: How did you hear about it?
What attracted you to the program? What were your initial impressions?
Then, each Fellow was asked about those aspects of the PFP that were helpful
and most interesting and those that were not helpful and least useful. We then
asked them how, if in any ways, their lives and/or careers had changed as a
result of participating in the PFP.

THE SAMPLE OF PARTICIPANTS AND FELLOWS

Of the 53 people enrolled in the PFP during the first four classes, there
were 36 males and 17 females. They were an average of 47 years old at entry
into the PFP (median age is also 47), with the range being from 32 to 69. Of
the 48 on whom we have data, 38 are married, 2 are single, 5 are divorced, and
5 have marital status in transition. Six have no children, 13 have one child,
and 28 have two or more children. Most of them are currently physicians or
346 JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION / August 1999

attorneys, with a few educators and university professors who are in adminis-
trative positions, and several business people.

Program Impact

INCREASING SELF-CONFIDENCE

The most dramatic impact of the program was the increase in self-
confidence that the Fellows experienced. The item most frequently cited in
the interview about the program’s impact was that it generated greater self-
confidence, self-esteem, and the confidence to change. It was the ability or
knowledge area cited most frequently as “significantly developed or
enhanced” in the questionnaire (i.e., 40%), with another 32% reporting it as
somewhat developed or enhanced, as shown in Table 1. The LSP provides
information not only on levels on each of the skills but, in sum, it can be seen
as indicating self-confidence (Boyatzis & Kolb, 1991, 1995). There was a
statistically significant increase for the sample overall (average at time of out-
come study 345 vs. 330 at entry into PFP, n = 44, t = 2.72, p < .005), as seen in
Figure 1, and in particular the two classes retaking the test after 1 year in the
program, as shown in Table 2.
It may seem odd that these advanced professionals would need to increase
their self-confidence. After all, they are so successful that they often carried
two beepers, drove cars costing what most people paid for a house merely a
few years ago, and had resumes that were many pages because of their publi-
cations, awards, or service to the community. But these are external signs,
and self-confidence is an internal sensation. They know they have been suc-
cessful, productive, innovative, and of great service to others, but after years
of doing and being these things, you start to wonder: Am I really adding
value? Should I be doing something else? Is it worth it to my family or spiri-
tual self to work so hard for others that I feel empty inside? Have I lost the
enthusiasm and curiosity or compassion that made me so effective?
The increase in self-confidence reported by the Fellows is the internal
companion to the external viewed presence demonstrated to others. But as
the Fellows described it, it was also the booster shot to their self-esteem and
confidence to change.

FOCUS ON THE FUTURE

In response to the question about what was most helpful about the pro-
gram, the most cited element was the assessment course and development of
 Ballou et al. / FELLOWSHIP IN LIFELONG LEARNING 347

TABLE 1
Percentage Reporting Abilities and Knowledge Areas as
Somewhat and/or Significantly Developed or Enhanced
Somewhat Significantly Both

Ability
Networking 43 36 79
Planning 49 26 75
Self-confidence 32 40 72
Group management 40 32 72
Initiative 51 21 72
Efficiency orientation 57 15 72
Use of concepts 57 15 72
Developing others 45 25 70
Flexibility 43 23 66
Empathy 45 21 66
Persuasiveness 45 19 64
Systems thinking 49 15 64
Oral communication 55 9 64
Self-control 45 17 62
Pattern recognition 51 11 62
Negotiating 36 23 59
Social objectivity 47 11 58
Theory building 51 4 55
Attention to detail 45 6 51
Written communication 40 9 49
Using technology 34 13 47
Quantitative Analysis 25 8 33

Knowledge area
Organizational behavior 40 38 78
Marketing 57 11 68
Labor and human resource policy 55 8 63
Operations management 49 11 60
Management information and
decision systems 53 6 59
Policy 40 8 48
Economics 40 4 44
Banking and finance 32 4 36
Operations research 25 8 33
Accounting 21 4 25
Quantitative methods 21 4 25

the Learning Plan. The Fellows talked about sorting out the future and the
sense of having taken back control of their lives. Again, one may wonder why
people in such powerful roles would have this need.
The Fellows, as advanced professionals, have successful practices in
which they are currently involved in the management of other professionals.
At the same time, they are actively contributing to their professional
348 JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION / August 1999

TABLE 2
Entering and Later Scores on the Learning Skills
Profile Skills and Total (n = 44)
1992-1995 1993-1995 1994-1995 1995-1996
Skill (n = 8) (n = 14) (n = 14) (n = 8)

Leadership 28.1-31.0 29.8-31.0 30.1-30.0 28.0-29.3

t = 1.26 t = .91 t = –.08 t = .86
Relationship 30.8-30.3 29.4-30.0 31.5-31.4 30.6-31.6
t = –.22 t = .30 t = –.08 t = 1.02
Help 29.6-29.4 28.1-30.4 29.6-31.4 27.3-29.8
t = –.16 t = 1.53* t = 2.41** t = 2.27**
Sense making 30.9-31.9 29.8-31.4 29.7-31.9 27.1-27.8
t = .69 t = 1.37* t = 2.17** t = .43
Information gathering 28.0-29.6 27.8-29.1 27.3-29.4 25.9-28.3
t = .87 t = 1.02 t = 1.93** t = 2.47**
Information analysis 34.0-32.6 29.9-30.8 27.8-28.6 27.8-29.3
t = –1.21 t = .50 t = .61 t = .99
Theory building 33.0-30.9 26.9-26.6 27.1-29.2 25.5-27.1
t = –2.62** t = –.15 t = 1.42* t = 2.15**
Quantitative 22.4-23.9 19.3-19.5 20.1-22.4 21.3-22.4
t = 1.03 t = .12 t = 1.49* t = .89
Technology 24.1-24.0 20.4-19.3 15.3-18.6 16.3-21.3
t = –.06 t = –.55 t = 1.60* t = 3.14***
Goal setting 27.6-30.6 26.3-29.9 26.5-28.9 25.6-28.0
t = 2.22** t = 2.16** t = 4.28**** t = 2.57**
Action 30.8-31.6 31.6-31.6 29.2-31.1 28.5-28.8
t = .45 t = .06 t = 2.10** t = .16
Initiative 31.5-32.6 33.1-33.9 32.3-32.5 30.0-29.3
t = .52 t = .62 t = .18 t = –.56
Total 351-358 331-343 326-345 314-333
t = .74 t = .93 t = 2.18** t = 2.53**

*p < .10. **p < .05. ***p < .01. ****p < .001.

associations and communities and are involved with their families. The loss
of self is a consequence experienced by many in these roles in which respon-
siveness to others’ needs becomes a working style and then a way of life.

LEGITIMACY OF LIFE/CAREER TRANSITIONS

The growing desire or need to change may be experienced as an unspeci-

fied restlessness often associated with midlife or midcareer transitions or cri-
ses. At the same time, it would be demotivating to your patients, clients, or
students if you told them you were bored! So what happens to the normal
 Ballou et al. / FELLOWSHIP IN LIFELONG LEARNING 349

Figure 1: A Comparison of Skills at Entry Into the Program and as of the Outcome Study
of Four Classes (n = 44)
*p < .10. **p < .05. ***p < .01. ****p < .001.

transitions in life and career that we all experience? The voices are silenced
and emotions swallowed.
The Fellows described a valuable aspect of the program being the legiti-
macy created for noting and working on life and career transitions. Each of
the Fellows was either going through one or more transitions or was about to
enter a transitory phase of their life or work. Instead of reacting to offers of
promotions into higher management ranks, changing organizations, having
heart attacks, threatening divorce, or having partners break up a practice, the
Fellows put these experiences into a context of their life and career paths.
Once they observed the patterns and rhythms of their lives and careers, the
choices about the future were back in their control. The assessment and
350 JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION / August 1999

development course, discussions with other participants (and the faculty)

about their personal dilemmas with these issues, and development of the
Learning Plan were the catalysts that contributed to the Fellows’ ability to
reflect, think through, and decide about their future. The processes involved
the Fellows discussing these matters with their spouses and significant others
in their personal environment.

THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF LIFELONG LEARNING

In their interviews and in the questionnaire, they reported interactions

with the other participants to be the most highly rated aspect of the program
and one of the most helpful parts of the program, as shown in Table 3. They
described the exchange of ideas with others, who were perceived to be equal
in verbal skills as well as being advanced professionals, to be stimulating and
educational. The others represented a diversity of occupations, often greater
than the diversity each would encounter at work, around a dinner party, or at a
professional association. To the extent possible, the classes were intention-
ally developed to reflect other types of diversity beyond professional differ-
ences, such as gender, age, race, ethnicity, and background.
In the noncompetitive context without grades and other inducements to
arouse their competitive urges or set them against one another, participants
argued and talked so much that managing time was difficult for the faculty.
They preferred class experiences that maximized their interactions with each
other. Their comments and critiques reflecting this preference were so con-
sistent that one faculty remarked at the end of a semester that he was surprised
that “such smart people got so much from so little offered by the faculty!”
The faculty provided the stimulus or catalyst, and the Fellows used their
thoughts, theories, and experiences as discussion material. It reminded them
of the joy of learning. As one Fellow said, “This is exciting. I have never had
so much fun, nor probably learned as much in all my years of schooling!” The
cooperative atmosphere of trying to help each other develop and learn was
unique in their experiences, even though each of them had spent at least 20
years in formal education.

OTHER RESULTS

In the questionnaire, Fellows were asked whether, during the program,

they had developed or enhanced either none, somewhat, or significantly on
the 22 abilities and 11 knowledge areas in the WSOM model of management.
Their responses are shown in Table 1. The abilities with the highest develop-
ment percentages, all above 70%, were networking, planning, self-
confidence, group management, initiative, efficiency orientation, use of
 Ballou et al. / FELLOWSHIP IN LIFELONG LEARNING 351

TABLE 3
Reactions of Fellows to the Program Elements Assessed on a 7-Point
Scale From Poor to Excellent
Program Element Average Rating

Fellow students 6.23

Electives 6.22
Assessment and development course 5.88
Monday night seminars—fall 5.87
The Learning Plan 5.26
Society of Fellows 5.24
The projects 4.40
Monday night seminars—spring 4.06
E-mail network 3.72
Overall program 5.69

concepts, and developing others. More than half of the Fellows (i.e., between
50% and 66%) cited somewhat or significant enhancement or development
of the following abilities: flexibility, empathy, persuasiveness, systems
thinking, oral communications, self-control, and pattern recognition. With
regard to knowledge areas, two thirds or more said they experienced some-
what or significant enhancement or development in the fields of organiza-
tional behavior and marketing. More than half (i.e., between 50% and 63%)
also reported enhancement and development of labor and human resource
policy, operations management, and management information and decision
systems.
To document the overall impact on each Fellow’s skills, the LSP scores
completed at the beginning of the program were compared to the one com-
pleted again at the time of this study. As shown in Figure 1, overall, the 44
Fellows on whom we had the LSP data showed significantly more skills in
leadership, helping, sense making, information gathering, quantitative, tech-
nology, goal setting and action, and a higher total score after the program as
compared to when they entered. Because each class entered at a different
year, the duration since entry was different; therefore, Table 2 shows the
entering scores and scores at the time of the outcome study for each of the
four classes. Class 1 entered in fall 1992; 3 years later they showed a signifi-
cant increase in goal setting skills and a significant decrease in theory build-
ing skills. Class 2 entered in fall 1993; 2 years later they showed significant
increases in helping, sense making, and goal setting skills. Class 3 entered in
352 JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION / August 1999

fall 1994; 1 year later they showed significant increases in helping, sense
making, information gathering, theory building, quantitative, technology,
goal setting, and action skills. Class 4 entered in fall 1995; 9 to 10 months
later they showed significant increases in helping, information gathering,
theory building, technology, and goal setting skills.

REACTIONS TO THE PROGRAM

The reactions to the program elements, as shown in Table 3, confirm the

earlier observations from the interviews, questionnaire, and LSP.

THE YEARN TO LEARN VERSUS THE TUG TO TEACH

While the Fellows were undergoing change, the faculty were as well. As
described earlier, the faculty got personally engaged in the seminars and proj-
ects—they were Fellows too! But when they were executing their responsi-
bility to the classes and other Fellows, a transformation took place in
approach and style. Faculty moved away from teaching, and professors
stopped professing to focus on learning. Creating a learning environment and
facilitating processes in which the Fellows were excited and said they were
learning became the primary role of the faculty. We became managers of
learning.
This was difficult. Follow-through required numerous occasions in which
one faculty member would remind the others about our reframed role. We
would debrief specific classes and workshops asking whether our styles and
comportment helped learning. At the same time, our messianic urge to
preach, to share our expertise, to dispense knowledge, and to interpret the
world to the Fellows would result in lapses, and the Fellows would be critical
of these episodes. Our socialization as faculty and previous definition of our
roles resulted in many debates among the faculty as to whether we were giv-
ing the Fellows sufficient material and fulfilling our responsibility versus
“just sitting around and talking.”

Continuing Puzzles: Is This an Experiment

Worthy of Replication?
Given the growing number of advanced professionals in management or
leadership wanting development and lifelong learning and the needs of their
organizations for improved management and leadership, the PFP’s apparent
initial success is an opening. It opens a door for schools of management to
serve an audience whose needs have not typically been addressed. It opens a
 Ballou et al. / FELLOWSHIP IN LIFELONG LEARNING 353

door for faculty to experiment with new approaches to executive education

and focus on learning. It opens a door for advanced professionals to join with
others in pursuit of lifelong learning.
Continuing professional and executive education can be merged into a
potent process of learning. When focused on advanced professionals, espe-
cially those at or near career and/or life transitions, pedagogy should be
modified or dramatically transformed to have a significant impact. Advanced
professionals in management and leadership positions are successful lifelong
learners eager to learn about management, revitalize their passionate curios-
ity, and develop new relationships with other professionals. As professors
and institutions of higher education, the challenge to us is whether we can
adapt to their needs, style, and commitment to learning.
Although the components of the pedagogy used in this program are not
new, its combination and application to this audience does seem new. The key
elements appeared to be as follows:

1. a comprehensive assessment process evoking the person’s desired future work

and life and identification of strengths and weaknesses related to managerial
effectiveness;
2. development of an individualized Learning Plan to guide development for the
next era of their life;
3. seminar topics chosen by the learners;
4. residencies and classroom processes predominantly devoted to interaction
among the Fellows;
5. an action-learning project;
6. development of a reference group whose theme is learning and allowing, if not
expecting, change by its members; and
7. membership in a network committed to continuous, lifelong learning, called
the Fellows Society.

Because there was no proper comparison group assessed in this outcome

study, it would be difficult to conclude that the PFP was solely responsible for
the impact and changes noted. Certainly, the themes on which the Fellows
reported and showed change are not unique; other programs and develop-
mental activities also result in increased self-confidence, a revitalized sense
of control or impact on your future, and significant new relationships with
others. But, the theme of legitimacy for recognizing and working on life and
career transitions is not typical, and this particular audience of advanced pro-
fessionals is not the typical audience in management development activities.
We offer the experience of the PFP and initial observations of its impact as a
possibility rather than a conclusion and hope that it will evoke or provoke
thought and experimentation.
354 JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION / August 1999

Amid these possibilities, three questions are raised as to further implica-

tions, beyond the need for more research. They are the following:

1. Can or should this process be expanded to other regions and/or professional

schools?
2. Are there implications or applications for the processes, methods, and ap-
proach to lifelong learning used in the PFP for other forms of management edu-
cation, such as EMBAs (executive MBAs), MBAs, or undergraduate manage-
ment majors? and
3. Can an academic institution view this as a legitimate program? Will faculty re-
sponsibilities in the PFP and similar programs be treated as equal to involve-
ment in other degree-granting, more typically designed programs?

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