CURRICULUM COMMITTEE MEETING

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP87-00956R000100040005-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 19, 2010
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: August 1, 1985
• Content Type: MISC

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CURRICULUM COMMITTEE MEETING
1 August 1985
ITEM: Looking Glass, Inc.(LGI) Workshop
BACKGROUND
1. The Agency's pilot running of Looking Glass was spon-
soreu Dy the uuil0 in July, 1984 and run by the Associates for
Creative Leadership, Inc. (ACL; George Peabody, principal). Two
MTB instructors and one contractor were among the 20 partici-
pants. Following the pilot running participants met with the
ADDO, shared insights gained as a result of the program, and
recommended that LGI be offered on a regular basis.
2. The DDO/STO met with the other STOs and subsequently
they recommended Agency-wide participation. Directorates have
paid for three runnings in FY85 (about $18,000 each), with one
more scheduled in August. The STOs negotiated the number of par-
ticipants, with two of the 20 slots in each running at MTB's dis-
posal with no cost to OTE. MTB has helped support the workshop
beginning with the first running. Since it was clear that the
program would run with or without OTE's assistance (and without
OTE's money), it was decided that MTB would provide support for
the program from the very start (including contract negotiation)
in order to influence quality, cost,and applicability, as well as
developmental opportunities for MTB (and other OTE instructors,
since use of the two OTE dedicated slots has never been re-
stricted only to MTB, although MTB does need to exact a pint of
blood--namely group facilitation services in subsequent run-
nings.
3. The Executive Director has met with participants after
each running to date, and he continues to express interest in
application of Looking Glass learning outcomes to Agency manage-
ment.
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION
4. LGI is a 4-day management development program built
around the Looking Glass Simulation. The simulation is the
result of three years of research and development at the Center
for Creative Leadership (CCL). It puts 20 managers into the top
managerial positions of a ficticious corporation. They receive
background information on the organization, their managerial
assignments, and their offices, including in-baskets full of
problems and challenges. They then manage the organization as a
group for six hours!
5. Like any organization, Looking Glass has its share of
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problems, 160 in all, ranging from the trivial to the nearly
catastrophic. The problems cover many areas, including finance,
personnel, technical, R&D, safety and legal. Managers are free
to deal with or ignore problems as they see fit.
6. After the simulation, debriefings give managers an
opportunity to reflect on what they did, how well they did it,
and the implications of their actions individually and as a
group. They receive feedback on how well they delegated, shared
information, solved problems and handled conflict.
7. The simulation is set in the context of theory to help
the participants gain a clearer understanding of the managerial
task. They receive feedback on their managerial skills from
selected peers, superiors and subordinates back on the job using
the Skills Assessment Form (SAF). At the end of the workshop
participants develop action plans to apply learnings.
8. Though objectives are continually modified for each
running, the last running had the following:
a. THEORY
To gain a clearer understanding of my managerial
task.
-The Nature of Managerial Work
-Decisionmaking Under Uncertainty
-Management Processes
-Networking
-Factors in Executive Derailment
b. SELF-AWARENESS
To assess myself as a manager, with the help of:
-a mirror, the LOOKING GLASS, and
-the Skills Assessment Form (SAF) from my office
C. PLANNING
To identify my 2-3 most important learnings and to
make definite plans for my growth and/or new
behavior
d. REPORTING
Be prepared:
-to report your main learnings and possible impli-
cat ions
-to discuss how you intend to apply them
RECOMMENDATIONS
9. It is recommended that OTE continue to support LGI in
FY86. Five to seven runnings are tentatively scheduled.
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10. It is recommended that MTB continue the process nec-
essary to become a licensee, including providing certification
training for selected MTB and other OTE instructors, so that the
Agency can reduce its dependency on the limited number of fran-
chised outside contractors.
11. Year-end funds have been requested to purchase the
rights to the program ($7500), the telephone system ($6500) and
the slide show ($2000). The government discount royalty fee for
each running ($2500) includes all updated handouts and consulta-
tion with the Center for Creative Leadership.
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