Contact Robert H. Lengel by email (rlengel@utsa.edu), or learn more about the executive MBA program on the Web (http://cobweb.utsa.edu/cpe/emb).

Sidebar: Leadership 101

Robert H. Lengel, associate dean of the College of Business at the University of Texas at San Antonio, is also coauthor of "Fusion Leadership: Unlocking the Subtle Forces That Change People and Organizations" (Berrett-Koehler, 1998). Lengel believes that leadership is a journey. Here, he recommends some ways to begin that journey.

Start reading.

But don't read only books about business. Read about art, music, and science to learn new ways of doing things. "Consider the art of unrelated inquiry," Lengel tells his students. "Practice not being an expert."

Start drawing.

Images can help you sort through dilemmas by depicting what words cannot convey. It's easier, says Lengel, to critique an image than it is to critique words: "Think of your learning journey as a trip to the gym, and train the muscles of your brain."

Start talking.

Talk to people at different levels, in different divisions, from different companies. "Conversation is a simple tool that allows people to self-organize and to generate complexity," Lengel says. "It allows people to reinvent themselves."

Start talking to yourself.

Keeping a journal, says Lengel, helps you pinpoint assumptions that may hold you back: "Create front porches -- places where people can slow down and reflect on what's happening around them."

Start acting.

Performing a skit or a miniplay is a great way to be honest about what's happening and about how people are behaving. "Revel in the fallacy of logic; expose the assumptions that limit you," Lengel urges. "Once you've laughed at one another, it's easier to change."