Vol. 1, No. 1, Academic Review 2000

David A. Owens, Associate Professor, Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University

David Owens, a faculty member at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management, in Nashville, Tennessee, evaluates leadership thorugh a study of team dynamics. Owens’ hypothesis is that the different look of competing products could be linked to the rational selection and balancing of design priorities. To test his thesis, he spent a year observing supposedly nonhierarchical design teams in action. What he discovered was that it was not reason--the identification and pursuit of specific design goals--but status that most influenced design. High-status individuals had the biggest impact on what was produced while middle- and -low status contributors played lesser roles. The mix of disciplines and expertise did not matter nearly as much as the perceptions of a person’s importance to the organization. The assumption is that high-status personalities are elevated to that position because they reflect a company’s design strategy. To the degree this is true, all is well. When executives or design managers want change, however, the implication is that it will not only be necessary to introduce new talent, but also undo the existing perceptions of status.

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