Michigan Model of Leadership

The MMoL is supported by over half a century of empirical research and real-world application. It builds on the Competing Values Framework (CVF), which has been endorsed by numerous studies involving thousands of businesses and leaders globally. Developed by University of Michigan faculty, including Robert Quinn and Kim Cameron, the CVF is recognized as one of the most important management frameworks. For a deeper dive, click here.

The MMoL identifies key skills necessary for effective leadership, addressing fundamental tensions in organizations: balancing people and performance, as well as structure and adaptation. These skills are essential but not exhaustive. Effective leaders continuously develop additional competencies tailored to their specific contexts and challenges. The model emphasizes development across three key levels: leading yourself and others, leading teams, and leading organizations.

Yes, a suite of resources is available, including a slideshow with teaching notes, a self-assessment how-to guide, and several companion tools like a leadership roadmap. These resources can be accessed by filling out this form. We also have an MMoL Canvas page that can be granted access upon request.

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Absolutely. The Sanger Leadership Center welcomes feedback from stakeholders to improve its programs and opportunities for future leaders. You can share your thoughts through the “Contact Us” section on our webpage.

When teaching the Michigan Model of Leadership to undergraduate students, the focus would primarily be on self-leadership skills and some interpersonal/team skills – not on the more organizational leadership type skills. For younger leaders, such as undergraduate students, emphasizing self-leadership skills helps build a strong foundation. The MMoL provides an evidence-based perspective on the types of skills these young leaders need. In contrast, for graduate students and executives, all skills detailed in the model are relevant. The more comprehensive approach for these audiences would encompass self-leadership, team leadership, and organizational leadership skills. This broader focus aligns with their advanced experience and professional responsibilities.

At this time, the comprehensive 360 assessment is only available for Ross students. However, departments outside Ross may still use self-assessed mini quiz as a guide to run their own 360s, or just leverage this free self-assessment. The Sanger Leadership Center is actively exploring other 360 assessment platforms and will be releasing more information about them in the coming months.

Please see our suite of resources, including a slideshow with teaching notes, a self-assessment how-to guide, and several companion tools like a leadership roadmap, by filling out this form. We also have a MMoL Canvas page that can be granted access upon request.

In general, it’s important to remember that the goal of the MMOL is to help learners can self-awareness of the skills they’ve cultivated and to have learners have a growth mindset to engage in experimentation to build skills in quadrants where they have needs to expand their tool kit. The best leaders have the ability to access skills across all four color quadrants, and are constantly looking to collect and practice new skills throughout their lifelong leadership journeys.