In this course, we have explored various models, styles, and theories of leadership; the ubiquity of change and the leaders role in managing change; the importance of context; our own strengths and weaknesses; the use of ethics and values to guide leadership decisions, and the crucial role of strategic planning in quality leadership. This final assignment asks you to bring this learning together to describe how you can lead in your own organization. Please address the following in a formal APA styled paper.
Describe the organizational context in which you would like to work, your imagined role in that organization, and a capacity in which you feel you could be an effective leader. Consider a brief institutional SWOT analysis if you have sufficient knowledge of the organization to pull it off. Remember that context includes culture.
Identify models and/or theories of leadership you can employ in this position. Why are these appropriate choices for you and for your context (i.e., why not choose others)? How would you apply them?
Describe the leadership style(s) you will employ as a leader. Will this be a conscious choice based on your assessment of the context, or do you think its simply the most suitable style for you? How and why do you think the style(s) will benefit/challenge your leadership practice?
Analyze your own strengths and weaknesses and how they may affect your leadership choices and experiences. What strengths will you most rely on? Which weaknesses represent the bi
ggest potential threats? How will you crutch (and then develop) those weaknesses? What opportunities might you seize upon, and how will you mitigate threats to yourself as a leader and to the organization?
How you will promote change as a leader in this context? What models or theories seem most useful to you? What will you change? What are your strategic plans and how will you go about about bringing them to fruition?
What values will you emphasize in your leadership? Remember: You cannot value everything something has to give. Youll have to make choices in terms of what essential values should be emphasized in this position. Tip: Consider values in light of strategic planning this will help to narrow down your foci.
This assignment is purposefully left rather open-ended so that you may show me what youve learned in this class and how you can operationalize it in a professional context. Engage with your learning set. Submit a draft to your peers, discuss your ideas, and let them help you. This will almost always result in a higher quality final paper. The final paper should include 1000-ish words of text so be concise! As always, neither title nor reference pages (nor appendices, if any) count toward this total.
Note: You should recognize many of these questions and topics. Weve discussed them throughout class. This final paper is intended to help you bring it all together; it is appropriate to draw on earlier assignments and/or discussions to complete this final assignment!