Discussion:
Model Questions to Determine the Appropriate Leadership Style
To determine which of the five leadership styles is the most appropriate for a given situation, answer a series of diagnostic questions based on seven variables. We now explain how to answer the questions, based on the variables, when using the two models:
1. Decision Significance. How important is the decision to the success of the project or organization? Is the decision of high (H) importance or low (L) importance to the success? When making highly important decisions, leaders need to be involved.
2. Importance of Commitment. How important is follower commitment to implement the decision? If acceptance of the decision is critical to effective implementation, importance is high (H). If commitment is not important, it's low (L). When making highly important commitment decisions that followers may not like and may not implement, followers generally need to be involved in making the decision.
3. Leader Expertise. How much knowledge and expertise does the leader have with this specific decision? Is expertise high (H) or low (L)? The more expertise the leader has, the less need there is for follower participation.
4. Likelihood of Commitment. If the leader were to make the decision alone, is the certainty that the followers would be committed to the decision high (H) or low (L)? When making decisions that followers will like and want to implement, there is less need to involve them in the decision.
5. Group Support for Objectives. Do followers have high (H) or low (L) support for the team or organizational goals to be attained in solving the problem? Higher levels of participation are acceptable with high levels of support.
6. Group Expertise. How much knowledge and expertise do the individual followers have with this specific decision? Is expertise high (H) or low (L)? The more expertise the followers have, the greater the individual or group participation can be.
7. Team Competence. Is the ability of the individuals to work together as a team to solve the problem high (H) or low (L)? With high team competence, more participation can be used.
ESSAY 1 (120 WORDS)
For this assignment, you are asked to complete three important tasks toward your research paper: Prepare a title page, write an APA introductory passage on your selected research paper topic, and prepare a references page.
Next, select a famous leader (HILLARY CLINTON) to serve as the topic of your paper.
(You may want to complete the references page for your assignment first, just to be sure there are resources available about the leader before you make a definite decision about which leader to choose.) Then, draft a 120-words passage to introduce the leader. What is special about that leader? Why or for what is this leader best known? Overall, what type of leader is he/she? Cite your four sources within the passage. Your Introduction should be written in APA format.
For the introduction, you may draw from the initial ideas you presented in this week's discussion board. While the discussion forum is conversational, the research paper should be formal and should not include the word "I." The research paper, including its introductory passage, should be a synthesis of information you gather from resources with a minimum of one citation per paragraph.
Finally, create the references page for your paper. For this assignment, obtain a minimum of four references (or sources) about the leader you selected, and create a references page in APA style. You will add references to this list throughout the course as we examine specific leadership theories. By the end of the course, you should have a minimum of 10 references/sources.
• Acceptable sources include journal articles, books, and e-books obtained through the Waldorf library.
• The only Internet source that may be used is the leader's personal web site or their organization's web site. If you would like to use another internet source, check with the professor first.
• Do not use encyclopedias, including Wikipedia.
ESSAY 2 (525 WORDS)
Unit II Essay
Leader's Personality Traits
This essay is the next opportunity to prepare a section of your research paper, and it focuses on personality traits. For this section, examine the leader's personality traits by drafting a 525-words essay. Apply the big five model of personality to this leader, identifying which dimensions are strengths and which may be areas of weakness for him or her. Also, apply the leader motive profile theory to examine this leader's personality profile. (Discuss only the personality traits and the personality profile in this section; leadership behaviors will be the focus in Unit III.)
Use at least two library sources to explain the personality traits and personality profile you identified for this leader. The sources may provide information specifically about the leader you selected and his/her personality traits, or the sources may be about specific leadership traits, though not necessarily about the particular leader you selected. These sources will support your assertions as you write about personality traits and the personality profile. Remember to include the appropriate in-text citations and reference citations in APA Style.
Add this essay to the assignment you completed in Unit I, save all of your work in one document, and submit it for grading in Blackboard.
ESSAY 3 (525 WORDS)
This essay serves as the next section of the research paper, and it focuses on leadership behavior and motivation. For this section, assess the behaviors and motivation exhibited by the leader you selected by drafting a 525-words essay. Include examples of behaviors exhibited by the leader, and apply the leadership grid theory to analyze the leader's behavior. Also, apply at least one motivation theory to analyze observations that may indicate the leader's motivations for his or her behavior.
Use at least two library sources to support your assertions about the leader's behavior and motivation. Remember to include in-text citations and reference citations in APA Style.
Add this essay to the assignment you completed in Unit II, save all of your work in one document, and submit it for grading in Blackboard.
ESSAY 4 (525 WORDS)
This essay serves as the next section in your research paper and focuses on contingency leadership theories. In a 525 words essay, discuss how this leader adapts his or her leadership style to fit the situation or the people in a given situation. Incorporate the normative leadership theory in your discussion:
1. Review the normative leadership theory and models in your textbook. Based on your research, which of the five normative leadership styles best describes this leader's preferred style? Explain.
2. Discuss a specific situation when the leader needed to adapt his or her leadership style to another of the five normative leadership styles (different from his or her preferred style).
Discuss which "model questions" may have helped determine the appropriate leadership style for that situation, and explain why.
You must Use at least one source from the library to support your rationale. Remember to apply APA style to the essay.