Choose a situation where you served as a leader. Ideally, choose a business situation, such as leading a project or developing a team. Leadership experience in the community, social or professional groups, or clubs may also be applied.
First, you will describe and reflect on your leadership experience. Next, you will apply and explore leadership theories in the context of your personal experience. Note: You will need to use references while applying leadership theories to your personal experience.
Write a 4-6 page referenced Focus Paper in APA format applying the reading in this unit.
Divide the paper into the following sections.
- Section 1: Description and reflection (1-2 pages)
- Describe the leadership situation and your approach (what you did and, if possible, why you did it). Support your thesis that you served as the leader by citing concepts from What Leaders Really Do by Kotter.
- Assess the benefits, drawbacks and outcomes of your approach. This assessment does not need to be linked to any leadership theory or model. It is likely that you handled the situation using your instincts, so this section is an assessment of how effective your natural approach was in this situation.
- Section 2: Application (2-3 pages)
- Apply two of the following leadership theories/models to your situation. Do not discuss how you think you applied these models. Discuss the models in depth so it is clear that you understand them, including how they would apply to your situation. Do not use first-person in this section of the paper; approach it as a research document. This section should constitute the main portion of the paper.
- Path-Goal
- LPC
- LMX
- Hersey-Blanchard
- In this section, show that you understand the selected theories beyond the summary in the unit reading by applying the content of at least two articles that will serve as primary sources on the development, understanding and criticism of the chosen approaches. Use at least one library reference along with web searches. Unrelated outside references will not receive credit. The references are to expand your knowledge of the selected theories. Cite sources in APA format.
- Section 3: Evaluation
- If you have not already done so, evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of the two selected leadership approaches to determine which you would apply and why. If faced with this situation again, which leadership approach would you apply and why? Explain your reasoning. How would the outcome be influenced? Responding that you would not apply either theory will not receive credit. If you choose to apply parts of each theory, fully explain your reasoning.
- Tips for Organizing your Leadership Focus Paper
Student Checklist:
1. Apply two of the selected leadership theories to a personal leadership situation
2. Show how the Kotter model fits a personal leadership situation
3. Discuss (at the level of application) the relevancy of external leadership readings to the assignment