Assignment task:
This project consists of two (2) key components: (1) A detailed description and analysis of the leadership model (paper) and (2) a presentation. For this assignment, students will design a personalized and practical leadership model that they could apply and benefit from within their current or future workplace. The outline below should be followed to guide the design and development process for the leadership model. Each primary section of the outline represents a major knowledge area that is discussed throughout the course. Students should carefully refer to each knowledge area to identify relevant concepts and utilize these to inform and guide their model design and development.
- A detailed description of the work environment: The effectiveness and applicability of the leadership model will depend on how well its design captures the unique dynamics and components of the selected organizational system. In this section, students will provide a detailed description of the company of interest to shed light upon its nature and dynamics, key building blocks (e.g., structure, systems, employees, culture, types of strategy, etc.), major needs, and overall position within the market.
- Design self: This dimension and building block of the leadership model should reflect how the student can design themselves as a leader. Practical approaches should be offered that enable the leader to consistently evolve their perceptions and leadership capacity, and to make and promote ethical decision-making.
- Design relationships: This section should entail effective methods, tools, and/or techniques that help a leader design her/his relationship with others. Emphasis should be placed on decision-making, influence, and currency of trust.
- Design others' success and collective innovation: This component of the leadership model should offer practical solutions and methods for facilitating creativity, problem-solving, idea generating, collective innovation, and managing organizational change.
- Design culture and community: This section should shed light upon practical dimensions of the designer's plan and solution for designing an effective and evolving culture as well as a general framework for leading teams.
- Design the future: This component of the model should offer solutions for creating a culture of innovation and an evolving organizational system that is able to respond and adapt to emerging trends and fluctuating demands.
- Justifying the model's effectiveness: In this concluding segment, students should utilize a systems' thinking approach to justify the effectiveness of their proposed leadership model. Specifically, students should examine the interconnections, interdependencies, and the degree of synergy among the five (5) design dimensions of the model in relation to the firm of interest. The discussion should answer the question, "How will the individual design components interact and complement one another as a whole to facilitate the emergence of an effective and evolving leadership paradigm for the selected company (i.e., organizational system)?"