Successful Leadership

Your overall total word count should not exceed 6,000 words

Instructions:
General instructions and format
One of the goals of the Successful leadership module – indeed, all the modules in the Leadership specialism – is to help you with your own leadership development. The work you do in developing yourself as a leader will help you to transition careers, advance within your sector or industry and/or rise to the top of your current organisation.
A key component to your development as a leader is the work you will do for the summative assessment you submit for this module. In addition to a research paper in the field, which will be the coursework for this module, you will compile a Portfolio to which you will contribute throughout this module. This will take the place of an examination at the end of the module. The portfolio consists of 8 portfolio activities and each topic of the module, except Topics 5 and 10, contains work that is required for your Portfolio and, as it is all cumulative, it is imperative that you approach this work in stages.
In the portfolio, discussion, reflection and critical analysis will be very important. Equally important will be reference to leadership theories and to readings and resources which should go beyond your textbook reading. Use credible academic and non-academic sources and make sure that you cite and reference the readings and sources that you will use for your portfolio.
Use a Word processor to create your portfolio. Please note that you should submit your Portfolio as one document in PDF or Word document format. To submit in PDF, you can either save your completed portfolio in PDF format in your Word processor or you can use one of many free online converters to accomplish this. Please check the ‘Introduction to your assessment’ tutorial in the ‘Getting started’ section on the VLE to learn how to submit your Portfolio.
Your Portfolio should include a section for each of the items you include in the table of contents. Each section should be clearly labelled, either with a title page or with a distinct header. Page breaks should be used to clearly mark the beginning and end of each section. The table of contents of the portfolio should be:
1. Identification (this should be a brief (one/two paragraph) note about who you are, without identifying your name or other personal information)
2. Portfolio activity 1,
3. Portfolio activity 2,
4. Portfolio activity 3,
etc. …
10. Conclusions (this should the final section of the portfolio, and it should be a brief (one/two paragraph) note reflecting on your leadership development)
Also, your portfolio should include a title page, which will include your Student Reference Number (SRN), the name of the module, the title of the assignment, and the word count of the portfolio (excluding title page, contents, reference list and appendixes).
The overall total word count for the portfolio should not exceed 6,000 words (excluding title page, contents, references and appendixes).
Because your portfolio should be an ongoing exercise that you work on as you progress through your module, the task for each section of the portfolio is provided within each topic of the module.
Portfolio activity 1
In this section of the portfolio, you should begin by working on the definitions of leadership that you have studied and using these as base from which to reflect upon yourself as a leader.
First, begin with some work on your own self-awareness. Begin by undertaking a personality-type analysis of yourself (e.g. MBTI, there are a variety of personality tests available online – search for ‘personality test’ and choose one that appeals to you). Put the summary of results (only the summary scores) of this into your portfolio along with a description of what this result means, as you understand it. Do not include individual responses to test questions in your portfolio!
Second, take your personality test result and create an analysis of your strengths and the areas where you need to develop your leadership qualities. You should make reference to those aspects of a good leader that you identified as important in your reflective exercise and buttress this with examples from your readings/resources.
Note: Before you undertake this analysis, you may find it useful to read more about personality assessments general. Here are some interesting readings and you can identify other readings as well:
Ash, L. (2012). Personality tests: Can they identify the real you? BBC News. [Online]. Available from: https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-18723950 (accessed: 06/08/2019)
Harrell, E. (2017). A brief history of personality tests. Harvard Business Review, 95(2), p. 63.
Murad, A. (2016). Is Myers-Briggs up to the job? FT Magazine. [Online]. Available from: https://www.ft.com/content/8790ef0a-d040-11e5-831d-09f7778e7377 (accessed: 06/08/2019)
Spillane, R. (2012). Why workplaces must resist the cult of personality testing. [Online]. Available from: http://theconversation.com/why-workplaces-must-resist-the-cult-of-personality-testing-5540 (accessed: 06/08/2019)
The Myers-Briggs Foundation (n.d.) MBTI Basics. [Online]. Available from: https://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/home.htm?bhcp=1 (accessed: 06/08/2019)
The goal of this exercise is not to adjudge better or worse tendencies or preferences but rather to explore the use of one commonly employed tool to identify personal type preferences. You should be aware that this identification is not absolute nor static – much can and does change over the course of our lives, so too do our inclinations and preferences. In the context of leadership studies, your understanding of some of your inclinations and preferences should help you in your own development as a leader. Personality tests, by their very nature, are restrictive in their validity and use. They attempt to distinguish the robust variety of people into, as in the MBTI, 16 personality types – they are subject to criticisms of reliability and falsifiability (among others). One of the assumptions of these tests is that we all have clear preferences between two (or more) alternatives, whereas we all understand that we can waver in our responses (both in the instance and over the course of time, long or short). They do not assess our skills or competencies but rather our personal preferences and tendencies, so we are warned away from using them as selection tools.
Portfolio activity 2
In this section of the portfolio you should be working with the various models of leadership that you have studied in this topic and use these to further your reflections upon yourself as a leader.
Create a personal mission statement.
This activity provides you with an opportunity for self-reflection and to make a start at developing a personal mission statement that can guide your career and your development as a leader. One of the most important aspects of leadership development is self-knowledge and awareness of your priorities and values. Think of the personality test that you did in Topic 1 and the discussion activity in Topic 1, which asked you to come up with a list of traits, behaviours and characteristics leaders should have. Use these to help you understand yourself, and your values.
Begin by asking yourself the following questions:
● What do I want to be known for?
● If there was one thing I would like people to remember me for, what would that be?
● What should my epitaph say about me? (A bit morbid, but give it a try!)
● When I retire, what I would like my most important accomplishment to be?
Then write your personal mission statement. Mind you, there is no right or wrong answer!
There are plenty of internet resources created to help you develop a personal mission statement. A couple of these are listed below, but you may also just search for ‘create a personal mission statement’ to discover others.
● Forbes Coaches Council (2017) 13 ways you can craft a strong personal mission statement. [Online]. Available from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2017/11/07/13-ways-you-can-craft-a-strong-personal-mission-statement/#2e3a7c612dee (accessed: 06/08/2019)
● Su, T. (n.d.) Life on purpose: 15 questions to discover your personal mission. Think Simple. [Online] Available from: http://thinksimplenow.com/happiness/life-on-purpose-15-questions-to-discover-your-personal-mission/ (accessed: 06/08/2019)
Now … read your mission statement and write a development plan for yourself for the next three years to help you address your mission statement. Explain your plan with reference to research on content and methods of development. Revisit your development plan after the completion of Topic 6 and make amendments as required.

Portfolio activity 3
In this section of the portfolio you should be working with the various models of leadership that you have studied in this topic and use these to further your reflections upon yourself as a strategic leader.
Complete Self-assessment 7-1 from Nahavandi, Chapter 7, using the self-assessment exercise to rate your strategic leadership type. Do not use the scale to rate your organisational leaders.
Think of what you have discovered about yourself and plot your scores on the challenge-control matrix grid. Only the summary scores (Challenge-seeking score and Need-for-control score) should be included in the portfolio. Please do not include the individual responses to the self-assessment test in your portfolio; you can add these in an appendix if you wish.
Discuss how you as a leader have used your challenge-control position to affect your organisation., and/or reflect upon what your effect as a strategic leader may be. Use leadership theories and models for your discussion and use examples from your professional practice to substantiate your arguments.
Portfolio activity 4
Complete the Self-assessment exercises 4-2 to 4-6 in Nahavandi, Chapter 4.
Report your summary scores for each exercise. Please do not include the individual responses to the self-assessment test in your portfolio; you can add these in an appendix if you wish. Be aware: these self-assessments are meant to develop your own self-awareness. The EQ, proactive, Type A and narcissism scales in this chapter have not been scientifically tested and validated; they only provide you with a general description of your behaviours and preferences.
Describe and analyse each of the characteristics measured in the self-assessments with a focus on identifying your strengths and areas for development. (You may find it helpful to return to the work you did in Topic 1 for your portfolio; specifically, review the results of your personality-type test and the analysis you did. This should include any identification of changes to the Topic 1’s work.)
Remember: changing personalities is not the goal, rather understanding should be your focus. By developing an increasing self-awareness, you can build on your strengths and compensate for your weaknesses. Use leadership theories and models for your discussion and use examples from your professional practice to substantiate your arguments.
Portfolio activity 5
For this section of the portfolio you should be working on the various issues surrounding power and influence that you have studied in this topic; use these to further your reflections upon yourself as a leader.
This activity allows you to identify the sources of power and influence that you use. It will be most effective to engage in a discussion with your group about power before doing the self-assessment . Remember: effective leaders should be able to use different sources of power and influence depending on the situational and contextual requirement.
Complete Self-assessment exercise 5-1 in Nahvandi, Chapter 5. Answer the questions and then grade your answers to better understand your own sources of power and influence.
You will have final scores for nine tactics for using power and influence:
● personal appeal
● consultation
● inspiration
● rational persuasion
● coalition building
● exchange
● ingratiation
● legitimate tactics
● pressure.
Only the summary scores on these nine tactics should be included in the portfolio. Please do not include the individual responses to the self-assessment test in your portfolio; you can add these in an appendix if you wish.
A higher score in any of these indicates that you use that tactic more. A balanced score (approximately the same score in all categories) indicates that you tend to use all influence tactics to the same extent.
Reflect upon your scores. If you have much higher scores in one or more category, consider why you prefer those methods, whether they are effective and how you could expand your sources of power and influence.
Portfolio activity 6
In this section of the portfolio you should be working with the various models of leadership that you have studied in this topic and use these to further your reflections upon yourself as a leader.
Complete self-assessment exercise 2-2 in Nahavandi, Chapter 2. Answer the questions and then grade your answers to better understand your level of cultural awareness.
Report your summary scores for each exercise. Please do not include the individual responses to the self-assessment test in your portfolio; you can add these in an appendix if you wish. Review your responses and your score and discuss your cultural awareness, the extent and ways in which this impacts your leadership and your ability to work across different cultures. Use leadership theories and models for your discussion.
Portfolio activity 7
This portfolio section work seeks to help you understand your delegation and team leadership skills.
For this activity, you should complete Nahavandi, Self-assessments 8-1 and 8-2, in Chapter 8.
Report your summary scores for each exercise. Please do not include the individual responses to the self-assessment test in your portfolio; you can add these in an appendix if you wish. Review your scores and your responses and discuss your strengths and weaknesses as delegator and as team leader. Depending on whether you scored high or low on each scale, discuss how you would like to develop and what do your scores mean for you as an effective leader. Use leadership theories and models for your discussion and use examples from your professional practice to substantiate your arguments.
Portfolio activity 8
In this section of the portfolio you should be working with the various models of leadership that you have studied in this topic and use these to further your reflections upon yourself as a leader.
Edward deBono developed a technique of talking and working through a discussion in groups in which different opinions and approaches exist. His technique is called the ‘Six Hats’. The technique is particularly useful in problem-solving as it gets all group members to work on the same side of an issue at one time, switching to the next side together – this is symbolised by the putting on of six differently coloured hats. The hats are:
White hat: Neutral and objective; focus on objectivity, facts and figures.
Red hat: Anger (seeing red), rage and emotions; focus on the emotional view.
Black hat: Sombre, serious and cautious; focus on pointing out weaknesses and problems.
Yellow hat: Sunny and positive; focus on hope and positive thinking; looking for the best possible outcome.
Green hat: Abundance; focus on creativity and new ideas.
Blue hat: Sky view; focus on control, integration and putting together of ideas from a broad perspective.
Pick a complex issue with which you are familiar or choose one from current events or even within the text examples of cases. This may be an issue from work or a more general issue pertaining to business, a personal issue, an issue from your local community or a large issue that pertains to society.
Once you’ve chosen the issue, write down a script considering this issue wearing the six hats from deBono’s technique. Write down what your intuitions are about this issue and how it may be addressed – what you think your response to it is.
Be careful to stay within one colour of hat until you’ve fully captured your thoughts about the issue and then switch hats until you’ve ‘worn’ all six.
Re-read your script and reflect upon how the different perspectives have added to your considerations and to your response on how the issue might be addressed.
(Adapted from Nahavandi, Chapter 9, p. 326)

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