4 assignment
T1he assessments in this course build upon one another and
should
be completed in sequence.
COURSE SCENARIO
Imagine that a company that your work for (or would like to
work for)
sent you to a global leadership conference that covered a
wide variety
of topics. As you listened to several speakers and
presentations and
attended workshops and break-out sessions, it occurred to
you that a
common theme was emerging. Successful modern corporations
are
innovators! It sounds almost self-evident, but what does it
really mean
to be an innovator? You resolve yourself to explore the
concept of what
it takes to be an innovator in more depth.
Later in the conference, the keynote speaker discussed
leadership in the
global economy. Then it occurred to you innovative leadership
was a
common thread among companies that were thriving globally.
Right then
and there, you commit to researching what makes a successful
leader of
innovation. A germ of an idea begins to grow in your mind…
PREPARATION
* Select
and research two leadership practices or models that foster
innovation in organizations.
*
Research an organization that is generally accepted to be a global
innovator and has a leader that is largely responsible for
its success.
The key is to find an instance of innovative leadership that
you can
examine in detail.
*
Research the concept of Discovery Skills in the assessment Resources
or on the Internet.
DIRECTIONS
* Analyze
leadership (or a single leader) from a global company that
has ushered in an era of innovation for their organization.
Do the
following:
* Briefly
describe the organization, the leader(ship), and his or her
approach to innovation.
* Analyze
two general leadership models, practices, or approaches used
by the leader(ship) at this company that enabled innovation.
* Why
were they successful?
* In
addition to describing the leadership practices and providing
specific evidence of their use, describe what innovation
this practice
helped seed.
* Analyze
how the leader(ship) changed the culture of the organization
to be more innovative.
* Analyze
how the leader(ship) used at least three discovery skills.
Provide specific evidence of their use and what innovation
each skill
helped seed.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
* LENGTH: 5-6 double-spaced pages.
* FONT: 12 point Times New Roman.
* REFERENCES: Minimum of 4
references using current APA style and
formatting when citing and referencing your sources.
paper 2
Take
the “Are You an Innovator or Executor?” quiz from Michael Glauser,
which is linked in the assessment Resources.
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/276754
Consider
what your research revealed in the previous assessment. Turn the focus on
yourself and compare your knowledge, skills, and abilities to those of
successful leaders and their innovative practices. You may even want to ask
peers, friends, or leaders that know you for their appraisal of your aptitudes
and innovative character. Most business people would like to be considered
innovators, but how do you measure up? It’s time to find out.
Directions
Consider
your quiz results, research, and self-introspection and do the following in a
4–5-page analysis:
- Analyze the results of your assessment—how
your own strengths equip you—and how your weaknesses hinder your ability
to support organizational innovation. - Assess your use of at least two
leadership practices that you have used to spur innovation with your team
or in another relevant context. If you have not had the opportunity to use
leadership practices, discuss two leadership practices you could use and
how you would use them to spark innovation. - Assess your own use of each of
the five discovery skills. Analyze your strengths and weaknesses in using
each skill in the context of innovation in the workplace. Provide at least
two actions that would enhance your use for each discovery skill.
Make
sure to support your self-assessment with a minimum of three professional
resources, not including the Michael Glauser quiz.
Additional Requirements
- Length: 3–4 double-spaced pages.
- Font: 12 point, Times New Roman.
- References: Minimum of 3 references using current APA style
and formatting.
Course Scenario
s
Your germ of an idea has begun to sprout, and you decide that
you have what it takes to be a leader of innovation in your company (or one you
can imagine working for). You know that change rarely comes quickly in large
global organizations, but you believe beginning a discussion, introducing
ideas, and showing examples are important first steps in transforming your
organization and its culture into one that is more innovative. You need a plan
to jump-start the process. A colleague has suggested that you consider the
Design Thinking Process to develop your ideas of how to get your company
focused on innovation. You may not know much about it, but you decide to
consider it.
Ultimately, you want to successfully introduce and start a
dialogue within your company regarding innovation; perhaps even inspire them to
change! You recognize, however; that this is asking the company—its leadership,
employees, and culture—to change the way they think; you had better be
prepared. You decide to analyze a change management model to better understand
how it might help you to introduce your ideas of change to the company—and get
them to stick.
Preparation
Consult the assessment Resources and the Internet to research
Design Thinking and change management theories.
Directions
Part 1: Design Thinking
Analyze the Design Thinking Process in the context of how it
would help you toinnovate and create an
effective planto introduce and promote
innovative practices to your company.
- Make
sure you consider the first four steps in the process (empathize, define,
ideate, and prototype) in your analysis. - Include
a real-world example of how the process was successfully applied to a
similar challenge.
Part 2: Change Management Models
- Analyze
how your chosen model could aid the transition or transformation of your
company into one that is more innovation-focused. In your analysis, make
sure to include: - How
the change model handles the introduction of the message for change to
the organization. - How
the change model prepares targets for the change and gauges
“readiness for change.” - How
the change model handles the integration of the change. - How
the change model measures success. - Analyze
the phenomena of “resistance to change.” In your analysis,
discuss three of the most common reasons for employees to resist change
and how these issues are addressed by the change management model.
Additional Requirements
- Length:4–5 double spaced pages.
- Font:12 point, Times New Roman.
- References:Minimum of 3 references using current APA
style and formatting.
Part 1: The Message
6 slides
with speaker notes
Consider the Design Thinking Process as you create a
presentation (in a form of your choosing; make sure you describe how it will be
done—PowerPoint with speech, play, video, et cetera) for an internal company
audience that highlights leadership practices and models that have fostered a
culture of innovation in a competitor or a company from a similar industry
(profile a different leader and company from the first assessment in this
course). The goal is to inform your audience and to show how these practices,
principles, and models can be applied to your company. (Make sure to describe
any assumptions or include any details about your company that will help to
clarify or support your analysis below.)
Your presentation should:
- Analyze
the practices of an innovative leader in the same or similar industry as
your company. Include lessons learned that are applicable to your company
and why or how they apply. - Analyze
a model of innovation that is suitable for your company to adopt and why
it is appropriate. It should allow an audience to visualize a path to
being more innovative.
Part 2: Presenting the Plan and
Yourself
Do the following in a 2–3-page document to leadership, notifying
them of your analysis of the plan to present at the annual conference:
Analyze the innovative merits of the plan to present at the
annual conference using the innovation principles and models you have examined
in this course. Reference each of the bulleted items below in your analysis.
For instance, you might consider questions such as the following: “Do
models of innovation support this idea? Where does it fall short?” or,
“Would this be a practice of an innovative leader? or, “Would Design
Thinking suggest this idea?” or, “Is this something that would be
consistent with a change model?”
- Effective
practices of innovative leaders. - Models
of innovation. - Design
Thinking or the change model you chose to consider in Assessment 4.
At the end of the document, it is your chance to sell yourself
as an agent of change for the company. Consider your self-analysis from
Assessment 2, as well as any subsequent introspection, and assess your
abilities to be successful as the presenter and as a leader of cultural change
in the company.
Additional Requirements
- Length:Presentation as appropriate to fully convey
the analysis; Part 2
document: 2–3 pages double-spaced. - Font:12 point, Times New Roman.
- References:Minimum of 3–5 references, using current APA style and
formatting.
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