The Leadership Project requires each student to lead a group
of people (friends, workers, fellow club members, etc.) in a project or
activity that they would not normally undertake. The only rules of the project
are (1) students must not tell their friends or co-workers that they are doing
it for a class, and (2) it should take at least three weeks of contact to complete.
The Leadership Project consists of two parts, a proposal and a final 10-page
paper. See the Leadership Project Guidelines link in the Course Home menu for
complete instructions regarding this assignment
MBA 595 – Leadership Project Guidelines
The Leadership Project requires each student to lead a group
of people (friends, workers, fellow workers, fellow club members, etc.) in a
project or activity that they would not normally undertake. The only rules of
the project are: (1) students must not tell their friends or co-workers that
they are doing it for a class, and (2) it should take at least three weeks of
contact to complete. The Leadership Project consists of two parts, a proposal
for the Project and a Final 10-page Project Paper.
Leadership Project Proposal
The proposal is due in class meeting 2; however, you should
begin working on it during class meeting 1 as it will require you to conduct
initial research on your chosen topic. Specifically, you must complete the
steps below
1. Read the
Journal of Management Education article titled “Personal Leadership Conundrum”.
This article is available through the Saint Leo online library. (See the
syllabus and the link in the course Resources area for more information about
accessing the online library).
2. Identify the
leadership conundrum you will look into as you lead the group (what personal
issues do you need to address, etc.). State it in the first person and in the
form of a question. See examples of conundrum topics in the Recommendations
section below.
3. Explain why
you have chosen this conundrum: Why is it of interest to you? How does it
relate to your experiences? How does it relate to who you are? In other words,
what about yourself and your experience are motivating you to seek the answer
to this conundrum?
4. Create a
bibliography of at least two peer-reviewed, academic journal articles that deal
with the conundrum (see below the Recommendations section for examples of
journals that qualify as academic and peer reviewed), at least two periodical
articles (newspaper, magazine, website, etc.), and at least two books, stories,
myths, parables, movies, poems, or songs that will help you better understand
and gain insight into your conundrum.
5. Identify at
least two leaders you will interview to gain their insights into your conundrum
and explain why you have chosen them to interview regarding your conundrum as
you work on guiding your group. Provide the title and contact information for
each leader.
6. List between
five and seven interview questions you will ask to each leader (the questions
should be the same or at least partially the same). The questions should be
directly related to the personal conundrum that you are trying to solve in leading
the group.
7. For this
proposal (and the Final Leadership Paper), you will use the American
Psychological Association (APA) formatting guidelines. If you have any
questions concerning proper citation procedures, then ask the instructor prior to
submitting your work.
8. Submit the
completed Project Proposal to the Dropbox. This Dropbox basket is linked to
Turnitin.
Students should
submit the Final Leadership Project Paper in APA-style, 10-pages, that includes the following sections (please
include the questions):
1. An
introduction of what your leadership project encompassed (who did you lead,
what did you lead them on, etc?).
2. What your
particular “leadership conundrum” was all about (what did the issue focus upon,
details.)?
3. A discussion
of what the leadership style you used is all about in dealing with the group
and why you think that was the style you used (document and relate to the
literature out there)?
4. How did you
deal with your particular conundrum in leading the group (list references and
ideas that might relate to how you handled it)? Did the ideas you gained from
the interviews help? Did fixing the
conundrum help lead the group or not?
5. A discussion
of available data regarding whether the leadership approach you used worked or
not (any studies of it from research?).
6. A discussion
of how successful the project was and how you might have lead the project more
effectively.
7. A discussion
of what still needs to be learned about the style you used (studies that might
help, or other uses of it that still need to be explored).
8. A summary of
all of the above at the end of the paper.
9. A
bibliography (not included as part of the 10-page requirement).
Again, the Final Leadership Project Paper should be
submitted to the Dropbox. (This Dropbox basket is linked to Turnitin).
Recommendations
The following are recommendations to consider as you complete
your project:
1. When necessary, please seek out advice from your
instructor. Although you are responsible for your learning, the instructor is
available to help you make this assignment meaningful and successful.
2. You should choose a conundrum of your own interest. In
the past, students have explored such specific conundrums as:
a. “How do I balance confidence and humility to be an
effective leader?”
b. “How do I lead, influence, and work with negative
people?”
c. “How do I lead people who don’t believe I should be doing
the leading?”
d. “How will I be able to effectively lead those who have
negative stereotypes of working for/or with females?”
e. “How do I institute change in a group while maintaining
high standards?”
f. “How do I lead older, more experienced people?”
“How can I be a role model of hard work and dedication and
also balance work and non-work domains?”
3. There are numerous academic journals on management,
leadership, psychology, sociology, philosophy, education, and religion
available through the library. Below are a number of academic management
journal titles:
a. Academy of Management Journal
a. Academy of Management Review
b. Leadership
c. Leadership Quarterly
d. Leadership and Organizational Development Journal
e. Organization
f. International Journal of Management
g. International Journal of Leadership Studies
h. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies
i. Journal of Management Inquiry
j. Journal of Organizational Behavior
k. Journal of Management and Organization
l. Journal of Management Education
4. There are, of
course, many different leadership styles you can use in completing your project
(refer to your text and/or other sources) and there are, of course, a number of
different project you can lead people on—some of the ones that have been done
in previous classes are (organizing an office area, helping team members to
lose weight, leading a group in donating time at a Red Cross or other social
service agency, organizing a group to run a race for a particular benefit, organizing a group to
take a train ride to a particular part of the US or elsewhere, etc.).
5. Please schedule all interviews as early as possible and
remember to respect the time of those leaders you interview. Make sure you are
prompt, courteous, formal, and well-prepared (write out your questions before
the interview). You will be required to include an appendix which summarizes
the key points of the interviews as part of your Final Paper
