Personal Leadership

Please submit your Personal Leadership Paper. 

You are required to turn in an 8-9 page (double-spaced) paper applying your learnings from the course to your personal leadership behaviors and practices and to your leadership enhancement plan.

The document should consist of three sections. The first section is a 2-3 page analysis of your individual leadership philosophy and practices. You are required to seek out 360-degree feedback from about 5-7 others, at different levels around you. Interviewees might include work colleagues, bosses, direct reports, family members, friends, class members, teachers, coaches, and anyone else who knows you reasonably well. Please indicate whom you interviewed (in person, or by phone or email) to gain this information.

The topics to be discussed should pertain to your leadership approach and behaviors, specific examples, and stories of your:
•    Overall leadership impact.
•    Leadership values, approach, philosophy, and vision.
•    Core leadership strengths.
•    Inspirational actions, including evocative language, symbols, feedback, and other motivational devices.
•    Leadership integrity and courage.
•    Leadership presence and style.
•    Leadership competencies, especially emotional intelligence competencies.
•    Development and coaching/mentoring of others.
•    Demonstration and sharing of leadership power, authority, and influence.

The second section of the paper is a 2-3 page plan of your future leadership vision. First, extend 7-10 years into your future to create a vision of your contributions that draws on your leadership strengths. Extrapolate your vision of yourself as a leader, creator, and contributor – what, how, whom, and why will you create, contribute, impact, and serve? How can you best leverage your leadership to create, contribute, influence, and serve? What kind of workplace would be most energizing to you? Try not to narrow down your future vision to a specific job, or position, or organization, or even career in the future (since all of these are subject to change) – rather, visualize how you will extend and leverage your leadership approach and strengths into the future - regardless of the specifics of your job, position, organization or career.

This section should include:
•    What is your passion, calling, or sense of purpose?
•    Describe the leader you see yourself becoming in the future.
•    What contributions as a leader do you hope to make in the future, and to whom?
•    Describe the kind of workplace to which you want to belong.
•    What kind of world are you eager to create around yourself in the future? How are family, personal relationships, community, and self (physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual care) integrated into your vision?
The third section (about 2-3 pages) addresses the future leadership development required to advance your vision. In this section you develop a leadership development plan by addressing the following areas.
•    What specific experiences and development opportunities do you plan that will enable you to develop the necessary leadership skills?
•    What specific work or community project can you identify in order to demonstrate improved leadership within the next year?
•    What needs to be done to grow your strategic network and alliances?
•    What needs to be done to gain continuous feedback about your leadership?
•    What specific steps will gain you significant mentorship and championing?
•    What needs to be done for you to become a significant mentor?
•    How can you build a leadership development culture around you that leverages your vision through others?
The criteria for evaluation appear in the Personal Leadership Paper Grading Sheet below.