Effective Leadership Practices

Write a 4–6-page analysis of a leader you either interviewed personally or researched thoroughly. In your analysis, address specific ways the leader demonstrates effective leadership.

Effective leaders realize that employees should be recognized for a job well done. While some individuals prefer public praise and others prefer personal recognition, most employees want to be recognized in some way. Kouzes and Posner (2012) state that effective leaders begin their leadership development by first learning to lead themselves. Effective leadership begins from within and expands outward to affect others. This development cascades into effective leadership.

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

• Competency 1: Evaluate the purpose and relevance of leadership.
  • Analyze how a leader reflects the definition of leadership.
  • Evaluate leadership style, characteristics, or themes in relation to the purpose and relevance of effective leadership.
• Competency 2: Evaluate how leadership strengths apply in the workplace and within the community.
  • Analyze how a leader models leadership.
  • Analyze how a leader inspires a shared vision.
  • Analyze how a leader looks for new opportunities that may require experimentation or taking risks.
  • Analyze how a leader enables or empowers others.
  • Analyze how a leader recognizes the contributions of others.
  • Analyze how a leader creates a spirit of community.

Reference

Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2012). The leadership challenge: How to make extraordinary things happen in organizations (5th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

As you prepare to complete this assessment, you may want to think about other related issues to deepen your understanding or broaden your viewpoint. You are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of your professional community. Note that these questions are for your own development and exploration and do not need to be completed or submitted as part of your assessment.

• How do the leaders you know recognize and acknowledge exceptional work?
• How do they create a spirit of community?

Suggested Resources

The resources provided here are optional. You may use other resources of your choice to prepare for this assessment; however, you will need to ensure that they are appropriate, credible, and valid. The BUS-FP3012 – Fundamentals of Leadership Library Guide can help direct your research, and the Supplemental Resources and Research Resources, both linked from the left navigation menu in your courseroom, provide additional resources to help support you.

Capella Resources

For a list of key leaders you might consider for Option B of your assessment, see the Option B Leaders List [DOC].

Bookstore Resources

These resources are available from the Capella University Bookstore.

• Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2012). The leadership challenge: How to make extraordinary things happen in organizations (5th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
  • Chapter 12, “Leadership Is Everyone’s Business,” pages 329–345.

Preparation

For this assessment, you have two options. You may choose to base your assessment either on a leader you know, personally, or on a leader who is well known. Be sure to read the complete instructions for both options carefully before making a decision.

Instructions

Option A: Interview a Leader You Know, Personally

Identify an individual you know, who is currently serving in a leadership capacity at an organization. You can select a leader affiliated with your employer, a community leader, a political or church leader, or any individual whose leadership skills you admire. Arrange an interview with your selected individual, to learn about his or her view of leadership. Structure the interview around the concepts of leadership, as you have come to understand them from your own research or the recommended readings. Some suggested interview questions might be:

• What is your definition of leadership?
• How do you model leadership?
• How do you inspire a shared vision in those around you?
• How do you look for new opportunities that may require experimenting or taking risks?
• How do you enable or empower others to act?
• How do you recognize the contributions made by others?
• How do you create a spirit of community?
• In what ways do you get personally involved?
• What challenges and opportunities do you face?

Conduct the interview, and then use the interview results to complete this assessment as instructed in the Requirements below.

Option B: Research a Well-Known Leader

It may be difficult for you to gain access to interview an available leader. If so, you may opt to research a well-known individual, from history or the present, whom you believe embodies great leadership. You may choose a business leader, political leader, author, scientist, sports personality, or any public figure about whom there is enough information publicly available for you to fulfill the requirements of this assessment. Refer to the Option B Leaders List (linked in the Resources) for potential subjects that might be appropriate. You are not limited to this list.

Focus your research on how the leader demonstrates exemplary leadership as identified below:

• What is the leader’s definition of leadership?
• How does the leader model leadership?
• How does the leader inspire a shared vision in those around him or her?
• How does the leader look for new opportunities that may require experimenting or taking risks?
• How does the leader enable or empower others to act?
• How does the leader recognize the contributions made by others?
• How does the leader create a spirit of community?
• In what ways does the leader get personally involved?
• What challenges and opportunities does the leader face?

Once you have completed your research, complete this assessment as instructed below.

Requirements for Both Options

In your assessment, address the following:

• Explain why you chose your selected leader.
• Provide background information on the environment and culture of the organization in which the leader provides leadership. Note: If you followed Option A, protect the privacy of your leader by changing his or her name, but provide the background information as indicated.
• Analyze how the leader models leadership.
• Analyze how the leader inspires a shared vision.
• Analyze how the leader looks for new opportunities that may require experimenting or taking risks.
• Analyze how the leader enables or empowers others to act.
• Analyze how the leader recognizes the contributions made by others.
• Analyze how the leader creates a spirit of community.
• Analyze how the leader reflects their definition of leadership.
• Evaluate the leadership style, characteristics, or themes of the leader in relation to the purpose and relevance of leadership. In other words, how well does your leader demonstrate effective leadership?

Additional Requirements for Both Options

• Format your assessment according to APA (6th edition) style and formatting guidelines, including a title page as well as a references page with APA-formatted citations.
• Include references from at least two scholarly sources.
• Your completed assessment should be 4–6 pages in length (page count excluding the title page and references).