Evaluate leadership style, characteristics, or themes in relation to the purpose and relevance of effective leadership.

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 people prefer public praise and others prefer personal recognition, most employees want to be recognized in some way. Kouzes and Posner (2017) 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 empowers and recognizes the contributions of others.

Reference

Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2017). The leadership challenge: How to make extraordinary things happen in organizations (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Assessment Example

• Assessment 5 Example.

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. (2017). The leadership challenge: How to make extraordinary things happen in organizations (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
  • Chapter 13, “Leadership Is Everyone’s Business.”

 

Preparation

Throughout your career, you could undoubtedly benefit from analyzing leadership and management characteristics of other leaders and managers you consider effective and successful. This assessment provides an opportunity and framework to do that in the context of effective leadership.

To complete this assessment, you have two options. You may choose to base your assessment 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 someone you know who is currently serving in a leadership capacity at an organization. You may choose a leader affiliated with your employer, a community leader, a political or church leader, or anyone whose leadership skills you admire. Arrange an interview with your selected leader 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 are:

• 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?
• 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 historical figure or contemporary leader 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; 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?
• 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.
• 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 empowers and recognizes the contributions of others.
• 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. Draw justifiable conclusions about the effectiveness of the leader.

Additional Requirements for Both Options

Your analysis should be well organized and written in clear, succinct language. It should be approximately 4–6 pages in length. Follow APA rules for attributing sources that support your analysis and conclusions.

Academic Integrity and APA Formatting

As a reminder related to using APA rules to ensure academic honesty:

1. When using a direct quote (using exact or nearly exact wording), you must enclose the quoted wording in quotation marks, immediately followed by an in-text citation. The source must then be listed in your references page.
2. When paraphrasing (using your own words to describe a non-original idea), the paraphrased idea must be immediately followed by an in-text citation and the source must be listed in your references page.

Example Assessment: You may use the assessment example, linked in the Assessment Example section of the Resources, to give you an idea of what a Proficient or higher rating on the scoring guide would look like.