75508 - 5 (Single Spaced) Within 24 hrs

Purpose:

The purpose of this project is to learn leadership qualities of a

leadership mentor and apply those qualities to leadership theory to

determine leadership effectiveness.

Skill Building:

You are also completing this project to help you develop the skills of

mentorship, interviewing, critical thinking, and writing a report. Writing

is critical because in business it is important to convey information

clearly and concisely and to develop a personal brand. Developing a

personal brand is important because it is the ongoing process of

establishing an image or impression in the minds of others especially

those in positions above you. Having a strong personal brand can lead

to opportunities that include promotions.

Skills: Interviewing, Writing, Critical Thinking, Developing a Personal

Brand, Self-Analysis, Writing a Report.

Outcomes Met With This Project:

• use leadership theories, assessment tools, and an understanding of the

role of ethics, values, and attitudes to evaluate and enhance personal

leadership skills

• evaluate the culture and structure of an organization to recommend and

implement improvements that support its vision, success, and

sustainability

• assess the interactions between the external environment and the

organization to foster responsible and effective leadership and

organizational practices

Background:

You have spent the last seven weeks learning the highlights of current

leadership theory. You should now have a sense of what good

leadership looks like. All of this knowledge is meaningless unless we

are able to see it in action, recognize it, and model it.

You will interview a leader to determine the following:

• The Leader’s general view of leadership (leader’s role, leadership style,

leadership theory, etc.).

• The Leader’s approach to strategic thinking.

• The Leader’s view of organizational culture.

Instructions:

Step 1: Set up the Leadership Mentor Interview.

You will identify and schedule the Interview date no later than the end

of Week Four. See the document Leadership Mentor Interview and

Guidelines for guidance on how to identify a leader and to set up the

interview. You will post information about the Interview in week 4

learning activity.

Step 2. Prepare for the Leadership Mentor Interview.

The document, Leadership Mentor Interview and Guidelines outlines

how to prep for the Interview and a list of Interview Questions. You will

choose a minimum of 20 questions under the following topics:

• Minimum of 5 questions about General Leadership adapted from the

article:

o 23 Extraordinary Questions to Ask a Mentor

• Minimum of 3 questions about Culture (taken from the Leadership

Mentor Interview and Guidelines document)

• Minimum of 3 questions about Strategic Thinking (taken from the

Leadership Mentor Interview and Guidelines document)

Note that some questions may not be applicable for your chosen

Mentor. As a result, you will want to choose “extra” questions from this

list and have them handy in case you need them.

Step 3. Attend the Leadership Mentor Interview.

The Interview can occur any time prior to Week Seven. It is

recommended you complete this prior to Week 7, to allow you time in

Week 7 to complete the report. You will want to take lots of notes

during your interview, or record it and take notes later. You will be

expected to demonstrate you asked the required number and type of

questions by providing notes to the interview in the Appendix of this

report.

Step 4. Write the Report.

Report Format:

Create a Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) report should be no more than

five pages double-spaced. Those five pages do not include

a required Title Page, Reference Page and Appendix. You will use the

following format.

Executive Summary.

• Provide a brief summary of the Mentor you interviewed including:

Name, Job Title, Organization, time with organization, and time in

current role. You may also briefly describe other parts of the Mentor’s

work and leadership history.

The Leader’s General View of Leadership.

In this section provide a description of the

following, using both examples from the interview and course materials

as support:

• The leader’s view of the role of a leader.

• The leader’s view about leading change.

• The leader’s view about the best way to lead.

• The leader’s view about cultivating other leadership talent.

If you feel you have enough information garnered from the interview,

also determine:

• What you feel is this person’s predominant leadership style (provide

evidence of why you made this determination. What you feel is this

person’s prevalent leadership theory (provide evidence of why you

made this determination).

The Leader’s View of Organizational Culture.

Use both examples from the interview and course materials as support.

The Leader’s Approach to Strategic Thinking.

Use both examples from the interview and course materials as support.

Conclusion

Provide a summary of your general leadership lessons that you learned

from this mentor as a result of this interview. Use course materials for

support.

Reference Page

Provide references to match your in-text citations, written in APA

format.

Appendix

Include your Interview Notes to demonstrate that your minimum 11

Interview questions were asked (i.e. 5 about general leadership, 3 about

culture, and 3 about strategic thinking). There is no required format for

this section.

Step 5. Submit the completed Report in the Assignment Folder.

Submitting the project to the Assignment Folder is considered

the student's final product and therefore ready for grading by the

instructor. It is incumbent upon the student to verify the assignment is

the correct submission. No exceptions will be considered by the

instructor.

Other Required Elements:

• Read the grading rubric for the project. Use the grading rubric while

completing the project to ensure all requirements are met that will lead

to the highest possible grade.

• Contractions are not used in business writing, so do not use them.

• Paraphrasing is allowed for providing examples from the Interview. Use

direct quotation marks if you are providing a direct quote from the

interviewee. You do not need to cite or reference this leader for the

purposes of this report.

• Direct quotes are NOT allowed if they are quotation from course

materials. This means you do not use more than four consecutive words

from a source document, but put a passage from a source document

into your own words and attribute the passage to the source document,

using in-text citations in APA format.

• In-text citations should be included in ALL SECTIONS of the report, and

should demonstrate application of the course material. Note that a

reference within a reference list cannot exist without an associated in-

text citation and vice versa.

• You may only use the course material from the classroom. You may not

use books or any resource from the Internet.

• Provide the page or paragraph number, where applicable.