Introduction to Leadership Concepts.

LDRS 300: Introduction to Leadership Concepts Social Change Essay

This assignment is designed to help you begin thinking through the social change process. When evaluating the needs of the community and trying to move from where you are to where you want to be, it is worthwhile to take a moment to think more deeply about what it is you are trying to accomplish. For the purposes of this assignment, you will identify a community issue/need, create a vision for change, determine action steps and strategies to accomplish the change, and brainstorm obstacles you are likely to encounter along the way.

I. Identify a Need – start by thinking about the community with which you are most familiar. If you could change something about it what would it be? Describe that need and why addressing it would be important for your community (100 words minimum).

II. Create a Vision for the Change – the vision statement is written in narrative form and is meant to be descriptive. It is written in present tense; in other words, you would write it as if you were walking through your community in the future and describing what it is like now that the change you wanted to create has become a reality. Vision statements should not include attributes of the problem or strategies/solutions for fixing the problem because these have already been addressed. Try not to use words like “will be” that imply something that hasn’t happened yet. For example, “Now that the pollution of the water source has been addressed, the residents no longer have to worry about…” (200 words minimum).

III. Develop Strategies for Change – the vision statement is meant to inspire a collective passion, but without a plan for change, the vision can easily fade. Identify at least three goals that would need to be accomplished in order for your vision to become a reality (e.g. raise awareness about the issue, secure funding, etc.). At the same time, think about the anti-change crowd, and identify at least three obstacles that might get in your way and discuss how you might overcome them (250 words minimum).

IV. Leadership Reflection – after you have put together your social change plan, reflect back on the leadership concepts focused on creating change and civic and community leadership. Discuss how an understanding of those concepts is applied to the process of creating your social change. You are welcome to incorporate other theories and concepts from the first seven chapters of the course as well (300 words minimum).

V. Your paper should be written in APA style (no abstract required).

This assignment is worth 50 points. Use the rubric below as a guide for your assignment.

Grading Rubric

Novice Apprentice Proficient Distinguished

Recognition 15 pts

Little to no identification of a need and/or creation of a vision.

Minimal description of the need and/or insufficient narrative of the vision.

Clear need identification and/or development of a vision for change.

Strong identification of the need and/or well- developed and compelling vision for change.

Strategy 15 pts

Little or no strategy development for action steps and/or obstacle strategies.

Minimal strategy development for action steps and/or obstacle strategies.

Clear and logical development of action steps and/or obstacle strategies.

Well-designed action steps and/or strategies for overcoming obstacles. Critical thinking evident.

Reflection 15 pts

Little or no connection to previous leadership theories and concepts discussed in the class.

Minimal connection to previous leadership theories and concepts discussed in the class.

Clear connections to previous leadership theories and concepts discussed in the class.

Strong and thoughtful connections to previous leadership theories and concepts discussed in the class.

Grammar & Formatting 5 pts

Major formatting errors and/or grammatical errors. Does not meet minimum requirements.

Some formatting errors and/or grammatical errors. Does not meet minimum requirements.

Few formatting errors and/or grammatical errors. Meets minimum requirements.

No formatting or grammatical errors. Meets minimum requirements.