This class was the first class in the MBA program as well as the first class taken since
graduating with my BS in 2019. I was unsure of how this would go as I had been out of school
for a bit, but was pleasantly surprised with how much I missed learning new material and am
very happy I embarked on this new journey. I had taken many classes online prior to this class
for my associates degree, but felt this class was more organized and easier to follow. It has
shown me that staying up with assignment and the module schedule is key. I am looking
forward to utilizing the same skills in subsequent MBA courses.
To effectively prepare for the class, I printed out all the rubrics and assignment directions
thinking I would make notes. Although I remember this was useful when I was younger in
school, I realized that utilizing the all-electronic methods works best nowadays. I would be
curious to see others thoughts on this.
My biggest challenge with this course involved responding to assignments that I did not have a
base knowledge on. For example, I had never worked with communication organization
strategy before. Working in a VUCA world means working in an environment which is volatile,
uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. Although I was unsure on how to approach certain
assignments, I utilized resources presented in class and externally and came up with a game
plan. Future classes will certainly aid in working in a VUCA world as the world is changing
rapidly. This shows you have to be flexible in your thinking. Future classes will expose me to
new processes and more helpful resources.
The world has changed so much technologically even in my lifetime. The web developed in
1994, back when cell phones were uncommon and dial up internet with norm. Technology will
continue to adapt the way that we work and communicate but I believe that leadership can
utilize technology in motivating others. Technology makes it easy to communicate with
colleagues, but there is something to be said by face-to-face interactions. As Jakubiec (2019)
points out in his study, direct conversations are the most effective way to communicate. With
technological advancement, it is important to remain human and talk in person when possible.
The challenges discussed include discussing topics with limited previous background
knowledge as well as the advancing of technology causing a more impersonal leadership
relationship. I would like to learn how modern companies are currently dealing with leadership,
as more companies are implementing remote work. Future work in this program will help me
lead others by remaining flexible in this VUCA world. It will help me keeping an open mind,
but staying grounded on facts and resources at hand.
After taking a four-year break from working on my MBA I am happy to say I really enjoyed this
course. This topic directly relates to my current job and researching leadership in this way has
given me a new perspective on management. During this course I have used all the available
resources for tutoring. I have taken each assignment, including the discussion board posts and
papers, and have had them reviewed by several tutors to ensure I completed the assignment. My
future depends on my tenacity. My ability to accept criticism and grow from it will make me a
stronger leader. This course has taught me that a good leader must meet challenges head on.
One challenge I faced in this course is being able to see myself as a leader. The journal
assignment that required us to reach out to those around us who are objective and ask what our
best leadership skill is, was a great confidence boost. Hearing the opinions of my coworkers
about what they think I do well as a leader is eye opening. One characteristic that I believe
makes me a strong leader is my flexibility. My ability to adapt to new situations and thrive in
new opportunities. Today’s VUCA environment means that as a leader you should always be
changing and adapting for the increasingly unpredictable market. When an organization is
going through rapid changes it takes a toll on the internal culture. Leadership should accept and
embrace change as a constant. Evolving as a leader is crucial to the company’s success.
State employees have been forced to adapt in this new telecommuting environment because of
Covid-19. I currently have the technology to complete my daily tasks, but I still require human
interaction to stay motivated. “Digital leadership is defined as using the vast reach of
technology (especially the use of social media) to improve the lives, well-being, and
circumstances of others” (Miller, 2018, p.46). Leadership is challenged to find ways to stay
connected and keep up team morale through zoom calls and virtual team meetings.
Management should be able to express their vision through these difficulties.
Considering these challenges, I want to learn how to be a great leader and use the available
leadership tools to improve employee morale from the subordinate position. One key to success
is knowing how you achieved your status and knowing that as a true leader you must change and
adapt. Utilizing leadership tools to identify your own strengths and weaknesses is a step
towards becoming a better leader. I know that staying in this program will continue expanding
my knowledge about leadership and effective management, which I can pass along to my
coworkers and current leadership. Management should be more open-minded to changing the
way they have been managing to improve employee morale and promote teamwork.
How would you describe your experience in participating in this course? How has your
experience shaped your intention of how to participate in future MBA courses?
am very proud of myself for completing my second course in my MBA journey. This course
inspired and helped me to develop my emotional and social intelligence skills, which I can use
effectively on my path. The interesting part was taking the self-assessment exercise, which gave
me insights into my leadership capabilities. This experience has changed my view of
management and leadership in the workplace as I now understand the elements and
characteristics of good leadership. Since this is my second course, I still need to transition to the
school life of preparing for each module, completing my assignments, and staying one step
ahead. But I can say that I tried very hard to keep up and do my best; it is not easy to balance
work and personal life at times. In my next course, I want to be prepared, complete my
assignments ahead of time to avoid unexpected events, and participate with my classmates and
instructor in class discussions. Overall, the course was great and interactive; Dr. Parikh made
sure to check in with us.
What were some of the challenges you faced in this course, and how did these challenges help
you prepare for challenges in today's VUCA world of work? How do you think future courses
will help you deepen your ability to work in the VUCA world?
There were some challenges throughout the course. Time management was my main challenge;
due to the heavy workload, I could not put enough effort into the course content, and I found the
latter part of the project frustrating because, at one point, I became confused, second-guessing
myself. These challenges will help me be better prepared and organized and face what is to
come. To be prepared for the VUCA world, you must embrace the challenges and find solutions
to adapt to change. Leaders in a VUCA environment need to work exceptionally well with
others, believe in positive change, and build trust and teams. With persistence, I can be effective
in today's VUCA world and develop my capabilities to prepare me to be the leader to inspire
others and foster cooperation to help move forward in the right direction. Future courses will
sharpen my abilities through new content, awareness, and valuable resources to help me
achieve my goals.
The fourth industrial revolution has introduced early advances on the internet of things;
artificial intelligence (AI); and the production of smart equipment that can analyse, diagnose,
and fix issues without the need for human intervention. How do these complex technological
developments challenge leaders to adapt their leadership style and behaviour?
Technology is constantly evolving and has left no area of business untouched. Technology has
not only facilitated freedom to employees of working with ease but has also empowered leaders
to manage from a distance. With the help of technology, leaders can view the number of tasks
accomplished by team members in real-time. It also helps them communicate any change in
their functions no matter where they are. It has brought a good amount of change in the way
leaders communicate and deal with their employees. (Patel, 2021). Leaders would need to adapt
and develop their digital capabilities to stay ahead of the digital revolution because of demands
and new ways of structuring teams and approaches to leadership.
Considering those challenges, what do you want to learn to help prepare you to lead more
effectively? How will your future work in this program benefit you and the people you lead?
These challenges are eye-opening for me, and I want to continuously learn all that I can to be an
effective leader by using the resources and leadership tools to develop and improve my
leadership skills and behaviours. I want to learn to think strategically, be creative, and inspire
others. This would allow me to be a better thinker, more equipped, and understand my role to
adapt and implement change. With this program, I can benefit through keeping an open mind,
being persistent, using resources to achieve my goals. This will increase my ability to lead,
build trust, and foster cooperation to guide my team in the right direction.
How would you describe your experience in participating in this course? How has your
experience shaped your intention of how to participate in future MBA courses? The experience
participating in this course was centered on a lot more self-reflection than I had anticipated. I
highly enjoyed being able to look at the assignments from my own perspective and actively
work on these towards myself as a leader. I took the opportunity to speak with my direct
manager about my personal strengths as a leader, which is conversation we had not had before,
and it made me feel proud to hear their response. Taking the time to hear feedback is essential
and often overlooked in our weekly routines. f This class was more engaging as a student when I
could apply the assignments and lessons to my everyday work life. This course has me
interested in the remaining MBA courses to dive more into detailed topics and analysing the
mentality of leader. A lot of the information was broad at times, which is great baseline for
future MBA courses. f
What were some of the challenges you faced in this course, and how did these challenges help
you prepare for challenges in today's VUCA world of work? How do you think future courses
will help you deepen your ability to work in the VUCA world? The challenges I faced mostly in
this course was staying on top of the assignments before the weekend and I realized I still need
to work on my time management skills of balancing my work, school, and family life. Time
management is directly tied to a VUCA environment as you need to be able to adjust to
unplanned events and prioritize what is important right now for the company (or yourself).
Future courses will again test my time management of being able to juggle multiple, changing
items. Following the SNHU module process for each class lays out the plan and I personally
will take this habit of proactively working in the class and apply to it a VUCA working
environment.
The fourth industrial revolution has introduced early advances on the internet of things;
artificial intelligence (AI); and the production of smart equipment that can analyse, diagnose,
and fix issues without the need for human intervention. How do these complex technological
developments challenge leaders to adapt their leadership style and behaviour? Leaders most
likely do not comprehend the amount of data analytics they can achieve from artificial
intelligence! In my experience, leaders are not given the correct tools and understanding of how
to utilize data for their team. This can drastically change their style and behaviour towards
becoming a mentor or someone who builds up their employees to their full potential.
Effectively utilizing AI does stem from the company's culture and leadership team and must be
actively introduced and tracked for progress.
Considering those challenges, what do you want to learn to help prepare you to lead more
effectively? How will your future work in this program benefit you and the people you lead? To
lead more effectively I must consider what is important for my employees and to also look
ahead in their career path to help identify new challenges that we can prepare for now. I just
became a leader at my current workplace and this program has provided me with many
resources and tools that will shape me into a well-rounded leader. Focusing on my strengths,
weaknesses and SMART goals will keep me focused and on track to actively execute process
improvement plans in myself and my team.
How would you describe your experience in participating in this course? How has your
experience shaped your intention of how to participate in future MBA courses?
My experience participating in this course was slightly challenging while working odd hours
and starting a new job part way through the course. I started my MBA program last term (July-
October), but I had to drop this course as I had too many commitments already on my plate. This
term, I decided to take two courses, which was challenging. I did make it through both courses
relatively well so that is an accomplishment in itself! Going forward, my experience in this class
has taught me to make sure I set aside specific time to work on my classes. By ensuring I have
enough time to complete all my assignments, I will be able to participate fully in my courses. I
will say that I did enjoy this class as I was able to learn how I can assess my own leadership
skills and behaviours as well as create a plan on how to improve any that are lacking. The skills
I learned in this class will be useful in whichever career path I choose after finishing my MBA.
What were some of the challenges you faced in this course, and how did these challenges help
prepare you for challenges in today’s VUCA world of work? How do you think future courses
will deepen your ability to work in the VUCA world?
One of the biggest challenges I faced in this course was time management. It was a challenge
with my first term as well. I did learn that if I set aside time to work on my assignments and
readings, I would be able to make sure I completed them in a timely manner. I started keeping a
calendar with all my assignment due dates as well as when I completed an assignment. This
challenge has helped me prepare for work in today’s VUCA world because time management is
one skill everyone needs. Developing my grasp of time management will allow me to make sure
all tasks at my job are done in a timely manner and to make sure the tasks are finished by the
deadline (or before if I am able to do so!). My future courses will deepen my ability to work in
the VUCA world as I will be using real world applications in my courses, and I will be able to
develop my skills to manage time further, especially as my life changes throughout the courses.
I will also be learning other valuable skills that can be applied in my future endeavours.
The fourth industrial revolution has introduced early advances on the internet of things;
artificial intelligence (AI); and the production of smart equipment that can analyse, diagnose,
and fix issues without the need for human intervention. How do these complex technological
developments challenge leaders to adapt their leadership style and behaviour?
Technological developments, like the fourth industrial revolution, challenge leaders to adapt
their leadership style and behaviour because certain styles and behaviours are not going to work
with the new advancements. For example, a leader cannot guide artificial intelligence (AI) the
same way they could guide a person. AIs are not people, so they do not require the same
guidance. However, they do require code to run the specific programs. When leaders are not
working with people, there is no need for a leadership style that fits the needs of the company,
forcing the leader to adopt different skills. One skill that is necessary for the fourth industrial
revolution is intuition (Marr, 2019). Marr (2019) stated that people need to be more human
during the fourth industrial revolution because of the influx of machines in the workplace.
Intuition is a uniquely human skill, which requires a person to read what is not exactly being
said at that time (Marr, 2019).
Considering those challenges, what do you want to learn to help prepare you to lead more
effectively? How will your future work in this program benefit you and the people you lead?
Considering the challenges mentioned above, I want to learn skills that will prepare me for
working in a world that is mostly machines. The skills I would love to learn would be ones that
are human-focused so I can build strong, trusting relationships with the people I lead. I believe
that my future work in this program will guide me toward how to develop those skills as well as
how to overcome challenges I may face in the future. I am grateful that this MBA program
utilizes real world applications, especially in our projects and certifications, because learning
those skills are important to success in the VUCA world. I wish everyone good luck with their
future courses and endeavours!
Reference
Miller, C. L. (2018). Digital Leadership: Using the Internet and social media To Improve the
Lives, Well-Being, and Circumstances of Others. Journal of Family & Consumer Sciences,
110(1), 45–48. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.14307/JFCS110.1.45
Jakubiec, M. (2019). The Importance of Internal Communication for Management of an
Organisation. Scientific Papers of the Silesian University of Technology. https://eds-p-
ebscohost-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=021499d5-a795-
4973-844e-776c3abce1b4%40redis
