Business Leadership, 4 papers total
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assignments_1-2.docxAssignments
Assignment 1 and 2 Background References:
First, start out by viewing these two short videos that will introduce you to two popular tools used for self-awareness in leadership that you will read about for this module:
Tearle, R. (2014) Emotional Intelligence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MepJp7KpaH4 , Intelligent Executive, Maidenhead, UK:
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Seligman, M. (2009). Dr. Martin Seligman’s top strengths. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC1HZqCbZ70 :
The two videos above will give you a good general overview of emotional intelligence and the VIA Inventory of Strengths. Now read up in more detail about these two tools in the following readings:
Kaufman, C., Silberman, J., & Sharpley, D. (2012). Chapter 17: Coaching for strengths using VIA. In Passmore, J. (Ed.). Psychometrics in Coaching: Using Psychological and Psychometric Tools for Development (2nd Edition). London, GBR: Kogan Page Ltd. [eBook Business Collection.
Psychometrics in Coaching: Using Psychological and Psychometric Tools for Development]
Sterrett, E. A. (2000). Chapter 1: Defining Emotional Intelligence. Manager's Pocket Guide to Emotional Intelligence: From Management to Leadership. Amherst, MA, USA: HRD Press. [eBook Academic Collection]
Sterrett, E. A. (2000). Chapter 3: Assessing Emotional Intelligence. Manager's Pocket Guide to Emotional Intelligence: From Management to Leadership. Amherst, MA, USA: HRD Press. [eBook Academic Collection]
In the optional reading list below, there is a very short chapter on the VIA Inventory of Strengths as well as a book about the StrengthsFinder which is an alternative to the VIA.
Optional Reading
Cantore, S., & Passmore, J. (2012). Chapter 14: How can people understand and build on their strengths? Top Business Psychology Models: 50 Transforming Ideas for Leaders, Consultants, and Coaches. London: Kogan Page. [eBook Business Collection]
Rath, T. (2007). Strengths Finder 2.0. New York: Gallup Press. [eBook Business Collection]
Assignment 1
For this first Case Assignment, your task is to apply some of the leadership development tools that you read about in the background materials to your own personal development. As a warning, this assignment as well as several other assignments will involve taking a lot of surveys. Of course surveys are not the only tools used in leadership development, but they are one of the most popular tools and many leadership coaching companies charge a lot of money for the surveys that they’ve developed. Fortunately some of the surveys discussed in the background readings are available for free. The purpose of taking the quizzes are both for use in your leadership development, and also to get a taste of what various leadership coaches out there are doing and charging their clients for.
Make sure to thoroughly review the background readings before writing your paper. The main tasks in this assignment are A) read the background materials, B) take some self-assessment quizzes, and C) write up a self-development plan based on what you’ve read about in this module and your score on the quizzes. More specifically, write a four to five page paper addressing the following questions:
1. Take the Values in Action (VIA) Inventory of Strengths that was discussed in the background materials. This instrument is available for free but you need to register: https://www.viacharacter.org/survey/account/register If you can find a free variation of the Strengthsfinder survey online you take this one instead, but the “official” Strengthsfinder survey from Gallup is not free. Report and discuss your results. Were your results surprising or what you expected to find? [One half to one page in length]
2. Now take the Emotional Intelligence Self-Assessment in Chapter 3 of Sterret (2006) as well as the Leadership Assessment in this chapter. Discuss how you scored on each of the different elements of Emotional Intelligence as well as your Leadership Assessment. Report and discuss your results. Were your results surprising or what you expected to find? [One half to one page in length]
3. Now we get to the main heart of the assignment. Based on what you have learned in this module and the quizzes you took above, give some specific examples of how you will improve your leadership skills. Your examples should be based on both your results on the two quizzes, and from the required readings. Make sure to cite at least two of the required readings in your answers, and support your answers with specific results from the quizzes that you took. [One and a half to two pages]
Finally, discuss the main limitations of the quizzes you took and the concepts you read about for this module. What information is missing from the quizzes you took? What additional important aspects of leadership development are not covered in this material or quizzes? What else do you think you need to know about yourself in order to improve your leadership skills?
Assignment 2
For the Session Long Projects you will also be applying the concepts from the background materials. But instead of applying them to yourself, you will imagine that you are a leadership development coach who is hired to by organizations to diagnosis or give advice to managers. For each of the situations below, explain what advice or diagnosis you would give them based on your knowledge of the background readings. Make sure to cite at least one of the required background readings in each of your answers. Your paper should be two to three pages in length:
1. Susan is a manager who decides to assess her strengths using some of the 24 classifications of the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths that you read about for this module. She discovers that two of her biggest strengths are “humor” and “teamwork.” She concludes that since these are her strengths she doesn’t need to change anything regarding her use of these strengths. Do you think this is a good use of her assessment, or should she make changes to her use of humor and teamwork? If so, what kind of changes?
2. Harold has an MBA from Harvard and is focused on becoming a CEO before he is 45 years old. He is very good at networking and often makes friends with those who rank higher than him at his current organization. However, employees under his supervision feel that he often makes decisions based on what will get him promoted rather than on what is best for his employees or his organization. How would you characterize his emotional intelligence (EQ) skills based on the different elements of EQ discussed in the background readings? Be specific regarding which elements of EQ you think he is likely high on or which elements you think he may be lacking.
3. Carl is known as a very caring manager based on his ability to understand his employee’s problems and taking careful to time to get to know each and every employee. He is personally well liked by all of his employees. However, the one complaint they do have about Carl is that he gets very upset when things don’t go well and takes things very personally. For example, when he found out that profitability for his unit had fallen over the last month he was so upset he had to take a couple of sick days off from work. How would you characterize his emotional intelligence (EQ) skills based on the different elements of EQ discussed in the background readings? Be specific regarding which elements of EQ you think he is likely high on or which elements you think he may be lacking.
Assignment 2 and 3 Background References:
A good place to start are these two videos that explain the basic concepts of the Johari Window and Transactional Analysis along with some applications to leadership:
Patchin, S. (2015).Leadership and the Johari Window Part 1. The Tru Group. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofs7oBqu0Dg :
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Puckridge, P. (2009). Transactional Analysis in action. Success Institute. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFT2HJliaKE&list=PLRn0GjEedVvioZq6tK-Iwi83sRdHUFok- :
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Keep in mind that the concepts and applications of the Johari Window and Transactional Analysis are relatively difficult. So in addition to the videos make sure to go through the following readings. Most of these readings are relatively short, so make sure to go through all of them before starting on your assignments:
Connor, M., & Pokora, J. (2012). Chapter 9: What are some useful tools and techniques? Coaching and Mentoring at Work : Developing Effective Practice. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education, pp. 183-189. [eBook Business Collection. Note: You don’t have to read the whole chapter, just the first two sections on the Johari Window and Transactional Analysis]
McKay, M., Fanning, P., & Davis, M. (2009). Chapter 7: Transactional Analysis. Messages: The Communication Skills Book. Oakland, Calif: New Harbinger Publications. [eBook Academic Collection]
Mind Tools Editorial Team. (2014). The Johari Window: Using self-discovery and communication to build trust. Mind Tools, Ltd., London. https://www.mindtools.com/pages/main/newMN_CON.htm
For those of you who are still a bit unclear on some of the concepts or want to brush up a bit more, some of the optional material below includes a couple of additional videos. There is also another book chapter which is a little longer than some of the other readings but explains the Johari Window in fairly simple and clear terms.
If you and a group of friends or coworkers want to try to find out what your Johari Windows looks like, there is a link to a popular Johari Window Interactive tool below.
Optional Material
Davis, K. (2006). The Interactive Johari Window. http://kevan.org/johari
Reed, J. (2015).Johari Window. Reed Learning:
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Patchin, S. (2015).Leadership and the Johari Window Part 2. The Tru Group. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHu02S9-d1A :
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MacLennan, J. (2008). Chapter 3: Self and others (2008). Interpersonal Communication for Canadians: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Oxford University Press, UK [Proquest.
McKay, M., Fanning, P., & Davis, M. (2009). Chapter 2: Self-disclosure. Messages: The Communication Skills Book. Oakland, Calif: New Harbinger Publications. [eBook Academic Collection]
Assignment 3:
As with all of the assignments for this class, first make sure to thoroughly review the required background materials. Make sure you fully understand the concepts of the Johari Window as well as Transactional Analysis. You need to have a solid understanding of these important concepts in order to successfully complete this assignment.
We will once again be applying the concepts from this module to your own experiences as a way of finding potential ways to develop your leadership skills. For this assignment, choose a current or former supervisor or subordinate and think carefully about how the concepts from the Johari Window and Transactional Analysis applies to this current or previous supervisor/subordinate relationship. Think carefully about the flow of information and communication between the two of you, and also times when either of you behaved as “adults,” “parents,” or “children” in your dealings with each other. Don’t worry, this assignment will be purely between you and your instructor so feel free to be as honest and self-reflective as you can.
More specifically, write a 4- to 5-page paper answering the following questions below. Make sure to cite at least one of the required readings in each answer, and to cite at least three sources total from the background readings in your paper:
1. Using a Johari Window analysis, what do you think some of your supervisor’s or subordinate’s blind spots are? What do you think some of your potential blind spots might be?
2. Also using a Johari Window analysis, what kind of hidden spots did you keep between you and your supervisor or subordinate? Did you suspect your supervisor or subordinate of having hidden spots?
3. Based on your answers to Questions 1 and 2 above as well as the required readings, how might Johari Window analysis be used to improve this supervisor/subordinate relationship that you wrote about in the above two answers?
4. Using Transactional Analysis, give some specific examples of when you and your supervisor or subordinate acted like “parents,” “children,” or “adults.” And be honest—we all act like “children” sometimes in the workplace.
Based on your answer to Question 4 and the required readings, how do you think this supervisor/subordinate relationship might have been improved using Transactional Analysis?
For this assignment you will be applying the concepts of the Johari Window and Transactional Analysis to some specific scenarios that you might face if you were a leadership development coach. Of course make sure to thoroughly review the required readings before starting on this assignment.
For each of the scenarios below, use at least one reference from the required readings to answer the specific question. Your paper should be two to three pages in length:
1. An employee shows up late for work. The supervisor says “I’m really disappointed in you. This is the fifth time this month you’ve been late for work!” The employee responds “I’m tired of you singling me out! Bob, Carol, and Ted are also late for work sometimes but you never chew them out!” Based on Transactional Analysis, what roles are the supervisor and employee playing?
2. An employee receives a performance review from the supervisor. The supervisor points out several areas where the employee has performed well and where the employee’s performance needs to be improved. The employee responds, “Thank you so much for the feedback. How would you suggest I go about improving my performance?” Based on Transactional Analysis, what roles are the supervisor and employee playing?
A leadership development coach is brought into a company to try to improve communication between supervisors and subordinates. The coach asks everyone to write down areas where their supervisor or subordinate has a blind spot. Everyone writes down a lot of complaints about areas that they think their supervisor or subordinate is clueless about. The coach shares what everyone wrote with the whole group. A lot of finger-pointing and arguments ensue, with a lot of feelings hurt. What additional steps do you think the coach should have taken based on the Johari Window that might have improved the outcome?
