The Personal Leadership Puzzle (PLP)

The Personal Leadership Puzzle (PLP) will reflect your self-evaluation of your real self today as well as the ideal self you hope to become. It will encompass all elements developed during the course between the beginning of the semester through the week before Thanksgiving.

The PLP will be an autobiography about you. This “book” should include the following elements:

•Book cover – author name, title of book, and 3-5 pictures with captions. The title, pictures and captions should be as ‘authentic’ as possible.

•Table of Contents – this will enable you to organize your self-evaluation.

•Chapters – the book can have as many chapters as you would like, but should reflect the various elements reviewed during class (e.g. real self, defining moments, ideal self, leadership orientations – to only name a few).

•Appendices – (1) Lifeline; (2) Leadership Self-Study (see additional Self Study handout).

The paper should be typed, double-spaced, and between 10—20 pages (the book cover, table of contents, and appendices no not count toward that page total). It should follow APA formatting with no greater than 12-point font.

The grade for this autobiography will encompass the following parts:

•Authenticity of title and pictures in relation to book content (15%).

•Application of all worksheets and class exercises in your self-evaluation, exhibited in your discussion throughout the book (30%).

•Quality of self-evaluation in relation to worksheets and class exercises (40%).

•Quality of writing and organization – APA format, spelling, grammar, sentence structure, and overall organization of the book (15%)

The grade will NOT be an assessment of ‘who you are’ and ‘who you want to be.’ That is a personal process that is unique to you and is not to be judged by the instructor. The grade WILL, however, be an assessment of how diligently you have engaged in the process of self-evaluation during the first part of the semester, evidenced by the application of the self-evaluations that have been conducted throughout the course within the autobiography.

Tips:

•Use terminology from this course. If you are talking about a moment that changed your life, be sure to call it a “crucible” or a “defining moment” so that the instructor(s) are clearly able to connect your story to what you’ve learned in the course. Make it clear to be instructor(s) where you are drawing your ideas from.

•Provide structured writing. An introduction and conclusion for the paper are appropriate. An introduction, conclusion, and transitions for each chapter are also appropriate. Be sure to set up the paper in a way that a complete stranger would know the purpose of the assignment and would know what to expect in the remainder of your paper. Have the conclusion re-state your main ideas so the reader is left with a few solid concepts and thoughts from your paper.

•Provide a proper amount of depth. If you indicated that something changed your life or that something is a thing you value more than anything else in your life, a few sentences is simply not sufficient. Go into detail. Tell the instructor(s) why the events/situations/ concepts are important to you. What you write in your paper is confidential and will not be viewed by anyone besides the course instructor(s).