Table of Contents Week 8: Course Wrap-up May 5-11 Week 8 Discussion Week 8 Discussion Previous Next • • • • • • To respond to the Discussion, click on the blue hyperlink in the Topic area

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Table of Contents Week 8: Course Wrap-up May 5-11 Week 8 Discussion Week 8 Discussion Previous Next • • • • • • To respond to the Discussion, click on the blue hyperlink in the Topic area. Directions: Reflect on each of the previous seven weeks. Briefly describe seven leadership concepts (one from each week) that you can apply to your leadership career. Be as specific as you can. Consider both information from the course materials and the experiences you had in your group work. Whenever referencing concepts from course materials, be sure to provide in-text citations and references. Post due by Saturday at 11:59 p.m. Respond to a minimum of three classmates by Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. eastern time in the following manner: select ONE of the concepts highlighted by your classmate and describe how you could also use that new knowledge in your leadership career. (Note the Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. Discussion deadline.) Completing the Discussion 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. Direct quotes are NOT allowed if they are quotations from course materials. This means you do not use more than four consecutive words from a source document. You are to put a passage from a source document into your own words and attribute the passage, using the correct APA in-text citation format, to the source document. In other words, once you paraphrase a source document, the source document must be shown in an in-text citation. Direct quotes are NOT allowed if they are quotations from course materials. This means you do not use more than four consecutive words from a source document. You are to put a passage from a source document into your own words and attribute the passage, using the correct APA in-text citation format, to the source document. In other words, once you paraphrase a source document, the source document must be shown in an in-text citation. Paraphrase and do not use direct quotation marks. Paraphrase means you do not use more than four consecutive words from a source document. You put a passage from a source document into your own words and attribute the passage, using the correct APA in-text citation format, to the source document. Not using direct quotation marks means that there should be no passages with quotation marks and instead, the source material is paraphrased as stated above. Provide the page or paragraph number when using in-text citations. 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. Themes: Week 1: What is Meant by Leadership and Who are Leaders? Theme 1: Understanding the nature of leadership helps to frame the views of a leader Although many scholars have defined leadership, the definition of leadership is dynamic. This week, we will discuss the definitions of leadership to understand the field of study upon which we are about to embark. The definition of leadership has significantly changed over the past generation to meet the needs of a contemporary business environment. In fact, many scholars have disagreed on the nature or essential characteristics of leadership but instead have offered a variety of perspectives as to what leadership is not. As we discuss the contemporary definitions of leadership, pay close attention to various definitions and compare them to those of prominent leaders today. Are they similar? If so how? If not, why not? Links: https://learn.umgc.edu/content/enforced/604122-001034-01-2212-US23855/The%20Emergence%20of%20Leadership%20Styles%20%20A%20Clarfied%20Categorization.pdf?_&d2lSessionVal=5ALudLeJcUiRuT9oy2GckN0lA https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2013/04/09/what-is-leadership/#66ba86a15b90 http://www.ijcrar.com/vol-2-8/Anitha%20Aldrin%20and%20R.Gayatri.pdf Week 2: Leadership Styles, Traits, Attributes, and Competencies Theme 1: Leadership characteristics are demonstrated in a leader’s style. Traits are characteristics that are ingrained in an individual. Traits are not easily learned or unlearned. For example, the introvert is unlikely to become the life of the party. On the other hand, leadership attributes are personal qualities or characteristics that can be learned and are typically described in the context of behaviors – values, habits, character, or motives. Leadership competence is a mix of leadership skills and behaviors that lead to an increase in performance. Links: https://learn.umgc.edu/content/enforced/604122-001034-01-2212-US2-3855/Leadership%20%20Do%20traits%20matter.pdf?_&d2lSessionVal=5ALudLeJcUiRuT9oy2GckN0lA https://www.shrm.org/ResourcesAndTools/hr-topics/behavioral-competencies/leadership-andnavigation/Pages/leadershipcompetencies.aspx https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/focus/human-capital-trends/2014/hc-trends-2014-leadersat-all-levels.html Week 3: Mission, Vision, Strategic Thinking, and Planning for Tomorrow Theme 3: Being proactive as a leader means planning for the leadership of tomorrow. In order to sustain competitive advantage, leaders need to plan for tomorrow by ensuring the knowledge garnered by Baby Boomers is harnessed and shared with younger generations before they retire. Succession planning involves deciding on the leadership of tomorrow, with the knowledge we have about our organization today. This handing of the torch is more than just filling future leadership openings; succession planning ensures that our company’s wealth of expertise, which is commonly called “tribal knowledge”, is protected. Links: https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogertrapp/2014/03/23/organizations-need-leaders-at-alllevels/?sh=2407964e3ab1 https://www.workforce.com/news/succession-planning-roadmap https://coanet.org/2017/10/9-tips-for-effective-succession-planning/ Week 4: Leadership Challenges of Today Theme: Understanding the unique challenges leaders face today, and the skills needed to meet them will help you as a leader to act decisively and proactively. Creating a competitive advantage through leading others has some unique challenges. Besides being a change agent, there are five additional areas that a leader’s skills as a strategic thinker and relationship builder are needed. In today's world, a leader must be able to lead innovation, various generations, global diversity, knowledge workers, and changing technology. This week we will examine these specific challenges and how a leader might address each challenge. Since we could spend a week on each challenge, consider focusing on answering two questions: Why is the leadership challenge unique to each topic? and What can a leader and organization do to address the challenge? Links: https://knowledge.insead.edu/innovation/entrepreneurship/multicultural-experiencesmaking-the-world-creative-innovativeand-flat-2555 https://www.amanet.org/articles/leading-the-four-generations-at-work/ https://www.globaltrademag.com/why-knowledge-management-is-importantto-the-success-of-your-company/ https://talentculture.com/6-ways-leaders-can-build-a-culture-of-innovation/ Week 5: Self-Knowledge as a Powerful Leadership Tool Theme 1: Developing Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ), Cultural Intelligence Quotient (CQ), Communication Skills, and a Moral Compass Leadership can occur on all levels within an organization. This week we have a few truths to remember as we explore relationship-building to create competitive advantage. Motivation and empowerment are two words that you have heard throughout your business education. Managers motivate and leaders empower. The lines are blurring at Biotech. Managers give decision-making authority to team leaders and team members in an effort to get the work done. At Biotech, all employees can be leaders. Leaders at all levels need to develop a soft skill set to help build relationships. Good relationship building gets at the heart of the relationship between leader and follower that results in trust, respect, and expertise. This week our discussion will focus on the skills needed as an individual leader to create and maintain relationships within Biotech. It is intuitive that the best leaders are intelligent. We also know that well-rounded leaders are also Emotionally Intelligent (EQ), have advanced communication skills, and a strong moral compass. Moreover, cultural IQ runs parallel to Emotional IQ. Leaders must be knowledgeable about cultural diversity and understand the nuances of people’s behavior within the context of the local culture. Links: http://lead-inspire.com/Papers-Articles/LeadershipManagement/The%20Relationship%20between%20leadership%20and%20Personality. pdf https://learn.umgc.edu/content/enforced/275876-001034-01-2185-OL16380/Critical%20Leadership%20Skills%20%20Key%20Traits%20That%20Can%20Make%20or%20Break%20Today%E2%80% 99s%20Leaders.pdf?_&d2lSessionVal=zYpa1OClGzHv1fRHQY0nOT8SJ https://learn.umgc.edu/content/enforced/115115-M_001034-012158/Moral%20Intelligence%20for%20Successful%20Leadership.pdf?_&d2lSessionVal =Oe6tovlt9wn9PmJpahmL7BkQd&ou=115115 https://commonpurpose.org/knowledge-hub/what-is-cultural-intelligence/#anchor4 Week 6: Leaders and Followers Theme 2: Authentic Leadership and the Emotional Bank Account – If trust is the cornerstone of leadership, how do we get there? If there is one thing we have learned in our study of leadership, it is that mutual trust is the most valuable element to the leaderfollower relationship. Mutual trust requires authentic leadership. Having a story is not enough! A leader must sell the story to others. This means a leader must learn about his or her own style, traits, knowledge, etc. in developing knowledge about others. The leader will create a relationship that if successful will result in “others” following the strategic vision. The leader-follower relationship is crucial to successfully selling the story to others. One truth to the leader-follower relationship is that the relationship must be based on mutual trust if it is to succeed. Links: https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/leadership/leadership-functions/build-sustainrelationships/main https://learn.umgc.edu/content/enforced/604122-001034-01-2212-US23855/Leaders%20and%20Leadership,%20Building%20Trust.pdf Week 7: Creating a Culture and Structure that Enhances Sustainability Theme 1: Leadership drives competitive advantage when it creates a culture of inclusion of people and ideas. Leadership today must organize a culture that promotes people, collaboration, innovation, and creativity. Leaders today must compete within the marketplace but also with the innovation and technology that is disrupting the marketplace. A leader must recognize the trends in the market, encourage the skills and resources of the company, and develop a sound relationship with the stakeholders of the company. Communication, collaboration, empowerment, and leadership on all levels must be nurtured in the environment the leader creates. Links: http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/11791.pdf https://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/jsl/vol1iss1/JSL_Vol1iss1_Agbor.pdf https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/human-capital/us-consculturepath-culture-or-leader.pdf?nc=1 DAMION PERRY One leadership style is the Situational Leadership theory. The theory matches the skills of the leader in an organizational situation. This is seen in the military quite often when a tasking or situation arises in which a particular person is chosen to do a particular job because of their traits and capabilities. This can often be seen in emergency situations when a leader is chosen at the last instance because you need someone in charge. The theory however lacks the critical element of follower development and is typically looking at the right person for the right moment. (Galdolfi & Stone 2017). Though this is often a temporary solution it is quite often not sustainable or the most ideal leadership style. Most leaders are developed and not born. Although there are natural leaders most of them must be developed. Often, we look for that person who is shining and we develop them to move to the next level. The most powerful attribute to growing as a leader is to become self-aware. (Anderson 2012) One of the most important things for leaders to realize is the importance of listening. Listening is the key to becoming self-aware and which is necessary to develop relationships within your team. Developing your subordinates into leaders is key to being successful. The key to this is teaching them to listen, invite feedback and be fair. If these tools are taught and taken onboard during leadership development a person should flourish as a leader. Strategic leadership is important because the ability to share values and present a clear vision to the employees allows them to make decisions with minimal monitoring. (Rowe & Nejad 2008) By doing this it allows the leader to take on other taskings while empowering the employees to make decisions. These leaders however have no emotional attachment to employees. Employees are motivated by attaining goals and using a system of rewards and punishment and other forms of coercion to maintain order. This type of leadership can be best used on projects and short-term assignments. This is not viable for long-term assignments or projects. Building a culture of innovation is important. It starts with empowering your people and letting them know it is okay to fail. If you are not failing, you are not innovating. (Kramer 2020) There must be an understanding that you will fail and when you do it will be okay. Employees must take the time to gather information and data and make an informed decision, but they must not be afraid to act. When we act, we must take the information from the past and look forward. It is important to learn from the past. There must be the understanding that when we fail, we must take the good with us and sometimes start from scratch. This culture is most important when working in a research and development type job or working on certain projects. It is important to acknowledge emotional intelligence. Emotional Intelligence is the ability to perceive, control and evaluate our emotions. The ability to control and understand emotions is imperative to being a good leader. (Cherry 2019) Understanding what a person is going through and how they are feeling helps leaders deal with them. The components of emotional intelligence are perceiving, reasoning, understanding, and managing emotions. Understanding emotional intelligence and the ability to think in that way helps us as a leader extensively. It gives us the ability to accept criticism, move on from mistakes, not be judgmental, and solve problems in a way that works for everyone. These are only some of the ways that being emotionally intelligent makes me a better leader. Being an authentic leader is important. It gives employees transparency and shows them that you are not perfect. By being authentic it shows that you are not afraid to own your mistakes. That the leader has the necessary courage to defend their people and or processes. (Robinson & O’Shea 2014) It is important to show your employees they are trusted and that they can trust. Striving to be authentic is an important factor and shows employees that the leader is not just there for the company, but also for them. Crisis management is a necessary thing for every leader. Every leader will have a crisis at some time and must know how to manage that crisis. As a leader, we must be selfaware. We must understand our own feeling and be able to handle our feelings. We must also have self-control and be able to manage our feelings without letting them control our actions. Be socially aware of how our employees are feeling and have empathy and concern for our people. Managing these relationships is equally important. Understanding that we must manage the conflicts, foster teamwork, and get people to move in the direction you desire. (Goleman 2017) Even though undoing the crisis may not be possible we must be able to manage it in order to obtain the best possible outcome. References Gandolfi, F., & Stone, S. (2017). The emergence of leadership styles: A clarified categorization. Revista De Management Comparat International, 18(1), 18. Anderson, E. (2012, November 21). Are Leaders Born Or Made? Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikaandersen/20 12/11/21/are-leaders-born-or-made/?sh=55c056b148d5 Rowe, G., & Nejad, M. (2009, October). STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP: SHORT-TERM STABILITY AND LONG-TERM VIABILITY. Captcha. https://iveybusinessjournal.com/publication/strategicleadership-short-term-stability-and-long-term-viability/ Kramer, S. (2020, July 24). 6 ways leaders can build a culture of innovation. TalentCulture. https://talentculture.com/6-waysleaders-can-build-a-culture-of-innovation/ Cherry, K. (2019, August). How emotionally intelligent are you? Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-isemotional-intelligence-2795423 Robinson, S., & O'Shea, V. (n.d.). Authentic Leadership – To thine own self be true. Global leader in learning and development solutions Insights. https://www.insights.com/media/1107/authenticleadership.pdf Goleman, D. (2017, March 1). 4 leadership skills for crisis management. Korn Ferry | Organizational Consulting. https://www.kornferry.com/insights/this-week-inleadership/leadership-skills Johnathon Hardy posted May 9, 2021 12:27 PM Week 1: Situational leadership theory is a very beneficial concept for all types of leaders from all backgrounds to learn. From project managers to production supervisors, understanding and utilizing the Situational Leadership theory can help make the leadership process more efficient. The Situational Leadership theory breakdown the 4 main leadership styles (Telling, Selling, Participating, & Delegating), and partner them with the appropriate maturity level (M1-M4). Using this theory, management can assign or hire the right type of leader for the correct type of situation (The Center for Leadership Studies, 2013, para. 7 & 8). This can be applied to entry level employees to more experienced worker higher in the corporate echelon. Week 2: The concept of coaching was an extremely intriguing type of leadership style that many people can benefit from. This is to include current leaders or managers who have been in their position for some time. Coaching is well known in sports but is better known as mentoring in the business world. The emotional intelligence for the leadership style choice of coaching, focuses on the company’s long-term success. Coaching helps develops employee’s success by improving their strengths and helping them create emotional self-awareness (Stevenson, n.d., Leadership Style Synopsis). Week 3: The concept of succession planning was a very interesting topic for leadership. The entire succession plan concept required multiple leadership competencies before and after transitioning personnel. The employees in charge of planning the succession need to have the best combination of competencies to select the proper appropriate replacements. Additionally, the candidates or applicants need to hire the desired leadership competencies that best suited the organizations vision and mission statements. Mentoring and training qualified candidate (internal or external) through a proper execution of a succession plan, is the only way to mitigate the effect of management turnover (Gale, 2013, para. 2). Week 4: During this week, the concept of Knowledge Management was very beneficial to learn and could be applied to every career management field. People can relate to the broader phrase of “knowledge is power”. Although this is could be true, knowledge management goes more in-depth as to what kind of knowledge you learn and how you apply that knowledge for your organization. Knowledge management is key to a successful organization and help the production operation flow smoothly (Sayyadi, 2020, para. 13). Week 5: Moral intelligence crucial for an organization to remain success. Unethical or toxic workplaces do not survive long, such as Enron. Not only do businesses need to have ethics, value, and morals with their customers but also with their employees. Effective leadership needs to promote this throughout an organization. Effective leaders with morel intelligence can be self-aware and live-in alignment (align their individual goals with the organization’s goals) and help increase moral within the work center (Lennick, Kiel, 2006, pg. 2, para. 10-13). Week 6: Authentic Leadership was a key concept that changes organizational leaders for the better. Any leader from novice to senior can implement authentic leadership and improve their leadership skills. To get the most production out of any leaders’ followers, authentic leadership is vital. Authentic leaders lead by example, admit to mistakes and are willing to share the responsibility, and will defend their fellow employees from upper management if needed (Robinson, O’Dea, 2014, para. 7). This is the type of leadership every organization needs. Week 7: Crisis management is probably one of the most important learning concepts taught in this class. Regardless of the profession, every business will experience some type of crisis or emergency. It can be as simple as a coffee shop running out of coffee or losing water pressure (minor), or it could be a natural disaster with injuries or fatalities (major). When an organization has a crisis, leaders must use sort out data amidst the chaos and minimize confusion (Lennick, Kiel, 2006, para. 15). The key to executing proper crisis management is to have a plan before disaster strikes. Conduct practice drills and focus on your failures during these shortfalls. References: Gale, S. F. (2013, March 11). Succession Planning Roadmap. workforce.com. https://www.workforce.com/news/successionplanning-roadmap. Lennick, D., & Kiel, F. (2006). Moral intelligence for successful leadership. Leader to Leader, 2006(40), 13–16. https://doi.org/10.1002/ltl.172 Robinson, S., & O'dea, V. (2014). Article Authentic Leadership – To thine own self be true ... insights. https://www.insights.com/media/1107/authenticleadership.pdf. Sayyadi, M. (2020, July 3). Why Knowledge Management is Important to the Success of Your Company. Global Trade Daily. https://www.globaltrademag.com/why-knowledgemanagement-is-important-to-the-success-of-your-company/. Stevenson, H. (n.d.). Leadership Style, Emotional Intelligence, and Organizational Effectiveness. Leadership Style, Emotional Intelligence, and Organizational Effectiveness | Cleveland Consulting Group, Inc. http://www.clevelandconsultinggroup.com/articles/leadershipstyle-emotional-intelligence-organizational-effectiveness.php The Center for Leadership Studies. (2013, September 11). The Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership® Theory Choosing the Right Leadership Style for the Right People. Situational Leadership®. http://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/newLDR_4 4.php. Woo, R., Galligan, M., & Snyder, W. (2015, July 6). Crisis Leadership: Five Principles for Managing the Unexpected. The Wall Street Journal. https://deloitte.wsj.com/riskandcompliance/2015/07/06/crisis -leadership-five-principles-for-managing-the-unexpected/. Tianci Jones posted May 8, 2021 11:37 PM Subscribe This page automatically marks posts as read as you scroll. Adjust automatic marking as read setting In week one, we learned the very definition of leaders. The fundamental concept of leadership is leading and serving. Real leaders have deep humanity to guide, influence and empower their subordinates to achieve to new heights (Aldrin & Gayatri, 2014). Therefore, leaders are more than just a title and an authority role, and leaders certainly should not be defined by that. In my previous career, I have had many horrific leadership examples. The way I learned to be a leader is to be exactly the opposite of what they are. This course has confirmed that belief - it is not about controlling people, it is about serving and empowering them so potentials are unlocked. Furthermore, every leadership position is unique and requires different skillsets. Better leadership is created when respective competencies are identified and targeted. For example, international companies looking to hire for a global position may look for additional competencies such as cultural interest and sensitivity ("Leadership Competencies", 2008). This taught me that when I apply or even hire candidates for a new position, I should focus on the relevant competencies, develop or hire people accordingly. As a leader, it is also important to plan strategically in order to move toward long-term success. Leaders should communicate with employees so they share and work towards the same vision and values, as this will liberate leaders from micromanagement and invest more time on ad hoc issues (Rowe & Nejad, 2009). The likelihood of working in a multigenerational workplace is very high, therefore, leaders also need to know how to navigate in that cross-generational situation as diversity means people having their distinct backgrounds, beliefs and values (Jenkins, 2019). Compensation and benefits need to tailor to different generation group or individuals. In my opinions, the one strong contributor to successful leadership is having strong emotional intelligence. Emotional Intelligence is the awareness and interpretation of self and other people's emotions (Cherry, 2020). Sensing and interpreting emotions are important segments of emotional intelligence, but the ability to keep it under control is even more vital. Because making decision in anger or any other extreme emotions is dangerous, it is not effective leadership. Lead with authenticity does not mean to have raw emotions, but a deep self-awareness and genuineness (Robinson & O’Dea, 2014). It is to influence others by sharing stories of success and failures (para. 7). Lastly, set a crisis-ready culture that is always ready for the unexpected. This may include preparing plans and procedures based on the company culture, values and mission like a safety or a financial plan (“Crisis Leadership”, 2015). Being prepared ensure proper handling and appropriate response which could strategically turn crisis into opportunities (George, 2018). References: Aldrin, A. & Gayatri, R. (2014). Leadership not a title nor a position. International Journal of Current Research and Academic Review, 2(8), 356-366. http://www.ijcrar.com/vol-28/Anitha%20Aldrin%20and%20R.Gayatri.pdf Cherry, K. (2020, June 3). What is emotional intelligence? Very Well Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-emotionalintelligence-2795423 Crisis leadership: five principles for managing the unexpected. (2015, July 6). The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 8, 2021, from https://deloitte.wsj.com/riskandcompliance/2015/07/06/ crisis-leadership-five-principles-for-managing-theunexpected/ George, B. (2018, April 24). Op-Ed: What Mark Zuckerberg can learn about crisis leadership from Starbucks. Working Knowledge. https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/op-ed-what-markzuckerberg-can-learn-about-crisis-leadership-from-starbucks Jenkins, J. (2019, January 24). Leading the four generations at work. American Management Association. https://www.amanet.org/articles/leading-thefour-generations-at-work/ Leadership Competencies. (2008, March 1). SHRM. Retrieved May 8, 2021, from https://www.shrm.org/ResourcesAndTools/hrtopics/behavioral-competencies/leadership-andnavigation/Pages/leadershipcompetencies.aspx Robinson, S., O’Dea, V. (2014). Authentic leadership – to thine own self be true. Insights. https://www.insights.com/media/1107/authenticleadership.pdf Rowe, W. G. & Nejad, M. H (2009, September). Strategic leadership: short-term stability and long-term viability. Ivey Business Journal. https://iveybusinessjournal.com/publication/strategicleadership-short-term-stability-and-long-term-viability/ 1 Gabrielle Bates posted May 9, 2021 5:02 PM Subscribe This page automatically marks posts as read as you scroll. Adjust automatic marking as read setting I can apply the concept of serving to my leadership career. I want to open my own business; a cafe/bakery. Leadership is an opportunity to serve, teach, and advance not only the organization, but also the people (Aldrin & Gayatri, n.d., para. 8). The importance of leadership is to help guide and influence followers towards a goal. By opening and running my own business and using the concept of serving, I can help my employees to become better at what they do and I can teach them what I know, especially if they are interested in pursuing a similar job (whether in business or culinary). By serving my employees, it will also make them more willing to serve my business. This could also generate enthusiasm within my employees because they will enjoy working for me more. When people are treated well and as if their thoughts and opinions matter, they tend to work harder. You do not need to be a dictator to not only get people to do what you want them to do, but for them to want to do it. Using this serving concept will be satisfying for everyone, and it will make the work environment more friendly. It will be refreshing to teach my employees and become their mentor and allow them to use this knowledge to make strategic and resourceful decisions for my business on their own. Learning from this could progress their growth, allowing them to become a good leader in the future as well. 2 I am also powerfully passionate about opening my business. I have wanted this for a long time, I am dedicated and determined. This is indispensable for opening a business of any kind. It takes a lot of work not only to open a business but also to break even and be successful and profitable. If you do not have the passion and motivation, you will not get far. Passion is the drive that keeps you going and without it you will get maybe half way through and want to call it quits (Kaufman, 2021, para. 11). Being passionate about my career can also help motivate others and can even play a part in making them feel included. It will also show them a valuable attitude and feeling and that they can also feel this way about working. It can help decrease the feeling of dread when going to work for both myself and my followers. I will need flexibility in my leadership career. There are so many things that may need to be altered within my business career that I should be prepared for as well as my leadership career. As a leader, you should anticipate change and be able to work around or through that change to successfully continue and reach your goal (CSSP, 2020, para. 5). A leader should input assessments to evaluate the progress of the organization or goal and use them to modify their plans based off any changes that may have or will occur. Circumstances can change at any given time, and leaders need to be able to adapt to the change. As a leader, I will have to authentically value and respect all individuals for their talents and contributions. This is important on different levels. People from diverse backgrounds can bring so much more to the table than the same things you always hear. They come from different 3 backgrounds, were raised differently, had various foods and tools to grow up with or learn from. This can give them other ideas because of their background knowledge and their perception of certain scenarios. Allowing them to speak up with their opinions not only makes them feel included, but it could also mean coming up with the next big thing for the organization, or finding a solution to a problem that no one else could figure out. In addition to all this, it is essential to embrace diversity and make sure that your followers do so as well because by today's standards, anyone could take something the wrong way, whether it was intentional or not, and this could lead to major legal and social issues for the whole organization. It does not mean quite so much, however, if a leader does not hold others accountable for disrespect towards diversity (Bilimoria, 2012, para. 5). In doing so, it shows how much the leader values the diverse individual(s) and is willing to fight for their identities/backgrounds. This will also allow for a more collaborative and effective environment, as well as showing commitment from the leader. A leader must have great communication and listening skills. A leader must be able to communicate their goals in an effective and coherent way that every follower can understand. This also includes how some people learn and understand in different ways, so a leader must be able to use an array of communication styles to adequately explain everything to everyone (The Ken Blanchard Companies, n.d., para. 12). A leader must also be able to explain processes and the "why" to any procedure or situation. A leader must also recognize the importance of a two-way communication. Part of 4 communication skills is listening skills, which includes listening to understand rather than listening to give a reply. Included in this is also reading body language, which can speak more than words. A leader must be able to interactively converse with their followers by asking questions and providing feedback. This will help their followers grow within the business and themselves. It also gives them confidence in more ways than one, including that they will also know answers to any questions asked of them by any new-hires or customers. Having this confidence and knowledge will also allow for the leader's followers to successfully run the organization (or department) if need be, and contribute with prosperous and profitable ideas. Building and sustaining relationships can be applied to my leadership career. Building relationships are important in many ways, inside and outside of the organization. It helps the leader get to know their followers better, which helps the communication between them and it also motivates the followers to do more and care more about the business. It also helps to build relationships within the community, and this will give me more of a step up in opening and running my small business. Building one-on-one relationships with the community makes people want to be more involved in your business; this can help if you need any favors , whether you admit it or not (Community Tool Box, n.d., para. 7). Social awareness is a crucial concept to be applied to a leadership career. Being socially aware benefits a business in multiple ways. In a crisis, it helps the leader to be able to recognize how the crisis impacts everyone involved, including the business itself. This then helps the leader to figure out 5 how to manage every aspect without missing anything (Goleman, 2021, para. 6). Being socially aware helps a leader to know what they can and what they should not do according to society, and this impacts the public's viewpoint on the business. If the leader/business makes a mistake, it is important to rectify it quickly and publicly. Social awareness is also knowing what is going on in the community and/or world. This way, the leader/business can keep up with customer's needs and wants; this helps progress the business. References Aldrin, A., & Gayatri, R. (n.d.). Leadership Not a Title Nor a Position. Retrieved from http://www.ijcrar.com/vol-28/Anitha%20Aldrin%20and%20R.Gayatri.pdf Kaufman, M. (2021, January 11). 10 Traits of Great Business Leaders. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/michakaufman/2014/09/ 05/10-traits-of-great-business-leaders/?sh=48064a7b2dc7 CSSP. (2020, November 12). Critical Strategic Thinking Skills. Retrieved from https://www.cssp.com/CD0808b/CriticalStrategicThinki ngSkills/ Bilimoria, D. (2012, April 3). Inclusive Leadership: Effectively Leading Diverse Teams. Retrieved from https://weatherhead.case.edu/news/2012/04/03/inclus ive-leadership-effectively-leading-diverse-teams The Ken Blanchard Companies. (n.d.). Critical Leadership Skills. Retrieved from https://learn.umgc.edu/content/enforced/275876001034-01-2185-OL1- 6 6380/Critical%20Leadership%20Skills%20%20Key%20Traits%20That%20Can%20Make%20or%20Break%20 Today%E2%80%99s%20Leaders.pdf?_&d2lSessionVal=zYpa1OC lGzHv1fRHQY0nOT8SJ Community Tool Box. (n.d.). Section 7. Building and Sustaining Relationships. Retrieved from https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-ofcontents/leadership/leadership-functions/build-sustainrelationships/main Goleman, D. (2021, April 02). 4 Leadership Skills for Crisis Management. Retrieved from https://www.kornferry.com/insights/this-week-inleadership/leadership-skills-for-crisis-management Criteria Equivalent to an A Equivalent to a B Equivalent to a C Equivalent to a D Equivalent to an F Criterion Score F2F Activity points 1.7 points 1.3 points O points 12 Shows evident of having read the course readings in preparation for class conversation that is meaningful and relevant to the discussion for the entire class period. (1.8 - 2.0) Shows evident of having read some of the course readings in preparation for class conversation that is relevant to the discussion for the entire class period. Needs some development. (1.6 - 1.79) 1.5 points Some preparation is evident because conversation offers relevant responses; may not participate in full class. (1.4 - 1.59) Does not participate. (0) Lack of preparation is evident because conversation offers minimal relevance or unsubstantiated conclusions. (1.2 - 1.39) 2.0625 points 1.7875 points O points Seven concepts (one from each prior week) that can be applied to leadership career 2.75 points Seven concepts from each of seven weeks is presented with all supported by course materials. (2.475 - 2.75) 2.3375 points Seven concepts from each of seven weeks is presented, with some supported by course materials. (2.2 - 2.474) / 2.75 4-6 concepts from the previous seven weeks is presented, with support from course materials, or less than 4 concepts presented but with no support from course materials. (1.925 - 2.19) 1-3 concepts from the previous seven weeks is presented, with no support from course materials OR no support from course material used. (1.65 - 1.924) Limited attempt to provide concepts from previous weeks that can be applied to leadership career. (0 - 1.64) 2.75 points 2.3375 points 2.0625 points 1.7875 points O points / Follow up/Response to Classmate Postings (Quality) 2.75 Demonstrates analysis of others' posts: extends meaningful discussion by building on classmates and instructors posts. Uses at least two different sources in responding to classmates that add value to the discussion. (2.475 -2.75) Extends discussion on an existing posting with further comment or observation. Uses some course readings but needs some development supporting or presenting ideas. (2.2 - 2.474) Attempts to extend discussion with comment or observation. Rarely uses course readings to support or present ideas needing significant development (1.925 -2.19) Contributions does not enrich discussion often containing statements such as: I agree or disagree; restates what others stated: evaluates the quality of a post adding no substantial comment. No evidence of course readings use. Relies heavily on unsupported opinion. (1.65 - 1.924) Posts no follow-up responses to others. (0) 1 point 0.85 points 0.75 points 0.65 points / 1 Follow up/Responses to Classmate Postings (Quantity) Responds to five or more classmates. (0.9 - 1.0) Responds to four classmates. (0.8 -0.89) Responds to three classmates (0.7 -0.79) Responds to two classmates. (0.6 -0.69) O points Responds to zero or one classmate. (0-0.59) 1 point 0.85 points 0.758 points / 1 Presentation and Writing Contributes to discussion with clear and concise comments that is style appropriate, rich in vocabulary and excellent use of grammar & spelling (0.9 - 1.0) Contributes to discussion with understandable comments but style and vocabulary is at times inconsistent or imprecise, and/or has minor (1-3) writing errors. (0.8 -0.89) Contributes to discussion with understandable comments but style and vocabulary is at times inconsistent or imprecise, and/or has (4 - 5) writing errors. (0.7 -0.79) 0.65 points Contributes to discussion with errors in clarity, style, vocabulary selection, and/or many (6 or more) writing errors. (0.6 - 0.69) 0.045 points No evidence of proofreading or attempt at applying conventional writing mechanics, style or vocabulary (0-0.59) APA Style (7th ed.) 0.5 points 0.425 points 0.375 points 0.3255 points O points /0.5 Excellent use of APA. Posts contain the appropriate number of APA in-text citations and reference list matches; few errors are present. (0.45 -0.5) Attempts in-text citations and reference list but some minor errors in formatting exist. (0.4-0.449) No use of APA (0) Attempts in-text citations and reference list but errors in formatting exist; paraphrasing is not accurate or in-text citations are not used frequently enough. (0.35 -0.399) Attempts in-text citations or reference list but omits one or the other. In-text citations seldom used. (0.3 -0.349)