Reference no: EM132171452

Instructions

Create a fifteen-page, double-spaced report. It should have an introduction, clearly identified subsections relevant to your topic, a summary, and concluding remarks. Along with the report, submit, as appendices, any evidence to support the learning you are describing (e.g. 360° feedback, elements of a project you have been involved in, memos). You may choose to submit pieces of your reflective journal.
You are expected to research additional materials relevant to your topic. All references to other authors' work, or quotations, should be appropriately cited in the body of the report and referenced at the end of the report.

Final Project Options

Topic Options

You have three choices for the final project. Choose one of the following options. Follow the guidelines for that option.

Note: If none of the options interest you, please contact your Open Learning Faculty Member and you may be able to modify or choose a different assignment, with her or his approval.

Option A: 360 Feedback Process
- You are encouraged to use your organization's feedback tool; if this is not available, then browse the Internet and select an appropriate feedback tool that would be applicable to your learning needs. There are trial versions available for your use; alternatively, you can generate your own feedback tool, thus creating your own questionnaire. Whichever tool you choose to use, ensure that the questionnaire addresses all the topics covered in this course.
- Get feedback from your Open Learning Faculty Member about the feedback tool, the questionnaire, and the process (i.e., ensuring anonymity, having someone else collate the results for you, etc.) before asking people to complete it.
- Invite your work team to do a 360 feedback process with you.
Write a report on your findings. Include a copy of your feedback tool as an appendix. In your report, you are to complete the following:
- Explain why you developed the questions you chose (if applicable), the feedback process you used, your rationale for choosing this process, how you invited people to participate, and their reactions.
- Summarize and analyze the results of the feedback.
- Describe your reactions to the feedback, giving specific examples to illustrate aspects of the feedback with which you agree, disagree, or are surprised or puzzled about.
- Explain what you have learned from this activity. Do you think the results reflect the changes you have made in your interactions with your work team since you began this course? Explain your answer with a rationale.
- Describe what plan you have for making your new behaviours more apparent to your team. Describe specific examples.
- Develop a plan to address any areas in which you could improve. Be specific.
- Include a summary and concluding remarks about the relevance of self-awareness, building trust, addressing conflict, giving feedback, and coaching others for your work.

Option B: Leadership is a Relationship
Write a paper showing how the interpersonal skills addressed in this course relate to the concept that "leadership is a relationship." In this paper, ensure that you describe new examples-do not repeat any examples that you have already described in your module assignments.

You are to address the following:

- What does leadership mean to you? In what ways do you consider yourself to be a leader? In what ways do you think differently about leadership than you did before beginning this course? Be sure to integrate your observations with what the literature says about leadership.

- Describe new, specific examples of how you have demonstrated leadership in building trust, preventing or intervening in conflict situations, developing successful interactions, giving feedback to others, recognizing contributions, and coaching. Again, integrate your experiences with what the literature says on these topics.

- Analyze your leadership successes and your struggles, using examples to illustrates these successes and struggles. Indicate the questions and uncertainties you have as you continue to develop your leadership style. Incorporate your beliefs on the concept that "leadership is a relationship" (Kouzes & Posner 2012. p. 30). Support your paper, in appendices, with evidence such as feedback from someone you work with or manage; memos or policies you have written for your organization; programs you have implemented (e.g., maybe you have implemented a lunch-and-learn series on conflict resolution or you have authorized tuition reimbursement for an employees' development plan arrived at through your coaching).

- Include a summary and concluding remarks about the relevance of self-awareness, building trust, addressing conflict, giving feedback, recognizing contributions, and coaching others in your leadership role.

Option C, Project Analysis
Write a paper that would illustrate how you led a project or were a member of a team in a project. Submit any documents, as appendices, that would clarify the project and demonstrate your role in it.

You are to address the following:

- Write a description of the project and its purpose, the organizational context for the project, how it was initiated, your role, and the other "players" involved in this project.

- Analyze how you demonstrated self-understanding, trust building, developing successful interactions, and feedback or coaching.

- Analyze the stages of the project development, describing the challenges you faced during the different stages of the project. Indicate how your understanding of your needs, values, and personal style help explain those challenges. Describe how your contributions led to the successful completion (or progression) of the project.

- Describe the lessons you learned for your personal leadership development.

- Include a summary and concluding remarks about the relevance of self-awareness, building trust, addressing conflict, giving feedback, and coaching others in your project role.