Assessment - Reflexive research

Objectives

- Reflect on your own leadership journey to date and identify key events, people and experiences that have contributed to your leadership development and self-perceptions;

- Increase self-awareness by completing a personality or leadership styles assessment, for example Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI);

- Obtain feedback from a fellow student on your leadership journey and current challenges;

- Provide mentoring and feedback on leadership to a fellow student on his/her leadership journey and challenges;

- Identify the influences of national and organisational cultures on your perceptions of effective leadership;

- Develop and apply communication skills for relationship building and mentoring across cultures, functions and disciplines;

- Apply knowledge from the theories and models of effective leadership to interpret and understand your reflections and feedback.

Assessment Linkages of Assessment 1 and Assessment 2:

Insights and understandings obtained in Assessment 1 will suggest themes that will be developed further in preparing a personal development plans in Assessment 2 of the assessment which is due at the end of the subject.

Instructions:

Students will work in pairs for this first part of the assessment; partners will be assigned by the Learning Facilitator. In very unusual circumstances, the facilitator can authorise groups of three.

Each student will provide his or her partner(s) with information on their current organisation, role, key stakeholders and current leadership challenges, et cetera, as background for the mentoring and feedback activity. Partners will contact each other, explore each other's leadership journey and current challenges and provide mentoring and feedback to each other. Students should consider the influence of national and organisational cultures and social practices as part of the mentoring and feedback. Other parameters will be defined by the

Learning Facilitator

Output/Deliverable and parameters of the assessment:

Each student will submit a report consisting of 2000 words which describes the leadership journey, current strengths and areas for development, a summary of feedback provided by the partner and implications for future development. You should draw on the literature on leadership models and theories to help interpret and explain your current leadership. You should also discuss the implications of your cultural and social background on your leadership.

Learning Outcomes:

- Increased self-awareness, including personality preferences, leadership style and impact on other people.

- Knowledge of the major theories and models of leadership and their role in explaining and developing effective leadership.

- Understanding of reflective practice as a means of research and personal growth.

- Greater understanding of the influence of cultural and social backgrounds on leadership effectiveness.