Demonstrating Effective Leadership Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand.

General Colin Powell

For your first assignment, you will examine one of the case studies from your Managing in the Public Sector textbook and determine if the leader in the case study was able to offer a sound solution to the situation presented. You may choose any case study you wish, but it should be one from your own area of specialization. For your convenience, the appendix of the Managing in the Public Sector text lists the cases by subject areas on pages 143-154. This is a great place to start in identifying the cases that best align with your area of specialization.

Steps for Completing the Assignment

1. Identify the case study you have chosen on the title page of your assignment, for example, Demonstrating Effective Leadership: Case Study 23 A Speed Bump on Staff.

2. In the body of your paper, briefly summarize the case study. In your summary, be sure you identify who the leader is, the issue he or she is facing, and what you believe to be the cause of the issue. Remember, the case studies do not present all of the answers or information. You will need to use the information available and draw your own conclusions about the situations.

• Please note: If your instructor requires you to submit this assignment to Smarthinking for feedback prior to submitting it in the courseroom, be sure you attach the Smarthinking feedback report along with your assignment.

3. Evaluate how effective this leader is in the ability to build relationships within the organization. Support your evaluation with references to at least one peer-reviewed journal or resource. Based on your evaluation, explain how likely the leader will be able to build and maintain strong relationships outside his or her organization with other public service leaders.

4. From the information provided in the case study, evaluate how well the leader manages professional responsibilities and priorities. Use examples to clarify and support your evaluation.

5. How well does this leader communicate both verbally and in writing? What role does communication have in both creating and resolving the issue?

6. Determine if the leader was effective in resolving the issue. Did he or she offer a solution that everyone understood? Explain. Support your decision with references to at least one peer-reviewed journal or resource.

Your completed assignment should be approximately 3-4 pages in length, not including the title page and reference page. You do not need an abstract for this assignment. You must include references to at least three different resources (peer-reviewed journals or other scholarly resource, assigned unit readings, et cetera). Be sure that you follow APA guidelines for style and formatting, as well as for citing your resources in the body of your paper and on the Reference page.