Transformational Story

Think back to a time when you heard about a transformational story that truly inspired you. Perhaps it was about a successful CEO who grew up in a life of poverty. Maybe it was about a woman who lost her entire family in a natural disaster, then started a charity organisation in their honor. Or a man who won the lottery and used the money to create an innovative product that gave back to the community. A transformational story consists of the retelling of a pivotal event in one's life and its effects upon the individual who experienced it. The person who recounts the story shares how he or she is now a different person as a result of having lived through a particular experience. Positive and negative experiences both can be transformational in nature and have a profound impact.

Transformational stories are useful to leaders because they accomplish two important things: First, they illustrate a point and are therefore instructive to colleagues and co-workers. Second, they personalise a leader's experience in the minds of others so that they see a different side of the leader. This can result in a greater personal affinity with the leader and a sense that he or she is genuine and effective.

The act of sharing a personal and transformational experience creates a bond between people, because there is a certain amount of personal risk and vulnerability associated with sharing something intimate. As you learned about the transformational stories of notable individuals in the Learning Resources, you probably were able to relate to them on a personal level. Perhaps you could even visualise yourself in a similar situation and imagine how you would react in those circumstances. Thus, we gain as much from sharing our own stories as we do from listening and acknowledging the transformational aspects of others' stories.

In this unit, you will create and share your own transformational story. Review the transformational stories of Gandhi and Frankl, and consider which elements provide leadership lessons and contribute to learning and transformation.

To complete this Shared Activity:

• Write your own transformational story (approximately 750 words). Your transformational experience can be about adversity, but it does not necessarily have to be a negative one. It should, however, be one that that not only impacted you emotionally, but also transformed how you view the world and the way you relate to others. Your story should consist of the following elements:

Describe yourself before your transformation experience.

Describe your transformational experience (make sure this is an experience you are comfortable sharing).

Explain how you were changed and transformed as a result of this experience.

Summarise the leadership lessons that you have learned as a result and how you can apply them in your personal and professional life.

Explain how reading a full version of this transformational story would be valuable to others.

• Midway through the unit, post your transformational story to the Unit 3 ‘Transformational Stories' Discussion Forum for peer feedback.

• Use the Discussion Forum to provide feedback to your fellow students on their postings by asking clarifying questions, suggesting new ideas as well as alternative ways of expressing ideas and providing encouragement. Because there is no best way to write a transformational story, your feedback should focus on aspects such as written expression and the depth of thinking displayed about leadership lessons, connected when possible to leadership concepts from your readings.

• As you receive feedback from your colleagues, accept it in the spirit that it was given and consider how you might use it to improve your work.

Participate in this Shared Activity only during the period of this unit to ensure that you and your colleagues can keep track of one another's postings and maintain a focused, collaborative discussion. Review the Syllabus and Shared Activities Forum Rubric for information on how your contributions to the Shared Activities Forum will be graded in this module. In each unit, you will receive feedback from your Faculty Member on your participation in the Shared Activities Forum, focusing on your contributions to the learning community. In Unit 6, your Faculty Member will provide final feedback and a final grade on your Shared Activity contribution throughout the module.

To complete your Shared Activity, click on Shared Activities Forum on the Module Menu, and select your Group's Discussion area, then Select 'Unit 3 Shared Activity ' to begin.

Individual Assignment 1: Leadership and Transformation

An important aspect of a graduate education is the ability to connect theory and practice - in other words, to apply ideas from scholarly research literature to your own experiences and use these concepts to improve your practice. The effective leader and manager will continually compare his or her experiences and approaches with recommendations from the management literature, and will critically evaluate what he or she reads based on prior knowledge and experience. This assignment will enable you to connect your transformational story to key leadership concepts. Additionally, it will help prepare you further for one element of your Final Project, a written critique of a leadership model or concept in relation to your own perspectives on leadership.

To complete your Individual Assignment:

Revise your transformational story based on your colleagues' feedback. Add a brief (approximately 500 words) explanation of how a key leadership concept discussed in this unit, or a previous unit, relates to your transformational story. Be sure to cite your references to the literature, include a reference list, and format your assignment in Harvard style. In your explanation, be sure to address the following:

• How does your transformational experience illustrate - or refute - a leadership concept from this unit, or a previous unit?
Submit your Individual Assignment to your Faculty Member for feedback. Be sure to submit by the end of this unit in order to receive feedback. Contact your Faculty Member for permission to submit an assignment early, or to submit an assignment after the end of the unit.
To complete your Individual Assignment, do the following:

• Please complete the Individual Assignment in a single Word document and submit between Day 6 and 7 of the second week of Unit 3.

• To upload your Individual Assignment, click on Individual Assignments Submission on the Module Menu, and then click the "Unit 3 - Individual Assignment 1 Turnitin" link.

Individual Assignment 2: Reflective Journal

You already have engaged in significant reflection in this unit by creating and sharing your transformational story and responding to those of others. In this Unit, you will add a third Reflective Journal entry, and submit the journal entries you have created thus far for feedback from your faculty member.

To complete your Individual Assignment:

For this Reflective Journal entry, reflect on the process of writing and sharing your transformational story, and think ahead to future experiences that may serve as opportunities for further growth. With that in mind, write 2 to 3 paragraphs that address the following questions:

• How can a transformational experience influence you as a leader and manager?

• What skills can you acquire from a transformational experience or critical incident?

Submit your Individual Assignment to your Faculty Member for feedback. Be sure to submit by the end of this unit in order to receive feedback. Contact your Faculty Member for permission to submit an assignment early, or to submit an assignment after the end of the unit.

To complete your Individual Assignment, do the following:

• Please compile your Reflective Journal entries into a single Word document and submit between Day 6 and 7 of the second week of Unit 3.

• To upload your Individual Assignment, click on Individual Assignments Submission on the Module Menu, and then click the "Unit 3 - Individual Assignment 2 Turnitin" link.