Part : Reflective Journal (70% of the final grade)
The second part of your assessment is a 2,500-word reflective journal. The purpose of this task is to assess your ability to critically analyse the key concepts and theories of leadership in organisations, reflect on and evaluate your own strengths and weaknesses as a leader, and develop well-informed strategies to improve your own leadership practice (LOs 1, 3, 4)
To prepare for this assessment, each week (1-7) you were asked to write about your learning from that week and the implications for your leadership practice in a reflective journal.
For the final summative assessment, you should choose five reflective journal entries which you feel best meet the module learning outcomes to submit.
WEEK 1 Discussion – Real-Life Leaders
This week, you have learned about the trait, behavioural and contingency approaches to the study of leadership. It is important to consider and apply this knowledge to your individual real-world context and to share your understanding with the rest of the group.
There are over 300 students on this module so, for the discussions that occur throughout the module, we have split the cohort into groups of up to 20 people. You will work with the same group throughout the module.
As this is the first week of the module, in this discussion, you will first introduce yourself to your group and share an example of a real-life leader. Then, you will share your thoughts on the different leaders selected by your classmates.
You will need to revisit each discussion several times during each week, to read and respond to new posts. The easiest way to do this is by clicking the ‘Discussions’ link in the side bar, then scrolling through the list of discussions to find the one you want.
Instructions:
Part 1:
Add a reply to this discussion and:
1. Introduce yourself to the class by sharing your name and job role (if appropriate), a leadership trait you think you have, and a trait you admire in others.
2. Share an image of a leader in your community or nation and answer the following:
o Who have you chosen and why?
o What leadership traits and behaviours do they demonstrate?
o How flexible are they in their behavioural style?
Try to make your first post by Thursday, 23:59 (UK time) to enable other students to respond.
Part 2:
Read everyone’s posts and respond to two other students by Sunday, 23:59 (UK time) of this week.
You may consider:
1. To what extent does this leader meet your criteria for an effective leader? Why/why not?
2. Is there any evidence that different cultures/countries value different leadership traits?
You can continue to add points to the discussion over the coming weeks, which you may wish to do as you progress through the module and are introduced to new perspectives.
