Course Objectives Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: 1. Explain how leaders help create high performing business organizations 2. Evaluate models and frameworks for effective leadership in a professional environment 3. Analyze how leaders enable teams to thrive 4. Chart strategies that lead organizations 5. Identify the leadership traits that motivate and empower others to implement the leader’s vision Background Information Understanding the strategies and tactics used by business leaders in their organizations is a key concept studied throughout the course. For this project, conduct two or three interviews of business leaders, to learn about situations leaders have found to be successful in their organizations—whether it be motivation, or frameworks and strategies, you will want to learn about what strategies successful leaders use. You will prepare interview and follow up questions to understand pertinent topics in leadership and teamwork. Once you have conducted the interviews, compile the findings in a report. Through the course of these interviews be sure to collect real-world examples of how leadership is applied in professional environments. Project Instructions For this project, you will conduct interviews of business leaders to discuss leadership traits related to the course objectives above. Then you will write a report that is 5-7 pages to illustrate your findings. Course Project Effective Leadership Keep the names of the interviewees (business leaders) confidential. Be sure to format the report according to APA standards and to use the standard essay writing guidelines. Your report should include an introduction, body, and conclusion. Your interview questions should focus on the following areas: • How leaders help create successful business organizations • What models and frameworks are being used • How leaders enable their teams to be successful • What strategies the leaders are using • Leadership traits used for motivation • Leadership efforts used to manage change The report should be organized in the following manner and will be graded on the following criteria: 1. Review the Interview Findings Summarize your interview findings in the following ways: • Include a summary of each interview with a focus on leadership methods and strategies • Identify leadership approaches you found in common between interviews • Identify significant differences you found in the leadership approach of interviewees Note: Transcripts of the interviews do not need to be included. Course Project Effective Leadership 2. Explanation of Leadership Methods For each interview: • Explain the methods used by the interviewees that lead their team to high performance. • Use examples from the interviews to show what created the level of performance. • Review and address the similar and differences in methods used in relation to the team’s performance. • Compare the methods between each interviewee. 3. Identify leadership models and frameworks For each interview: • Discuss the leadership models and frameworks used by the business leaders you interviewed. • What leadership models and frameworks did they use? Specifically identify the model and frameworks. (e.g. Laissez-Faire, Democratic, Strategic; leadership practices, leadership values, etc.) • Analyze the frameworks used. Are there any frameworks that may have worked better? • Be sure to include examples of how the models and frameworks functioned in real life scenarios from the interviews. 4. Discuss how leaders enable teams their teams to be successful For each interview: • Discuss the methods used by the leaders interviewed that enabled their teams to be successful. • What methods did they use? • How did the team respond? • What motivation tactics were used? Course Project Effective Leadership • In what ways were the methods successful or unsuccessful? • Provide examples from your interviews. • Analyze the methods used by different interviewees by comparing and contrasting the outcomes of each interviewee. 5. Analyze the leadership of change efforts For each interview: • Discuss the leadership efforts required to assist in making a change to a team or organization. • What process did the interviewee use to enact the change? • What methods were successful for leading a change effort, and how did the interviewees accomplish it? • Were they successful, why or why not? • Provide examples and discuss how leaders create a successful change. Project Submission Guidelines 1. A title page is not required for project submissions. Because evaluators do not see student names when reviewing student work, it is important that students not include any personal identifiers in their project submissions. 2. If your project requires a video, you should post the video to a free video hosting site like www.youtube.com, www.photobucket.com, or another free web hosting site. The following website maintains a list of video hosting sites: http://www.videohostings.com. In the written materials that you submit as part of the assignment, you should include the title of the video and a link for the evaluator to use to grade your submission. Please make sure that the privacy settings on your video are set to allow third parties to view it. 3. When you are ready, click on the Upload Files button in the Project tab of your course to submit your assignment. Your project should be graded Effective Leadership within 7 days. Please contact your instructor if this is not the case. 4. Your assignment will not be returned to you, so keep a copy for your files.