Module 1 Homework Assignment 1

Running head: HOMEWORK 1

Module 1 Homework Assignment

Andrew Uhlenkamp
Allied American University

Author Note
This paper was prepared for MGT 320: Leadership in Organizations, Module 1
Homework Assignment taught by Kathryn Sellers.

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PART I: SHORT RESPONSE

Directions: Respond to the following prompts using complete sentences. Each answer should be
a minimum of two paragraphs in length.
1.

Name and describe the six key elements of Leadership. Focus on description as you are
specific on each of the elements.
The six elements of Leadership, as described in The Leadership Experience, fifth edition

(Daft, 2008) are influence, intention, personal responsibility and integrity, change, shared
purpose, and followers. The first of these, influence, states that leadership is an active
relationship between a leader and a follower, in which the leader changes the way the follower
thinks, acts, or feels. As a leader, its optimal to control that influence in a positive way, but bad
leaders may negatively influence their followers as much as good leaders positively influence
them.
Intention suggests that leaders have a plan and an end-goal related to their actions. They
perform tasks and assign duties with a direction in mind. Whether or not those intentions take
them to where they want to go depends on a lot of other factors.
Personal responsibility and integrity vary from leader to leader. In the old paradigm, leaders
would blame others for the negative consequences of their actions. They would also attempt to
hide negative effects and skew facts to make their performance seem more positive than it was.
Such tactics are unacceptable in todays world, with technology and information so easily
accessible, if a leader is not forthcoming about both the good and the bad, their deception will be
brought to light. It is much better to admit to being wrong and accept the repercussions from a
poor choice than to attempt to hide it only to be found out later on.
Change is inevitable. Under the old paradigm, change was avoided like the plague, because
it represented a shift away from the status quo. Change was unknown, and if business was good,

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change could have meant bad things. Today, change represents adaptability. In the constant state
of flux that our world has recently been subject too since the advent of e-commerce and
worldwide telecommunications, organizations that cant adapt, fail.
Shared purpose represents the goal of a team. Leaders are driven to an objective, supported
by their subordinates. If these subordinates do not share in the ambition to reach this objective,
however, their efforts will be hampered. Motivating everyone on the team to reach for the same
goal, however, increases the likelihood of success.
Finally, followers comprise the sixth element of leadership, because a leader cannot lead
himself. He or she must have subordinates to follow their leadership. Without followers, there is
no leader, only a lone wolf.
2.

Discuss the concept of The New Reality for Leadership. Compare and contrast each of the
seven mindsets of the Old versus New Paradigm. Which one do you think is most useful in
a technology driven society? Why?

3.

Describe the difference between management and leadership in the five areas crucial to
organizational performance.

4.

Describe how leadership has evolved through the four leadership eras. What are the
implications?

5.

Is leadership an art, a science, or both? Explain your reasoning and cite your work.

6.

Describe in detail what the difference is between the trait approaches and the behavior
approaches of leadership. Which do you personally consider more credible? Explain why
you believe so. Use personal examples to support your explanation, if possible.

7.

Describe individualized leadership and explain the three stages of development.

PART II: ESSAY

Directions: After reading the Forbes article in this modules lecture notes, reflect on the article
you read and contrast it to other articles on the same topic. For this assignment, you will need to
conduct your own research to find articles that have the same key notions and concepts as the
Forbes article. You may utilize AAUs LIRN Library to help you locate articles. Then, in a three
page APA formatted paper with citations, compare and contrast at least three opinions on the
traits of leaders. Finally, create your own list of five traits.

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Note: Please visit the Academic Resource Center for effective guides on how to utilize LIRN and
concise APA guidelines.
Turaks main point was that anyone who is a leader is also a follower (2012). Everyone
has someone that ranks above them and for whom they work. Good leaders, therefore, must also
know how to be good followers. This concept that good followers follow by leading teaches
traits that are useful to leaders and helps followers become leaders. Great followers dont just
wait for instructions and follow them. Great followers anticipate and proactively solve problems
before they arise. They also take initiative and learn what is expected of them, performing tasks
without being told. Attitude is also a major factor in a persons ability to lead as well as follow. A
good leader will have an attitude that is resilient and aggressive. Failures are turned into learning
opportunities, and successes are temporary, as there is always another challenge lurking around
the corner.
Several other articles found online list their own set of secrets to leadership. Kara Prior
(2011) wrote down a list of ten of them compiled from several CEOs of successful corporations
and leadership consultants. These secrets revolved around selecting and developing the
appropriate personnel to achieve the best results. Being redundant and honest in communication
was key, as was confidence in both your product, your team, and your own ability.
Business Insider published an article earlier this year in which they asked nine different
successful people what their biggest secret to leadership was (Smith & Sugar, 2015). These
varied, while most of them applied to interacting with a leaders subordinates, several of them
dealt with tasks that leaders face. Richard Branson suggested that knowing how and when to be
decisive and how to take your time and consider all of the angles and options of a decisions
before it is made can be key in critical times during an organizations life. There are some cases

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where decisions are time sensitive, and a call must be made quickly to take advantage of an
opportunity, or to prevent further damage. Then there are other cases which provoke a knee-jerk
reaction, but in which decisions should be shelved until an appropriate amount of time can be
dedicated to considering all of the ramifications of each choice.
Still another entry on this list, Craig Newmark, the creator of Craiglist, suggested that
knowing your own limitations is also key. He realized that, while he was the leader of this
successful internet community, he was not a good leader. Rather than trying to force himself to
become the leader his team needed, he instead stepped aside and hired someone who could be
the leader they deserved.
Finally, James Kerr (2015) wrote an article for Inc. in which he provided five of his own
pieces of advice for new managers. All of his advice in this piece reflects on how a manager
performs the duties of his position and how best to handle certain situations which otherwise
might call for reactions that are not in the managers best interest. Two of his main tips include
knowing when to provide an answer to a question or a problem, and understanding when it is
okay to admit that you dont have an answer at this moment, or to rather say nothing at all.
Personally, I believe that a good leader is equal parts job effectiveness and team building.
In order to be a good leader, a leader needs to know how to cultivate the people working for him
or her. One of the best ways to do this, I think, is transparency and accountability. These traits
help a leader to establish trust among his subordinates. I think that being able to see that their
leader possesses honesty and integrity will help those working for him or her know that their
hard work will be recognized and that they can put their faith in their leaders promises.
A good leader needs to produce a team that can function effectively without direct
management. Trust is a two-way street, and when the boss has the trust of his employees, they

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need to feel like they have the trust of their boss. By knowing and developing his or her team, a
leader can set his or her employees to accomplish any number of tasks, or even take the initiative
to develop their own ideas or strategies to improve the groups success. A leader needs to be
there to assist and guide his or her team, but the more they can do without direct input, the better.
Decision-making is one of the strongest traits for a good leader. Being able to cut through
all of the non-essential aspects of a choice to determine what would be the most beneficial
decision for the organization is key. After making crucial decisions, commitment and followthrough are important, because it shows strength in leadership and supports the decision,
regardless of the outcome.
Another trait a leader should have is the willingness and ability to do anything that they
ask their team to do, if possible. Some team members are going to possess skill sets that their
leaders dont, making it difficult for them to share the same workload. Whenever possible,
however, it can mean a lot to the members of a team to see their leader roll up his or her sleeves
and get dirty, so to speak. Knowing that their leader is willing and able to do whatever they ask
their subordinates to do can go a long way toward earning the teams respect and dedication.
Finally, a good leader needs to understand how to motivate and encourage his or her
team. There is plenty of debate about the merits of optimism versus realism, and even the most
optimistic leader should still be prepared to deal with a worst-case scenario. While inconvenient
or unhappy truths should never be sugar-coated or hidden from the team, and the serious nature
of a situation shouldnt be down-played, possessing a determination and an ability to succeed
through adversity and to prevail against pressing odds is essential to keeping a team from being
discouraged by hardship and misfortune.

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References1.

Turak, August. July 2012. The 11 Leadership Secrets Youve Never Heard About.
Forbes. Taken from:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/augustturak/2012/07/17/the-11 -leadership-secrets-you-

never-heard-about/
2. Prior, Kara O. October, 2011. 10 Secrets of Successful Leaders. Entrepreneur. Taken
3.

from: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220518
Smith, Jacquelyn & Sugar, Rachel. July, 2015. 9 Super-Successful People Share Their
Biggest Leadership Secrets. Business Insider. Taken from:

4.

http://www.businessinsider.com/successful-people-leadership-secrets-2015-7
Kerr, James. October, 2015. 5 Leadership Secrets For the Newly-Minted Manager. Inc.
Taken from: http://www.inc.com/james-kerr/5-leadership-secrets-for-the-newly
-minted-manager.html

PART III: JOURNAL ACTIVITY

Directions: In this module, you were introduced to the concept of leadership. Prepare a two
page APA formatted paper that explains to your instructor how the concept of leadership relates
to your own personal or career goals and what you want to learn in this course to help you
achieve them.

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Our world has been rapidly evolving over the last several decades. In my own lifetime,
shortly after the introduction of personal home computers, the internet and world communication
sparked a worldwide revolution. The ability to communicate in real-time with other people on
the opposite side of the world has enabled businesses, technologies, industries, and commerce in
general to expand by leaps and bounds. This sudden overhaul of the world as we knew it has not
come without complications and problems, however. Leadership is vital in these times to help
guide organizations through periods of major change. Where leadership used to mean
maintaining the status quo, it now demands flexibility and innovation. Leadership in the old days
meant management more than motivation. Today, however, leaders need to develop their
subordinates into being able to manage themselves and encourage innovation and individual
thought rather than toeing the line.
This shift from an outdated mode of doing things to the new is always met with resistance
and an unwillingness to change. Seeing the old guard become out-paced by the organizations that
utilize new ideas, as a progressive thinker, Id like to know what I can do to not only be a better
leader myself, but to recognize better leadership in individuals as well as organizations. Im a
newly-promoted sergeant in the Nebraska National Guard, with an objective to spend at least 20
years in the service to earn a pension. As a team leader, the lower enlisted soldiers under my
command will be expected to take guidance and direction from me. I dont want my soldiers to
grudgingly follow my instructions because they have to, but rather, I want them to carry out my
orders because they respect me. In return, I want to do everything I can as a leader to help them
develop in their careers and become better soldiers.
As my career progresses, I will undoubtedly continue to be looked to for my knowledge
and experience to lead younger soldiers. The more I can learn about good leadership, the better I

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feel I will be able to complete my tasks as a leader. Amongst my peers, I want those around me
to feel comfortable placing trust in my decisions and performance. Where higher command is
concerned, I want to be able to recognize good leadership and do what I can as a subordinate to
develop better leaders.
In the civilian world, I work for a public school system and have aspirations to join the
metropolitan police force. Being in near constant contact with the public, my strength of
personality naturally causes me to gravitate towards people and their problems. I want to be able
to confidently perform my duties in a way that inspires trust and confidence from those around
me, both co-workers and others alike. My aggressive approach to general problem-solving tends
to make me someone that is always looking for a solution. In those situations, I want the capacity
to be able to step aside when someone else has a better idea, or to take charge with a solution I
think will work, and the wisdom to be able to determine which course might be better.
Being able to follow, as has been expressed by numerous sources in this weeks studies,
is one of the key components of being a good leader. My goal is to achieve both. If I am put into
a position to lead, I want to lead confidently, by developing those around me to boost up the
group as a whole. If I am put into a position to follow, I want to be able to recognize both
positive and negative traits in the leader that I work for to be able to determine whether or not
they are competent and worthwhile. Likewise, I want to recognize the same traits in people that
are not yet leaders, so that I might better choose who to follow when the time calls for it.

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