Assignment 1
Introduction to Leadership Theories
Before we begin to consider leadership theories and paradigms for this brief written assignment, it is very important that you take a moment to consider the importance of critical thinking skills in your educational pursuits. Throughout your program, critical thinking will be a core component of your academic success and will greatly improve the quality and depth of your writing. Engage with this Elements of Critical Thinking interactive before continuing. The concepts in the interactive video will help you examine, test, and clarify your own thinking as you work on assignments, including this one. The video is a flash video so your browser will need to have flash enabled.
For this written assignment you will think of leadership in all of its dimensions. Leadership is a term that is often used in education, business, and the military. In this class, you will have the opportunity to explore specific theories and paradigms of leadership.
Please make sure to read the required articles on work motivation by Ruth Kanfer and take a look at the following online resources to get an overview some of the main leadership theories.
MindTools. (2016). Core leadership theories: Learning the foundations of leadership. Available online at https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/leadership-theories.htm (Links to an external site.)
Leadership-central. (2016). Leadership theories. Available online at http://www.leadership-central.com/leadership-theories.html#axzz5Km2rI46I (Links to an external site.)
Zigarelli, M. (2013). Ten leadership theories in five minutes?. [Video file]. Retrieved from Ten Leadership Theories in Five Minutes (Links to an external site.) Minimize Video
Please respond to the following questions:
Which leadership theories spoke to you the most? Which ones have you seen in practice in your career or otherwise? Which ones have you implemented in your life, whether or not you were aware of doing so? Please explain how at least one theory has been demonstrated by one person in your life, or yourself.
Also, how might Ruth Kanfer’s three C’s of work motivation (content, context, and change) be applicable knowledge for a leader? How might you apply (or contrast) each leadership theory that you read about to this paradigm of work motivation?
As you prepare this written assignment for the course, please keep in mind that a successful final draft of any written assignment should be the product of brainstorming, outlining, and writing multiple drafts. Many of the assignments in this course are building blocks toward the final Leadership Theory paper, but it is important to keep in mind that you will need to continually revise your work using the feedback from your instructor as well as the Writing Center as you use these pieces to develop the final draft. The Writing Center is a great service for all students, offering 24/7 live chat support and a 24 hour feedback turnaround for papers and discussion posts. It is suggested that you submit a draft for the Writing Center for this paper, and required of you for the written assignments in Weeks 5 and 6. In addition, continue to leverage Grammarly and Turnitin as you build toward the final paper. HelpNow! (Links to an external site.) has three video tutorials on how to use Turnitin, an online tool that evaluates written work for originality and proper citations. You can also review the Turnitin FAQs (Links to an external site.) for responses to specific questions about the tool.
Make sure your completed written assignment is at least 300 words. Your assignment can refer to your own experience, but make sure to include content from readings, the online resources, or other reputable media and websites.
