Self-Leadership

Introduction

For this assessment, you will complete a self-assessment of your leadership strengths, and then use it to write a paper on opportunities and strategies for future development.

An important characteristic of a leader is the ability to assess and develop one’s own skills and effectiveness as a leaderself-awareness and self-management are critical to being a successful leader. This is often referred to as self-leadership (Manz et al., 2016). According to the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP, 2016) education and training guidelines, self-leadership is an important, emerging focus for the education of industrial-organizational (I-O) psychologists.

Additionally, knowing how to capitalize on one’s strengths, as well as how to overcome shortcomings, is a common theme across different approaches to leadership development.

One approach comes from the field of positive psychology, which became popular through the work of Martin Seligman, past president of the American Psychological Association (APA). Strategies from positive psychology show promise in consulting to leaders.

While positive psychology favors the enhancement of personal strengths rather than dwelling on weaknesses, it does not advocate that personal challenges should not be addressed. Instead, the theory is that by working with a client from a perspective of strengths, it is possible to address areas of challenge and enhance a leader’s work. The Clifton StrengthsFinder is one strengths-based assessment that is widely used for the purpose of building on strengths (Rath & Conchie, 2009).

To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of the business community.

For the following questions, refer to the article by Welch, Grossaint, Reid, and Walker (2014), “Strengths-Based Leadership Development: Insights from Expert Coaches,” listed in the “Leader Development” resource activity.

• How do leadership strengths evolve over a long period of time? Are these strengths sustainable?
• In what ways can professional leadership coaching help people reach their leadership potential?
• How can a coach help to sustain a person’s leadership strengths over time?

References

Manz, C. C., Houghton, J. D., Neck, C. P., Fugate, M., & Pearce, C. (2016). Whistle while you work: Toward a model of emotional self-leadership. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 23(4), 374386.

Rath, T., & Conchie, B. (2009). Strengths based leadership: Great leaders, teams, and why people follow. Gallup Press.

Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP). (2016). Guidelines for education and training in industrial-organizational psychology [PDF]. http://www.siop.org/Instruct/SIOP_ET_Guidelines_2017.pdf

Preparation

A key characteristic of effective leaders is the ability to continue to assess one’s own skills and development. In order to self-assess, a wide range of leadership assessment tools are available for determining one’s strengths and potential areas of improvement as a leader.

Using the optional strengths-based assessments in the “Self-Assessment Tools and Strengths-Based Applications” resource activity or other strengths-based assessments you find from the Capella library or other reputable Internet sources, research different leadership assessment tools and complete a strengths-based assessment.

You can select a leadership assessment of your choice. If you opt to use the StrengthsFinder assessment, be sure to procure a new copy of the accompanying text by Rath and Conchie (2009), Strengths Based Leadership, for an access code. You may also wish to explore the Values in Action (VIA) personality strengths test, which provides a classification of strengths.

For this assessment, imagine that you are preparing for a year-end performance review. Your organization recognizes the value of a strengths-based assessment, and your manager has asked you to complete one as part of your year-end review. It may help you to use a current or previous position as the context for your writing.

Requirements

Prepare a 35 page paper that answers the following:

• Assesses one’s strengths as a potential leader, based on results from the chosen self-assessment tool.
• What are your own strengths as a potential leader, based on results of the self-assessment tool?
• Describe a time when that strength operated strongly in your work or life.
• Is there anything that might help you use one of your strengths more fully now in your work or life?
• Do you feel the assessment adequately and accurately described your strengths and potential opportunities for development as leader? Why or why not?
• Propose key strategies for further development as a leader.
• How might you build for the future on one of your strengths identified by the assessment?
• What are key areas of opportunities and potential strategies for your further development as a leader, according to your results from the assessment and the literature on strengths-based leadership development?
• Analyze applicability of strengths-based leadership theories for enhancing leadership effectiveness.
• How does the process for assessing your own leadership abilities connect with strengths-based theory grounded in positive psychology, using the tool you selected?
• How helpful are strengths-based theories in helping enhance leadership effectiveness?
• How does knowing the strengths of others help leaders to coach people and improve performance on a team?

Be sure to provide at least three references to support your analysis.

Additional Requirements

• Written communication: Ensure written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• APA formatting: Format your paper according to current APA style and formatting.
• References: Minimum of three peer-reviewed resources to support your paper.
• Length: Submit 35 typed and double-spaced pages.
• Font and font size: Use Times New Roman, 12-point font.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

• Competency 2: Evaluate the relevance and applicability of theories of leadership.
• Analyze applicability of strengths-based leadership theories for enhancing leadership effectiveness.
• Competency 3: Apply processes for your leadership development and for developing leadership in others.
• Assess one’s strengths as a potential leader based on results from the chosen self-assessment tool.
• Propose key strategies for further development as a leader.
• Competency 4: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of the psychological professions.
• Use grammar, punctuation, and mechanics expected of graduate-level composition and expression.
• Use current APA format and style.