Application Journal

Leadership Capstone

Liz Horgan

Comm 628 Summer 2010

Dr. Kristen Johnson

August, 2010
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I struggled with this prompt. My first reading of the assignment I

focused on the requirement to develop a personal action plan of how I intend to

use what I have learned from this class, on the setting of SMART personal goals

relating to leadership. I am not a leader, nor do I even want to be a leader. I

am interested in self actualization (Kurt Goldstein defined self-actualization as

“a driving life force that will ultimately lead to maximizing one's abilities and

determine the path of one's life and work with excellence on a project basis”).

Not everyone is a leader or wants to be a leader. If there are only leaders, there

are by definition no followers, and by extension things won’t get done – vision

without action is just a dream.

But then I realized that leadership comes in many forms. While I do not

aspire to be at the helm of a Fortune 500 Company, hold political office, or

command soldiers in battle, I realized that in fact I am a currently a leader in

other, smaller realms. I am a leader in my family as “Mom” – guiding and

influencing my three children as a single mother. I also take initiative, plan and

execute outdoor activities/adventures – leading both family and friends as they

try new things; last weekend I led a camping and whitewater rafting trip where I

motivated and influenced a group for a vision of change or movement (the

definition of leadership) – none in the group of six would have either camped or
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rafted had I not taken the lead and helped everyone push past their fears and

comfort zones. In May, 2010 I spearheaded and ran the program for a group of

Azerbaijani government officials who came to Charlotte for a week. So…I am a

leader - as well as a follower, collaborator and mentor.

Discussion of Theory

The theories and premises on leadership outlined in our Northouse

(2010) textbook that resonated the most for me were path-goal theory, Leader

Member Exchange (LMX) and authentic/transformational leadership. I believe

leadership study has to entail all aspects of leadership engagement, rather than

simply concentrating solely on the leader. The theories that I felt were the most

informative had a focus on the group, on the followers, and on the dynamics

between leader and follower. Path-goal centers on increasing motivation by

leaders choosing behaviors that are missing from or that can complement the

work setting. I liked the idea of adjusting leadership to fit a situation, a

particular group and individual dynamics. The process of interactions between

leaders and followers, as highlighted in LMX theory, shows the importance of

quality relationships. Developing valuable relationships within an organization,

where “in” and “out” groupings play out, is instructive for the whole idea of

interactive leadership and group action. Another important facet of leadership

for me came from the characteristics of both authentic and transformational

leaders - the practice of truly connecting with followers, building relationships

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over time, and an emphasis on the follower and his/her needs – which add

depth to the mutuality of leader/follower relations.

One criticism of leadership study is that the issue of outcomes is not

adequately addressed or explained – measurements of leadership results seem

too subjective, yet just because we don’t know how to effectively identify and

analyze outcomes, it does not mean it isn’t important. There is definitely room

for expanding the theoretical pursuit of leadership and outcomes.

Learnings

The challenge is what to do with my newfound leadership knowledge. I

believe the learnings from this class will help me with all of my interpersonal

relations. I have learned to look at personal interactions more closely,

differently - and will hopefully be able to use my new perspectives specifically

in an organizational setting in the near future (the hope here is me getting a

job); my new insights will help me better understand people I am working for

and collaborating with.

My key learnings from the class regarding leadership were:

• The definition of leadership is complex. The more you get into it, the

richer the concept and practice of leadership becomes.

• Leaders are both born and made. They emerge from situations and they

grow through experiences. Leaders excel in one way or another; they are
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intelligent, have a passion/vision/faith or charisma that draws others to

them, and they have a variety of ways of influencing others to act. Some

focus on task, others on relational aspects of their followers. Leadership

styles differ, and the process of interacting with followers varies

depending on both the leader’s and followers’ abilities, motivation,

environment and experiences.

• Ethical behavior is vital to a leader’s ultimate success.

• Communication is a critical component of leadership, following and

collaborating. It is a term broadly used, yet the saying ‘the devil’s in the

details’ applies, for communication permeates all types of leadership, all

interpersonal exchanges, at all levels.

• People, followers and collaborators, are the engine that drives success.

Excellent leaders, authentic and transformational leaders, can inspire

followers through vision and by emphasizing the needs of followers. As

detailed in the book Good to Great (2001), a goal of a Level 5 leader is to

get the right people in place in an organization. Accomplishing

appropriate people selection and placement can eliminate much of the

management and personnel issues that take up so much energy and time

in business today.
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• The theory and research we were exposed to in this class framed our

class discussions and influenced my thinking as I looked at the practical

side of leaders and leadership situations – applying an expanded

framework made real-life situations more interesting and added a depth

of perspective I didn’t have before.

My key learnings were also interpersonal. I believe I have learned more about

people by delving into dynamics of leadership; I appreciate individual

approaches to leadership, to power, to purpose, and feel that I comprehend the

needs of both leaders and followers better as a result of having had this class.

I think I can be better in a leadership role because of greater self knowledge; I

have identified my personal skills, traits, preferences, style, personality and

other attributes through the questionnaires provided in the book. I can be a

better follower/collaborator because the scope of my view is broader. For

instance, in the Team Leadership chapter of our book (2010), I learned the

importance of monitoring the internal and external environments and assessing

the “how’s” and “when’s” of acting vs. not intervening.

Other learnings from this course came from the Psychodynamic Approach

chapter in the Northouse (2010) textbook. I enjoyed reading about personality

types (Myers Briggs, etc.), I have done this before, doing the DISC and other

tests that analyzed my personality type and coached me in relating to and

working with the other personality types in my office. I also did the
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questionnaire in the book, and came out “ESFP” – according to the analysis from

our textbook, I value realism, am energetic, inquisitive and encouraging. I like

that this chapter emphasized the relationship between leader and follower. I

found it interesting that most leaders are Thinkers and Judgers where I am the

opposite, a Feeler and Perceiver. This dichotomy may explain my ambivalence

with personal leadership and the difficulty I have with this assignment.

Personal Action Plan

Based on my learnings from this class, I have developed the following

personal action plan which includes the following goals:

1. Adapt to my new role as the mother of adult children.

o Specific – Transition to an advisory role from an active, hands-on

leadership role so that my children are empowered to make

decisions and take action without motivation/prodding from me.

o Measurable – for the next month, instead of problem solving for my

children, allow them to figure out what they need to/should do.

At the end of each day write down the number of times I

empowered them and the number of times I jumped in and took

the lead.
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o Attainable – yes, but this one will be difficult. I am changing 23

years of behaviors, so expect it will be a slow redevelopment

process for me.

o Relevant – all three of my children will be in college. It is time for

them to take responsibility for themselves, their plans, their

actions.

o Timebound – 1 month assessment period.

2. Use some of the traits, skills, situations and other components of

leadership to drive my career and job search.

a. Get a mentor for career guidance

o Specific – select a leader in training and development from an

organization who has a broad knowledge of the industry and

varied experiences, ideally a person who is responsible for hiring

training personnel.

o Measurable – yes, either I arrange for a mentor or I don’t. There is

ongoing challenge of measuring the quality of the mentoring

relationship that I will need to address once I have some

experience in this area.

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o Attainable – I have a name of a mentor that I plan on contacting. If

he cannot do this, I plan to ask him for a referral and have two

other people in mind to contact regarding this.

o Relevant – I need help in understanding the practical aspects of

training, the realities of the marketplace, so this goal is very

relevant to me.

o Timebound – contact the mentor by September 15th. Meet face-to-

face and get agreement for him/her to be my mentor by October

1, 2010.

b. Increase involvement with an industry organization - ASTD

o Specific – volunteer for the big year-end event the Charlotte ASTD

Chapter puts on. Position – to be the presentation room

moderator and monitor.

o Measurable – yes, either I am or I am not.

o Attainable – yes, I’ve spoken with the person heading up volunteers

and am on her list

o Relevant – This will enable me to be responsible for part of the

event, giving me a role in the event which will require base

leadership skills because of my position at the event. I will be able

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to meet other training professionals on a different level and will be

able to learn from the sessions as well as network.

o Timebound – December 1, 2010 is the date of the event. Gain firm

commitment of role by November 1st.

c. Intern or volunteer opportunity.

o Specific – get actively involved in a training project in order to gain

experience and understanding on the relational dynamics of a

training event

o Measurable – yes, I can either do it or I don’t. It is easily measured.

o Attainable – I believe so, especially as I can work for free.

o Relevant – I need work experience

o Timebound – my self-imposed deadline for uncovering this

opportunity is November 1, 2010.

Ending thoughts

Thank you for what I feel was an excellent class. I valued your leadership

as our teacher as we explored this broad topic. I come away from this class
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with new knowledge, new perspectives, and new questions. For instance, I

want to understand more fully the cultural aspects of leadership, and really

of interpersonal dynamics and communications. I read the Culture and

Leadership chapter in our Northouse (2010) textbook and want to know

more. It’s a good note to end our class on, knowing that I will continue to

seek information and knowledge and plan to keep growing!

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References

Collins, J. (2001). Good to Great. New York, HarperCollins.

Northouse, P. G. (2010). Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA:

Sage.