Leadership Philosophy Paper
As the BA in Leadership capstone course, the central activity is to articulate your synthesis of learning about leadership and yourself as a leader in the form of a personal philosophy of leadership paper. This paper is a theory that serves to explain and guide how you act, a set of beliefs/principles that ground you in how you will lead, and a set of commitments that drive your actions as a leader.
Using course readings, material from forum discussions, and thoughts/ideas/concepts from your previous courses, reflect on the following questions:
1. Who are you? Describe your personality and the life scripts that shape your habitsyour uniqueness as a human being. Specifically, tell your life story in terms of how you have prepared to take responsibility of leading yourself (Phase I) and any experiences you had leading others (Phase II). Also, use insights from your Birkman report to describe the general patterns of your personality.
2. What do you believe? Describe your core beliefs (that is, your worldview), using some of Sires eight basic worldview questions to describe your perspective on the world. What are your core values as a person and as a leader? How does your worldview shape your view of leadership? In answering the last question be sure to clearly define what is your understanding of leadership.
3. How will you lead yourself and others? How will you live out what you believe about yourself and the world as a leader? What is your plan to grow your leadership competence and character?
Each question will form one of three parts, and should be about 3-4 pages.
At the end of Week Four you will submit Question 1.
At the end of Week Eight you will submit Questions 1 & 2 (as one document).
At the end of Week Twelve you will submit Questions 1, 2 & 3 (as one document).
See course outline for specific dues dates. Total length for the final paper is 9-12 pages, not including the title page and reference page.
APA format is required. Papers will not be marked on the students beliefs but on how well their learnings, leadership philosophy and worldviews are articulated.
Required Texts & Materials:
George, B. (2015). Discover your true north. Wiley.
Sire, J. W. (2020). The universe next door: A basic worldview catalog. InterVarsity Press.
Suggested Reading
Brown B. (2018). Dare to lead: Brave work, tough conversations, whole hearts. Random House.
