LEAD.301.C1 Personal Leadership

Week 4 Discussion Forum

PLS DO NOT GENERALIZE THE ANSWERS

Set aside an hour of quiet time to review and answer the questions posed in "Your Career and Life Vision and 3-5 Year Professional Leadership Goal Guide", posted in the classroom. Take the time to answer the questions honestly and thoughtfully.

At the end of the Guide is a Summary Section containing the following questions:What have you learned about yourself? What insights did you have? Based on what you discovered, what are the implications for any of the following

Note: This is important work that many of us rarely take the time to do. As an added inducement, it will also help you in writing your final paper.

Your Career and Life Vision, 3-5 Year Professional Leadership Goal, Strengths-Preparation for Online Discussion Forum

"The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn, the bird waits in the egg, and in the highest vision of the soul a waking angel stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of realities." James Allen

The purpose of this assignment is for you to thoughtfully discover and/or explore both your personal and professional vision and goals. We'll start with your overall life and career vision and goals and then focus on your 3-5 year goals. Your 3-5 year professional goal will inform your final personal leadership development plan and includes the professional role you want to attain in three to five years. In order to get there, you need to seriously consider your life as a whole. What are your dreams for yourself? Who else is included in this dream? If you knew you couldn't fail, what would you reach for? This is an opportunity to expand your thinking and at least for now, assume that anything is possible. What is your greatest ambition? What do you want for younot what do others want from you?

I also have put together a PowerPoint explaining the exercises. Everything rests on completing this part. I have also outlined the exercises below.

Section 1: Your Career and Life Vision

I would like you to go through a series of six exercises. Each should take 5-10 minutes each. Jot down notes so that you can share with your online team. Remember the distinction between a safe zone, learning zone, and danger zone. When you are in the safe zone, you are at ease and feel no tension. When you are in the learning zone, you are curious and willing to take some risks to become more effective. When you have entered the danger zone, you might feel panicky, scared, and defensive. If you are in the danger zone with any of these exercises, please stop and take care of yourself.

Part 1: Your Obituary (This is a private exercise and meant to help you identify what's really important to you)

Imagine that it is many, many, many years from now. Friends, family, and loved ones are gathered to honor your life. What is being said? What kind of person are you? What adjectives described you? Who did you impact or change? What were your major career accomplishments? What did you do for your community? Who are you leaving behind? What was your legacy? What were you known for?

Part 2: Your Retirement Dinner

It is several years earlier. You are being honored at your retirement dinner. Several speakers are singing your praises. What are they saying? What and/or whom did you impact or change? What were your major career accomplishments for each decade of your life? What were you passionate or enthusiastic about? What character traits and values did you consistently demonstrate over your lifetime?

Part 3: Aspirations for each area of your life

Write down your aspirations for each area of your life? What words come up? What are you experiencing? CreateEEE aAAA rich and vivid word picture of each of these areas of your life. What does it mean, what does it feel like, when you have reached your ideal in each of these? If there is an area not included, by all means add it. And if there is an area that doesn't fit, customize this for you.

Part 4: Want/Don't Want

Think about times in your life when you are most energized and fulfilled. What were you doing? Who was present and what made it so positive? From this, extract what you want in your life. Then think about times when you were unhappy, unfulfilled, dissatisfied, and demotivated. What were you doing? Who was present and what was going on? From this, extract what you don't want.

Things I don't want

Part 5: What does your life look and feel like in ten years? Be very specific.

Part 6: Based on this, where do you need to be professionally in three to five years? What is your professional goal?

Section 2: Your 3-5 Year Professional Goal

In this section, describe in as much detail as you can, the professional objective upon which you will design your final development plan. What role do you aspire to be in three to five years from now? Be as specific as possible. Describe your desired position, the type of work you are doing, the role you have, the industry, etc. What kind of impact would you like to have on your environment, on the people around you and on your organization or company? The more specific you can be the better. Also include information about your chosen field. You can go to

It may be that you want to continue in your current role. If that is the case, what new scope, responsibilities, new knowledge do you want to acquire. We are making the assumption that because you enrolled in an MBA program that you want to see progress in your career, whether it is growth in your current position, a new position, a new industry, or even a switch to another field.

If you still do not have a clear goal, be sure to summarize your exploration of career planning so that I know you are at least on a path. Be prepared to share what you are considering and why.

Section 3: Your StrengthsFinder Themes Translated into Strengths Statements In this section, consider what you have learned about yourself based on the StrengthsFinder themes. Take a shot at explaining your strengths in a way that is unique to you and only you, not "StrengthsFinder speak." Here are some examples:

• "I am really good at synthesizing and compiling marketing data into a clear report that dramatically improves executive decision making."
• "One of my strengths is coming into a failing division, quickly getting to know the strengths of the team, restructuring, and turning around the business."

Section 4: Summary

What have you learned about yourself?What insights did you have? Based on what you discovered, what are the implications for any of the followingyour current or future work? Your personal life? Your family life?

References

Cashman, K. (1998). Leadership from the inside out: Becoming a leader for life. Provo, UT: Executive Excellence Publishing.

Consulting Psychologists Press. (2009). Using the Myers-Briggs instrument with the Gallup Strengthsfinder 2.0 instrument. Retrieved August 10, 2010, from http://www.cppiconsuccess.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/myers-briggs-strengthfinders-guide.pdf

Richmond, S.L. (2008). Introduction to typeEEEE AAAand Leadership (6th ed.). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.