GCU LDR600 Discussions Latest 2021 February (Full)

LDR600 Leadership Styles & Development

Week 1 Discussion

DQ1 The concept of leadership as a “vocation” greatly distinguishes leadership from a job, career, or what one simply does for a living. A vocation can be thought of as one’s calling. Vocation is often associated with the clergy or missionaries who feel called by a higher power to fulfill a specific purpose. Vocation is also a concept associated with careers like teachers, emergency responders, doctors, or other health care professionals who feel strongly compelled to dedicate their own lives to improving the lives of those whom they serve. Consider your own view of leadership. Discuss how this understanding of leadership as a vocation informs your understanding of the personal and moral commitments required of leaders. If leadership is not a job, but a calling, discuss the responsibilities leaders have towards their position, their organization, and their followers.

DQ2 Leadership is a complex process that requires leaders to critically appraise the circumstances in which they find themselves to best determine how to lead and influence those around them. There are multiple tactics leaders can employ in any given circumstance to influence a situation or their followers. Compare two leaders you have dealt with in the past. Discuss the different tactics these leaders employed to influence situations or people. Provide examples of when these tactics were successful and when they were not successful. As a leader, describe how you can critically appraise situations to make sure you select appropriate tactics for influencing a given situation.

 

LDR600 Leadership Styles & Development

Week 2 Discussion

DQ1 Review “Case 3.1: A Strained Research Team,” located in Chapter 3 of the textbook, Leadership: Theory and Practice. Post a 250-300 word response to the questions located at the end of the case. In your response, be sure to address the strengths and weaknesses of the three-skill approach in this situation.

DQ2 Review “Case 4.1: A Drill Sergeant at First,” located in Chapter 4 of the textbook, Leadership: Theory and Practice. Post a 250-300 word response to the questions located at the end of the case. In your response, be sure to address the strengths and weaknesses of the behavioral approach to leadership in this situation.

 

LDR600 Leadership Styles & Development

Week 3 Discussion

DQ1 As discussed in Topic 1, effective leaders apply various leadership tactics depending upon the contexts in which they find themselves. Consider the leadership tactics, traits, or models you find yourself drawn to as a leader. Discuss what elements you are drawn to regarding these particular tactics, traits, or models, including how they interconnect with your own personal, moral, ethical, or religious beliefs. Additionally, discuss whether you believe personal, moral, ethical, or religious beliefs of leaders can interfere with their ability to effectively lead and provide specific examples to support your reasoning.

DQ2 Select a leader you believe successfully led an organization through a crisis or challenge (e.g., public relations crisis, marketing mishap, shift in market demand, reorganization). Identify the leader and the company with which the leader is affiliated. Provide a brief context for the crisis or challenge. Identify the leadership models and approaches that were employed in the handling of the situation. Finally, explain why you think the leadership was particularly effective in this context.

 

LDR600 Leadership Styles & Development

Week 4 Discussion

DQ1 Describe the strengths and weaknesses of transformational leadership theory and leader-member theory exchange theory (LMX). Include in your discussion how your knowledge of the LMX theory might help you to become a better leader, as well as how you would apply transformational theory and leader-member exchange theory (LMX) to improve an organization’s performance.

DQ2 Consider the four characteristics of conscious capitalism: conscious leadership, stakeholder orientation, conscious culture, and higher purpose. Describe how these characteristics together can improve an organization’s performance. Discuss in the context of your own organization, an organization you have belonged to in the past, or another existing organization that would benefit from significant organizational improvement.

 

LDR600 Leadership Styles & Development

Week 5 Discussion

DQ1 Select an individual that you believe exhibits authentic leadership and provide specific examples. Describe the role of authentic leadership in creating trust and followership in this example, including how it can improve organizations. Additionally, consider the four characteristics of conscious capitalism and indicate how each of these can be applied in the example you have provided.

DQ2 Christian servant leaders profess to serve those whom they lead through love and the moral obligation to promote the greater good of others. Describe the leadership behaviors you would expect from a Christian servant leader and how those behaviors might differ from someone who is not a servant leader. Also, although servant leadership is often associated with the Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ, explain whether you believe servant leadership is compatible with other religions or worldviews and why.

 

LDR600 Leadership Styles & Development

Week 6 Discussion

DQ1 Compare the strengths and weaknesses of adaptive leadership. Including the particular challenges an adaptive leader might encounter in encouraging their followers to solve their own problems and challenges.

DQ2 Discuss the impact an individual’s preconceived notions, prejudices, and interpretations of other cultures can have on the workplace. As a leader, describe how you might employ the psychodynamic approach to help the employees get along with each other and work better together. Include in your explanation a discussion of how the four characteristics of conscious capitalism can also be applied to further improve employee engagement and collaboration.

 

LDR600 Leadership Styles & Development

Week 7 Discussion

DQ1 Consider the complexities of interdepartmental collaboration of diverse teams across several functioning areas of an organization. Evaluate your leadership acumen and the skills needed to achieve collaboration across functional groups to achieve success.  Discuss the opportunities for growth in your current skill set and provide an example of how you can prepare yourself for these challenges. Include in your discussion what you can start doing, stop doing, and continue doing to prepare yourself to lead in these complex situations.

DQ2 Leadership positions within teams can often be fluid and dynamic. Circumstances may require an individual to step forward and lead in some situations and then adopt the role of follower in others. As a leader, discuss when you know when it is appropriate to lead and when it is appropriate to follow. Include an explanation on how you can utilize conscious leadership in fostering leadership skills in your team members, so they too feel confident enough to lead when the situation calls for it.

 

LDR600 Leadership Styles & Development

Week 8 Discussion

DQ1 Consider the opportunity for civil discourse (the concept of being able listen for understanding) on diverse teams. From a leadership perspective, discuss how you can facilitate interactions about diversity, inclusion, and equity among peers and those under your supervision without discounting the perspective of others. Provide a specific example to support your response.

DQ2 Describe a situation from your personal work experience (do not disclose specific names) in which you encountered a toxic leader. Describe the traits that qualify this leader as “toxic” and indicate how the situation could be different if this individual applied the concepts of conscious leadership.