Assignment 1: Self-Audit (Creative Essay)
Weighting This assignment accounts for 50% of the assessment in this unit
Date/Week Week 7
Place In class or via email
Format Essay (2500 words)
Learning Outcome/s and Graduate Attributes
Completing this assignment will help you better understand you strengths and development challenges as a leader. ECU’s Graduate Attributes relevant to this assignment include ability to communicate, critical appraisal skills and ability to generate ideas. However our main focus is on greater awareness of your leadership skills.
Preparation
Before starting this assignment, you should raise any questions with the lecturer.
Instructions
A self-audit is an opportunity to focus on your capability for leading, to both appreciate your many strengths and to identify areas for further development of mindsets, skills and behaviors (which we focus more on in Assignment 3).
You are asked to write a short paper based on five sources:
1) A statement of what project leadership means to you incorporating classroom learning, discussions with others, and review of leadership literature.
2) A short life history: outlining the experiences that have given you some insight into project leadership, and the cultural or family values that influence you.
3) A description of a time when you showed leadership in any aspect of life (school, sport, family, work), describing the attributes you believe you displayed.
4) An analysis of your project leadership skills based on what you have learned in the class so far.
5) A 360º evaluation, based on four short interviews on the subject of your leadership practice or skills. Interviewees could be work colleagues, superiors, subordinates, friends, family etc, preferably from more than one area of life. The interview questions can be general ones about your abilities, or could be based on, for example the quizzes in Dubrin et al. Aim to pose open-ended rather than closed questions.
Structure
1 Title page and table of contents
3 Self-audit – analysis of each of the five aspects above
4 Summary - strengths and areas for development
5 References – only to materials not given out in class.
Resources
The primary resources are readings, class disussions or discussions with others and self-assessments. Include reference to unit materials as required.
References
You should cite some additional references on the theories or skills discussed, but the focus is more on your own learning from class materials and activities. A focussed ‘literature review’ is not required, but a few extra references may improve your mark.
Submitting
Please submit via the Turnitin link on Blackboard. Please name your submitted file like this: “Fred Asst 1.docx” (starting with your first name). Your lecturer may ask you to also bring a paper copy to class.
Marking criteria
• Comprehensive analysis of the five sources of information above.
• Clear written presentation.
• Use of class materials and ideas, and some reading of other materials.
• Originality.
• Balanced - describes both your strengths and areas to develop.
• Relates to your life experience and present or future project leadership roles.
• Shows evolution of your ideas following readings, discussions and other assignments in this unit.