Option #1 and #2: Leadership Book for Portfolio Project
This course requires a final Portfolio Project, due in Week 8. A critical success factor for ORG561 Portfolio Project success is to start now and to steadily develop the deliverables as we study new concepts and principles in each module.
This week, begin thinking about which Portfolio Project option to complete. Review the two options in the Module 8 folder. It might help you to complete the same option of the Portfolio Milestone this week as the Portfolio Project you want to complete in Module 8.
For this Portfolio Milestone, there are three requirements:
- Proceed to the Module 8 folder to become familiar with both Portfolio Project options. Remember that you will choose and complete only one option.
- Review the Portfolio Project grading rubric located in the Module 8 folder. Portfolio Milestone rubrics are located in their respective module’s folders.
Identify a current (published within the last three years) leadership book to use in the Portfolio Project; submit the reference for your chosen book in standard APA formatting along with your name and a one paragraph explanation of why you chose that particular publication.
The below is only a guideline to help you do this assignment!
option #1: Modern Leadership in a Professional Association
For this project, you are an organizational development (OD) professional with expertise on Leaderless groups and movements. You belong to a multi-national professional association (ODPA) whose membership has declined steadily for the past five years. ODPA’s board of directors (Board) conducted a member satisfaction survey last month and the results were startling:
- More than half of OPDA members question the relevance of ODPA in light of the current environment.
- Sixty-five percent of OPDA members are independent contractors or work for companies with fewer than 10 people.
- More than 30% of members received advanced degrees 30 years ago or longer, more than 50% between 10 years and 29 years ago, and fewer than 10% graduated within the last nine years.
- Fewer than 5% of the members could name one OPDA Board member.
In light of the survey data results, the OPDA executive director (Director) has called to ask If you can help. The Director, located in Toronto, Canada, is concerned that the Board is out of touch with current organizational environments, OD trends, and escalating challenges for organizational development professionals. The current seven Board members are geographically distributed in Australia, England, Germany, Japan, and the United States. The Board holds an annual meeting in Toronto and quarterly web-based conference meetings.
The Director wants to “educate” the Board as a necessary step to raise a sense of urgency about the organization. Otherwise, the Director fears ODPA may not be sustainable. The Director’s assessment is that the Board:
- Does not fully appreciate its leadership role
- Has not embraced workforce demographic changes that impact membership
- Cannot make sense of classical versus autonomist leadership or traditional versus evolved leadership theory
- Does not understand leadership discourses of modern times
The Director wants you to facilitate a Board discussion, using the survey results as catalyst to discuss organizational risks. The director is asking you to develop a draft of the meeting plan including:
- Purpose of the meeting (remember your audience)
- Attendees and roles (assess the leader/follower roles of all of those in attendance, including you. Make and record assumptions as needed. Support your assessment with scholarly sources).
- Schedule, location, and setting (provide reasoned choices with support).
- Pre-reading material (Identify material that attendees should review ahead of the meeting; make and record assumptions as needed).
- Historical overview of the leadership field of study from 1920 to present (two to three pages)