Leadership is among the most researched topics in organizational behavior and one of the least understood social processes in organizations.
For your final paper, you are going to research an additional leadership concept, that of Level 5 Leadership as defined and reported by Jim Collins and his research team in the book Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t (HarperBusiness, 2001). You may use this book as one of your primary references and/or you may use sources you find online.
Your paper is to have three sections and be five to eight pages in length.
The first section is to research and define the concept of Level 5 Leadership…what is it? How is it different from other leadership styles? Why is it important? This section of your paper is worth approximately 40% of the paper grade. It should be at least 2 pages long and needs to be explained in your own words…not just copied from your research. If you do quote sources, be sure to do so appropriately with quotation marks and APA citations.
The second section involves the presence or lack of Level 5 Leadership in an actual organization. Please choose one organization and research the impact the leader of the organization had on its success or failure. You can choose either perspective to write on…how an organization benefitted from the presence of a Level 5 Leader OR how an organization suffered because of a failure of leadership at the highest level. Explain what happened in this organization and how the leader impacted the outcome. Again, this section of your paper should be at least 2 pages long and needs to provide specific information on the series of events within the organization, specific decisions made or influence exerted by the leader and the impact of leadership on the organization’s ultimate success. This section of your paper is also worth approximately 40% of your paper grade.
Finally, the last section of the paper (worth approximately 20% of the grade) is for you to process what you have learned about Level 5 Leadership that you can apply to your personal leadership style. How the lessons learned by Collins and his team can improves your leadership style and thereby, impact the organization of which you are a part? How are you going to apply this information in your own life? How do you think it will make a difference? This section should be at least 1 page long.
