Walden WMBA6000 2021 September Discussions Latest (Full)

WMBA6000/MMSL6000/MGMT6000/WMBA6000B

WMBA6000 Dynamic Leadership

Week 1 Discussion

DQ1 Introduction and Preparing for Success

The journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.

—Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher

Beginning a graduate program may not be a journey of 1,000 miles, but it is no small task. You have made the decision to pursue your master’s degree after careful consideration. And as with any new endeavor, you probably are filled with a sense of excitement and purpose, mixed with anxiety and nervousness. After all, this may be your first graduate program, and you may have many questions related to how long it takes to complete assignments, where to go if you need help, how best to manage all your activities and commitments, and how to get to know your Instructor and colleagues in the program.

In selecting Walden University, you have chosen to pursue your education at an institution committed to its mission of positive social change. As such, you will be challenged throughout your coursework to consider how business can be used to bring about positive change, both within organizations and in the world at large. These assignments will not only help you to draw those connections but to consider how you, as an agent for positive change, can use your knowledge and skills to make a difference.

It is also important to remember that you have made an individual decision to embark on this journey of graduate study, but you will not be traveling alone. Your Instructors come to the classroom with a wealth of knowledge and experiences you can draw and learn from as you interact with them through your courses. In addition to your Instructors, one of the most important resources in your program will be the other students you will meet who have similar goals and interests. Together you can develop an effective support group for each other.

In this Discussion, you will have a chance to introduce yourself, to share thoughts about how you will use your education to build your skills as a positive change agent, and to begin to consider what success means to you academically, professionally, and personally.

To prepare for this Discussion:

First, reflect upon why you are pursuing your degree and how you want to use your journey at Walden to improve your ability to be an agent for positive change.

Then, access the video “Meet Your Faculty,” in which several faculty members share their own experiences and thoughts about why leadership is key to creating positive change. These faculty have collectively seen how this course can transform students, and they offer tips about how to get the most out of your Dynamic Leadership journey.

Consider how you would define success for yourself—academically, professionally, and/or personally.

Finally, take a few minutes to review the Week 1 Discussion 1 Rubric, which will provide you with the specific criteria you should use to write your initial and response posts. These same criteria are what your Instructor will use to evaluate and grade your work. Note: It is highly recommended that you review the appropriate rubric before beginning this or any future work that you will submit to the Instructor. This will help ensure that you understand what is expected of you for each assignment.

By Day 3

Positive Social Change IconPost an introduction, including your definition of academic, professional, and personal success, as well as how you plan to use your journey to grow as a positive change agent. Be sure to address all of the following in your introduction:

Briefly introduce yourself, including your name, where you are located, and any personal (e.g., family, pets, hobbies, favorite things, etc.) and professional information you are comfortable sharing with your colleagues.

Explain why you are pursuing your degree and how you want to use your journey at Walden to improve your ability to be an agent for positive change.

Be sure to include advice from the faculty videos that influenced how you will approach this course. Share an insight you gained about how dynamic leadership will be important to your journey to become an agent for positive social change.

Share how you would define success for yourself—academically, professionally, and/or personally.

Refer to the Week 1 Discussion 1 Rubric for specific grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will use this grading rubric to assess your work.

Important Note About Discussion Rubrics: In the peer-to-peer engagement section of the Discussion, the focus of your posts and responses should be to promote quality interaction with your colleagues and Instructor, to further the dialogue on the particular topic, to deepen your mutual understanding of concepts, and to draw out new ideas. Although you are encouraged to provide support for ideas you bring in from other sources, which is appropriate for discourse within a master’s-level classroom, emphasis is placed on the quality of the engagement as noted in the Discussion rubrics, with 40% of your score based on your level of engagement in the ongoing conversation with your colleagues.

Read some of your colleagues’ postings.

By Day 5

Respond to two or more of your colleagues’ posts in one or more of the following ways:

Share a connection or interest you have in the personal and/or professional information your colleague posted.

Share your thoughts on or insights gained from how your colleague plans to use their degree to lead positive change.

Relate your own definition of success to that of your colleague.

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.

DQ2 Can Leaders Manage and Managers Lead?

Many people frequently use the terms “leader” and “manager” interchangeably, but these roles involve two different sets of skills. According to Steven Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “Leaders and managers are two different things. Leadership is not management. Leadership has to come first. Management is a bottom-line focus: How can I best accomplish certain things? Leadership deals with the top line: What are the things I want to accomplish?” (2017, p. 107).

The roles of leader and manager are both fundamentally important to an organization. Managers are required to keep things running smoothly and leaders are needed to provide direction and motivation and to produce change. A person can be both a good manager and a good leader, but this is not always the case. For this Discussion, you will examine the leadership skills and management skills of the leaders with whom you have worked.

To prepare for this Discussion:

Reflect on your professional experience with leaders with whom you have interacted as a follower, colleague, or supervisor. Consider the strengths and weaknesses these professionals had with regard to leadership and management skills. How well did they perform their roles as managers and as leaders?

Then, drawing from your professional experience, identify a leader with whom you have interacted as a follower, colleague, or supervisor that matches only one of the following descriptions:

They are a good leader lacking effective managing skills.

They are a good manager lacking effective leadership skills.

They are an effective leader and manager.

They are neither a good leader nor manager.

By Day 5

Post an analysis of leadership versus management in business, being sure to address the following:

Without giving the actual name of the leader you have selected, identify their strengths and weaknesses as a leader and as a manager. Then distinguish the individual’s leadership skills from their management skills.

Analyze the effect the leader had on the business environment where you worked at the time. Was there a need for both management and leadership from this individual? Explain why or why not.

Identify two lessons learned from working with this leader that you could apply to your own professional practice as a leader and/or manager.

Refer to the Week 1 Discussion 2 Rubric for specific grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will use this grading rubric to assess your work.

Important Note About Discussion Rubrics: In the peer-to-peer engagement section of the Discussion, the focus of your posts and responses should be to promote quality interaction with your colleagues and Instructor, to further the dialogue on the particular topic, to deepen your mutual understanding of concepts, and to draw out new ideas. Although you are encouraged to provide support for ideas you bring in from other sources, which is appropriate for discourse within a master’s-level classroom, emphasis is placed on the quality of the engagement as noted in the Discussion rubrics, with 40% of your score based on your level of engagement in the ongoing conversation with your colleagues.

Read some of your colleagues’ postings.

By Day 7

Respond to two or more colleagues in one or more of the following ways:

Ask a clarifying question about the leader your colleague selected and/or their leadership behaviors.

Share an insight from your colleague’s analysis of how the leader affected the business environment or from the lessons they described.

Offer an alternate perspective on your colleague’s analysis.

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.

WMBA6000/MMSL6000/MGMT6000/WMBA6000B

WMBA6000 Dynamic Leadership

Week 2 Discussion

Considering Leadership Frameworks

For this Discussion, imagine the following scenario:

You are part of a team at the organization where you are currently employed (or at an organization with which you are familiar). This team is made up of members of the different departments at the organization. The executive director has tasked each member of the team to independently assess the following two questions:

What theory of leadership most closely aligns with our current practice within our organization, and do you think it is most appropriate, or would another serve us better?

What leadership theory would you recommend that might be more effective, and why? (Note: If you think the current leadership theory is a good fit and is effective, explain why you think it is working and should remain in place.)

You cannot believe your luck. The very week that you are given this task happens to be the very same week that leadership theory and frameworks are being discussed in the first class of your master’s program at Walden.

To prepare for this Discussion:

Review the leadership theories and frameworks presented in this week’s Learning Resources.

Then, think about your current organization (or one with which you are familiar) in light of the leadership theories/frameworks you have examined in this course so far. In particular, consider the leadership of that organization and whether it seems to align with a particular leadership framework/theory. If it does not (or if you think the organization could use a change in approach), consider which theory/framework might be the best fit for that organization.

By Day 3

Post an evaluation of the leadership approach of your selected organization, to include the following:

Assess the leadership theory/framework that you believe aligns with the organization in question. Or, if your organization does not seem to follow a particular approach (or you feel that changes are needed), assess what would be the most appropriate theory/framework for your organization based on what you now understand about leadership theory.

As part of your assessment, paraphrase the central idea of the leadership theory/framework you have selected.

Provide a rationale to support your selection of the leadership theory/framework for the organization, including relevant, appropriate examples and details (without identifying the organization or any individuals), as well as specific lessons that can be learned from the theory based on your observations and experiences.

Refer to the Week 2 Discussion Rubric for specific grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will use this grading rubric to assess your work.

Read some of your colleagues’ postings.

By Day 5

Respond to two or more of your colleagues’ posts in one or more of the following ways:

Share an insight you gained from your colleague’s description of why they chose the particular leadership theory/framework for their organization.

Offer an alternative perspective on what lessons could be learned from the theory your colleague discussed, including why your observations and experiences might prompt a different point of view.

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.

 

WMBA6000/MMSL6000/MGMT6000/WMBA6000B

WMBA6000 Dynamic Leadership

Week 3 Discussion

Water Cooler Discussion on Leadership Styles

The water cooler has become a symbol in business life. Like any common gathering place in an office slightly removed from the cubicles and desks, the water cooler is a place to share information, both casual and vital, and to build networks with colleagues with whom you do not necessarily interact on a daily basis. The water cooler discussion activity this week will help you get into the practice of looking beyond your metaphorical cubicle to seek out topical news stories and ideas and analyze them with your Instructor and colleagues. Familiarity with current trends, topics, and events is an important element of your participation and success in the business world and in your MBA program.

To prepare for this Discussion:

Access the Walden Library by clicking on this link: https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/library.

Note: You may want to bookmark this link, as you will be utilizing the Walden Library throughout your master’s program.

Navigate to the Business Source Complete database. For more information about finding a specific database, access the following resource:

Walden University. (n.d.). How do I find a specific database? https://academicanswers.waldenu.edu/faq/73255

Research the Business Source Complete database in the Walden Library for interesting and compelling articles on the topic of leadership styles. There are many different leadership styles from which to choose. Here are some common leadership styles that you can use as key words in your search in the library: democratic leadership, participative leadership, laissez-faire leadership, charismatic leadership, authoritarian leadership, and autocratic leadership. For more information about setting up your database search, access the following resource:

Walden University. (n.d.). Example of database search with one term. https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/library/keyword/setupyoursearch#s-lg-box-20133882

Select an article from the library that resonates with you. You need to access the full text of the article, and it should be more than 2 pages in length. Do not worry if the article you select has a complicated research design (i.e., describes complex quantitative research techniques), as usually the introduction and summary conclusion pages have interesting concepts and findings to discuss.

 

Note: Most of the articles you find in Business Source Complete will provide a PDF of the article. For the water cooler activity, it is preferable to attach the PDF of the article to your post. If the article you find in Business Source Complete only provides the full text as an HTML file, paste the HTML file in a Word document and attach it to your post. For more information about saving an article as a PDF, access the following resource:

Walden University. (n.d.). How do I save an article as a PDF? https://academicanswers.waldenu.edu/faq/73233

By Day 3

Post your analysis of your selected library article as follows:

Provide the author(s) and title of the article on leadership style(s) that you found interesting. Include the article as an attachment to your post (either as a PDF or Word document, as previously indicated).

In your own words, provide a brief analysis of what the article says about leadership style(s) in business, including an explanation of why you chose the article, and what you learned from it, relative to what you have studied throughout the course to date.

Refer to the Week 3 Discussion Rubric for specific grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will use this grading rubric to assess your work.

Read some of your colleagues’ postings.

By Day 5

Respond to two or more of your colleagues’ posts in one or more of the following ways:

Describe an insight you gained from reading the article your colleague posted or their analysis of it. 

Compare how the article your colleague posted relates to the one you posted and/or to the concepts discussed throughout the course to date.

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.

 

WMBA6000/MMSL6000/MGMT6000/WMBA6000B

WMBA6000 Dynamic Leadership

Week 4 Discussion

Being an Effective Follower

Robert Kelley (1992), author of The Power of Followership, suggested that effective followers possess four common qualities:

They are self-managing and able to work effectively without direct supervision;

They are very committed to the organization’s goals;

They possess a high level of competence and mastery of their job skills; and

They act with a high level of credibility and ethics in their job performance.

In this Discussion, you will consider what it means to be a good follower and will consider your own effectiveness in that role.

To prepare for this Discussion:

Review this week’s Learning Resources on followership.

Consider your own strengths and areas for growth as a follower and how you might improve your followership skills.

By Day 3

Post a summary of what effective followership entails, including an analysis of your own effectiveness as a follower. Based on your reading and analysis of this week’s Learning Resources, as well as your own experience and observations, respond to the following:

Do you see yourself as an effective follower? Why or why not? Be sure to provide examples.

What are your strengths and weaknesses, or shortcomings, in being an effective follower? What actions can you take to improve your followership skills?

How can being an effective follower translate to effective leadership? Hint: Your discussion should consider how the “followers” empower or enable the leader’s behaviors (for good or bad).

What recommendations would you make for leaders to better empower and support their followers to meet their goals?

Note: Be sure to justify your conclusions with supporting examples from your own personal experiences or those of others, from current events, and from the Learning Resources.

Refer to the Week 4 Discussion Rubric for specific grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will use this grading rubric to assess your work.

Read some of your colleagues’ postings.

By Day 5

Respond to two or more of your colleagues’ posts in one or more of the following ways:

Ask a clarifying question about your colleague’s description of their effectiveness as a follower.

Relate one or more of your own suggestions for improving your followership skills to that of your colleague’s. (This could include identifying an additional way that you might improve your own skills based on what your colleague shared.)

Share an insight you gained from your colleague’s explanation of how effective followership translates to effective leadership or their recommendations for leaders to better empower and support followers.

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.

 

 

 

 

WMBA6000/MMSL6000/MGMT6000/WMBA6000B

WMBA6000 Dynamic Leadership

Week 5 Discussion

The Personal Qualities for Effective Following and Leading

There are a number of different tools and resources a person can use to gain insight into aspects of their personality. One such type of tool is a personality inventory or “test.” You may have seen examples of these tests online, or perhaps you have even taken one or more of them in the past. In this Discussion, you will use the results of one such online personality test to consider what qualities you already possess and which you would like to cultivate to be a more effective leader and follower.

To prepare for this Discussion:

Take “The Big Five Project Personality Test” (https://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/). (Note: There are a number of optional demographic questions following the required items. You may choose to complete these, but you are not required to do so in order to get your results.)

Consider what the results say about your personality, the challenges you may have in working with others, and the challenges others might have when working with you. For example, perhaps you are respectful and kind to others, but you are disorganized. While you may be pleasant to work with, you have difficulty meeting deadlines and need to remember appointments.

Note: If you disagree with the results of the test, consider asking a trusted friend to review the results and see if they agree or not.

By Day 3

Post a summary of your personality test results, as well as how you might use these results to become a more effective leader and follower. In your summary, address the following:

Summarize your results on “The Big Five Project Personality Test” and state whether you agree with these results. Provide a rationale to support your conclusion.

Analyze how your personality might influence how you lead and how you follow. Draw on your professional and personal experience to provide examples.

Identify one personal quality you would like to improve as you work to become a more effective leader and follower. Propose why this improvement would be a benefit to you and an organization.

Refer to the Week 5 Discussion Rubric for specific grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will use this grading rubric to assess your work.

Read some of your colleagues’ postings.

By Day 5

Respond to two or more of your colleagues’ posts in one or more of the following ways:

Identify commonalities between your results on “The Big Five Project Personality Test” and those of your colleague.

Ask a question about or share an insight you gained from your colleague’s analysis, specifically how their personality influences the way they lead and follow. Draw a parallel from your personal or professional experience to theirs.

Suggest an alternate approach your colleague could take to become a more effective leader and follower, basing your suggestion on the Big Five results or how they described their personality.

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.

 

WMBA6000/MMSL6000/MGMT6000/WMBA6000B

WMBA6000 Dynamic Leadership

Week 6 Discussion

How Do You Follow an Unadmirable Leader?

In the workplace, we often are confronted with the reality that our leader possesses qualities or traits that we don’t admire. These can be simply annoying habits or quirks, or they may be styles, traits, or approaches that fundamentally deviate from our own. Although others may tell you that you could always quit or work for someone else, doing so is not always an easy or wise choice. The question then becomes: How can you follow someone you do not admire?

In last week’s Assignment, you incorporated ideas into your presentation for following unadmirable leaders, or leaders with different styles from those of their followers. For this Discussion, consider an actual situation from your own professional career in which you worked for a leader whose leadership style was inconsistent with what you desired, or for a leader whom you did not admire.

To prepare for this Discussion:

Identify someone from your academic or professional career (past or present) who was an unadmirable leader. This should be someone you have worked with to some degree (i.e., a supervisor or team leader, rather than the CEO of a large corporation with whom you may have never directly interacted).

By Day 3

Post your analysis of the influence of personal traits on leadership and followership by including the following:

Describe the leader in question and the situation in which you worked with them.

Note: Do not identify the individual or the organization where they worked. If necessary, use fictitious names in your description.

Identify specific traits that made the leader unadmirable or difficult to follow.

Identify the effects of this individual’s leadership.

Did the aspects that made them an unadmirable leader produce any negative consequences, whether for yourself, for another individual, or for the organization?

If you were able to follow this individual, explain how you were able to do so.

Refer to the Week 6 Discussion Rubric for specific grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will use this grading rubric to assess your work.

Read some of your colleagues’ postings.

By Day 5

Respond to two or more of your colleagues’ posts in one or more of the following ways:

Ask a question about your colleague’s experience with the leader they described. Share how you might have reacted in those circumstances.

Offer an alternate perspective on the effects of the individual’s leadership. Or share what you feel might happen if that leader were to assume a position of leadership within your company.

Relate your own experience to that of your colleague’s, including any similar effects of the individual’s leadership on others or on the organization.

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.

 

WMBA6000/MMSL6000/MGMT6000/WMBA6000B

WMBA6000 Dynamic Leadership

Week 7 Discussion

Professional Networking

“NetworkingIn making the decision to pursue an MBA from Walden University, you have become part of a large network of learners and educators. Walden offers many ways for you to connect with your new community.

To prepare for your Discussion:

Explore the following site, and begin the process of building or expanding your professional network:

Walden University Career Services. (n.d.). Networking. https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/careerservicescenter/networking/home

Connect with other Walden students, staff, and alumni by considering joining one of the Facebook groups available:

Walden University. (n.d.). Walden Facebook groups. https://www.waldenu.edu/facebook-group-finder

Then, think about any other networking you have already done through sites like LinkedIn or through other professional, community, or social networking organizations.

By Day 3

Post some proposed steps for building and maintaining a strong professional network, including an examination of the merits of doing so. Be sure to include the following:   

What are some benefits you can gain by developing your professional network? How can you be a benefit to others through professional networking? In other words, what are some ways to develop a mutually beneficial professional network?

Do you feel that professional networking is worth the effort?

What are some steps you can take to create and/or expand your professional network? Once you establish a professional network, what are some things you can do to sustain and grow your networking efforts?

Refer to the Week 7 Discussion Rubric for specific grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will use this grading rubric to assess your work.

Read some of your colleagues’ postings.

By Day 5

Respond to two or more of your colleagues’ posts in one or more of the following ways:

Share an insight from or draw a connection to your colleague’s feelings on what developing their professional network can do for them or on whether professional networking is worth the effort.

Consider your colleague’s examination of how they could benefit others through professional networking. Do you feel like you would benefit from what they have to offer? If so, share it with your colleague and explain why.

Provide a suggestion on some alternate or additional steps your colleague could take to create, expand, or sustain their professional network.

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.

 

WMBA6000/MMSL6000/MGMT6000/WMBA6000B

WMBA6000 Dynamic Leadership

Week 8 Discussion

Leadership in Practice: A Real-World View

Throughout this course, you have examined theories and styles of leadership in business settings. You have explored the characteristics and behaviors of effective leaders and followers and the ways in which both roles are critical for a business’s success. You have also engaged in critical reflection to examine your own ethics, values, and principles to derive your own leadership perspectives and behaviors, including how you will use your leadership to be an agent for positive social change. For the final Discussion of the course, you will choose a leader from your professional career and compare their leadership style and traits to the many topics and issues presented throughout the course.

To prepare for this Discussion:

Identify a person from your professional career (past or present) whom you consider to be a great leader.

Consider the following for your selected leader:

What has this individual accomplished in their career as a leader?

In what ways is/was this individual’s leadership effective?

What level of emotional intelligence does/did this leader exhibit, if any?

Does/Did this leader demonstrate inclusiveness in their leadership style? Are you able to see this person’s purpose and passion in their leadership?

By Day 3

Post your evaluation of your assigned leader’s impact on a business by addressing the following:

Describe the individual leader you identified, including any relevant professional background.

Evaluate your selected leader’s leadership and management skills for each of the following prompts. Additionally, be sure to include a rationale to justify your posts. (Hint: The answer should not be “because they have done well.” Your evaluation should link leadership and management skills you have examined throughout the course to specific examples of their successes or challenges.)

Explain whether you think this individual is/was an effective leader. (Include your rationale.)

Does/Did this leader exhibit emotional intelligence? (Include your rationale.)

Would you consider this individual an ethical leader? (Include your rationale.)

Do/Did they practice inclusive leadership? (Include your rationale.)

What sustainability initiatives is/was this leader driving? (Include your rationale.)

What lessons can you learn from this individual? Explain the implications such lessons can have on your career as a leader and as a manager.

Refer to the Week 8 Discussion Rubric for specific grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will use this grading rubric to assess your work.

Read some of your colleagues’ postings.

By Day 5

Respond to two or more of your colleagues’ posts in one or more of the following ways:

Offer an alternate perspective on your colleague’s evaluation of their selected leader. Draw some parallels between their selected leader and your selected leader.

Ask a question or offer your perspective about the lessons your colleague described and what could be the potential from their application. Be sure to base your question and/or perspective on prior research or experience.

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.