Assignment: Individual Reflection: Creating Goals for the Blueprint for Professional & Personal Growth Part II
As you recall from the Course Outcomes listed in your syllabus, this course requires you to develop strategies for becoming a more effective leader, creating preliminary plans for professional and personal growth, and integrating your personal values, ethics, experience, and goals into leadership decisions. The Blueprint for Professional & Personal Growth (BPPG) is designed to assist you in meeting those outcomes and has two components you need to complete: an executive summary of the course and action plans to achieve the professional and personal goals you have set for yourself.
The first component of the BPPG is an executive summary of the course to date. The ability to write an executive summary is a valuable business skill. To get the in right frame of mind for writing an executive summary, imagine that an executive from a company for which you have always wanted to work has called you and told you the following:
Hello, I hear you are getting your MBA. Well, we would like to hire you and reimburse to you the costs of your course. But before I bring you on board and pay for the course, I need to know two things. First, how have the content and assignments in this course helped you understand the roles of leadership and followership within business organization? Second, how do you intend to apply the content, theories, and topics addressed in this course to your career? Oh, and if I like what you are learning in this course and how you intend to apply what you have learned here at our organization, I will contact you and ask you when you would be able to start and what you would like your salary to be.
Ok. No pressure, right? While it is unlikely the above scenario will happen to you soon, the above scenario is a useful framework for writing your executive summary. It lets people who are important to an organization, such as executives and investors; know the central ideas of the topic you are discussing and convince them why they should pay attention to them. Your executive summary of this course will help you organize the resources and learning experiences from this course that you have found most meaningful for your professional and personal growth. As you progress through the program, the executive summary you write this week will help you recall important concepts and help you reflect on the goals you have created for yourself. For additional guidance on preparing your executive summary, please review the document How to Write an Executive Summary, which can be located by clicking on the Learning Support Docs link in the course navigation menu in the online classroom.
For the second component of your BPPG, you will submit action plans for at least three goals. Recall the three goals you created in Week 6:
In the Week 6 Shared Practice, you created one goal to share with your colleagues that derived from your experience using the Personal Values Survey. You used this goal to develop an action plan for the Week 7 Shared Practice.
You created at least two other goals for the Week 6 Individual Reflection from the Personal Values Survey or sources related to the course content.
Now that you have gone through the process of developing an action plan for one goal, you will develop action plans for the two other goals for the BPPG. As you prepare the action plans, you might consider revising your action plan for your first goal, based upon the feedback you received from your colleagues in the Shared Practice. Then select at least two more goals you created in the Week 6 Individual Reflection and develop an action plan for those goals. For each goal, be sure to provide concrete and specific examples of why the goal is important, the personal or professional value you expect from achieving the goal, and how the goal relates to the resources you reviewed in the course up to now. (Hint: If your action includes career goals, consider visiting the Career Boost Discussion Forum and using the tools and resources the Walden Career Services Center developed exclusively for Walden MBA students. In this discussion forum you can also share ideas with your colleagues, network with your peers, and trade advice.)
The Assignment:
As you begin this assignment, review the broad range of topics presented throughout the course related to leadership and followership. For this Individual Reflection, select concepts or topics that resonated with you during this course and commit to learning more about them. Consider the following:
What can you do now to integrate the experiences and insights you had in this course with your personal and professional development goals?
What are the most important things you are taking from this course that will shape your future and enable you to make a positive difference?
Both components of the assignment should be turned in as one document:
The Executive Summary:
Write an Executive Summary of the course to date (2–3 paragraphs) that addresses the following questions:
Which content and assignments in this course most helped you better understand the roles of leadership and followership within your organization (or one with which you are familiar), and what impact have they had, or do you anticipate they will have, on the value you will bring to your role within an organization?
How have the content and assignments changed the way you think about leadership and followership and the way you will practice these skills?
How have the content and assignments shaped your goals?
How has the content help you appreciate the role leaders and followers have in achieving positive social change within an organization, a community, or on a larger scale?
Your action plans:
Write a detailed action plan for at least three goals. One of the goals should be the one you submitted for the Week 7 Shared Practice. These action plans should include the following:
Your three specific goals for professional and personal development with an explanation as to why you selected each goal. For each goal, be sure to provide concrete and specific examples of why the goal is important,; the extent to which each goal enables you to be an agent for positive social change; the personal or professional value you expect from achieving each goal, and how the goal relates to the resources you reviewed in the course until now.
At least two objectives for each goal you have identified. Provide a rationale that explains how your objectives support the goal.
At least two measurable milestones for each objective you identified as well as the time lines for ensuring progress for each milestone.
A reasonable time line for ensuring progress toward your stated goals, with an explanation as to why your time line is reasonable. (Hint: Revisit the interactive media piece Action Plan and use the “Action Plan Worksheet” to help you develop the action plan for each goal. You may also want to review the CareerBoost Forum and Resources for this course as you think about your goals, objectives, and milestones. If you have not visited the MBA Resources link within the Career Center. You can find this by clicking on the Career Boost tool link found in the Forum.)
Be sure to include appropriate citations in your executive summary and action plans. Both components should be submitted as one document.
Refer to the Weeks 6 and 7 Individual Reflection rubric found under the Course Information tab for specific criteria for this assignment. Your instructor will use this rubric to assess your work.
By Day 7
Submit your Assignment.
Guidance on Assignment Length: Your BPPG, including the Executive Summary (which should be 2–3 paragraphs in length and no more than one page single spaced), your action plan should be 3–6 pages total (1.5–3 pages total if single spaced). Refer to the Weeks 6 and 7 Individual Reflection Rubric for grading elements and criteria. Your instructor will use the rubric to assess your work.