Topic: LEADERSHIP THEORIES AND AREAS OF APPLICTION
Order Description
1. Leadership Theories
From the following list, please identify one or two:
Situational life cycle,
Contingency,
Path-goal,
Leader member exchange,
Leadership grid,
Transformational,
Transactional,
Full Range Leadership
Authentic,
Servant,
Psychodynamic
Other
a1) What leadership approach or approaches do you believe are most important in the field of social work? In answering this question explain the approach(s) to demonstrate your knowledge and then justify why you believe this is the most important approach(s). We recommend you choose no more than two approaches to describe in this question.
a2) What Leadership approach or approaches do you believe are most important in your concentration, anticipated concentration, social work student caucus or field of practice? Like question 1a, explain the approach(s) to demonstrate your knowledge and then justify why you believe this is the most important approach(s).
2. Power Analysis
In this section, you will examine your sources of power and how you leverage or apply these in your interactions with other key players at your internship/work site? As you reflect on this behavior of yours, what benefits did it yield? What might you have done differently? What was the impact of your use of power on others? This examination should discuss a minimum of two sources of power. One caveat is important. Reframe from using clients, patients or consumers in your examination of powers. This analysis should focus on your ability to discern the applications in organizational and community contexts, where power is hopefully being used on behalf of clients.
3. Areas of Application
Choose two of the three areas to write about. (When you write about a particular area, please focus on only one of the following: either social work in general, your concentration, social work student caucus or your field of practice.)
In each of the following four areas, the first question is a content question in which you will demonstrate your knowledge of leadership.
Area 1: Groups and Teams
Typically in the field of social work and practice in human service organizations, you will find yourself working as part of or leading or co-leading a team (in this paper we will not distinguish between groups or team).
a) Discuss the characteristics of effective teams, effective team leaders and effective team members. What are the practices and behaviors that make for effective team leadership and for effective team members?
b) Assess how your strengths and KSAs=knowledge, skills, and abilities correspond with those practices and behaviors you identified as most important for leading or participating in groups or teams.
c) What strengths and KSAs will you want to augment or develop in order to be consistent with those needed to function effectively in group and team situations?
Area 2: Dealing with Conflict
One unavoidable factor in organizational life and the practice of social work is dealing with conflict.
a) Identify and explain the sources of conflict as well as approaches or models for resolving conflict.
b) What strengths and KSAs do you believe will be most useful in avoiding, altering, managing and resolving conflict and how do they correspond with your strengths and KSAs?
c) What strengths and KSAs would you want to augment or develop in order to be more consistent with those needed to effectively deal with conflict?
Area 3: Diversity and Cultural Competence
Social work settings and the communities, where we practice, are diverse and multicultural. Using the same kinds of people described in the previous section, Area 3 (i.e., peers, support people, supervisors and so forth),
a) Identify and explain what competencies are most essential for working with diverse and multicultural individuals, groups and communities?
b) How your strengths and KSAs coincide with these critical competencies?
c) What strengths and KSAs would you like to augment or develop to work successfully in diverse and multicultural settings?
Please cite at least five to seven references in your response. Double space your paper, using twelve point type. The paper should be approximately eight to ten pages, but may run a little longer.