Becoming an effective leader is a very personal and individual experience. Each great leader carries out his or her leadership practices differently. Yet, several common leadership styles and characteristics of effective leaders have been identified through the study and theories of leadership.

Write a 3–5 page evaluation of the leadership styles and characteristics of effective leaders, based on a leader you admire and on leadership approaches addressed in a provided illustration.

Becoming an effective leader is a very personal and individual experience. Each great leader carries out his or her leadership practices differently. Yet, several common leadership styles and characteristics of effective leaders have been identified through the study and theories of leadership.

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

Competency 1: Evaluate the purpose and relevance of leadership.
Analyze leadership styles and characteristics to determine effective leadership.
Compare individual leadership styles and characteristics to identify what is necessary for effective leadership.
Competency 2: Evaluate how leadership strengths apply in the workplace and within the community.
Analyze the environmental and societal factors that influence leadership style.
Analyze the economic conditions that influence leadership style
Required Resources

The following resources are required to complete the assessment.

Capella Multimedia

Click Leadership Styles and Characteristics to view this document, which presents the qualities that are commonly associated with effective leadership.
Suggested Resources

The resources provided here are optional. You may use other resources of your choice to prepare for this assessment; however, you will need to ensure that they are appropriate, credible, and valid. The BUS-FP3012 – Fundamentals of Leadership Library Guide can help direct your research, and the Supplemental Resources and Research Resources, both linked from the left navigation menu in your courseroom, provide additional resources to help support you.

Capella University Library Resources

Boehm, A., & Staples, L. (2005). Grassroots leadership in task-oriented groups: Learning from successful leaders. Social Work With Groups, 28(2), 77–96.
Ngwa, C. M. (2012). Impact of strategic leadership styles on organizational success in public, private, and nonprofit organizations (Master’s thesis). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses database. (UMI No. 1514891)
Matzler, K., Schwarz, E., Deutinger, N., & Harms, R. (2008). The relationship between transformational leadership, product innovation and performance in SMEs. Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 21(2), 139–151, 251.
Bookstore Resources

These resources are available from the Capella University Bookstore:

Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2017). The leadership challenge: How to make extraordinary things happen in organizations (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Chapter 7, “Search for Opportunities.”
Chapter 8, “Experiment and Take Risks.”
Chapter 9, “Foster Collaboration.”
Rath, T., & Conchie, B. (2008). Strengths based leadership: Great leaders, teams, and why people follow. New York, NY: Gallup Press.
“Part Three: Understanding Why People Follow.”
“Conclusion.”
For this assessment, consider that you recently applied, and were selected, for a promotion to an executive level position in your organization. The organization’s HR department conducts management training sessions periodically as needed for employees recently promoted into senior manager or executive level positions. The organization’s HR team places a high value on leadership skills and emphasizes that as part of the management training sessions. You and other new senior managers are scheduled to attend one of those training sessions. In preparation, each attendee was asked to analyze and write a short paper about leadership styles and characteristics of effective leaders. During the management training session, the papers written by participants will be distributed and reviewed.

Preparation

To complete this assessment:

Review the Leadership Styles and Characteristics multimedia piece linked in the Resources.
Select a leader you admire from a for-profit or nonprofit organization you know well. This should be an organization you have a positive perception of, such as an organization for which you might someday aspire to be a leader. Examine and reflect on your chosen leader’s leadership styles and characteristics as defined in the multimedia piece.
Requirements

Analyze the leadership styles and characteristics of effective leaders. In your analysis, address the following:

Briefly describe the organization of the leader you selected and the type of products or service it provides. You should briefly include additional key organizational information, such as size, years in operation, location, and reputation.
Evaluate the leadership styles and characteristics of the leader whom you admire. In your evaluation, explain how these leadership styles and characteristics can determine effective leadership.
Compare and evaluate your own leadership styles and characteristics to those of the leader you admire, and identify what is necessary for effective leadership.
Evaluate how environmental and societal factors such as politics and innovation might influence your approach to leadership at this organization. How might these and other factors affect the way you lead? Would there be differences in your leadership style if this were a different type of organization?
Evaluate how economic conditions might influence your leadership style. Would your leadership style change during the time of a strong economy? Would your leadership style change during the time of a declining economy? Would your leadership style change if you were leading an organization through different maturation phases (including start-up, growth, and establishment)?
Given the intended audience for your paper, it should be well organized and written in clear, succinct language. It should be approximately 3–5 pages in length. Follow APA rules for attributing sources that support your analysis and conclusions.

Academic Integrity and APA Formatting

As a reminder related to using APA rules to ensure academic honesty:

When using a direct quote (using exact or nearly exact wording), you must enclose the quoted wording in quotation marks, immediately followed by an in-text citation. The source must then be listed in your references page.
When paraphrasing (using your own words to describe a non-original idea), the paraphrased idea must be immediately followed by an in-text citation and the source must be listed in your references page