Art and Practice of Leadership Essay

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Art and Practice of Leadership Essay

Overview

Length: 2,000 words

Weight: 40%

Due date: End of Week 3

Weeks 1 to 3 for this unit require you to reflect on the importance and impact of leadership, different leadership styles, effective leadership competencies, capabilities and behaviours, and the contextual factors affecting organisations and how they impact on leadership

For this assessment, you will consider the current climate and the 2020 crisis of COVID-19, or another crisis that you have heard of or faced at your organisation. You will reflect and justify your chosen leadership style and approach, taking into consideration leadership theories such as authentic leadership, situational leadership, ethical leadership and inclusive leadership. You will also apply what you have learned about the leadership competencies needed in a complex world characterised VUCA.

“When we refer to leadership in a VUCA context, we are consequently not seeking to incite a feeling that the world is bad, unstable, or “out of control.” Instead, we are referring to the specific dynamics of the 21st century — volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous — that impact on trade and industry. These dynamics are being driven by a marriage of six mega-trends: globalization, technology, digitization, individualization, demographic change, and the environmental crisis. These dynamics are creating disruption while triggering innovation and change at a breakneck pace. In this way, VUCA is becoming the “normal context” for leadership, and requires leaders to adopt appropriate perspectives and and skill sets.” — (van der Steege 2017, p. 2)

Before you continue, read this article published in the AFR, Exodus begins: EY and other top firms send staff home to work (Marin-Guzman 2020). This article explores the effects of COVID-19 on various large organisations ranging from Telstra, the Big 4 and banks. This article also discusses difficult decisions that were made by leaders within these organisations. You can choose to explore one of these organisations in more detail or select your own crisis that you have heard of or faced in another organisation.

This assessment supports unit learning outcomes 1, 2 and 3.

Task

  • Using VUCA, summarise the key issue or crisis that was the catalyst for 2-3 changes in your chosen organisation. (450 words)
  • Critically reflect on the leadership response, articulating the leadership capacities, competencies and behaviours (or lack therein) to the chosen crisis and evaluate the organisation’s leadership effectiveness in up to 5 of crisis phases articulated by James and Wooten (2005). (800 words)
  • Given the current climate and uncertainty of COVID-19 or the crisis you chose, articulate and justify how the leadership of your organisation can take steps to prevent future crises so that both managers and leaders are better placed to mobilise support teams when there is a change in context that throws the organisation into ‘disequilibrium’ or the ‘edge of chaos’. (450 words)

Link – https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/workplace/exodus-begins-ey-and-other-top-firms-send-staff-home-to-work-20200315-p54a7r)\r\n

Please use organisation from this link as stated within the requirements – https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/workplace/exodus-begins-ey-and-other-top-firms-send-staff-home-to-work-20200315-p54a7r – regarding COVID19

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