Developing a Personal Brand. Evaluating and Enhancing Personal Leadership Skills

Purpose:

The purpose of this project is to gain self-knowledge and apply that knowledge in an application for a leadership position. 

Skill Building: 

You are also completing this project to help you develop the skills of self-analysis, research, critical thinking, and writing a report intended for executive review. Writing is critical because in business it is important to convey information clearly and concisely and to develop a personal brand. Developing a personal brand is important because it is the ongoing process of establishing an image or impression in the minds of others especially those in positions above you. Having a strong personal brand can lead to opportunities that include promotions.

Skills: Research, Writing, Critical Thinking, Developing a Personal Brand, Self-Analysis, Writing a Report. 

Outcomes Met With This Project: 

• Use leadership theories, assessment tools, and an understanding of the role of ethics, values, and attitudes to evaluate and enhance personal leadership skills
• Assess the interactions between the external environment and the organization to foster responsible and effective leadership and organizational practices
• Develop individual awareness, style, and communication skills that enhances leadership skills
• Integrate and apply analytical principles and skills to make strategic decisions

Background:

You have completed your role on the Succession Plan Committee.  You and your Group identified leadership competencies for five internal positions and your group also recommended some internal candidates for consideration of those positions.

As you are putting away your notes from the Succession Plan Committee meetings, you come across this statement “These positions will need to be filled over the next 12-24 months.  There is not an immediate need for any of them currently, but vacancies will be imminent.  The preference is to fill these internally…”

You cannot help but wonder, “why not me”? The more you read the description of the open positions, the more you are convinced that you should put yourself forward as a candidate for one of these leadership positions.

Instructions: 

Step 1: Course Material

For this project, you are required to use the case scenario facts and the course material.   External sources are not permitted.  You are not researching on the Internet or using resources from outside the course.  You are expected to answer the requirements identified below showing the connection between the case scenario facts and the course material.   Using course material goes beyond defining terms and are used to explain the ‘why and how’ of a situation.  Avoid merely making statements but close the loop of the discussion by explaining how something happens or why something happens, which focuses on importance and impact.  In closing the loop, you will demonstrate the ability to think clearly and rationally showing an understanding of the logical connections between the ideas presented in a case scenario, the course material and the question(s) being asked.  Using one or two in-text citations from the course material throughout the entire paper will not earn many points on an assignment.  The use of a variety of course material is expected consistently supporting what is presented.  The support must be relevant and applicable to the topic being discussed.  Points are not earned for mentioning a term or concept but by clearly and thoroughly explaining or discussing the question at hand.

Step 2:  Leadership Competencies Table

Review the Leadership Competencies Table completed in Week Two to accompany the Job Announcement. (You may also wish to review any feedback received from your Instructor about your Table). 

Step 3:  Upcoming Open Positions at Biotech

Position #1: Sales Director, Middle East

Location: Saudi Arabia

Answers to: Executive Director, Asia Division

Biotech’s Asia Division will be opening its first Middle East location in Saudi Arabia in the next 12 months. A Sales Director will be needed to head up this new division. A team of local salespeople will need to be recruited, hired, and trained by this leader. It is expected that this sales team may be largely men.

Two sources that are recommended for more information about doing business in Saudi Arabia are:

Guide to Saudi Arabia Etiquette, Customs, Culture, and Business

Saudi Arabia Management Guide

Position #2:  Director of Research and Development (R&D)

Location: Headquarters, Yonkers, NY

Answers to: VP of Headquarter Operations

R&D is at the heart of Biotech’s success and, indeed, its future. The leader of Research and Development will lead a group of scientists and innovators, but does not need to be a scientist himself/herself. R&D is located centrally at Biotech Headquarters because R&D coordinates with all other departments and divisions. This is a high profile position.

Position #3:  VP of Headquarter Operations

Location: Headquarters, Yonkers, NY

Answers to: President and CEO

The Headquarters houses R&D, HR, IT, Purchasing, and Finance. Each of these departments has its own “subculture”, and each department is fairly distinct from each other. The young, youthful subculture of IT often clashes with the conservative subculture of the Finance department, for example. Many of the members of the Finance and HR teams are baby boomers and are near retirement. This leader oversees the smooth operation of all of these departments and ensures the coordination of these departments with each other and with each of the four geographic divisions across the world.

Position #4: Executive Director, North American Division

Location: Chicago, Illinois

Answers to: President and CEO

This leader will head up the largest and most profitable division of Biotech. This division is seen as the “flagship” by the other divisions, since Biotech’s roots are in the United States. This Executive Director has the “ear” of the CEO, and spends a lot of time with the Barney family. This leader is faced with spearheading the future direction of Biotech in North America and is challenged with filling openings throughout the United States and Canada caused by fast growth and a retiring Baby Boomer population.

Position #5: Director of Finance

Location: Headquarters, Yonkers, NY

Answers to: Chief Financial Officer

This leader oversees the day to day operations of the finance department. This leader is expected to aid in strategic planning with the executive team of Biotech. Although a finance background is not required, this person is expected to bring a conservative approach to the strategic planning table, to balance out the high risk tolerance of the rest of the leadership at Biotech. A “big picture” perspective is definitely needed here.

Step 4:  Review 

Review the Succession Planning Table-Part One that your Group used to outline leadership competencies for each of the five positions. (You may also wish to review any feedback received from your Instructor about this Table).

Step 5:  Self-Assessment Tests

Complete the following Self-Assessment tests (also found under Week Five Content). Save the results of each test, as they will need to be included in the Appendix.

• Jung Personality Typology Test
• Communication Skills Self-Assessment Inventory
• Self Esteem Test
• Leadership Skills Test
• Leadership Style Test
• Cultural Intelligence Test
• Emotional Intelligence Test(A technical issue may occur in which the web page cannot be viewed when accessed from a direct link.  If you encounter this issue, please copy and paste the following web address into the address bar to access the web page: https://globalleadershipfoundation.com/geit/eitest.html )
• Ultimate Ethics Quiz

Step 6:  Choose One

Based upon the results of these tests, and your review of the leadership competencies required for each position, choose ONE of the five positions for which you wish to put yourself forward.

Step 7:  Write a Memo

Write a memo to President and CEO, Maximillan Barney using the format outlined below:

Your Memo will be addressed to Mr. Maximillian Barney, the CEO and President of Biotech. The Memo should be single-spaced. The Memo should include the following structural elements:

To:

From:

Date:

Subject:

The report should contain the following sections, with each section fully supported by course materials. Label each section using Roman Numerals I through X with corresponding headers.

• Introduction:  Briefly introduce yourself to Mr. Barney and describe the purpose of your memo.
• Identify the position you wish to be considered:
  • Briefly review the leadership competencies identified as important for the person that occupies this position.
  • Summarize the leadership competencies that you feel you have that make you a qualified candidate for this position. This should be a summary, as you will get into more detail in upcoming sections.
• Identify the outcomes of your Jung Personality Test and Self-Esteem Test, and describe why your personality is suited to the position.
• Identify the outcomes of the Communications Skills Test, and describe why you have the communication skills suited to this position.
• Identify the outcomes of the Leadership Skills Test and the Leadership Style Test, and describe why you have the leadership skills and appropriate leadership style for this position.
• Identify the outcomes of the Cultural Intelligence Test and Emotional Intelligence Test and describe why you have the CQ and the EQ suited to this position.
• Identify the outcomes of the Ultimate Ethics Quiz, and describe why you have the moral compass suited to this position.
• Conclusion– briefly summarize for Mr. Barney why you should be considered for this position.
• Reference Page (in APA format)
• Appendix – must include screenshots for all of the self-assessment tests described in the memo in sections III through VII.

Step 8:  Submit the completed Report in the Assignment Folder. 

Submitting the project to the Assignment Folder is considered the student’s final product and therefore ready for grading by the instructor.  It is incumbent upon the student to verify the assignment is the correct submission.  No exceptions will be considered by the instructor.  

Other Required Elements:

• This is a memo to Mr. Barney, the CEO. There is a fine line between stating your case, and taking up too much of Mr. Barney’s time. There is not a strict page limit to this memo, but you should attempt to keep it to no more than 4 pages, single spaced (not including cover page, reference page, and appendix).
• You may only use the course material from the classroom.  You may not use books or any resource from the Internet.
• Use the grading rubric while completing the project to ensure all requirements are met that will lead to the highest possible grade.
• Third person writing is required.  Third person means that there are no words such as “I, me, my, we, or us” (first person writing), nor is there use of “you or your” (second person writing).
• Contractions are not used in business writing, so do not use them.
• Students will not use direct quotation marks but will instead paraphrase.  What this means is that you will put the ideas of an author or article into your own words rather than lifting directly from a source document.  You may not use more than four consecutive words from a source document (including the case scenario) or change words in a passage as doing so would require direct quotation marks.  Use a passage from a source document by putting into your own words (paraphrase) and attribute the passage to the source document.  Changing words from a passage does not exclude the passage from having to have quotation marks. If direct quotes are presented, they will not be included in the grading.
• Use in-text citations in ALL sections of the assignment and provide a reference list that contain a reference associated with each in-text citation.
• Provide the page or paragraph number in every in-text citation presented.  Refer to this link for more guidance on how to do this:
  In-Text Citations – Including Page or Paragraph Numbers