Leadership Project

I am thrilled to share my culminating project: an engaging leadership journal that delves into the link between creativity and leadership growth. This interactive journal invites users to participate in a range of imaginative endeavors, including poetry, art, narrative writing, and creative thinking. The main focus of this journal is to augment leadership capabilities by delving into the realm of personal innovation and self-assertion, tapping into the creative mind as part of a leadership journey.

This webpage captures how the project developed, from the initial idea and development through beta readers and final drafting, including future plans for the journal.

Project Background

Proposal: Leadership Development Guided Journal

Finished Vision: A self-paced, non-linear journal that focuses on internal leadership development, with an emphasis on linking leadership and creativity through engaging activities. The ideal target audience would be individuals seeking ways to grow and transform from "management" to "leadership" in their professional lives or who may be only beginning a leadership journey.

Goals and Desired Outcomes

Goals:

1. Usability as an adaptable leadership tool;

2. Provide methods to assist readers in developing their personal leadership practice; and

3. Create a joy of learning about leadership in readers

Desired Outcomes:

1. Learning

2. Behavorial Change

Objectives:

At the completion of the journal, readers should have developed a unique vision, a leadership philosophy and have an understanding of their preferred leadership styles for further development.

Key Performance Indicators:

1. Beta Reader feedback via survey

2. Individual interviews

3. Tracking website engagement/activity

Beta Reader Selection

Potential Beta Readers were contacted based on the following criteria:

1. Acquaintances or one degree of separation between author and reader when possible.

2. Member of potential target audience, or with an interest in the topic of leadership development

3. Willingness to be honest with feedback

4. Reliable and willing to dedicate the time to complete the readings and surveys.

Beta readers received an invitation email to the project. Ultimately, 25 individuals committed to weekly reading and surveys during November 2023. Readers came from a variety of backgrounds and occupations, but all were interested in learning more about leadership development. Beta readers received weekly emails during the month of November, and were given access to the Beta Reader page, along with all the project files to read and provide feedback on.

Process

Each week, a reminder email was sent out to Beta Readers with a link the weeks reading in PDF format and a link to the online survey.

Beta Readers were provided access to this webpage, where all of the material was uploaded and available Monday by noon PST.

Feedback received from surveys was used in real-time to make adjustments to each weeks new draft.

Survey Collection and Feedback

Surveys were collected weekly and corresponded with the weeks reading. The survey consisted of 9 questions, mostly multiple choice with optional free-form.

A summary of survey responses with positive feedback (+) and suggested changes (^) is captured in the slideshow to the right.

Overall, feedback was very positive. Readers liked the casual tone ("Uplifting and Creative") rather than a more academic tone of the writing, which made the journal more readable. The most popular section with readers

Beta Reader Survey Responses

was the creative writing section and the art section (Weeks 3 and 4) ,though additional scientific data was suggested to make it less "new agey", both of which had suggestions on additional information to include or expand on.

Suggested items to consider for editing include adding mindfulness topics (especially Eastern influenced) and keeping a clear view of the intended audience in terms of references. Especially with the opening chapter and section introductions, edits were suggested to get to the point faster and capture interest rather than being so wordy (Week 1 material, lowest reviewed at "neutral").

Measurements of Success

Success is measured based on the following elements:

1. User engagement: Website unique visitor counters and

email delivery receipts.

2. Feedback:

a. Specific suggestions

b. General feedback

c. Shared reflections / impact

Measurements of Success

Based on these two broad categories and the collected survey and interview comments shown here, the beta version of the Leadership Journal is a success. There is more work to be done to get to a final product, but the beta period confirmed the content, format and topics were valuable and enjoyable.

Manifested

Competencies

Manifested Competencies

Knowledge and research from the social sciences, communication arts, and the humanities are integrated in the Organizational Leadership curriculum, which is an interdisciplinary endeavor. With a program that draws on such a wide range of disciplines, the influence and impact of my learning journey is evident not only in this final project but in my own leadership growth and development throughout my studies.

Courses from both the COML and ORGL program helped inform my project, whether holistically (The impact of ORGL 605 and the idea that leadership development could come from the arts) or specifically related to individual topics included in the journal (how organizational culture and communication can impact leadership development and effective leadership techniques from COML 504). The included slideshow highlights competencies from each course that personally impacted me and informed the creation of this project.

My leadership attitude and development have been profoundly influenced by the two concentrations I pursued while earning my degree in organizational leadership: Global Leadership and Strategic and Crisis Communications. These concentrations not only spoke to the strengths of my background as a crisis manager in the US military, but also provided a greater depth to the values and philosophies I hold as a leader.

The global leadership concentration emphasizes the cultivation of the knowledge, abilities, and self-assurance necessary to lead in a workplace that is both diverse and complex. Emphasis is placed on developing cultural knowledge and self-awareness, while also learning to navigate unfamiliar contexts with meaning. The importance of communication in any organization is thoroughly examined in the strategic and organizational communication concentration. In order to pinpoint issues, steer change, and convey innovative solutions, a great deal of time and energy was devoted to researching applicable theory and best practices in strategic communication.

If I were to try and capture the essence of Organizational Leadership program and the manifested competencies evident in my project, I would distill it down to this: Authentic leadership starts with understanding yourself and a dedication to a growth mindset. As you become confident in your own knowledge and abilities, you will be a more adaptive and resilient leader for others.

Future Plans

Collect and Categorize feedback:

a. Keep: Identify and keep the elements readers loved.

b. Consider: Any feedback I am unsure about.

c. To-Do: Suggestions I agree with and want to incorporate.

d. Patterns: Look for patterns in feedback, and identify those

elements throughout the project.

e. Edits: Using categorized feedback, edit the project.

Once the final draft is complete, it will be sent for publication edits. Ultimately, this project will be used as the foundation for a creative leadership development program.