- • Focus: to recognize and celebrate each individual's personal history with regard to the making of a leader
- • Goal: to set forth the elements of your own history that have helped make you a leader; and to give an in-depth telling of four specific life experiences that helped forge you leadership style
As a brain storming activity for your paper, make five horizontal lines on an 8.5 by 11" page (horizontal lines go across the 11" side). One will be named "Self-Discovery", one "Mentors", one "Pain", one "Joy" and one "Leadership Lifeline." On the Self-Discovery line list chronologically 15-25 self-discoveries that helped shape you as a leader throughout your life; on the mentor line list 15-25 mentors; on the pain line list 15-25 painful experiences; on the joy line list 15-25 joyful experiences. Use phrases or short sentences on these first four lines. On the Leadership Lifeline combine all items in chronological order using only one key word for each discovery, mentor, or experience.
Self-Discoveries=any discovery about self that led you toward being a leader
Mentors=family members, or any personal, professional, or world leader
Pain=any experience of emotional, spiritual, physical, or family pain
Joy=any victories, triumphs, cherished moments, or joyful times
Choose one item from each of the first four lifelines to write about. In writing, reflect on how that item helped forge in you the character of a leader. Length: 7-10 pages: Possible outline: 1 page has the five lifelines on it; use 1 page for intro and 1 page for conclusion; use 1-2 pages to write on a self-discovery, 1-2 pages to write on a mentor, 1-2 pages to write on a painful life experience, and 1-2 pages to write on a joyful life experience.
Also include a self-assessment of two of your leadership weaknesses; to do this, ask key loved ones, mentors, and colleagues what they view as your primary relational weaknesses, and speak to the insights you gained from the process. Seamlessly embed your self-assessment into the larger paper. Generally, the paper should have 2 citations per page in order to provide a scholarly and critically rich foundation for the vision you put forward in the paper.