For the final paper you are to explore both the ‘art and science’ of leadership. You have spent this semester examining both dimensions of the topic of leadership; the practical science of applied leadership and the ‘art’ or emotional intelligence side of leading. Using both what you have learned from course readings and the exercises that you have completed as well as the conclusions you have drawn from participating in the Discussion Board process, complete a paper drawing a position from your own perspective on both the art and science of the leadership process. What are the mandatory characteristics of a great leader? What causes leaders to fail? Can a leader rally from a near failure? What advice have you gained from the readings that you have done as to how you will approach leadership inside of your own career process? Who will you look to as a potential mentor for your most challenging leadership dilemmas and why have you chosen that person/people? Start with exploring these questions in the text of your paper and you may add other dimensions for discussion that you feel are also important to complete the assignment in a coherent fashion.
Leadership Colleagues:
If you are still focusing on a direction for your paper and considering various options (especially if you have gleaned many new perspectives on leadership from your course readings/postings and that has pushed your definition of leadership to new levels that have/can cause more confusion than clarity, at least for the moment), you might consider asking one or two key questions and then building a position around that key question. An example might be:
1. Are there specific key characteristics that every leader must possess in order to be successful? If so, what are these characteristics? [If this is the case and a leader has mastered these items, does that guarantee success regardless of the environment in which he/she finds themselves?] (Then be prepared to argue and defend your position(s) on the aforementioned self selected questions, citing specific examples of what you are advocating).
