Project 1: Leading Strategically
Step 1: Complete Your Skills Gap Analysis
INBOX: 1 New Message
Subject: MCS Personnel Review—Skills Gap Analysis
From: Rebecca Sterling, Life & Leadership Coach
To: You
Hello,Hope your projects are going well. I saw that you were going to be attending the upcoming leadership conference in Chicago—looks like a good mix of professional perspectives and market insight.As you may have heard, MCS Human Resources is requesting that all personnel use the attached gap analysis instrument to self-evaluate business knowledge and skills before beginning work on upcoming projects.Select the Project 1 worksheet in the bottom left of the file to complete this request. When you have completed your self-evaluation, use the text box at the bottom of the worksheet to write a reflection of 400–500 words describing two to three gaps you will work to reduce, why you selected them, and the activities you will pursue to develop your selected competencies. Please note, you will need to return to this file later to complete a final gap analysis.
Be sure to reach out if you have any questions.Best,Becca
Attachments:
Skills gap analysis instrument
Project 1: Leading Strategically
Step 2: Expand Your Knowledge of Strategic Leadership
Now that you’ve downloaded and tested Microsoft Project for the IT department, you’re all set to travel. You pack your bags for the Future Directions Conference and put up your out-of-office email response. After a smooth flight into Chicago, you catch a ride to the conference center to get settled.
The focus of the Future Directions Conference is strategic leadership, and you capture some notes from each presenter as you attend various sessions throughout the weekend.
Notes from Future Directions Conference—Chicago, IL
Sarah Emerson, COO of Digital Blitz
- Keynote: Why Leading is Strategy
- Notes on strategic leadership
Jeffree Daily, Digital Strategist for Pyle Force
- Session 1: Deep Roots: Theories and Research Still Apply
- Notes on perspectives in leadership theory and research
Carson Sizemore, VP of Human Resources for Enterprise Today
- Session 2: Spare Change
- Notes on management of change and trust
- Note on Resilience
- Note on Circular Economy
Johanna Gillmont, President of Continental Shift
- Session 3: Quite the Contrary
- Notes on managing ambivalence
Jarrell Faust, Entrepreneur and Founder of SOURCE3
- Session 4: Pulling in the Pieces
- Notes on shared and distributed leadership
Catherine Condorro, Director of Leadership at Parsons Institute for Finance
- Session 5: Connecting on Another Level
- Notes on relational leadership
Nina Orenstein, Experience Engineer at Hefler-Miller Systems
- Closing Keynote: Complicated Yet Sophisticated
- Notes on complexity theory of leadership
The conference concludes and you are exhausted—there was a lot of information to digest. After the conference reception, you grab a bite to eat while reviewing your notes in depth. You know that the CEO, Jillian Best, expects you to not only report out on these materials, but also to discuss many of the highlights with your peers and other attendees from Maryland Creative Solutions, LLC.
Please review all materials in the links above and then proceed to the next step.
Project 1: Leading Strategically
Step 3: Discuss Conference Materials
Your first day back in the office, Jillian Best has requested that you participate in an open discussion with your peers about some of the takeaways from the recent Future Directions Conference you attended in Chicago as well as your professional leadership experiences outside of the company. Now that you have returned to the office, it’s time to get the discussion underway.
Based on your reading, research, and analysis, respond to the two discussion questions below and adhere to Jillian’s discussion requirements:
- Your two main postings, one each for topic 1 and topic 2, should be completed by the end of Week 1.
- The titles of your two main postings should indicate the discussion topic number (e.g., #1, #2).
- Respond to a minimum of two postings from your classmates, one each for each topic 1 and topic 2, before the discussion area is locked at the end of Week 2.
- For the choice of your organization, you can choose your current employer, past employer, a supplier or customer that you are very familiar with, or an organization where you volunteer.
Discussion
Discuss the two topics listed below:
- Discussion Topic 1: Drivers of Change
What are the major external and internal drivers of change in your organization?
- Discussion Topic 2: Strategic Leadership
What is, or should be, the role of the strategic leadership in your organization to meet its performance objectives, develop a resilient organization and respond to the challenges of environment and sustainability?
Review the MBA Discussion Guidelines for instructions on participation in discussions.
After the discussion, proceed to the next step, where you will write a report on strategic management and leadership.