Week 6: Lecture – Data Collection, Sensemaking and Draft Leadership Practices Assessment

By this time in your project, there is little to say except that the most important thing is to breathe deep and take a mindful approach to what is in front of you. If you feel a little overwhelmed, it is only because, yes, this project really is a significant amount of work to be doing in such a short amount of time. While the processes and assignments of this class have been designed to allow the greatest efficiency possible, there are still many balls in the air. We set aside two consecutive weeks to allow you to focus primarily on the two most challenging parts of the project, overall: the Leadership Practices Assessment (this week) and the Leadership Practices 2.0 (next week). In both weeks, the discussion is a place for sharing your thinking in a consolidated form (called Annotated Outline) while providing feedback to others. If ever there was a time to come together into a supportive community of practice, this is it!

Last week we discussed the need to reach conclusions and avoid the temptation to continuously add new questions, address recently discovered topics, and changing your work unless absolutely necessary. If, last week, you found that striking a balance between reflection and closure was difficult, then I am afraid that this week will present a similar challenge. Stay focused and concentrate on building that final document by writing anything you can. Like any major writing project, getting through that painful first draft is the knothole that is inescapable.

One reason to focus on the Leadership Practices Assessment this week is that it communicates the need to bring ABSOLUTE closure to that chapter of your research. While there will always be open-ended topics, it is time to draw a line in the sand or put a stake in the ground and simply go with what you have.

So now it is time to relax (yes, relax) and tell your story. When in doubt, go back to the Capstone Project Research Matrix and review your questions that have served as your touchstone all along. If feeling writers’ block because of the interrelationships you keep stumbling into, put those thoughts aside and write about from the perspective of the individual Areas of Leadership Practice, at least to start. Let it flow!

The assignment itself is very brief, and you are asked to share a draft of that assignment, however rough, with others for reflection and feedback.

Attached are my resources for my project based on past assignments i’ve submitted. I will also attached an example of how the assignment should be structured.

*** The project is Leadership training to improve Amazon’s general performance***