Personal Manual

LDR 1100 Personal Leadership Manual
“What do others need to know to get along with me?”

As of January 2021

The ability to influence the transformation of people, organizations and societies requires a
dedicated game plan. Just like the coach of a sports team poised to make the championship run, the
warrior-leader is concerned not only about winning the battle, but also bringing the troops home
safely, the girl scout den mother who is focused on increasing cookie sales to ensure the team can
make the annual summer camp, etc. all must have a game plan for inspiring others to join their game
plan for achieving the desired goal. This begins with a vision in mind; yet, the leader must also
consider how they will influence others to make the journey with them. This influence is the product
of the leader communicating passionately, on daily bases, what he/she believes by virtue of all they
say and do.

In order to accomplish a lot of our goals and desires we have to understand how we operate. In a
way, we are like the electronics we use every day. When we first open them we have a tendency to
start using them without knowing how they operate. When we use the washer, we do not just throw
our clothes in the washing machine and hope for the best…this might lead to white shirts becoming
an interesting shade of blue/red because we mixed colors and harmed the fabric. Instead we read
the owner or Leadership manual.

A personal Leadership manual is a way for people to get to know us. A Leadership manual is a
way to get to know ourselves. By understanding ourselves, we convey a compelling leadership
message of who we are and the types of things which make us tick.

Concept: Based on the concepts you have learned in LDR1100; your MBTI and self-evaluation,
using the Emotional Intelligence concepts from Mr. Ellis Bush’s presentation, create a “Personal
Leadership Manual”. In your “Personal Leadership Manual” you will also be incorporating the GOAL
and SMART concepts we discussed at the beginning of the class in order to explore what you would
want to be doing 2 and 5 years after you graduate from college.

Your assignment is to develop your “Personal Leadership Manual”

Follow the instructions below very carefully to receive maximum points on your paper.
1. NOTE: The TriFold is your outline and will be completed throughout the course. Guidance for

TriFold provided separately). You can submit your final product earlier, if you would like.
2. This assignment is about CONTENT and CREATIVITY.

Do/Answer the following items for Your Personal Leadership Manual:
1. Develop a list of 3 leadership strengths of your personality, based on MBTI, you intend to

further develop with 2-4 sentences per strength explaining WHY each is a strength and WHAT
you are going to work on to make them stronger

2. Develop a list of 3 leadership weaknesses of your personality, based on MBTI, you intend to
develop with 2-4 sentences per weakness explaining WHY each is a weakness and WHAT you
are going to work on to mitigate each weakness.

3. Write 2-3 sentences on EACH answering the following questions:
a. What is my leadership style?
b. How do I express my emotions?
c. When and how do I like people to approach me?

d. What do I value as a leader?
e. How can others help me?
f. I CANNOT tolerate –

4. Write 1 paragraph with a MINIMUM of 4 sentences explaining what you expect from team
members who are working for you.

5. Write 1 paragraph with a MINIMUM of 4 sentences answering the following question: “What
is the best way to communicate with you?”

6. Write 1 paragraph with a MINIMUM of 4 sentences answering the following question: “How
do you like to receive feedback?”

7. Using the concepts of setting a vision or goal and write a goal for while you are in college and
explain it. “My goal for myself in college is…”

8. Using the concepts of setting a vision or goal and write a goal for 2 years after you graduate
from college and explain it. “My goal / vision for myself 2 years after I graduate from college
is…”

9. In 15 words or less, write your “personal bumper sticker” which will become the foundation
of your leadership philosophy. As an example, my personal bumper sticker is, “Develop me;
to lead me; to help each student create a Servant Leader heart.” In a MINIMUM of 2
paragraphs, each paragraph a minimum of 4 sentences, explain WHAT the bumper sticker
means and WHY you think it is important. REMEMBER: This should be something which is
actionable and describes you AS A LEADER. IT SHOULD BE AN ORIGINAL THOUGHT NOT
SOMETHING YOU USED FROM ANOTHER PERSON OR INTERNET OR ANY OTHER SOURCE!

10. Finally, remember to develop a COMPREHENSIVE vision/mission/goal for yourself based on
the criteria below. Additionally, use the format specified below.

Vision, Mission, Goals

Your vision, mission will be what you want to accomplish AT TROY or WHILE you are IN COLLEGE. The

following information appeared in the chapter on Servant Leadership:

Vison. Vision is what gives you and the organization a focus. There are many examples of what a

vision means to an organization. Many spiritual and non-spiritual examples exist. There are also

humorous approaches to the importance of a vision. Author Lewis Carroll said, “If you don’t know

where you are going, any road will get you there.” And baseball legend Yogi Berra said, “If you don’t

know where you’re going, you’ll end up someplace else.” Finally, organizations understand the

importance of a vision. Tesla’s vision is – To accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.

Some are so simplistic TED: Spread ideas.

To be successful in life you need to have a vision for where you want to go. For example, a personal

vision statement might be I will live each day as though I had all the power and influence necessary to

make it a perfect world. This does not mean time will not alter your vision. Things happen. But one

of the best things you can do, is sit down and write a vision. This could be a vision for your life—and

you should be thinking about that now. But to get started, you may wish to write a time-limited one,

five or ten years out. Then state your mission and goals that will help you realize your vision. (Note:

the terms goal and objective are sometimes used interchangeably, but objectives are the steps to

reach a goal, whereas goals are specific and measurable.)

Vision: Be a successful attorney

Mission: Attain necessary education and experience

Goals:

 Earn Bachelor’s degree

 Gain acceptance to law school

 Graduate from law school

 Pass the bar

 Get a position with a good law firm

You should do such visionary planning for yourself. But it is also crucial for you as a leader. For when

you do visionary planning for yourself, you will gain experience on how to shape a vision for the

groups and organizations you lead. Perhaps an organization already has a stated vision and mission,

then you will be more equipped to lead others in accomplishing the stated mission and achieving the

vision. Servant Leaders must be visionary if they are to successfully lead others.

Or you may state a longer term vision such as that on the next page.

Vision: Lead a life marked by success and service

Mission: Grow in all areas of my life—intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually

Goals:

 Complete my formal education

 Obtain a job that has room for growth

 Get married and raise a family

 Demonstrate love for my family, friends, and acquaintances

 Serve my church and my community

 Attain financial security

 Be a generous but discriminant benefactor

Suppose a college student had excellent foresight on what it took to be a college professor. Perhaps

he or she had an uncle or aunt who already was a college professor. That student might write the

following:

Vision: Become a successful, tenured college professor

Mission: Attain necessary education and experience

Goals:

 Earn Bachelor’s, Masters, and Ph.D. degrees

 Hold Graduate Teaching Assistantship or Instructorship while doing graduate work

 Receive appointment to a university as an Assistant Professor after graduation

 Demonstrate outstanding Teaching, Research, and Service

 Earn Promotion to Associate Professor with Tenure within 7 years

 Eventually earn promotion to Full Professor

 Have a career as a successful and respected college professor

The three examples given are only to help you. Do not be restricted by them. Construct Vision,

Mission, and Goals that fit you.

Format/Administrative aspects – THERE IS NO FORMAT… BE CREATIVE!

Citations: Since the majority of the information is going to based on the course material, you
should list lectures; other assignments; and the text book on a separate page as your sources as
required.
 Put your sourcing in MLA or APA formatting (if you use any source other than the textbook)
 You can use material outside the course to support your position but include any outside or

other research or sources on your citation page.

If you are looking for guidelines (i.e. you are having a mental block on the creative side of your
brain) here are some guidelines you might follow:
 Make sure the document you upload is either in a PPT, PDF or MS Word Doc format ONLY
 There is NO Format for the PERSONAL LEADERSHIP MANUAL. I WANT you to be CREATIVE.

You WILL get bonus points for being CREATIVE. Be creative and at the same time, EXPLORE
YOU!!!

 Write in the first person; this is about you and your plans and ideas.
 Length may vary but I expect it to be a minimum of 800 words. It will NOT surprise me if your

paper is OVER 1000 words. It is OKAY if your paper is LONGER.
 Use 12 point, Times New Roman Font, double-spaced with 1 inch top and bottom margins and

1 1/4 inch side margins. Again, NOT required but make it readable please!
 Follow the normal, basic rules of grammar.
 Use the spell-check and grammar-check on your word processing software to eliminate

needless errors.
 If you use course material or the textbook cite you do NOT need a bibliography. If you use

another source outside the class, cite the information in MLA, APA, footnotes OR Endnotes.
YOU can choose ANY of these formats but be CONSISTENT

 Submit your paper on time. Start it soon, write it early, review it often.
 Spend lots of time on it before submission; have others read it and make suggestions.
 Paper Header – If you do not want to be creative – BE CREATIVE!

o Centered; place the course title on line 1,
o next include the following words on line 2 My Leadership Manual,
o student name on line 3,
o and finally date on line 4.

 Be proud of you and the manual you are creating.

Resources for you to consider:
BBC 2017 Personal Leadership Manual Article This is an article which was written by an
entrepreneur in Europe about why he wrote a Personal Leadership Manual.

How to Write a Personal Instruction Manual This was written in 2014. It is DIFFERENT from what
I am asking you to write but it gives you an idea of WHAT to write. DO NOT FOLLOW THIS
FORMAT
LinkedIn How to Write a Personal Leadership Manual This is from 2013 on LinkedIn. Again, it is
different from what I am having you write but it is designed to give you more ideas.
US Army Article This is an article from a young Army officer’s perspective and his ideas on his
Personal Leadership Manual