Purpose:
This assignment is designed to help you create connections between the course material we have learned throughout Modules 2-4. Specifically, using an adaptive leadership approach, you will pick an adaptive challenge that you want to/already are working on. You will then demonstrate your understanding of the course material by applying the content to your chosen adaptive challenge.
To be successful in this assignment, you must pick an adaptive challenge in a system that is larger than you and a few people. For example, picking an adaptive challenge between yourself and a roommate or significant other will not suffice for this assignment. But a challenge you are facing in a student organization or workplace would be perfect. Think more broadly about the systems you want to create change in and remember you can do acts of leadership without power, authority, or title.
Assignment:
This assignment has three parts. For each part, answer ALL questions fully with several sentences. You must use specific examples from your adaptive challenge and rely on course material, terms, and concepts to support your answers. General information about leadership that is not tied to our course will receive a low score.
Finally, you do not need to put your answers in an essay format, but your answers need to be in complete sentences.
Part 1: Identify an adaptive leadership challenge in a system that you are a part of. Then:
- Justify why it is adaptive and not technical.
- Explain why it is important to you that you make progress on it.
- What would making progress on this challenge look like for you?
Part 2: Tools to make progress. Answer ALL of these questions:
- What would getting on the balcony for this challenge look like? Generate as many interpretations as you can.
- Differentiate between stakeholders and factions in the system.
- Who are the most important faction groups?
- Who are the least important faction groups to help you make progress?
- How will you speak to loss when you make progress on this challenge?
- How would you gauge the heat surrounding the challenge in the system?
- What actions will you take to manage the heat in the system?
Part 3: Reflection. In this last part, answer ALL questions:
- What are some pushbacks that you will have to face from the system?
- What smart experiment can you design to address these pushbacks?
- What might the wild success of this experiment look like?
- What might failure to achieve/work toward the experiment look like?
- How will you ensure people in the system remain energized and oriented to purpose?
- What do YOU have to lose or risk losing when making progress on this challenge?
- What is still making you feel uneasy or uncomfortable about making progress on this challenge?
- What is still really holding you back from taking action?
Tips for Success:
- You must answer EVERY question to earn full points on this assignment.
- You do not need to answer these questions in an essay format. But your answers do need to be full sentences.
- I really want to see that you can apply the course material to an adaptive challenge in your life. You do not need to be already doing this work; it can be something you hope to do. Or you can focus on work you are already doing in a system.
- To answer all these questions, you have to have a solid understanding of course terms and material. I recommend referring to your notes and brainstorming before going straight into answering these questions.
- Reach out with questions! I am happy to help.
