Writing as a future leader or manager in your chosen sector of business, develop a Leadership Blog that respond to the following 2 themes:

1. Change Management (1000 words)

2. My Development as a Future Leader (1000 words)

Blog 1 – Change Management

Blog 1: background context

On 29th March 2017, the UK officially triggered article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, paving the ground for the UK’s plans to leave the European Union (‘Brexit’). The triggering of article 50 was historically ground-breaking, and it marked the beginning of a two-year period in which the politicians, businesses and the people of Britain have to prepare for a life after Brexit. The 2 year extension expired on the 29th of March 2019 and the UK requested for an extension. Initially, an extension was granted till the 12th of April 2019 and the departure deadline was further extended till the 31st of October 2019.

Brexit will undoubtedly have consequences for businesses, and it is believed that UK-based businesses will be most affected. These consequences might vary from industry to industry, however, many UK-based and international businesses are currently questioning what the future holds for them in the UK.

Your task for this blog is to identify any kind of problem that you anticipate for UK-based and international businesses in the wake of Brexit, and develop a solution for one of these problems.

Blog instructions (word count: 1000)

Your task in this blog is to conduct independent research that will require you to:

1. Choose a real business in an industry of your choice and identify a problem triggered by (the uncertainty of) Brexit and all potential consequences associated with Brexit for this business.

2. Develop a solution to the problem that clearly outlines the organisational, structural or strategic change that has to be undertaken by this business.

3. Design an action plan that you would recommend to this business.

4. Define your learning outcomes for change management based on your problem-solving experience.

Understanding the key words

Below are some short explanations about these keywords:

Identify – a real business in a particular industry, and explain you reasons for choosing this business. Use theories and models learnt in this module to critically evaluate the impact Brexit is having on this business.

Develop – based on your change management research, explain the root of the identified problem caused by Brexit, providing arguments how the organisation would benefit from overcoming the problem by implementing change.

Design – discuss the actions you suggest to overcome the problem and what role leaders can play in overcoming resistance to change.

Define – communicate your learning outcomes for change management, making sure that these are founded on the learning experience and action plan (solution) you delivered.

Reviewing your work

After you have written your blog, read it all the way to the end to check that you have:

1. Made reference to change management theories studied in this module.
2. Used a problem of a real organisation to highlight the impact effective change management can have on overcoming challenges caused by real events such as Brexit.
3. Identified learning outcomes for what you learned about change management theories and models to produce better results.
4. Used in-text citations throughout your blog to show where your knowledge of change management comes from.
5. Actively engaged with your followers on the WordPress blog. Taken screen shots of the conversations and inserted it in the final word document which you will submit on Moodle.

What you must NOT do. Do not simply gather together a series of quotes from published authors in the hope that this presents your views. Remember Socrates words of wisdom: To believe without evidence and demonstration is an act of ignorance and folly.

Blog 2 – My Development as a Future Leader

Blog 2: background context

‘Serious leaders understand that, both by design and default, they’re always leading by example. Some want to “lead from the front” while others prefer “leading from behind.” But everyone senses their success — and failure — at leading by example is integral to their “leadership brand.” Smart leaders want to build their brands. The lead-by-example stories executives tell sharpen their leadership brand propositions… The true lead-by-example test is who follows those examples and how. Do colleagues and clients see those examples as leadership? Are direct reports inspired to admire and emulate? When people describe “the right way” of getting the job done or getting the best out of people, is an example explicitly referenced?’ (Schrage 2016:2-4).

So, what is your leadership brand? And how effective has your brand been to acquire followers who feel supported and inspired by you? Do your followers trust your leadership and by doing so actively support the achievement of the team’s goals? Develop your blog to critically reflect on your performance this term as a leader of a team and what this means for your future development in your MBA.

Blog instructions (word count: 1000)

Your task in this blog is to conduct independent research that will require you to:

1. Appraise your leadership brand by justifying your choice of one theory or model of leadership that reflects your vision and values about leading other people to achieve a goal/result

2. Assess the relevance of your leadership brand to your chosen career in relation to the cultural norms of leaders in the role, industry or national context

3. Evaluate your current strengths and development needs when demonstrating your leadership brand by analysing the feedback from 3 different team members. Their feedback should include what they observed about the situation, the behaviour you demonstrated and the impact it had on your team to influence them to follow you and the results you achieved

4. Create a development plan that justifies how you will use more of your strengths and develop your weaknesses in leading teams in your future MBA studies

Understanding the key words

Below are some short explanations about these keywords:

Appraise – using your research skills, write about how trustworthy and relevant your chosen theory or model is for leaders like yourself. Is the theory or model from a well-known author? Has this been tested by other researchers? Is it up to date for the needs of leaders now or the future?

Assess – using more than one source of information about your career, industry and country to come to a conclusion about what is typical or expected and what might be new or unusual about this style of leadership.

Evaluate – use your research skills to gather data for a specific purpose and analyse the data against your criteria (in this case, the leadership theory or model) to come to a decision about your effectiveness, e.g. ‘by how much’ are you effective in this style of leader for your specific purpose?

Justify – using your writing skills, explain the reasons why your decisions are reasonable and logical linked to your overall goal

Reviewing your work

After you have written your blog, read it all the way to the end to check that you have:

1. Used an appropriate theory or model of leadership studied in this module.
2. Included your conclusions about how relevant this is for your career
3. Drawn conclusions about ‘by how much’ you are achieving positive results as a leader from feedback from your team members. The feedback must be illustrated using actual quotes (anonymised) shared with you by 3 team members. We don’t expect you to be 100% perfect.
4. Used in-text citations throughout your blog to show where your knowledge of leadership and your chosen career comes from.
5. Actively engaged with your followers on the WordPress blog. Taken screen shots of the conversations and inserted it in the final word document which you will submit on Moodle.

Requirement Detail

Structure

You have been asked to produce 2 blogs. It should contain the following:

• Appropriate cover sheet (as attached in this document – please ensure appropriate cover sheet is attached to your assessment brief)
• Title Page, including the given title in full.
• Format: Public WordPress Blog (converted to a word doc for submission) with a cover sheet including link to your WordPress Blog*
• Contents Page
• Introduction
• Screenshots of your conversations with the followers on the word document.

Layout

Your work should be word processed in accordance with the following:

• Font style, Arial, font size 12
• 1.5 line spacing.
• The page orientation should be ‘portrait’
• Margins on both sides of the page should be no less than 2.5 cm
• Pages should be numbered