Leadership and learning for an organization that makes prosthetics

 

 

Scenario
You work as a director of leadership and learning for an organization that makes prosthetics. The organization has been in business since 1999 and employs over 350 people in its Tampa, Florida, headquarters and three plant locations across the Southwest. While the business is currently based in the United States, the organization is exploring ways to move into Canadian markets within the next three years. This year’s employee engagement survey results for the organization show that some leadership practices are rated lower, while some practices were rated higher. The new chief human resources officer (CHRO) met with the team to discuss the general results. Everyone agrees that the company’s focus should be on both specific leadership development areas perceived as strengths and on those rated as areas for improvement, primarily regarding social intelligence, emotional intelligence, and the interpersonal skills of effective leaders.

To help this initiative, your manager, the vice president of leadership and learning, asked you to create an adaptive leadership toolkit that can be used throughout the organization. To begin this work, you conducted a personal leadership self-assessment and turned this into a personal development plan. Then you shared this artifact with your manager. Your manager was impressed with the thoroughness of the personal development plan and saw value in incorporating it as an exemplar within the adaptive leadership toolkit for use by all people leaders in the organization. After receiving such positive feedback, you moved forward with creating the rest of the adaptive leadership toolkit.

Your manager has shared the adaptive leadership toolkit that you created with the CHRO, and it was well received. The CHRO wants to distribute this toolkit to all leaders throughout the organization—supervisors and above—and asks you to create a communication strategy that will help in the rollout and implementation of the adaptive leadership toolkit. For this project, you will create that communication strategy.

Directions
Overview: In this part of the communication strategy, you will summarize the business problems the organization is currently experiencing and provide an overview of trends from your analysis. You will also explain how a personal development plan and adaptive leadership toolkit can provide solutions to these challenges.

Summarize the business problems the organization is currently facing and describe how the personal development plan and adaptive leadership toolkit will address them.
Why was the personal development plan created?
Why was the adaptive leadership toolkit developed?
Summarize trends in leadership strengths observed in your analysis of the employee satisfaction survey and describe how they relate to the leadership skills and behaviors included in the adaptive leadership toolkit.
In which areas did leadership score well?
How did your analysis help to inform skills and behaviors included in the adaptive leadership toolkit?
Summarize trends in leadership weaknesses observed in your analysis of the employee satisfaction survey and describe how they relate to the leadership skills and behaviors included in the adaptive leadership toolkit.
In which areas did leadership not score well?
How did your analysis help to inform skills and behaviors included in the adaptive leadership toolkit?
Personal Development Plan: In this part of the communication strategy, you will describe the personal development plan in further detail. You will include how the personal development plan supports the adaptive leadership toolkit and the value it will bring once the entire toolkit is rolled out.

Summarize the importance of including a personal development plan in the adaptive leadership toolkit and explain the value it will bring to the organization.
How does the personal development plan support the adaptive leadership toolkit?
How do the strategies within the personal development plan address the business problems the organization is currently facing?
Explain how the personal development plan and SMART goal setting could help develop the leadership styles of the leaders within the organization.

 

Sample Solution

Business Problems:

The organization is facing challenges related to leadership practices, as evidenced by lower ratings in certain areas of the employee engagement survey. Specifically, there is a need to improve social intelligence, emotional intelligence, and interpersonal skills among leaders.

Solutions:

The personal development plan and adaptive leadership toolkit are designed to address these challenges by providing leaders with the tools and resources they need to develop their leadership skills. The personal development plan serves as a model for individual leaders, demonstrating how to identify areas for improvement and create a personalized plan for development. The adaptive leadership toolkit provides a comprehensive framework for developing and applying adaptive leadership skills throughout the organization.

Rationale for Personal Development Plan and Adaptive Leadership Toolkit:

  • Personal Development Plan: The personal development plan was created to demonstrate the value of self-reflection and goal setting in leadership development. It serves as a practical example for leaders to follow when creating their own personalized development plans.
  • Adaptive Leadership Toolkit: The adaptive leadership toolkit was developed to provide leaders with a framework for navigating complex and uncertain environments. It includes tools and resources for developing adaptive leadership skills, such as empathy, experimentation, and collaboration.

Leadership Strengths and Weaknesses:

  • Strengths: The employee satisfaction survey revealed strengths in areas such as
    . These strengths align with the leadership skills and behaviors included in the adaptive leadership toolkit, such as
    .
  • Weaknesses: The survey also identified areas for improvement, including
    . These weaknesses correspond to the leadership skills and behaviors that are emphasized in the adaptive leadership toolkit, such as
    .

Personal Development Plan

The personal development plan is an essential component of the adaptive leadership toolkit. It provides a structured approach for leaders to identify their areas for growth, set goals, and develop a personalized plan for development.

Value of the Personal Development Plan:

  • Self-awareness: The personal development plan encourages leaders to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses, leading to greater self-awareness and personal growth.
  • Goal setting: By setting clear and achievable goals, leaders can focus their development efforts and track their progress.
  • Personalized development: The personal development plan allows leaders to tailor their development to their specific needs and interests.

Support for Adaptive Leadership Toolkit:

The personal development plan supports the adaptive leadership toolkit by providing a practical framework for applying the principles and tools included in the toolkit. By identifying their own areas for development, leaders can tailor their use of the toolkit to their specific needs.

Addressing Business Problems:

The strategies within the personal development plan, such as self-reflection, goal setting, and seeking feedback, can help leaders address the business problems the organization is currently facing. By developing their leadership skills, leaders can improve their ability to navigate complex situations, build relationships, and inspire their teams.

Developing Leadership Styles:

The personal development plan and SMART goal setting can help leaders develop their leadership styles in several ways:

  • Self-awareness: By understanding their own strengths and weaknesses, leaders can develop a more authentic and effective leadership style.
  • Goal setting: Setting clear and achievable goals can help leaders focus their development efforts and make progress toward their desired outcomes.
  • Continuous learning: The personal development plan encourages leaders to engage in ongoing learning and development, which is essential for staying relevant and effective in today’s rapidly changing business environment.

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