Reflect on the following in a minimum of 350 words each. (350 * 6 = 2100 Words)
1. Thought Leaders on Leadership
Research and reflect on one of these thought leaders on leadership: Stephen Covey, Jim Collins, John Maxwell, Lolly Daskal, Sylvia Ann Hewlett, or the team of Jocko Willink and Leif Babin.
- Summarize their core beliefs on leadership.
- Identify critical leadership traits, behaviors, and communication tactics highlighted by the thought leader.
- Discuss what you learned from your research on your selected thought leader, including any changes you want to make to your leadership traits, behaviors, and communication tactics at work.
- Discuss how you can apply their teachings on leadership to an IT manager position.
2. Communication in Project Management
Reflect on how project management involves detailed communications where a misunderstanding can impact dozens of future tasks within a project or cause a dozen tasks that were already completed to be redone. Sometimes the best way to learn is to examine mistakes you have experienced.
- Discuss three examples of poor communication that negatively impacted an IT project and how you would improve them. You can use examples from your past work experiences or examples you researched.
- Discuss an additional three examples of poor communication with the c-suite and how you would improve them. Again, you can use examples from your past work experiences or examples you researched.
- Consider all of the forms and types of communication you send and are sent to you at work in a given week. You can include nonverbal communication too.
3. Project Scope Management
Reflect on how project scope management is a critical step in project integration. To help illustrate its importance, consider what happens without it.
- For a CRM software implementation project, list five specific potential problems and their negative impacts on this IT project if the project scope is not defined or if it is allowed to be changed by anyone in the middle of the project.
- Using the perspective of an IT manager, discuss the most important aspects of the scope that need to be defined for a CRM software implementation project to be successful.
- Lastly, discuss the role of IT leadership and communication in project scope management.
4. Moral Leadership
Reflect on the intersection of moral leadership, motivation, team culture, and conflict management within an IT team from the perspective of an IT manager.
- How does using moral leadership impact ways you would motivate your team or develop your teams culture.
- How does moral leadership change a teams ability to manage conflict?
- Include a description of moral leadership and your opinion on the continuing influence of moral leadership on management philosophies.
5. Power and Influence
Individuals with authority have many choices in how they use their authority. Reflect on managers you have had in the past.
- How did they use their authority and how did it make you feel about your job?
- Discuss the difference between leaders using power and leaders using influence within an IT department.
- Consider the role of an IT project manager who almost always needs individuals to complete tasks or provide resources, but who do not report to him or her (so they have limited authority).
- How can they use power and influence to make sure the project is successful?
- Should an IT project manager consider soliciting a project stakeholder to use his or her authority to help the project?
6. Managing Change
Reflect on the idea that it is not unusual for departments or employees to be resistant to change. You read about Kotters eight-step model of planned organization, appreciative inquiry, and the psychological and emotional processes involved in successful change. Keeping in mind Kotters model, answer the following questions from the perspective of an IT manager or IT project manager.
- What is the most challenging aspect of managing change?
- How does change in the IT department impact the rest of the organization?
- How can you apply leadership and project management principles related to vision and strategic direction during times of change within the IT department or your organization as a whole?
