MSCI-4132 Transition to Lieutenant Spring 2020
ANNEX C: LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY PAPER (LPP) – 200 points
Length: 8-10 pages assembled as follows: 1) 01 page maximum – Leadership Philosophy Memorandum 2) 07-09 pages – Leadership Philosophy Essay (double-spaced) (12 pt. font; 1” margins; not counting title or reference pages)
Turn-in: Submit your assignment via email (required) as one, complete document, as a Microsoft Word document with your name and cadet ID on the cover page, but do not include your name on the page header. Adhere to any additional submission instructions provided by your instructor.
Assignment Overview: The final writing assignment of MSCI-4132 asks you to answer the question “How will I lead?” If done well, your philosophy will describe what your subordinates can expect from you as a leader, convince the reader that your leadership priorities are supported by appropriate theories/frameworks, and inspire the reader to follow you.
Leadership Philosophy Memorandum: (01-page maximum) Envision yourself as a new platoon leader (2LT) in a specific company at a specific duty station. Your battalion commander wants to know more about how you aspire to lead within her unit and has requested a 01-page memorandum with ‘SUBJECT: How I Will Lead.’ Discuss at least three (03) personal leadership tenets (principles), which can be a single word or a phrase of importance to you. Your memo must clearly identify and define each tenet and explain their importance to effective leadership. Your memo should describe the leader you aspire to be and the leadership you will hold yourself accountable to provide. Complete the memorandum with formatting in accordance with AR 25-50 (Preparing and Managing Correspondence); use the ‘MEMORANDUM FOR:’ format. You may use fictional information for your unit address and office symbol.
Leadership Philosophy Support Essay: (07-09 pages) Your commander is also interested in why you believe each tenet is important to your effectiveness as a leader. She requests an argumentative essay answering the following prompt: Describe the relevance and importance of your leadership tenets. Support your argument with four (04) specific kinds of evidence:
1. Support your argument by reflecting on relevant, compelling experiences or examples you witnessed first-hand. For each tenet, explain how a specific leadership experience developed your perspective on that tenet. 2. Support your argument by grounding your tenets in concepts or theories from MSCI-4132. Explain how specific concepts or theories from the course support the relevance and importance of your tenets.
3. Explain how your mentor influenced the selection of your tenets.
4. Support your argument by visualizing future implementation of your leadership tenets. Considering your specific situation as a new platoon leader (branch, unit type, missions, locations, etc.), describe at least three leadership challenges you might face. Explain how your leadership philosophy will influence your approach to addressing each leadership challenge.
Documentation & Assessment:
You must correctly document sources in accordance with guidelines articulated earlier in this course guide.