Leadership for Social Impact

Leadership Learning Journal 100%

Journal 3000 words

“If we want to change the systems we are part of ‐ our countries, communities, organizations, and families ‐ we must also see and change ourselves”

— Adam Kahane. 2004. Solving Tough Problems: An Open Way of Talking, Listening, and

Creating New Realities.

The submission must include the following parts which can be ordered to suit the flow of your journal:

  • Critical review  of  the literature   as  it  relates  to  the main areas  of  your reflections and (maximum 1000 words)
  • What are the key experiences, concepts, theories and models of leadership  that have resonated  most in the unit and why?
  • What is my action plan for my development as a leader who achieves social outcomes? (maximum 500 words)

Please provide a word count with your assignment.

WHAT IS A LEARNING JOURNAL

Mindfulness is acknowledged as being a very powerful means of achieving leadership outcomes (Langer, 2004). Experiential learning which includes reflexive practices is a process that can greatly assist   leaders to be learners. David Kolb (1984) talks about learning as a cycle of four stages. This process is active and passive, concrete and abstract. Concrete experience (doing) is followed by observation and reflection (thinking and feeling). This leads to the formation of abstract concepts and generalizations (connecting) then to hypotheses to be tested in future action (deciding).  Finally, this   leads   to new experiences.

This   learning   cycle is continuously recurring. Our concepts and experiences are continuously tested and modified as a result of our observation of the experience.

Each individual will have a preference for a certain part of this learning process and may develop a learning style which has both some strong points and some weak points in terms of the learning cycle. This learning journal gives you the opportunity to use all the different learning styles and work with some parts of the process, which you may generally skip over or pay less attention to.

The journal writing itself is a reflective process. The following questions should be used to guide you in your reflective process.

  • What are your reflections on the results of the self‐assessments and experiential activities done in Modules 1 and 2?
  • What are the key concepts and models that you have gleaned from the course that relate to your experience?
  • How do they compare to the reality in your workplace or your own behaviour, attitudes and preferences? What is similar? What is different?
  • What ideas and possibilities have you generated from your learning and can apply in your leadership in the future? Look for links and patterns of behaviour. Generate hypotheses. Consider alternative solutions  and  options  to  resolve  the
  • Evaluate the alternatives and options generated and choose and refine your approach to solving the
  • Develop an action plan and if  possible, measures  to  evaluate  your
  • A critical evaluation of the literature to seek multiple perspectives on your experience and main areas of learning about your leadership, beyond the course

Remember that you can learn faster by moving slowly. Try and take time to be thoughtful and to understand things more deeply. Reflection is a very important part of the learning process and is often neglected in the workplace. The journal is a tool to engage in a conversation with yourself about what you think is the most effective mind‐set and approach to being a leader. Remember that the purpose of the journal is to help you record your learning journey and the meaning you make of the course material. It is probably wise to make sure that you get into the habit of doing a diary entry at the conclusion of each module or very soon after that. You can then go back and reflect/add/modify your initial reflections as you progress through the unit.

Please feel free to be creative in the use of colour, diagrams, metaphors and other modes of expression in addition to the words when putting your journal together.       The portion of the journal that will   be assessed   is   your summary of   learnings   from   Modules 1 and 2. You may wish to include specific entries as Appendices.