Portfolio Part 1: Individual Leadership Presentation – Academic analysis and application of leadership theory, including self-assessment of leadership traits, skills, style

LO1: Analyse current leadership theories and models and demonstrate how these are applied in practice

The purpose of the presentation is to demonstrate an understanding of Leadership and to critique and apply leadership theory to your chosen leader. You should also present an analysis of your own self-assessment of your leadership traits/ skills briefly here and then expand it in your Portfolio Self-reflection section (Part 2)

Your Individual presentation is a 5-minute video on Leadership. You should put YouTube video link at the bottom of the cover page of your portfolio submission which should have screenshots of a maximum of 7 PowerPoint slides that supports your video. The purpose of the presentation is to demonstrate an understanding of Leadership and to critique and apply leadership theory to your chosen leader.

This first part of your portfolio is an individual presentation where you must demonstrate your understanding of leadership theory. For your presentation you must select a leader and critically apply at least 2 types of leadership theory you have studied on the module e.g. Trait and Transformational Theory. You must use academic referencing, using the module materials e.g. Northouse, Kotter. You must show how the leader demonstrates (or not) the theory and provide some critique on the theory. For example, What is Trait Theory? how do the traits, behaviours, style of your leader relate to the 4I’s of Transformational Theory? You could for example critique whether it is always good to be ‘charismatic in business. What about ethical leadership? What does the theory say and how can you apply it to your leader?

Having completed self-administered questionnaires on leadership styles and preferences, this presentation will expect you to briefly evaluate your style against the leadership theory you have studied as well as developing your self-reflection in more depth in your Portfolio Part 2: Self-reflective Piece.

Key Points:

1. Choose a leader from one of the following categories:
   • Politics
   • Fashion
   • Retail
   • Sport
   • Technology
   • Media
2. You should analyse and critically apply 2 appropriate leadership theories/ models or theories that have been discussed during the first semester.
3. Make sure you use the academic journal articles and books recommended on weblearn and in the reading list in your presentation and you must reference correctly according to the Harvard Reference system – see library website for guidance.
4. Your Presentation must include 7 references from at least 3 of the academic journal articles we have studied and your wider academic reading e.g. Northouse/ Academic Journal Articles and Business quality references e.g. FT/ Economist/ Forbes.

Portfolio Part 2: A critical review of Power and Modern Leadership Practices using practical examples from business (1,500 words, excluding appendices) & including your self-reflective piece (500 words)

LO2: Demonstrate an understanding of the role of Power, Influence and Ethics on modern leadership practices

For this assessment you are required to explore the role of Power, Politics and Conflict in relation to what happens in real organisations. This is an individual piece of 1,500 words (excluding appendices) in which you will demonstrate your understanding and application of the concepts of Power, Politics, ethics and Conflict.

Using relevant academic theory studied on the module you must critique how power, politics, ethics and conflict are used in business and how theory can help shed light on solutions. You should reference some of the core texts studied on the module including Machiavelli’s – The Prince, as well as the other academic articles studied on the module e.g. Cairns (2017), Lingo & McGinn (2020). You can include your own research and further reading.

Critical review (1,500-words, excluding appendices):

You can either write your review as an essay, which should be clearly structured, or else divide it into sections, with titles, headings and subheadings as appropriate – shown below: You must use a specific case study or several business examples as well as academic referencing for the material studied on the module to develop your critical review. The main aim is to demonstrate your understanding of the theory how you link Theory to Practice – How can you use your real-life organisational examples or a case study to demonstrate how the theory on Power, Politics and Conflict is reflected in real business life?

1. Introduction (approx 250 words). You need to state the aims and objectives of your critical review. Introduce the key concepts, ideas, theories, theorists you will use in relation to power, politics and conflict. Identify which real-life examples you will use from industry to apply the theory to.
2. Academic Analysis (approx 1000 words), where you briefly evaluate all of the three concepts (see below) we have studied in relation to practical business cases and examples e.g. Apple/ Samsung
   • Power – Discuss the concept of Power in leadership and business. Drawing on texts/ case examples used in the module apply the key concepts to show your understanding e.g. Machiavelli, French and Raven’s 5 Bases of Power, power in negotiation
   • Politics – what is meant by organisational politics? How could you reference the theory? and what role does organisational politics play in the real-life organisational example(s) you have chosen?
   • Conflict – What is the nature of the conflict? How was it created and what impact does it have on the outcome for the organisation?
   • Use relevant Harvard Business Referencing
   • Linking Theory to Practice – How can you use your real-life organisational examples to demonstrate how the theory on Power, Politics and Conflict is reflected in real business life?
3. Conclusion (approx. 250 words) Bring together the ideas and theories you discuss in relation to the real-life business examples. State how you have achieved the aims and objectives of your review. You should identify the core the issues in relation to Power, Politics and Conflict. Write how the assignment has helped you understand the theory and how this is applied in a business setting.

A self-reflective piece (500 words)

LO3: Identify their own leadership traits, style, skills e.g. negotiation, communication, and behaviours and create a leadership self-reflective piece to demonstrate their new understanding and evidence how they might apply this in their future career leadership roles.

This part of your portfolio is an opportunity for you to put yourself centre stage and explore your learning on the module. You will reflect on what you have learned and evaluate how your engagement with the theory/ models/ questionnaires can support your professional, academic and personal development. Using actual examples, you will consider what has specifically challenged and broadened your thinking. It is an opportunity for creative, individual expression and to evidence how you will use this new learning to support you in your future career and job roles.