Final Project WK 10

Final Project Guidelines
Profile of a Leader
As a future public administrator, you will want to familiarize yourself with what
constitutes excellence in public and nonprofit sector leadership. In this Final Project, you
write a profile of a leader who may or may not embody these characteristics of
excellence. To do so, select an individual who is especially interesting to you and use
what you have explored in this course as a foundation. You may select any
contemporary leader of a public (e.g., government), or nonprofit organization (including
your own organization) as long as it is someone for whom there is sufficient information
to provide an effective analysis of successful management and leadership in public and
nonprofit organizations. The leader you interview can function at any management level
of the organization, from supervisor to president of the board of trustees.
The Final Project
(15–18 pages, not including title page and references)
The Final Project is a synthesis of the elements of successful leadership covered in the
weekly assignments, including any recommendations given by the Instructor and
student colleagues.
The Final Project is to be completed in three parts:
Week 1: Interview Consent Form
Secure the permission to interview your selected leader in the public or nonprofit sector
for your Final Project using the Interview Consent Form provided in this week’s Learning
Resources. The Interview Consent Form should be submitted in Week 4 along with the
Final Project Proposal.
Week 4: Final Project Proposal
Submit a 2- to 3-page paper describing the leader you propose to interview and why
you chose this leader. Also submit a list of interview questions you have created to ask
him or her. Submit no later than Day 7 of Week 4. Incorporate Instructor feedback into
your Final Project in Week 10.
Note: Together with the leader you are interviewing, you will create a pseudonym to
protect his or her confidentiality, and inform the interviewee that his or her real name will
not be used. In addition, no personal information other than professional credentials
(e.g., education, leadership role, job history) will be shared either in this proposal or the
Final Project.
© 2014 Laureate Education, Inc.
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Week 10: Final Project
The Final Project is due by Day 7 of Week 10. The analysis should include, but is not
limited to, an in-depth examination of the leader, including the following sections:
Section I: Introduction (3–5 pages)
The introduction will include the context within which the leader works:
• A description of the leader’s organization (e.g., the organization’s mission, main
stakeholders, constituents, similar organizations). Note: Do not use the actual
name of the organization or identifying details.
• A description of the setting (e.g., geographical, cultural, socioeconomic) and why
it is relevant to the operation of the organization
• Any other information about the organization or related background that you think
is important to understanding the organization and the leader
Section II: Body (9–10 pages)
• Write a brief profile of the leader you selected. Describe the leader’s contributions
to the organization(s)
o Stakeholders (e.g., “followers,” employees, other leaders, community
members)
o Overall community
o Society, if applicable
• Provide an example of a situation in which the interviewee demonstrated his or
her management abilities. Then provide an example of a situation in which the
interviewee demonstrated his or her leadership abilities. Finally, provide an
example of where the interviewee believes he or she could have demonstrated
management or leadership abilities more successfully, and why.
• Provide an example of management strategies the leader used to address an
organizational problem (e.g., communicating across the organization, dealing
with budget crisis or shortfalls, working with community stakeholders, dealing
with team conflicts)
• Explain specific behaviors the leader engaged in that were appropriate and that
contributed to his or her success.
• Use leadership theory(ies) to explain why the behaviors described led to
success.
• Describe the leader’s style, and provide examples that support your assertion.
• Summarize what you believe to be the leader’s strengths and weaknesses as a
leader.
• Identify and describe a potential or actual ethical or legal issue the leader or to a
situation in which the leader was engaged. (Please be sure to ensure the
confidentiality of your interview by leaving out identifying details.)
Conclusion: (3 pages)
• Provide recommendations to improve the leader’s effectiveness within a public or
nonprofit organization.
© 2014 Laureate Education, Inc.
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•
Describe a plan of action that tells specifically how you would implement your
recommendations. Explain how your plan of action is
o Efficient
o Feasible
o Ethical
References should include at least eight scholarly references from academic and
professional journals (other than those provided in the Learning Resources),
organizational literature, and interviews with key organizational actors and experts. Use
the format as outlined in the 6th edition of the Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association.
Tips for conducting the interview:
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•
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Before the interview, try to empty your mind of all preconceptions and factors that
could color your observation of the other’s experience. Do not create fixed
agendas or pre-determined hypotheses. Plan the open-ended questions you will
use. Expect some ambiguity.
Suspend judgment; try not to comment or inject your opinions. Do not be afraid of
silence. It may be a time for the person you are talking with to gather thoughts
and reflect. Allow the person you are interviewing to “tell his or her story,” and
explain how he or she became associated with the organization, past successes,
past failures, and future challenges.
Try to create a relaxed atmosphere. Observe body language.
The Final Project will be evaluated using the Final Project Rubric located in the Course
Information area. Be sure that the Final Project is written using APA format.
Information on scholarly writing may be found in the APA manual and at the Walden
Writing Center website.
The Final Project is due on Day 7 of Week 10. See the Week 10 Project area for
submission details.
© 2014 Laureate Education, Inc.
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Running head: THE FINAL PROJECT PROPOSAL
The Final Project Proposal
Courtnie Walker
June 22, 2018
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THE FINAL PROJECT PROPOSAL
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Profile of Chosen Leader
The leader chosen for the interview is an Executive Director of one of the City of
Minneapolis’ boards. She has been an executive director to the board for nine years. Before that,
she worked as an Executive Director of a non-profit organization for 21 years. Working as an
Executive Director for more than 30 years has given her a lot of exposure to leadership in nonprofit and public organizations. She currently serves as a board member in several non-profit
organizations, and she is also the chair of one Board. Her job as an Executive Director of her
board is to champion for the education, safety, health, and development of young people in
Minneapolis. She studied in University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Her skills include leadership,
fundraising, community outreach, program development and evaluation, strategic planning, public
policy, and strategic communication.
Reason for Choosing the Leader
The reason for choosing the specific leader is that she has been very effective in her
leadership roles. She landed a job in the City of Minneapolis due to her excellent performance in
the non-profit sector. She can leverage innovation and fundraising to deliver outstanding results.
The leader also takes strategic planning and management very seriously. A strategic plan helps
appropriately manage an organization (Cohen, Eimicke, & Heikkila, 2013). The strategic plan
helps set a vision, mission, values, long-term goals, objectives, and strategies that will guide an
organization (McNamara, n.d). Another reason for choosing the selected leader is her exceptional
interpersonal skills. A leader is supposed to influence people to follow them. Interpersonal skills
are vital in attempts to control people. The leader’s experience in working with the community,
THE FINAL PROJECT PROPOSAL
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youths, and in advocacy has significantly improved her interpersonal skills. The interview will
seek to find out whether interpersonal skills are vital to success in the non-profit and public sector.
Interview Questions
The interviewee will be asked the following questions:
1. I understand that you worked for a very long time in the non-profit sector. What drove you
to work in the public sector?
2. Is leading a non-profit organization the same as driving a public board?
3. What duties do you deal with in a typical day as an Executive Director of one of the City
of Minneapolis boards?
4. Can you name another leader who has significantly influenced your view about leadership
and performance?
5. What are your most significant achievements as a leader?
6. What challenges do you face as a leader and how do you deal with such problems?
7. How are senior-level decisions made on your board?
8. Do you find strategic planning key in guiding an organization?
9. Does your board engage in strategic planning and strategic management? If yes, do you
think that it has helped better manage the board or not?
10. Based on your experience, do non-profit and public organizations adopt competitive
strategies? If so, who do they compete against?
11. Based on your experience, do non-profit and public organizations pay much attention to
innovation in their operations?
12. How do you promote creative thinking in your board?
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13. Apart from funding from the city, how else does your organization raise funds for its
different programs?
14. How useful is fundraising as a method of financing an organization’s budget?
15. I noticed in your LinkedIn profile that you have a severe emphasis on interpersonal skills.
Do you think such skills are vital to success as a leader?
16. Based on your experience, what are the significant issues facing leaders today?
17. What advice would you offer a student who is planning to rise to leadership in a public or
non-profit organization?
Thank you very much for taking time in your busy schedule to answer the interview questions.
THE FINAL PROJECT PROPOSAL
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References
Cohen, S., Eimicke, W., & Heikkila, T. (2013). The active public manager: Achieving success in
government organizations (5th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
McNamara, C. (n.d). All about strategic planning. Retrieved February 20, 2014, from
http://managementhelp.org/strategicplanning/index.htm
Weerawardena, J., & Mort, G. S. (2012). Competitive strategy in socially entrepreneurial
nonprofit organizations: Innovation and differentiation. Journal of Public Policy &
Marketing, 31(1), 91–101.
The Final Project Proposal
Thesis Statement: The leader chosen for the interview is an Executive Director of one of the City
of Minneapolis’ boards. She has been an executive director to the board for nine years. Prior to
that, she worked as an Executive Director of a non-profit organization for 21 years. Working as an
Executive Director for more than 30 years has given her a lot of exposure to leadership in nonprofit and public organizations.
I.
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III.
Profile of Chosen Leader
Reason for Choosing the Leader
Interview Questions

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