Light and Shadows

Introduction and Alignment

Leaders have the power to illuminate the lives of followers or to cover them in darkness. Leaders cast light when they master the ethical challenges of leadership. They cast shadows when they abuse power, hoard privileges, mismanage information, act inconsistently, misplace or betray loyalties, and fail to assume responsibilities. You already are a leader or have the potential to become one. This assignment will help you identify behaviors and qualities that tend to cast light versus those that case shadows and will help you to identify the behaviors you want as part of your leadership style.

Upon completion of this assignment, you should be able to:

• Distinguish leadership actions that cast light from those that cast shadows.

Resources

• Textbook: Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership
• File: Chapter 1.ppt
• File: Chapter 2.ppt
• Video: TMZ Work Zone Role Plays: Leadership

Background Information

In John 8:12, Jesus told us He was the light of the world. He also said that by following Him, you will never walk in the dark because His light will be with us. Leaders today should possess a similar light, leading the way through the darkness of unethical behavior in the organizations they lead. Those who succeed can help their subordinates and their organizations avoid the perils of the shadows that lead to darkness.

Instructions

1. View the video “TWZ Work Zone Role Plays: Leadership.”
2. Download and review the following PowerPoint presentations:
   1. Chapter 1.ppt
   2. Chapter 2.ppt
3. In Meeting the Ethical Challenge of Leadership, read:
   1. Chapter 1
   2. Chapter 2

As you read, think about any leaders you may have had who faced significant ethical challenges.

4. In your textbook, locate and complete:
   1. Self-Assessment: Destructive Leader Behavior Scale in Chapter 1 (pp. 34-35)
   2. Self-Assessment: Moral Imagination Scale in Chapter 2 (pp. 71-73)
5. Navigate to the threaded discussion and respond to the following:
   1. What changes would the boss you rated in the Destructive Leader Behavior Scale have to make to score as well (or perhaps as poorly) as you did on the moral imagination scale? Discuss how positive changes by the boss would, or would not, have affected the organization. Provide a detailed evaluation that demonstrates clear, insightful critical thinking.
   2. Select a real-world example of a toxic leader. Defend your selection by evaluating him or her using the Characteristics of Toxic Leaders on p. 4 of the text. Provided a detailed evaluation that demonstrates clear, insightful critical thinking.
6. Your initial post should be 200 to 300 words in length and include two academic resources that are properly cited.
7. Your initial post is due by the end of the fourth day of the workshop.
8. Read and conduct a critical analysis of postings by two of your classmates by the end of the workshop.
   1. The topic of your discussion response should be your classmate’s posting and should be written as if you were reviewing his or her posting in an academic journal. Your discussion response should therefore answer the following questions as applicable:
      1. Were the arguments of your classmate articulate and logical? Were the facts correct?
      2. Was the interpretation your classmate provided reasonable and consistent with experts in the field? Was your classmate consistent with both the substance and intent of his/her references?
   2. The focus for your critical analysis is not whether or not you agree with your classmate, but how well his/her position was presented.
   3. Each response should be at least 200 words in length and cite two academic sources. (Note: the academic sources do not count towards the word length requirement.)

https://brightspace.indwes.edu/d2l/le/content/4996…