HRM335 Leadership Development ECA Question Paper | SUSS

Section A

Answer all questions in this section.

Question 1

Given our day and age and the prevalence of social media, thought leaders have a profound impact on us. Thought leaders are informed opinion leaders in their area of expertise. People go to them to be inspired, moved and influenced. Thought leaders can have positive impact on their followers by virtue of their innovative ideas, motivational words, and thought-provoking points of views.

In this question, you are to select 1 of the following thought leaders to follow on social media (i.e., Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram). The thought leaders you can choose from (please choose one) are:

Adam Grant (https://www.linkedin.com/in/adammgrant/)
Liz Wiseman (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizwiseman/)

After selecting ONE (1) of them and finding out more about the thought leader, you can follow the thought leader for 2 to 3 weeks on social media. Do also read the thought leader’s past posts and followers’ comments on their posts. You can refer to pasts posts up till 1.5 years ago. This means that you can base your write-up on any posts that happen from June 2022 onwards.

Do choose a medium where the thought leader is most active on, so as to maximise the information you gather on this thought leader.

After following this thought leader and reading their posts and follower comments, analyse the leadership style that the thought leader exhibits. Most importantly, draw on leadership theories we have covered in the course to apply to how this thought leader practices their influence. You can also draw on leadership theories we have covered in the course to analyse the thought leader’s views on leadership.

To answer this question, you need to do the following:

• Summarise the background of the thought leader and their area of expertise.
• Analyse the leadership style or perceptions of leadership of the thought leader with description and application of leadership theories and course concepts.
• Critically evaluate and examine how this leader has influenced followers.

Question 2

Evaluating Impact of Leader on you as a Follower (max 1000 words)

In this question, you are to refer to the thought leader you selected in question 1. To answer this question, please do the following:

• Appraise the leader’s thought leadership and its impact on you personally.
• In particular, examine how your views have been enlightened, and/or evolved as a result of following this leader on social media.
• Examine how your mental model of leadership has or has not shifted as a result of reading on the leader’s thought leadership.
• Examine how the thought leader has impacted you to reaffirm, reconsider or re-evaluate your values and views in any way.
• Explore how the thought leader has impacted how you would conduct yourself in the future. Come up with an action plan on what you would do differently in the future.

Question 3

In this part of the question, you need to reflect on your analysis of the thought leader you have chosen. What are some of the competencies a thought leader should have? After identifying FIVE (5) key qualities of a thought leader, create a competencies framework.

To do well in this question, you are encouraged to do additional research.

In your answer, be sure to do the following:

• Specify FIVE (5) key qualities a thought leader should have
• Come up with behavioural indicators that reflect the qualities you have identified