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The pillars of service, leadership, and character represent values that extend far beyond academic achievement. They shape how individuals serve their communities, guide others through example, and live with integrity. As a student who has attended Catholic school my entire life, these values have been consistently reinforced through my faith, education, and family. From a young age, I learned that faith is not simply something we believe, but something we live through action. Through years of service, leadership opportunities, and a commitment to helping others, I have grown into a more compassionate, confident, and purpose-driven individual. These experiences have shaped my understanding of service, leadership, and character, and continue to guide how I strive to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others. Service, to me, means putting my faith into action by responding to the needs of others with empathy, generosity, and consistency. From a young age, helping others was modeled for me through my family, who consistently set an example of kindness and giving. Whether it was donating items for families in need, bringing supplies to school for charity collections, or making cards for individuals who were sick, I learned early on that even small acts of service can have a meaningful impact. These experiences laid the foundation for my commitment to service and shaped the values I carry with me today. This foundation was continuously strengthened through my Catholic education, where service was woven into daily life. Throughout my years in Catholic school, I participated in a variety of philanthropic efforts, including collecting items for those less fortunate, assembling care packages for children during Christmas, preparing and serving food, and gathering items to support individuals basic needs. Volunteering at a local food pantry further reinforced these lessons, as seeing the number of people who relied on this assistance made the importance of service very real to me. These experiences taught me gratitude and compassion and showed me the importance of helping others without judgment. My commitment to service grew through volunteering at Morristown Medical Center, where I witnessed patients and families during moments of fear and uncertainty. Assisting staff and offering kindness through small gestures taught me the importance of compassion and presence. This experience inspired me to create Hoodies for Hope, a charitable initiative in which proceeds from hoodie sales are donated directly to benefit Morristown Medical Center. Through this project, I learned that service is not only about volunteering time, but also about taking initiative and using creativity to support meaningful causes. Another defining service experience was participating in a summer service trip to Appalachia with my churchs ministry group. During this trip, I helped rebuild a home for a woman whose husband had passed away. This experience was physically demanding and completely outside of my comfort zone; however, it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Helping someone rebuild her home during such a difficult time showed me that true service requires sacrifice and that this is what life is truly aboutshowing up for others when they need it most. While service focuses on helping others, leadership is about setting an example and taking responsibility. I have learned that leadership does not require a title, but rather consistency, accountability, and care for others. One of my most impactful leadership experiences has been working during the summer at Noe Pond, where I supervise younger children. In this role, I am responsible for their safety and well-being, and I strive to model patience, kindness, and responsibility. This experience taught me that leadership is demonstrated through actions and the influence one has on others. Leadership was also a central part of my involvement with Blood Cancer United through the Student Visionaries of the Year campaign. As a team member, I personally raised over $10,000, while my team raised a total of $317,296, earning the title of second runner-up in all of Northern New Jersey. This experience pushed me outside of my comfort zone and challenged me to communicate confidently, remain persistent, and inspire generosity in others. Being part of this campaign showed me that leadership involves dedication and the ability to motivate others toward a shared goal. At the heart of service and leadership is character. Character, to me, is defined by integrity, faith, and doing what is right even when it is difficult. My Catholic education and strong faith have shaped my moral values and guide my decisions. Through years of service and leadership, I have learned to act with honesty, humility, and compassion. Helping others has never felt like an obligation, but rather a calling rooted in the values instilled in me throughout my life. Through my commitment to service, leadership, and character, I have been transformed into a more empathetic, responsible, and purpose-driven individual. I have learned to step outside of my comfort zone, take ownership of my actions, and remain dedicated to helping others even when it requires sacrifice. Being involved in charitable initiatives and fundraising efforts has inspired me to be more generous in my everyday life and reinforced my belief in living with purpose. In conclusion, service, leadership, and character are not simply ideals I admire, but values I strive to live by each day. Through my faith, education, family influence, and dedication to helping others, I have learned the importance of putting faith into action. These experiences have shaped who I am and continue to guide my goal of making a meaningful difference in my school and community.

Overview For this Performance Task Assessment, you will have an opportunity to critically reflect on professional and personal leadership experiences. You will then examine these experiences in light of relevant, documented leadership best practices and theoretical frameworks covered so that you can identify your leadership and/or followership strengths and weaknesses and develop goals for improving your leadership skills and behaviors to attain your passion and purpose. This Assessment will collate topics and subjects from DL001 and DL002 with emphasis on the Business Skill for Good of emotional intelligence. Assessment Submission Length: Approximately 810 pages Instructions To complete this Assessment, do the following: Read the Foreword (pp. iiiviii) and Introduction (pp. 110), as well as one or more of the following excerpts to review examples of other business leaders stories of passion and purpose. Coleman, J., Gulati, D., & Segovia, W. O. (2012). Passion and purpose: Stories from the best and brightest young business leaders. Harvard Business School Publishing. Interview with David Gergen: Advisor to Four Presidents, Director of Harvards Center for Political Leadership, and Senior Political Analyst for CNN, pp. 4754 Globalization: Embracing the Global Generation, pp. 5560 People: Leading in a Diverse World, pp. 99138 Sustainability: Integrating Preservation and Profits, pp. 139170 Learning: Educating Tomorrows Leaders, pp. 197202 Moving Forward, pp. 243245 Capstone Interview With Nitin Nohira: Dean of the Harvard Business School, pp. 246253 In the DL003_Assessment_Template file, complete your work on your leadership profile, using your Pre-Assessment submission as a starting point and incorporating any feedback as appropriate. Be sure to adhere to the indicated assignment length. Before submitting your Assessment, carefully review the rubric. This is the same rubric the assessor will use to evaluate your submission and it provides detailed criteria describing how to achieve or master the Competency. Many students find that understanding the requirements of the Assessment and the rubric criteria help them direct their focus and use their time most productively. Important Information on Interpreting the Assessment Rubric (click to expand) Achievement vs. Mastery of the Competency Mastery of this Competency means that 80% or more of the rows have been assessed as Exceeds Expectations and no rows have been assessed as Does Not Meet Expectations. Achievement of this Competency means that all rows are assessed at Meets Expectations or above (but lower than the 80% threshold required for Mastery). Assessment of Individual Rubric Rows In order to achieve Meets Expectations for a particular row of the rubric, you must have adequately completed all criteria in that row. This means that you have addressed all required elements to the required level of quantity and/or quality. In order to achieve Exceeds Expectations for a particular row of the rubric, you must have adequately completed all criteria in the row, and in addition, your response must reflect a depth and breadth of knowledge and expertise. Examples of this includebut are not limited tothe following: You provide additional, specific, and/or particularly relevant examples to illustrate points made. You seamlessly incorporate your original thoughts and diverse, credible, and relevant academic sources, when applicable, to express your viewpoint or develop a persuasive argument. You demonstrate a deeper understanding of the subject that draws from discipline-specific knowledge and theory and incorporates the viewpoints of a diverse set of business and management thought leaders. You draw additional connections between multiple, complex topics to support your explanations. You are able to apply your knowledge in unique, creative, and/or innovative ways. You thoroughly break down concepts into simpler parts and use your understanding of business to make connections. Your analysis is insightful and original. You design processes, products, and/or solutions that are creative, high-quality, and innovative. You consider diverse perspectives and relevant social, ethical, and business-related issues when proposing new ideas or formulating judgments. All submissions must follow the conventions of scholarly writing. Properly formatted APA citations and references must be provided where appropriate. Submissions that do not meet these expectations will be returned without scoring. This Assessment requires submission of an 8- to 10-page leadership profile. Save this file as DL003_firstinitial_lastname (for example, DL003_J_Smith). You may submit a draft of your assignment to the Turnitin Draft Check area to check for authenticity. When you are ready to upload your completed Assessment, use the Assessment tab on the top navigation menu. Important Note: As a student taking this Competency, you agree that you may be required to submit your Assessment for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted Assessment materials will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such materials. Use of the Turnitin.com service is subject to the Usage Policy posted on the Turnitin.com site. Leadership for Good Important Note: This Assessment features one of the Business Skills for Good that you will learn more about and develop throughout your MBA program. This skill, emotional intelligence, includes the five components, as identified by Goleman (2004), as self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill. If you have not already done so, please review the following video: Video: Business Skills for Good: Emotional Intelligence (1:28) video Walden University, LLC. (2021). Business skills for good: Emotional intelligence [Video]. Walden University Brightspace. Transcript: Business Skills for Good: Emotional Intelligence (PDF) In recognition of your growth as a leader, you have been given the opportunity to join a professional leadership network. As part of your membership, you must create a unique leadership profile that focuses on your passion and your purpose for leadership, as well as your goals. This is your opportunity to present your leadership reflections and perspectives to others in your network and to create connections that may lead to professional experiences in the future. To prepare for this exercise, you should first engage in reflection. Self-reflection is an important skill in business, especially for a leader or an aspiring leader. There are a number of different models of reflection that can be utilized; however, one of the more commonly used models is the 5R Framework for Reflection (Bain, et al., 2002), which focuses on five defined stages of reflection: reporting, responding, relating, reasoning, and reconstructing. Using this framework will enable you to produce a critically engaging reflection based on your experiences. Refer to the following table for more information about the framework: 5R Stages Description Guidelines Reporting A brief descriptive account of the situation/topic What happened, what the situation/topic is Responding Your emotional/personal response to the situation/topic Your observations, feelings, questions about the situation/topic Relating Personal and theoretical understandings relevant to the situation/topic Making the connections between the situation/topic and your experience, skills, knowledge, and understanding Reasoning Your explanation of the situation/topic Explaining the situation/topic in terms of the significant factors, relevant theories, and experiences Reconstruction Drawing conclusions and developing a future actionable plan Your deeper level of understanding about the situation/topic that is used to reframe or reconstruct your future practice and further develop your understanding of professional practice (application) The 5R Framework of Self-Reflection Adapted from: Bain, J. D., Ballantyne, R., Mills, C., & Lester, N. C. (2002). Reflecting on practice: Student teachers’ perspectives. Post Pressed. As you reflect upon your learning and experiences so far, consider your strengths, weaknesses, skills, and the knowledge you have gained as a leader and a followerboth in the classroom and beyond. With those thoughts in mind, construct your leadership profile with the following sections, being sure to incorporate examples of personal experiences, as well as citations for relevant academic resources from the classroom, the library, and other appropriate scholarly sources. Click each of the items below for more information on this Assessment. Part 1: Perspectives on Leadership/Leadership Values For the first part of your leadership profile, you will describe how you can/will apply positive leadership skills in pursuit of social change, be it in your professional or personal life. Be sure to incorporate the following: Emotional Intelligence Analyze the importance of the five elements of emotional intelligence in being a strong leader: self-awareness, self-regulation, social skills, empathy, and motivation. Specifically: How do these elements affect the leader-follower relationship? How do they improve a leaders ability to promote change? Developing a Diverse and Inclusive Environment Analyze the interdependency of diversity and inclusion. Examine what diversity and inclusion look like in the workplace, as well as the benefits of having/developing a diverse working environment. Summarize how you have worked/will work as a leader to promote diversity and inclusion in your work environment. The Power of Networking Based on your personal and professional experiences, examine the relationship of establishing and maintaining a professional network to your own leadership. How can a strong network benefit both a rising leader and an established leader? How can the use of networks enhance ones ability to become an agent of positive social change? Part 2: Passion and Purpose for Leadership For the second part of your leadership profile, you will share your own passion and purpose story, similar to those from Passion and Purpose: Stories From the Best and Brightest Young Business Leaders. Considering your self-reflection, your personal and professional experience, and the other ideas related to leadership that you have explored in your studies so far, address the following: Create a narrative describing your passion and the purpose you see for yourself. Be sure to address the following questions as you construct your narrative: What is most important to you in life? What do you want the focus of your professional life to be? How do you plan to (or currently) incorporate social responsibility and ethical decision making into your life and work? (LO 2.2) What kind of positive difference do you want to make in the world? Analyze how obtaining your degree at Walden will better equip you to pursue your passion and fulfill your purpose. Be sure to address the following in your analysis: How do your passion and purpose align to Waldens mission of positive social change? How does Waldens mission impact your experience as you study hereincluding the knowledge and skills you will take from this program and how that knowledge and those skills will shape your future and support you to make a positive difference?

Overview For this Performance Task Assessment, you will develop a presentation, geared toward leaders, on the important interplay of leaders and followers within an organization and will highlight specific strategies for effective leadership and followership. Additionally, you will reflect on personal qualities you would like to improve to become a more effective leader and follower. Assessment Submission Length: 1015 PowerPoint slides, plus an accompanying written script Instructions To complete this Assessment, do the following: Review, as needed, the following resource, which includes links to helpful information about using Microsoft PowerPoint: OASIS: Academic Skills Center. (n.d.). Microsoft PowerPoint. Walden University. https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/academic-skills-center/microsoft-office/powerpoint In the DL002_Assessment_Template_Part1 file, complete your work on the PowerPoint slide deck, using your Pre-Assessment submission as a starting point and incorporating any feedback as appropriate. Download the DL002_Assessment_Template_Part2 (Word document), which you will use to create the script that accompanies your PowerPoint presentation. Be sure to adhere to the indicated assignment length. Before submitting your Assessment, carefully review the rubric. This is the same rubric the assessor will use to evaluate your submission and it provides detailed criteria describing how to achieve or master the Competency. Many students find that understanding the requirements of the Assessment and the rubric criteria help them direct their focus and use their time most productively. Important Information on Interpreting the Assessment Rubric (click to expand) All submissions must follow the conventions of scholarly writing. Properly formatted APA citations and references must be provided where appropriate. Submissions that do not meet these expectations will be returned without scoring. This Assessment requires submission of a 10- to 15-slide PowerPoint presentation, as well as a Word document that contains a written script to accompany the presentation. Save both of these files as DL002_firstinitial_lastname, one for each file type (for example DL002_J_Smith.pptx and DL002_J_Smith.docx). You may submit a draft of your assignment to the Turnitin Draft Check area to check for authenticity. When you are ready to upload your completed Assessment, use the Assessment tab on the top navigation menu. Important Note: As a student taking this Competency, you agree that you may be required to submit your Assessment for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted Assessment materials will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such materials. Use of the Turnitin.com service is subject to the Usage Policy posted on the Turnitin.com site. Leadership and Followership Presentation An important part of mastering any topic in social science (and leadership is such a topic) is being able to explain how and why an observed practice, or set of witnessed behaviors and interactions among people, led to intended outcomes or not. The key to your evaluation will be to use relevant documented best practices and theoretical frameworks about leadership and followership to support your evaluations. For example, it is one thing to have an opinion about why someone is an effective leader; it is quite another to be able to explain how and why they are effective, using leadership knowledge to support your reasoning. For this Performance Task Assessment, you have been asked by your manager to present at this years annual Dynamic Leadership conference. The subject of your presentation is on followership and how it contributes to effective leadership in a business context. For this presentation, you will need to provide a PowerPoint slide deck along with a written script that you would use to give your presentation. The presentation is scheduled to be 30 minutes in length. The PowerPoint deck should be professional looking, using a business-appropriate design. As you prepare your presentation and script, be sure to cover all of the following items in your presentation, including the incorporation of references to appropriate academic sources, such as those found in the learning resources from this Competency or those in the Walden Library. Click each of the items below for more information on this Assessment. Part 1: Followership Defined (approximately 35 slides) Identify the qualities and behaviors of followers who contribute to the success of an organization. Using at least one example from your professional life, analyze how leaders can draw value from their followers. Summarize the responsibilities of followers in an age in which the complexities of leadership and pace of change are ever increasing. Part 2: The Leader-Follower Interaction (approximately 35 slides) Analyze how followers can influence the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of leaders. Hint: Your analysis should consider how followers empower or enable leaders behaviors (for good or bad). Illustrate how followers can effectively communicate and collaborate with a leader whose style is not consistent with what they desire or with a leader they do not admire. Propose at least three strategies for how leaders can better empower and support followers in meeting their goals. Part 3: Traits of Leadership and Followership (approximately 45 slides) Examine how personal traits influence how one leads and how one follows. Draw on professional and personal experience to provide examples. Analyze how a follower can contribute to effective leadership in an organization. Provide at least one example to support your analysis. Analyze how a leader can encourage effective followership in an organization. Provide at least one example to support your analysis. Identify at least one personal trait you would like to improve upon to become a more effective leader and at least one trait you would like to improve upon to become a more effective follower. Explain why these improvements would be a benefit to you and to an organization. This Assessment has been identified as one that could be added to your MBA Portfolio to demonstrate to current or prospective employers the skills and knowledge you have attained in your MBA program. Once you have completed this Assessment and incorporated any feedback from your Faculty SME, you may choose to upload the final artifact to your MBA Portfolio in the MBA Hub at the Career Planning and Development Center. Important Information: Build your e-portfolio using the SkillsFirst Portfolios module. Follow the MBA Portfolio Instructions and the steps in the MBA Portfolio Guide to create, share, and update your MBA portfolio sections and document your success.