LDRS 697 : Leadership Integration Project

Running head: LEADERSHIP
Leadership
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

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Executive Summary
The main purpose of this research proposal is to highlight on leadership competency and how
it can prove to be effective for an organization. It includes different professional development
activity that can help the leader to evolve and develop. The report also has a planning sheet
that includes the time frame of the different activities that leads to professional development
within an organization. The proposal shows how different professional development activities
can help in improving the skills and how the planning process can help in perfect
implementation of strategies within the organization.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Background of the Company.................................................................................................3
Purpose of the project.............................................................................................................3
Aims and objectives...............................................................................................................3
Research Questions................................................................................................................3
Literature Review:......................................................................................................................4
Meaning of Leadership, Innovation and Planning.................................................................4
Leadership Competency Focus..............................................................................................4
Research Methodology.............................................................................................................13
Method of Collecting Data...................................................................................................13
Method Chosen for this proposal.........................................................................................13
Ethical Issues:.......................................................................................................................13
Research Limitations............................................................................................................14
Planning Sheet..........................................................................................................................14
Planning Process:.....................................................................................................................16
Conclusion:..............................................................................................................................16
References:...............................................................................................................................18

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Introduction
Background of the Company
Manulife Financial Corporation is a multinational company based in Canada that has its
headquarters in Toronto. It is the largest insurance based company in Canada and it is the 28th
largest fund manager within the world on the basis of Assets Under Management.
Purpose of the project
The primary aim of this project is to look at the arena of leadership and how it can help in
building bond and planning within the organization. It reflects on how the skills should be
nurtured and what are the professional development activities that can help in the nurturing of
skills within the organization.
Aims and objectives
The main aim of this research is:
 To understand how important skills are for an organization
 How these skills are important
 What are the professional development activities in the organization that can help in
sharpening the skills
Research Questions
The following will be the questions for this proposal:
 What are the professional development activities that are required for being an ideal
leader in an organization?
 What are the skills that are important for leadership?

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Literature Review:
Meaning of Leadership, Innovation and Planning
Good leadership is of crucial importance for a business and can shape the way an
organization works. Leadership accounts for an important factor that helps in making an
organization successful. Leadership helps in transforming the potential into reality. Leaders
are the main human resource for an organization. Better leaders give rise to better employees
and both of these can contribute in developing better products. Team work is of great
importance for realizing the goals in an organization. Managers should influence the team in
relation to work accomplishment with the help of leadership (Komives & Wagner, 2016).
Importance of leadership in the management cannot be trifled with. In order to get things
done by people, management should supply leadership within an organization. Team work is
important for realising the goals in an organization. Planning is integral for an organization.
The manager in an organization creates a detailed action plan that helps in achieving the
goals of an organization. Planning is specialized and is based on the goals of the organization.
Organization takes into account how the resources will be distributed that can help in
organizing the employees. Organizing is indicative of a systematic process that helps in
structuring and integrating the activities in an organization.
Leadership Competency Focus
Visioning and strategic thinking is an important area of leadership and includes the
envisioning of future goals and interpreting the global trends in an organization. On the basis
of the skills rating, my identification of core values along with that of strategic direction in
relation to the future organizational goal was found to be quite adequate.
Personal Reflection- The leaders of the organization should create a compelling vision that
can help in inspiring and motivating the employees. Failure at anticipating the future needs of

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the customer can put the organization at risk of losing business to that of the competitors who
can anticipate the needs. The vision of an organization should link the present to that of the
future and energize people. In most of the organizations, managers spend maximum amount
of time in dealing with the present problems and they spend very little amount of time
contemplating about the future. Those leaders are truly successful in the long run who can
handle daily challenge of meeting the short term goal and at the same time concentrate on the
future (Day et al., 2014). Future in relation to strategy along with innovation should be
dynamic so that the organization can prepare them as they have to re-invent them from time
to time. The leadership should assess what they are working on and the projects that need to
be undertaken so that it can lead to effective growth. The potential options in relation to the
future should be assessed thoroughly and existing resources that have been neglected should
be re-positioned in order to create value for the customers. The leaders in an organization
should focus on the long-term prospect and concentrate on the things that the organization
wants to achieve.
Professional Development Activity
Brainstorm Options-Creativity tools like that of Brainstorming, Star bursting and Reverse
Brainstorming can help in exploring projects that can help in the arena of competitive
advantage (McCleskey, 2014). The brainstorming should be based on the mission statement
of the organization.
Adaptability and Change
Adaptability and change is another important area that is crucial for a leader. The skills
rating in relation to organizing the information in order to bring about changes in the right
direction and providing encouragement and motivation during the process of change was
found to be on a lower scale in the skills rating.

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Personal Reflection- A leader should stay calm in case of a problem. Management should be
able to hard situations and they should show the employees that they are capable of handling
a difficult situation. Leadership competency can lead to superior performance in an
organization. The management should have an open mind and they should be flexible and
accept things that seems to be out of norm. A competency base approach can provide
extensive help in developing and identifying next generation of leaders. Solving problems
along with that of making decisions are integral in developing competencies (Gurdjian,
Halbeisen & Lane, 2014). They can help in enhancing the business skills and contribute
effectively in navigating the organization. Flexible and adaptable employees should be
recruited in the work place who can easily bend and will be always ready to work according
to alternative solution. The employees should be willing to take on projects and accept
surprise. The employee should be taught to be calm and confident during a dilemma. The
leader should work beyond that of minimum job requirement and use all the resources with
great care and efficiency.
Professional Development Activity
Changing Seat- Participants of this game are asked to change the position of their seat so that
they can feel the emotions that are associated with that of change. When the class becomes
comfortable, then the facilitator would ask the participants to change their seat (Norris, 2017).
At the end of their game, the participants can move back to the original seat and they can be
asked questions like the support needed to maintain the changes.
Results
My skill set in relation to articulating the future oriented strategic goals in order to achieve
the result objectives and engaging in conflict resolution was found to be weak. Fostering an
organizational ethos that can help in critical thinking was not found to be adequate.

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Personal Reflection- Mediation can prove to be of extensive help in discussing the problems
and identifying the main issues. Practical ways should be devised that will help in managing
conflict within an organization. Workplace issues can have influence on the whole team and
this has a considerable effect on the ability of team to become productive (Mason, Griffin &
Parker, 2014). Informal conversations can be introduced within the workplace that can help
in providing support during times of conflict. A trained conflict management coach can help
in clarifying the goals of an organization. It is necessary to develop insights in the dynamics
of particular disputes.
Professional Development Activity
Win as much as you can- During this activity, the participants will have to go through rounds
in which they will have to make group discussions and reach the consensus in regard to
actions that will have an effect on the final result. The participants will have to negotiate
strategy with that of other groups on the collaborative basis while ensuring at the same time
that their group wins. This will compel the people to make tough decisions and they will have
to decide whether to fulfil the agreement that is made with other group or to put their
personal interest at the front (Malone et al., 2014). This can lead to conflict situation between
different teams that should be resolved and this professional development activity will teach
important lessons about mediation and conflict resolution that is crucial for a work place.
Team Leadership
My skills in relation to modelling self knowledge in order to foster team effectiveness and
providing flexible project relationship was found to be weak and these are important areas
that need attention and should be developed for growth within an organization.

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Personal Reflection- Learning inter-personal skill is crucial for this for modelling of self-
knowledge. Effective management should be ever ready to learn and they should always keep
themselves updated regarding all kinds of knowledge. One should be conscious and nurture
themselves so that they can contribute to the growth and development of the organization.
Self-awareness of one’s strengths and weakness can help in building trust and increase
credibility (Goetsch & Davis, 2014). These aspects are crucial for leadership effectiveness.
Innovation along with agility are the main hall marks of high performing organization.
Professional Development Activity
Plane crash- This professional development activity will require imagination and participants
should pretend that they were on a plane that has crashed and they have been left on a desert
island. The participants of this activity will have to choose among the items in the work place
that they consider to be crucial for their survival (Hunter et al., 2014). The item should be
ranked in order of the importance and the group has to reach a consensus. This will help in
building bond between the team members and lead to team effectiveness.
People Development
My skill set in relation to empowering others and accurately assessment of current
development needs was found to be quite strong. These are crucial for an organization and
can prove to be an asset for the organization.
Personal Reflection-In the modern world, companies want to outperform and increase their
market share. In a leading organization, this can be achieved by empowering the employees
so that they become responsible towards their jobs. Empowering the employees will enable
them to take prompt decisions and they will emerge to be more confident individuals
(Huffman et al., 2014). It helps in building group confidence and enables the workers to be

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more efficient towards their work. When people become confident about their work, they can
easily identify problems and put forward ways that can improve the output. This will provide
the impetus that will enable to grow revenue. The autonomy allows the employees to bring a
difference to the service and produce work of high quality. Finished product in this kind of a
case become an object of pride and leads to benefit for both the customer along with that of
the employee ( Nahavandi, 2016).
Professional Development Activity
Concentration- In this activity, participants will have to form two equal lines that are facing
each other. One line would turn around that would give the other line a small amount of time
to change certain things about themselves. This can be inclusive of activities like swapping
clothing items with that of other people and altering the hair style. It should be something that
the other group will be easily able to see (Bolman & Deal, 2017). The first line should
identify the changes that the other group has made. It will help in memory retention and
empower the employees.
Innovation
My skills in relation to innovation that includes that of focussing on the result objectives,
delegation and learning from the mistakes was found to be quite adequate. My skills in
relation to exhibition of personal commitment for continuous improvement was found to be
not up to the mark.
Personal Reflection-Leadership should carry out certain responsibilities and they should
communicate with the person who is supposed to handle the new responsibility. Face to face
interaction can help to a great extent in conveying important message and the person should
be clearly explained why they were chosen and what are the expected results out of them

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(Green & Haines, 2015). The expected outcome should be communicated to them at the
outset so that they can work along that direction. The employees should be encouraged so
that they ask questions. It should be a two-way communication so that things are clear. It is
important for the leaders in an organization to confirm that those to whom responsibility has
been assigned has understood their role perfectly and are very clearly aware of their
responsibility.
Professional Development Activity
Marking in paper-The participants of this activity should be asked about a mistake that they
committed and how they felt after committing the mistake. The participants can be given
pieces of paper and they will be asked to throw it with the same feeling that they felt when
they made the mistake. They will then be asked to retrieve paper and colour the lines on the
paper making use of different colour (Priest & Gass, 2017). They can keep the paper and
stick it in a notebook that will act as a reminder to strengthen brain every time when they
open the notebook.
Service and Quality Orientation
My skills in relation to providing service with sense of social responsibility and improving
quality of service with the help of empowerment was found to be very average and they
should be improved for the success of the organization.
Personal Reflection-Corporate social responsibility is an important aspect of organization and
the employees should be imbibed with this aspect so that it can help the organization to grow.
Corporate social responsibility programs in an organization is aimed at providing support to
society which in turn has an effect on the mindset of the employee. They help the employees
to become responsible citizens who can contribute to the overall growth of the organization.

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Professional Development Activity
The Human Knot- This game works on the basis of group participation and will help in
building bond between the team. Participants should stand in circle and should place their
right hand in the hand of another person who is standing across the circle. They should place
their left hand in the hand of another person. The participants should try to untangle them and
this should be achieved without breaking of the chain (Cate et al., 2015). If the chain is
broken, then they would have to start again. This will teach the participants of the game to be
socially responsible by building effective bond in the organization.
Relationships and collaboration
Relationships and collaboration is an important aspect that impacts an organization. My skills
in relation to providing intellectual stimulation, consideration of the subordinates and
negotiation for understanding was found to be quite strong that will have an overall good
impact on the organization.
Personal Reflection-Transformational Relationship is an important approach for
understanding the effectiveness of leader. Intellectual stimulation helps the employees in
coming out with different solution to the common problem and conduct the work in
innovative ways. Leaders in an organization can challenge the process and confront with
outdated assumptions. They also involve other people in the discussion and helps in the
stimulation of new ways of thinking. In the words of Northouse, leadership stimulates the
employees to become creative and challenge their beliefs. This kind of leadership helps the
employees in developing innovative way that can help in dealing with issues within the
organization. It helps the employees to engage themselves in careful problem solving
(Opperman et al., 2016). Leaders should be able to coach their subordinates in case of
difficult situation and develop followers along their path. Transformational leadership play an

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effective role in not only developing their own thought process but also that of those people
who are around them. It can help in developing a supportive climate within which they listen
to the needs of their followers. The leaders can make use of delegation to help the followers
in order to grow by facing the personal challenges.
Professional Development Activity
The Human Icebreaker- This development activity can help in breaking the tension and
encourages discussion in a room. The participants can ask general questions like “Who is left
handed? The participants have to search for the team member who meets the criteria in
relation to the question. This activity can help in building inter-personal skills and foster
communication.
Planning and Organizing
On the basis of the skills rating it was found that employee engagement and anticipation and
adjustment to external influence was found to be above the average that has a good impact on
the performance of an organization.
Personal Reflection-For survival, an organization has to adapt to the ecological system and
make use of the environmental intelligence so that the uncertainty can be determined and
appropriate actions are taken for the development of the organization. Environmental
uncertainty should be made use of in the right manner so that its adverse impact on the
organization can be reduced. A planned organisation will always find itself in a better
position to deal with the unstable environment. Inter-organizational alliances can be forged so
that the scarce resources are shared so that it can help in controlling cost and minimize the
risk factor while relegating some of the autonomy.
Professional Development Activity

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All Aboard-The employees in an organization can be asked to build up a boat making use of
piece of meat and all the employees should stand on a boat. Pieces of boat will be removed
and the team should try to fit in with the ever diminishing space. This activity will help in
encouraging communication and develop the faculty of critical thinking.
Research Methodology
It is the systematic and organized way that highlights how one can proceed with the proposal.
It takes into account the process with the help of which the researcher will perform the
research. It identifies the techniques that can be used by the researcher in doing the research
proposal.
Method of Collecting Data
Data can be collected in two ways: primary and secondary. Primary data comprises of the
interviews and questionnaires that can help the researcher in gathering important information.
The secondary source makes use of books and journals that can be found in the market and
the documents that can be found that can help in completing the research process.
Method Chosen for this proposal
For doing this research, the researcher has made use of the secondary method of data
collection like journals, web pages and books. Most of the data presented are recent and
show how the leadership traits can be developed and how they can help in Manulife
insurance company to prosper and grow in the market.
Ethical Issues:
While doing the research, the researcher has to abide by certain rules and have to abide by
certain policies. On the basis of the Data Protection Act, 1998 a work that is not published by

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researcher has to be kept private. If the researcher does not abide by it, then it will lead to
breach of ethics.
Research Limitations
The researcher faced hurdle on account of the time and limited budget.
Planning Sheet
Dimensions Timeframe Development Activity
Visioning and strategic thinking 4 months Creativity tools like that of
Brainstorming and Reverse
brain storming can help in
undergoing projects that can put
the company at a competitive
advantage as compared to other
companies in the market.
Adaptability and Change 3 months The activity of changing seats
will enable the employees of the
company to adjust to the
different situations and make
them grow the power of
adaptability.
Results 4 months Win as much as you can will
enable the participants to
develop the power of
negotiation. They will learn to
interact effectively and
collaborate but keep their main

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interest above everything.
Team Leadership 2 months The development activity of
plane crash will teach the
employees how to set their
priorities in the relative order of
their importance.
People Development The Development Activity will
teach the employees
concentration in which the
employees will be standing in
two lines and one group has to
identify the changes that were
made within a short span of
time in the other group.
Innovation 3 months The participants will be asked
to throw the paper and mark it
in a different colour with the
same feeling that they felt when
they committed the mistake.
The paper should be kept with
them that will make them
remember the mistake.
Service and Quality Orientation 2 months The game of Human Knots will
teach the participants of the
game about how to deliver good
quality of service by working
together but retaining their

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distinctive viewpoint.
Relationships and Collaboration 2 months The employees can carry out an
activity like The Human
Icebreaker with the help of
which the participants will be
able to know about each other
and develop the ability of
collaboration.
Planning and Organizing 2 months The activity of Online Aboard
will teach the employees how to
stick together even in troubled
times and how to plan things
even with a limited budget.
Planning Process:
Importance of Planning Action Plan How it helps
Planning will help in building
team spirit and give rise to a
team-oriented leader who can
help his team to reach the goal.
Drafting a leadership plan and
asking the local insurance
corporations regarding how
they conduct their business.
The plan will throw light on
how to perform tasks effectively
by sharpening the skill set.
Conclusion:
Leadership is an important aspect and is of grave importance for the success of the
organization. A leader working along the right lines will be able to contribute to the

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development of the organization. Innovation, planning and organizing are important functions
of a leader and can help the organization to grow in the right direction. Visioning and
strategic thinking is an important aspect of leadership and this will help the organization to
plan on a long term basis. A successful leader should know how to change on the basis of the
circumstances and will be able to teach his subordinates about how to cope in the ever-
changing environment. The ability to develop the skills of the employees is an important area
and the leader should by including activities like all aboard and human knot will be able to
develop the skill set of the employees so that they can help the organization in the long run.
The employees of an organization should get the support of their leader at every step so that
realize their full potential and be of good service for the organization. Intellectual stimulation
can be of great help for the employees for coming out with solutions to the problems. It will
guide the leader regarding how the work can be conducted in effective ways. Leaders in an
organization should be able to challenge the process and confront the prevailing assumptions.

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References:
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leadership. John Wiley & Sons.
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in leader and leadership development: A review of 25years of research and
theory. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(1), 63-82.
Goetsch, D. L., & Davis, S. B. (2014). Quality management for organizational excellence.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: pearson.
Green, G. P., & Haines, A. (2015). Asset building & community development. Sage
publications.
Gurdjian, P., Halbeisen, T., & Lane, K. (2014). Why leadership-development programs
fail. McKinsey Quarterly, 1(1), 121-126.
Huffman, J. B., Hipp, K. A., Pankake, A. M., & Moller, G. A. Y. L. E. (2014). Professional
learning communities: Leadership, purposeful decision making, and job-embedded
staff development. Journal of School Leadership, 11(5), 448-463.
Hunter, S. T., Cushenbery, L., Ginther, N., & Fairchild, J. (2014). 4 Leadership, Innovation,
and Technology. Creativity and Leadership in Science, Technology, and Innovation,
81.
Komives, S. R., & Wagner, W. E. (2016). Leadership for a better world: Understanding the
social change model of leadership development. John Wiley & Sons.