MY JOURNEY TOWARD LEADERSHIP MASTERY

Module Briefing Sheet (docx)

In his book “Outliers,” author/speaker Malcolm Gladwell wrote that "ten thousand hours is the magic number of greatness." He recognized that with requisite talent, people who practiced and learned in their discipline for a minimum of 10,000 hours, could reach a level of true mastery. MIT professor Peter Senge (The 5^th Discipline) develops a similar theme when he identifies individual (and organizational) learning disciplines. “Personal Mastery,” for Senge, is a set of specific principles and practices that enables a person to learn, and expand their capacity to create the results they desire. To understand ourselves, to know our purpose in life, and to direct our energies by using our strengths, is to create more meaningful contributions in life and work.

As we conclude our Leadership Academy curriculum, what have you been learning, practicing and applying? What do you notice about your own development and the development of members of your cohort? In this final Module, you will share your own Personal Mastery story in a formal “Capstone” presentation to a group of Academy Fellows and invited guests from the ACC NCR leadership.

MATERIALS

• Self-assessment of ACC NCR Leadership Competency.
• Look back and review any notes and reflections you have from the beginning of the Leadership Academy:
  • Your Leadership Circle Profile assessment and Personal Development Plan, notes on accomplishments and milestones.
  • Any personal notes and reflections that you’ve prepared over the course of the Leadership Academy.
  • Any feedback on your leadership that you have received from your learning cohort, facilitators, and work colleagues.
• ACC Docket, “The Value of Acknowledging Your Internal Client’s Good Work” (Robert Falk and Robert Calabrese, November 2016)at http://www.accdocket.com/articles/resource.cfm?show=1441528.

TASKS

• Complete the Self-assessment
• Review your LCP and Personal Development Plan notes
• Read the ACC Docket article (“The Value of Acknowledging Your Internal Client’s Good Work”) to help prepare you to give effective feedback to your colleagues’ presentations

Using these materials, prepare a 4-5 minute Capstone presentation on the topic of “My Journey Toward Leadership Mastery” that you will deliver during the Module day.

Your Capstone Presentation should highlight a significant and specific learning experience about yourself as a leader (especially in this unsettled time) in your professional environment that is directly correlated to your learning through the Leadership Academy. As you develop your remarks, envision your audience as members of your leadership team or the team you lead. (Your actual audience will be 6-7 others -- Fellows from other cohorts and some invited guests from the Academy Board of Advisors, Steering Committee, and ACC NCR Board of Directors. They will listen to you “live” in a Zoom breakout room.)

Consider the following “prompts” as you prepare for your presentation:

• How will you own your personal leadership journey?
• Do you notice any particular themes that have coalesced for you since we began?
• What specifically did you set out to discover, learn, and develop for yourself as a leader? Why was this important for you?
• What specific learning goal did you accomplish? What impact has that had on your leadership? On others?
• How has your confidence and competence to lead from your seat changed and evolved over the course of the Academy?
• How are you committed to on-going development as a leader?

Two important notes:

• This is not a re-telling or summarization of your take-aways from the previous 7 Modules. Rather, we are asking you to select and explain a specific theme or thread from your Academy experience.
• Refer back to Module 7 best practices and personal take-aways!

PRACTICE:  Fellows continue to have access to the virtual platform GoReact – the same platform you used in Module 7 to post your prework.  We encourage you to use GoReact to do a “dry run” of your Capstone and solicit feedback from your cohort. You can incorporate and make adjustments based on that feedback as you finalize your presentation.

• Go to https://app.goreact.com/join/343b9604-3d6f-4d12-8677-aca1fa79f6bc and log in.
• You should be taken to the course: “ACC National Capital Region •  Academy Class of 2020 Capstone”
• Select the assignment titled “Practice for Your Leadership Mastery Presentation.”
  • For detailed instructions on creating your video, please see the document in the Fellows portal.
  • Tech support:
    • If you run into difficulties or have questions, you can contact Ilene by e-mail or phone (301-523-6846).
    • Also, GoReact has excellent self-help resources at https://help.goreact.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002346311-Student-Training-Videos.

COHORT MEETING

• Check in and share any additional learning from the previous session
• Share your Development Plan accomplishments and your intentions for ongoing development
• Share your Self-assessment and note areas of awareness and development
• Share “highlights” (and any “lowlight” moments) of your Leadership Academy learning experience. What lasting impact will these have on you?

LEARNING GOALS

• Deliver a formal presentation (4-5 minutes) summarizing your ACC NCR Leadership Academy experience.
• Experience how you inspire others through your own personal story.
• Learn how to provide actionable feedback.
• Savor your success, having accomplished milestone goals in your Development Plan.