Leadership Profile Assignment 1

January 8, 2021

Leadership Profile Assignment 1
Value: 40% of course grade (80 points)
Due Date:
Assignment Purpose:
This assignment is designed to allow students to select an individual who has served (or is currently serving) in a leadership role in a sports organization, and research and analyze the person’s leadership style and their impact on the organization’s development. This assignment allows students to draw upon the leadership knowledge they have gained throughout the semester, as well as to select an individual working in an area of sports that we have covered during the semester.
Submitting the name of your subject to Prof.
Once you have selected a subject for your report, you should email your Prof. the name of the person you wish to profile. Please include a brief (2-3 sentences) rationale about why you chose the person you did.

Leadership Profile Assignment 1
Assignment Description:
The report should be 1,500 words in length (+/- 150 words is acceptable), should follow MLA style, and should include the following sections:
1) Leader Biography – the report should begin with a section in which the student introduces their chosen leader and provides a brief biography of this leader’s life as it relates to their current leadership position. For example, you might include information such as where they grew up, their educational background, work history, and milestones in their career. You should include information about where this individual currently works, or if they are deceased, you can include their last leadership role. Please also include a brief paragraph about why this leader is intriguing to you, or why you chose this person to profile for the assignment.
2) Leadership Style – in this section, students should draw upon the information about leaders that we have covered throughout this semester in order to provide a detailed description and analysis of their chosen leader’s leadership style. Please draw upon sources such as our course readings, along with other sources about your leader in order to explain their leadership style while providing examples to justify your reasoning. Please note that not all leaders will follow one specific style, or will contain just one leadership trait. It is okay for you to discuss several different styles or traits as they relate to your chosen leader.
3) Leader’s Impact – the third section requires students to conduct research on their chosen leader in order to explain the impact this leader has had on their field or their organization, backed up by solid examples. For example, if your leader is a soccer coach, you might explain the impact this person has had on the sport of soccer or on the specific club(s) for which they coached. If your leader is an NBA executive, you might explain the impact this person has had on the NBA and/or professional basketball in general.
4) Conclusion – this section should be approximately one paragraph in length and should summarize the main points of your report while drawing an overall concluding statement or thought.
Leadership Profile Assignment 2
It is important that you use sources throughout the report, and all sources must be cited in MLA Style within the paper text as well as on a Works Cited page at the end of your report. The Works Cited page should not be included in the total word count. You are required to use a minimum of five sources, but you are encouraged to use more than five and include readings done for class. Interviews with your chosen leader are allowed and encouraged if you are able to gain access to that person. Wikipedia is not considered a valid source, and you absolutely should not use it for this assignment.
Leadership Profile Assignment 1 Paper Specifications:
• 1,500 words (+/- 150) – this does not include your Works Cited page
o While each student’s paper will be slightly different in terms of the number of words per section, the following is a basic guide for approximately how long each section should be: Leader Biography – 300 words Leadership Style – 500 words Leader’s Impact – 500 words Conclusion – 200 words
• Double-spaced
• 12-point font
• Include a cover page with your name, the name of this course, and the name of the leader whom you chose to profile for this assignment
• Page numbers and last name included at the top right corner of each page after cover page
• Use section headings for the four major sections of the paper (Leader Biography, Leadership Style, Leader’s Impact, Conclusion). These headings should follow MLA style.
• A minimum of five (5) total sources should be used, including some from the reading we have done for class (n.b. Wikipedia is not a source)
• Use MLA Style for in-text references and your Works Cited page
• Make sure that you proofread thoroughly before submitting your paper!
• Evidence of plagiarism will result in a “0” on this assignment
Grading Criteria:
Leadership Profile Report – 80 points
o Leader Biography Section – 12 points
o Leadership Style Section – 20 points
o Leader’s Impact Section – 20 points
o Conclusion Section – 8 points
o Quality of Sources – 7 points
o Adherence to Paper Specifications – 7 points
o Spelling/Grammar/Punctuation – 6 points
Video Presentation
Each student will give a five (5) minute video presentation on their chosen leader (+/- 30 seconds is acceptable; you will lose points if it goes past the 5:30 mark). Presentations will be watched by the whole class independently, between Monday, November 23 and Wednesday, December 2.
The presentation should provide the class with a brief biography of your chosen leader, the reason that you chose to profile this person, a detailed explanation of their leadership style (backed up by examples), and a summary of the impact this person has had on their sports organization or field.
Leadership Profile Assignment 3
Although the presentation summarizes your entire Leadership Profile Report, you should not read your paper directly to the class. Everyone is expected to use notes minimally and everyone should include at least one visual element in their presentation. A video clip of up to 45 seconds is allowed for this presentation, and/or you may also use PowerPoint or other on-screen visuals. If anyone has questions about the appropriateness of their visual, please email Professor Donaldson for clarification.
In addition to the content that is presented, students will also be graded on their presentation style. Make sure that you speak loudly, clearly, and confidently; pace yourself and adhere to the 5-minute time limit; ensure that you are looking at the camera throughout the presentation; use notes minimally. Students should dress professionally (e.g., business casual) for their presentation.
Grading Criteria:
• Leadership Profile Report – 56 points (70% of overall assignment grade)
o Leader Biography Section – 8 points
o Leadership Style Section – 14 points
o Leader’s Impact Section – 14 points
o Conclusion Section – 5 points
o Quality of Sources – 5 points
o Adherence to Paper Specifications – 5 points
o Spelling/Grammar/Punctuation – 5 points
• Video Presentation – 24 points (30% of overall assignment grade)
o Content of presentation & knowledge of this content – 10 points
o Presentation skills & adherence to time limit – 7 points
o Visual aid – 5 points
o Professional appearance – 2 points