D370 Task 1 Guidance

D370 Task 1 Video

The process:

  1. Take the CliftonStrenths Assessment.The link is found at the bottom of the Task 1 Requirements Tab in your Course of Study.
  2. Download Task 1 Response Guide and use it when you start writing.
  3. Provide written responses to all questions using the response guide as a template and the directions below.

Note: The IT leadership goal and the actions in section B should focus on improving your leadership, not on improving your team.

Section A Tips:

  1. First, go to your Student Degree Plan, click on IT Leadership Foundations course. On the landing page of the Course of Study, go to the bottom center section called Assessments and go to Task One, and to the right of it, click on View Task.
  2. On the next screen, scroll to the BOTTOM and take the CliftonStrengths Assessment. The Requirements Section for Task One are at the top of the same page, above the CliftonStrengths test. If you have any issues clicking on the CliftonStrength Assessment or retrieving the results please review this article.
  3. The CliftonStrengths Assessment is not dependent on the Course Material. Once you complete the CliftonStrenghts Assessment, the most relevant chapters to read in the Course Material, are Chapters 1, 2 & 3 in Section One, 7 & 8 in Section Two, and Chapters 11, 14 & 15 in Section Three. These are suggested readings, you may not need them to complete the tasks.
  4. Supportive resources are not required for task 1 or task 2, but if you do use them you will need to include an in-text citation and a matching reference in the reference section.
  5. Use the Response Guide to write your responses to Task 1, Section A
  6. For section A1, you must describe and discuss your five strengths. Talk about how you see them in your behavior and what you think it would mean for you as a leader in general. I recommend 3-5 sentences per strength.
  7. In A2, discuss how these strengths would impact your thoughts and actions in the scenario. Write 3-5 sentences per strength and be sure to reference specific details about the scenario presented in the task.

Section B Tips

  1. The most common reason students do not pass Task One section B is the leadership goal must relate to the scenario and the goal must discuss how you, the learner, acting as the IT Manager, can improve your own personal leadership skills on your own “without” the help of their team. Part B is about how to improve your own personal leadership, NOT how to improve the team. Example: "I will improve my active listening skills to better understand the meaning of what others say." Think of the key issues presented and what skills would be necessary for a leader to successfully help his employees.
  2. Give two (2) actions to improve your active listening skills. The actions must be individual actions and not involve the team. Example: "I will attend a webinar about active listening skills and I will read six articles online about improving active listening skills."
  3. Use the response guide linked above to help with your writing.

Section C Tips:

  1. For C, select two of the issues presented in the scenario. Then for each issue choose a leadership style that you feel could be useful handling that issue. (These styles should come from the course material. I explain where to find that below this paragraph.) Tell the reader what issue that style addresses. Explain why that style would address the issue. You'll need a different style for each issue.
  2. In C1, provide 2 approaches per style that would help. Explain why each style would motivate the team. To come up with the approaches, think about the characteristics of each style you mentioned and think of how that would be applied in practice. For example, transformational leadership is defined by setting high expectations, fostering innovation and creativity, and leading by example Ask yourself: what would a leader do to foster creativity? What actions might help create high expectations? How would it look if they led by example? The things you come up with when answering those questions are your approaches for that style. Don't forget to include the reason you believe each approach will motivate employees.
  3. In Section C, the leadership styles need to come from the course. To find a list of leadership styles, go to the course resource (yellow button on the course page), under the left nav menu labled Leadership Strategies, click on Readings & Resources. Scroll down until you see the section labeled "Leadership Style."

Scenario

You are the IT manager at Innovatech Solutions, a midsized software development company. Your team consists of 20 employees, including the following:

Recently, Innovatech Solutions has decided to adopt new processes to improve project delivery times and increase flexibility in responding to client needs. This decision came after a significant project was delayed due to inefficiencies. The transition has caused resistance among team members, particularly with the experienced developers who prefer the predictability and structure of the traditional approach.
Key issues identified: