OLCU 621: Frontiers of Public and Nonprofit Leadership

Assignment #4: “Oops, You’re In Charge”

The purposes of this assignment are

➢ To provide an opportunity for synthesis and application of principles, ideas, and knowledge from
the course and text to a scenario placing the student in a leadership role.
➢ To allow students an opportunity to exercise practical skills required for real-world organizational
realities relative to sudden change.
➢ Encourage students to draft a strategy or plan that may assist in real-world scenarios.

The Scenario
Frontiers in leadership are often viewed and experienced with fear, trepidation, and hesitation. This
assignment places you in a scenario as leader of a non profit organization. Without much warning, you
are thrust into a new chapter of your career in the nonprofit world. The result is you are taking the top
leadership role (CEO) of a non profit organization. Uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity describe a large
portion of your setting.
You are/were the third in charge at a large non profit that serves a community through robust
programming including sports, tutoring, childcare, and summer enrichment. Your nonprofit organization is
situated in a urban environment that has a population of approximately 100,000. The organizations
serves about 8,000 people (children and adults).

Among your governance body, and central administrative officers, growing concerns have mounted over
the past five years. Concerns have included decrease in large gift donations, push back or lack of
enthusiasm in leadership about adopting innovations in your field of service. The organization has yet to
adopt much of the new innovations due to lack of experience, and training at all levels of the organization
(the Board, executive leadership/management, and line-level); in addition relative to the innovations, there
is increased expectations and pressure from service recipients, the community, and civil society to adopt
innovations.

The CEO has resigned. The second in charge is declining the promotion/post. Your Board has five
resignations (taking a substantial level of financial support with), leaving you with eight Board Members.
There were two existing open seats on the Board already (the Board is a 15 person Board when full).
Your Regional leadership is requiring implementation of new technology (a smartphone app that handle
record management, and recipient engagement) within one year of now. Oops, you are now in charge.
You are the CEO.

The Assignment
Component One
You are to layout a plan/strategy for moving forward from the first day you take your office. This must
include a layout of your first 100 days, identification and substantiation of priorities, the crafting of
measures in order to determine where you are with your plan/strategy as it rolls out and a list and briefing
on the resources you will be focused on and need in order to execute your first 100 days. This is a written
plan designed in the context above, and including the regionally-required technology implementation
indicated above.
Helps For This Assignment
An acceptable presentation will consider the following:
● What is the context you are communicating/speaking into?
● What concerns are existing among the Board, the Executive Leadership and Line-level?
● What is important about the mission, vision, values of your organization that should be
considered here?
● Think “TedTalk” in nature: succinct, touches on the key/important ideas, highlights what is
important about the organization, the mission, the values, the people served.

Rubric: Component One (Written Plan/Strategy)

Elements Exemplary Proficient Developing Emerging

90-100% 80-89% 60-79% 1-59%
Strategy Clearly and Fairly and Somewhat Poorly communicates
(including profile concisely somewhat concisely communicates a best- a best-practices, or
of the communicates a communicates a practices based, missing best-
organization) best-practices best-practices research informed, practices based,
based, research based, research reasonable research informed,
informed, informed, strategy/plan for the reasonable
reasonable reasonable organization. Includes strategy/plan for the
strategy/plan for the strategy/plan for the a marginal, organization (or the
organization. organization. incomplete profile of paper may be
Includes a sufficient Includes an the organization. confusing on these
profile of the appropriate, but Strategy/plan may items) Includes a
organization. incomplete profile of have little coverage of marginal, incomplete
Strategy/plan the organization. governance, profile of the
includes Strategy/plan may programs, and central organization or it is
governance, modestly include administration, or fail missing altogether.
programs, and governance, to address one-two of Strategy/plan may
central programs, and the three. have little to no
administration. central coverage of
administration, or governance,
fail to address one programs, and
of the three. central
administration, or fail
to address one-two of
the three.
Strengths and Effectively employs Fairly employs some Somewhat employs Limited, if any
Weaknesses some measurement/analy some measurement/analysi
measurement/analy sis of organizational measurement/analysi s of organizational
sis of organizational strengths, s of organizational strengths, weakness,
strengths, weakness. Includes strengths, weakness, demonstrating a poor
weakness. Includes a fair discussion on demonstrating a basic understanding of the
a substantial resources available understanding of the organization’s
discussion on to new leader. organization’s strengths/weakness.
resources available strengths/weakness. Includes little to no
to new leader. Includes some discussion on
discussion on resources available to
resources available to new leader.
new leader.
Identification and Provides clear and Provides fairly clear Provides somewhat Lists limited and/or
support of comprehensive and comprehensive clear and vague priorities, and
priorities and priorities for moving priorities for moving comprehensive weak if any
measurements forward, forward, priorities for moving discussion on
improvements to improvements to forward, measurements.
enhance strengths enhance strengths improvements to
 and opportunities and opportunities enhance strengths
while reducing while reducing and opportunities
weaknesses and weaknesses and while reducing
threats. Includes a threats. Includes a weaknesses and
discussion on discussion on some threats but missing
measurements that measurements that particular components
are anchored to are anchored to important for
priorities for valid priorities for valid implementation.
assessment and/or assessment and/or Includes a limited
evaluation. evaluation. discussion on some
measurements that
are anchored to
priorities for valid
assessment and/or
evaluation.

Critical Analysis Consistently and Fairly consistently Somewhat effectively Little to no effective
effectively and effectively synthesizes and synthesis and
synthesizes and synthesizes and integrates research, integration of
integrates research, integrates research, ideas, principles from research, ideas,
ideas, principles ideas, principles the course, readings, principles from the
from the course, from the course, and/or research. course, readings,
readings, and/or readings, and/or Ideas for and/or research.
research. Ideas for research. Ideas for implementation are Ideas for
implementation implementation present, but may not implementation are
follow the consistent follow the consistent follow from consistent not present, or may
and effective and effective and effective not follow from
synthesis. synthesis. synthesis. consistent and
effective synthesis.
Writing The writer clearly The writer The writer The writer uses a
Mechanics and demonstrates an demonstrates demonstrates style, form, and
APA understanding of some minimal language that are
the assignment understanding of understanding of the not college level
while using a style, the assignment assignment while quality.
form and language while using a style, using a style, form The writer does not
that is appropriate form and language and language that is acknowledge the
for a college level that is appropriate appropriate for a work of others, and
paper. The writer for a college level college level paper. does not utilize APA
properly paper. The writer properly style.
acknowledges the The writer properly acknowledges the
work of others by acknowledges the work of others with
consistently work of others with major APA flaws.
utilizing current some APA flaws.
APA style.

Use of Sources The writer has The writer has The writer has used at The writer has used
used at least 3 used at least 2 least 1 scholarly no scholarly
scholarly reference scholarly reference reference sources. resources or
sources. Draws sources. Draws Draws heavily upon references.
from primary heavily upon secondary sources for
sources for secondary sources discussion.
discussion. for discussion.
 Rubric: Component Two (Videocast)
Elements Exemplary Proficient Developing Emerging
90-100% 80-89% 60-79% 1-59%
Multimedia elements Multimedia elements and Multimedia elements Multimedia elements
and content combine content combine to accompany content but are either overused
to deliver a high adequately deliver a high are not necessarily or barely used at all.
impact message with impact message with all mutually reinforcing. Meaning behind key
all elements elements reinforcing each Multimedia delivers points is lost or
Content
reinforcing each other other. key points. confusing.
in a superior way. Multimedia communicates
25%
Multimedia clearly key points and is
communicates key entertaining to watch.
points and is
entertaining to watch.
Demonstrates Demonstrates Demonstrates a Demonstrates a very
Integration of superior understanding and limited understanding limited understanding
Knowledge understanding and applies concepts learned of concepts learned in of concepts learned
applies concepts in the course. the course. in the course.
20% learned in the course
exceptionally.
There is limited
Attention to visual attention to visual
There is acceptable
design is exceptional. Attention to visual design design. Multimedia
but limited attention to
Multimedia meets the is evident. does not meet length
visual design.
Structure/ length requirements. Multimedia meets the requirements and/or
Multimedia meets the
Visual The images are draw length requirements. is extremely text
length requirement.;
Appeal viewers in due to their The images are visually heavy.
The images are
high level of visual appealing, have limited The visuals do not
acceptable, have
20% appeal, have no grammatical errors and appeal to viewers,
grammatical errors, but
grammatical errors are easy to look at and have errors, are not
are easy to look at and
and are easy to understand. well organized and
understand.
understand. are difficult to
understand.
Multimedia is
Multimedia is
appropriately animated Multimedia is
appropriately animated
and uses a clear appropriately animated
Delivery and uses a clear voice; Multimedia uses a
voice; delivery is and uses a clear voice;
delivery is poised, clear voice; language
poised, controlled, and good language skills
20% controlled, and smooth; skills are acceptable.
smooth; superior and pronunciation are
good language skills and
language skills and used.
pronunciation are used.
pronunciation are used
Appropriate Appropriate references Appropriate references Minimal references
references that that support opinions and that support opinions and support for
Mechanics support opinions and recommendations. and recommendations. opinion and
recommendations. No Minimal grammar, APA or Minor grammar, APA recommendations.
10% grammar, APA or spelling errors or spelling errors Many APA/Grammar
spelling errors. and/or spelling
errors.