Revised Project Plan Due April 21 - Project Plan Guidelines

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Your project plan should include a brief, improved version of your proposal, clearly stating what you want to do and why it's important. It should also contain an organized, week-by-week schedule detailing what you plan to accomplish each week, with five pages suggested for length. Restate your project title, purpose, and goals in a concise and clear manner. If you are doing a consulting case, include a central question guiding your research and analysis. Traditional leadership-in-action projects should include a clear goal statement with measurable results. Explain your leadership practices, such as how you will communicate your project goals, whom you will recruit as followers, how you will motivate and lead them, and how you will adapt your plan as needed. Consider ideas like inspiring messages, recruitment strategies, leading by example, experimenting, guiding, rewarding, celebrating achievements, and ongoing learning.

Your plan will evolve; it should serve as a basic framework with a schedule and sequence of tasks. For each week, specify major objectives with 2-3 concrete actions that build toward your Capstone Project goal. The plan can be presented in text and supplemented with a chart format or table, similar to the sample provided, but more specific to your project. Focus on individual project activities—exclude unrelated assignments such as discussion posts or essays.

An example of the weekly planning table might include goals such as clarifying project goals, recruiting participants, meeting with sponsors, and conducting research. For each week, specify responsible persons and relevant notes or remarks. For example, in Week 1 (Sept 23-29), goals could involve clarifying team goals, preparing goal statements, inviting participants, and understanding sponsor issues through background research and meetings. Actions could include preparing notes, developing research plans, and identifying sources of information.

A research plan is a critical component for consulting cases and Leadership in Action projects. It should detail the research about the organization, decision-makers, and stakeholders, noting where information can be found and what leadership or management theories will be reviewed. It should specify if permission is needed from organizational leaders to access internal data and if interviews, surveys, observations, or participation are planned. All these strategies should be discussed with your professor beforehand. Your research plan should outline the necessary methodologies for gathering information to inform your project.

Many Capstone projects are part of a longer personal timeline; for example, a project might span 12 months, with the semester focusing on a specific stage. It may help to contextualize your semester work within that longer timetable, highlighting the key phases and how the semester activities fit into your overall project schedule. Review the syllabus carefully to understand the Capstone project's purpose and how your performance and results will be evaluated.

Paper For Above instruction

The development of a comprehensive project plan is a critical step in ensuring the success of leadership and consulting initiatives. The plan must articulate a clear understanding of the project’s purpose, outline specific goals, and provide an organized weekly schedule that guides subsequent actions. The planning process involves not only defining what needs to be accomplished but also considering the leadership practices required to motivate, guide, and adapt to challenges throughout the project's lifecycle.

In detail, the initial sections of the project plan should restate the project title, purpose, and goals succinctly. For consulting projects, a central research question should be articulated to steer analysis and decision-making. For leadership-in-action projects, specific measurable outcomes should be defined, guiding how success will be judged. Each goal statement should be accompanied by ideas about the leadership practices to be employed—including communication strategies, recruitment tactics, motivation, leading by example, experimentation, support, reward, celebration, and adaptation. These practices form the backbone of effective leadership and will be critically assessed and refined over time.

The week-by-week schedule forms the core of the project plan. Each week should set clear objectives with 2-3 actionable steps that collectively contribute toward the overarching project goals. This incremental approach allows flexibility and responsiveness to emerging opportunities or challenges. For example, an initial week might focus on clarifying goals and recruiting participants, followed by meetings with sponsors or clients, and subsequent weeks dedicated to research, analysis, and implementation efforts. Visual aids like tables or charts can enhance clarity, but the plan must be specific and tailored to the individual project’s scope.

Research planning is integral, especially for consulting and leadership projects involving organizational analysis. The research plan should specify the type of information needed about the organization, stakeholders, and decision-makers, and identify sources such as company reports, websites, interviews, surveys, or observations. The plan must also consider access issues, including permissions required from organizational leaders. Outlining interview protocols, survey methods, and participation plans in advance ensures thorough data collection and robust analysis.

Many Capstone projects are embedded within broader timelines, possibly extending over a year. Clarifying how the semester’s activities relate to the overall project timeline provides context and demonstrates strategic planning. The plan should highlight phases, milestones, and the specific contributions expected within the semester. Reviewing the syllabus ensures alignment with project purpose and evaluation criteria, ultimately fostering a structured, goal-oriented approach to leadership and consulting projects.

References

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• Cameron, K. S. (2008). Positive Leadership: Strategies for Extraordinary Performance. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
• Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership. Jossey-Bass.
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• Hersey, P., & Blanchard, K. H. (2013). Management of Organizational Behavior: Utilizing Human Resources (10th ed.). Pearson.
• Goleman, D. (2000). Leadership That Gets Results. Harvard Business Review.
• Hackman, J. R., & Wageman, R. (2005). A theory of team coaching. Academy of Management Review, 30(2), 269-287.