Write a three$-$part paper summarizing an interview with someone who now holds a position to which you aspire in $3-5$ years, an interview with a boss or key stakeholder who can provide feedback on strengths and development gaps related to your desired role and lastly, do a self$-$assessment.

PART $1$:

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT INTERVIEW PAPER, $3-4$ PAGES:

Find and interview someone who is currently doing what you envision yourself doing professionally in $3-5$ years $($or sooner!$).$ Use your network of professional and personal contacts to find your interview subject. Your classmates may help you identify appropriate interview subjects, or$,$ if necessary, you may search the Internet for job openings similar to your goal and talk with the recruiter.

Be as thorough as possible in preparing for and conducting your interview. You will want to know both what functional $($e$.$g$.,$ sales, marketing, engineering, leadership, and style$-$related competencies that one needs to be successful in that position. Review the assigned Zenger Folkman and Edinger article $($Harvard Business Review$)$ and take it with you on your interview. This provides a guide for categories of leadership competencies. You will want to understand which factors are most important for your target position.

You also want to understand where in the Leadership Pipeline $($Brown$,2001)$ your target job lives and its implications for your development path. Review the Brown article, which you will find in our course reserves, before your interview. Be sure to include this analysis in your paper.

Tip: To get the most out of your interview, ask "probing" questions. Say, "Tell me more about that," and "Why do you think $($that$)?"$

Here are some sample questions that you can incorporate into your interview:

$$ What is your job description?

$$ What kind of decisions do you make? How do you go about making them?

$$ Describe your day or week. What are the challenges you face?

$$ What skills and competencies are essential for someone in your position to have?

$$ How do you differentiate between management and leadership in your daily work activities?

$$ Tell me about how you approach leadership. How do you see yourself as a leader? What approaches do you use and why?

$$ What leadership competencies do you believe are most important for success in your job?

$$ What professional development advice would you give to someone who hopes to attain a similar position? How should he or she prepare?

$$ What common misconceptions or pitfalls should someone preparing for this position avoid?

$$ What professional organizations do you belong to or recommend?

PART $1$ MUST INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:

$$ A thorough summary of the results of your interview. Include the name and position of the person you interviewed, as well as the date of your interview.

$$ A description of the Zenger Folkman competencies that are most important in being successful in this position and why they are critical to success.

$$ A description of where your desired job is in the leadership pipeline, referencing the Brown article.