Part A

Part A will be marked out of 70.

Question 1 

Provide a brief description of the leadership example you have selected and explain why you have done so (200 words). Provide your sources of evidence in an appendix to the TMA. (5 marks)

Question 2

Analyse the leadership example in respect of aesthetics using two concepts drawn from Block 6.

Question 3 

Using at least one concept from Block 6, offer written advice to the leader(s) or related organisation within your leadership example in respect of how they could develop and improve leadership practice drawing on aesthetics.

In contrast to previous TMAs, you may distribute 1,800 words between questions 2 and 3 as you deem appropriate; your answer to both questions combined can earn up to 65 marks.

Guidance to students

Question 1

For the first question you should give a brief description of the leadership example you are going to focus on. Do not go into excessive detail, but provide enough to give a sense of this individual, group and/or leadership practice and the context in which the example you use unfolded. You should also justification for why you chose them, that is, why they are particularly relevant to leadership and aesthetics. You can choose your own leadership or leadership team as an example.

The appendix to this document should list the sources you have consulted as evidence for your discussion. These could include:

• interviews
• media stories
• newspaper articles
• recordings or texts of speeches
• visual representations of leadership (stored in OpenStudio and referenced as such, not included in the body of your assessment).

If you focus on your experience, then the evidence will take a different form, for example:

• your own written reflections
• your own observations
• your own account of conversations with leaders and followers
• visual representations of your own experience (stored in OpenStudio and referenced as such, not included in the body of your assessment).

You should list these in an appendix using Harvard referencing – they do not count towards the word limit.

Please note that you are unable to choose works of art (meaning fiction, paintings, sculpture, dance, theatre, music, and so on) as examples of leadership being practiced – that is, an exploration of leadership from fictional characters in a film, play, or musical – but you can state that real people in your example draw on forms of art in their practice. You can also state that you intend to explore the presentation of real leaders, groups or organisations as aesthetic presentations.

Question 2

This part of the TMA requires you to use concepts in the block to analyse an example of leadership based upon the evidence you have selected. There are many concepts in Block 6 and you are required to use two. A concept can mean a theory of aesthetic leadership or an aspect of a theory of aesthetic leadership from Block 6. A critique of a particular leadership theory or the idea of leadership in general will not count as one of these two concepts but can be drawn upon in addition to your two chosen aesthetic leadership concepts.

It does not matter which two aesthetic leadership concepts you select, however you should choose those which you think offer insight into your chosen leadership example from an aesthetic perspective. You have already completed a number of tasks related to this TMA in your TMA builder activities.

In writing this part of the TMA you need to demonstrate an understanding of the concepts you choose and your ability to apply these concepts to a real case. You should use the evidence to explore and analyse the leadership using concepts to inform your analysis. Long descriptions of what a leader has done without reference to concepts will not attract many marks, nor will long descriptions of concepts without application to leadership.

Ways of understanding language, visuals and music can be drawn upon in Question 2, in relation to practices of leadership and the uses of forms of art from people in your example.

Question 3

In answering this question think of yourself as offering advice to the leader or related organisation on how leadership might be improved from an aesthetic perspective (note, if you are focusing on your own leadership practice, you may be offering developmental advice to yourself). The particular advice should be grounded in at least one concept from Block 6; this can be a concept already used in Question 2 but it does not need to be. Your answer to this question will draw upon both your analysis in Question 2 and the evidence you have collected for this TMA. You should seek to use the concept you select to offer practical and tangible advice to the individual leader, group or organisation, showing its practical relevance for their development. Think of yourself as a coach to this person, group or organisation, who are looking for ways of developing themselves. Do not spend an excessive number of words describing the concept; instead focus on the practical implications of the concept you have chosen.

Works of art can, but do not have to be drawn upon in this question, as part of your developmental advice to an individual or group. 

You may use any material from Block 6 to answer this part of the question. However, the discussion of the four forms of arts-based leadership development from Reading 1 (pp. 34–35) is particularly relevant. You can use one of these (that is, skills transfer, projective techniques, illustrations of essence or making) as a way of shaping your thinking and the logic of your argument.

Note that unlike other TMAs, in TMA 05 you can distribute your 1,800 words between Questions 2 and 3 as you deem appropriate. This is to reflect the development content within the block, meaning that if you want to focus as much, or more, on the future developmental aspects of aesthetic leadership, you will be able to write more for Question 3 and less for Question 2.

Part B

Part B will be marked out of 20.

Imagine that you have spotted an advert online for a management position in an organisation. That organisation has specifically asked that applicants demonstrate leadership skills. You decide to apply for the position, as your learning in B208 and general work and life experience equips you to practice leadership effectively.

Task 1

Write a covering letter to the employer that highlights your suitability for a management role that involves leadership. In writing your letter, please focus on the skills you have developed in Blocks 2–6. Where possible, include in your letter evidence in the form of examples from your experience to illustrate how you have demonstrated these skills.

(Use 12-point Calibri font, single spaced, on two sides of A4.)

Task 2

Write an up to date curriculum vitae, drawing on the best practice guidelines you studied in Block 5. Include the CV as an appendix to your covering letter.

(Use 12-point Calibri font, single spaced, on at least two sides of A4.)

Guidance to students

You will accrue marks according to the extent to which the covering letter meets the guidance provided. The CV is not marked but submitting it as an appendix is a requirement of receiving marks for this part of the TMA. If you do not submit the CV as part of TMA 05 then you will receive a mark of zero for Part B. 

In writing this part of the TMA please follow the guidance for producing effective covering letters and CVs provided in Blocks 5 and 6.

For the covering letter, you are required to demonstrate at least one skill from each of Blocks 2–6. Do not provide any address, contact details or date at the top of your letter – simply begin with the phrase ‘To whom it may concern’. Likewise, do not provide a signature, sign off or contact details at the end of the letter.

In writing this part of the TMA you need to demonstrate an understanding of the concepts you choose and your ability to apply these concepts to your own development. You should use evidence to illustrate the skills developed, which, in turn, will be rooted in leadership concepts. Evidence here could mean (but will not be restricted to):

• a description of a relevant experience from your own perspective
• reflections on how you have noticed others respond to you differently
• a first-hand account of what you have noticed differently around you as a result of studying the module
• a first-hand account of what you do differently as a result of studying the module
• a first-hand account of how you have identified and influenced certain important people or aspects of a leadership practice
• a report of what colleagues or friends have told you about your development
• or even something more formal, such as feedback from a line manager or an appraisal.

Note that emphasis in this task will be placed upon providing a positive account of yourself that makes use of relevant concepts. Being self-critical and self-reflective is an important skill but not one that will gain marks in this Part of the TMA. 

Long descriptions of your skills without reference to module concepts or long descriptions of concepts without application to your skills will not gain many marks.