The Leadership Challenge Workbook, 4th Edition

Selecting Your Personal‐Best Leadership Project

IN TODAY'S ORGANIZATIONS projects are the most common way people organize their efforts. Publishing this workbook is a project. Getting a new product launched is a project. Replacing an outdated security system is a project. Remodeling your house is a project. Putting on this year's management conference is a project. Raising funds for a new homeless shelter is a project. Some projects are small projects within big projects, and one project often leads to another. So we'd like you to begin The Leadership Challenge Workbook process by selecting a real‐world leadership project as the framework for applying The Five Practices.

Your leadership project should meet these six basic criteria:

• The project is about changing business as usual. Although some projects are about keeping things the same, those are not leadership projects. Select a project that involves starting something new or making meaningful changes in how something is being done, or both.
• You're the leader. You may be a contributor on a number of projects, but for the purposes of this workbook, select one for which you are leading the effort. You might be the leader because you are the manager and it's part of your job or because you have been selected to lead by your manager. You might be the leader because you've been elected by the team or because you volunteered for ...