| Course | BU 530 Business Leadership Foundations |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 8 |
| Paper type | Leadership development plan |
| Length | About 840 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Herzing University |
| Program | MBA |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for BU 530 Unit 8
Ask Before I Climb Up, Call Back Within Two Hours, Say the Real Reason: A Leadership Development Plan for a Composite Roofing Superintendent, March to August
Student Name
Business, Herzing University
BU 530: Business Leadership Foundations
Instructor Name
March 2, 2026
Ask Before I Climb Up, Call Back Within Two Hours, Say the Real Reason: A Leadership Development Plan for a Composite Roofing Superintendent, March to August
What the Earlier Units Established
The overview and the trait and behavioral review in Units 1 and 2 established that what leaders do counts for as much as who they are, and that behavior can be learned. The contingency analysis in Unit 3 found that my task-motivated orientation fits most of my situations and struggles with a crew whose relationship with me has been damaged. The comparison in Unit 5 led me to spend more effort clearing obstacles than directing experienced people. The self-assessment in Unit 4 suggested high conscientiousness and low openness, with limits attached. The ethics paper in Unit 6 found one clear case of manipulation, a Saturday I blamed on a general contractor. The feedback in Unit 7 confirmed my planning, and added three things I had not seen: I take over work when crews fall behind, I am hard to reach from the office, and I absorb pressure from contractors and pass it down without the reason.
Three Priorities and Where Each Came From
Openness to new methods was considered and left for later. Two sources reported it, and it matters, but three priorities are already more than most people sustain, and the other three have stronger evidence behind them.
| Priority | Source of evidence | Why it ranks here |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Stop taking over when a crew falls behind | Feedback, three sources including both foremen; Unit 4's open question about control; Unit 5's preference for clearing the path | Reported by the people who see it daily, and it contradicts my self-view |
| 2. Return office calls and messages within two hours | Feedback, four sources from outside the site | The most widely reported theme I had not recognized at all |
| 3. Give the real reason when I pass a demand to a crew | Unit 6 verdict; one direct feedback report; the pattern behind two opposite complaints in Unit 7 | Ethical as well as practical, and the root of a repeated pattern |
Behavior in Named Situations
Gollwitzer (1999) found that implementation intentions, plans that state in advance what a person will do when a specific situation arises, substantially increase the chance that a goal is acted on. Each priority is therefore written as an if-then commitment tied to a situation I meet every week.
Priority 1
When a crew is behind its plan at the late-morning check, I will ask the foreman what the crew needs before I touch any material or tool, and I will provide what they ask for if I can. I will only work on the roof myself if the foreman asks me to.
Priority 2
When the office calls or messages while I am on a roof, I will reply within ten minutes with a time I will call back, no more than two hours away, and I will call by that time.
Priority 3
When I pass a schedule change or extra work to a crew, I will give the actual reason in the same conversation, including when the reason is a decision of mine. When a general contractor's demand seems unreasonable, I will raise it with the project manager before passing it to a crew.
Practice in Work I Already Do
None of these requires new situations. The late-morning check happens on every job every day, which gives about 60 chances a month to practice the first commitment. Office calls arrive several times a day. Schedule changes happen weekly, and Saturday requests happen most months in the busy season. The plan runs from March through August, which includes the start of the Phoenix summer, when schedules compress and all three behaviors will be tested hardest.
Evidence That the Behavior Changed
Day et al. (2014) distinguish developing an individual leader's capabilities from developing leadership as a property of relationships, and note that change in either is slow and hard to measure. The evidence here is therefore modest and behavioral.
Two of these depend partly on other people's records, which matters because Unit 7 showed that my self-account on visible behavior is the less reliable one.
| Priority | Evidence | Source | Check |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Times I worked on a roof without being asked | Each foreman keeps a simple tally for me | Monthly |
| 2 | Share of office calls returned within two hours | My phone's call log | Weekly, for the first two months |
| 3 | Schedule changes given with the real reason | My own note at the end of each week, checked against the foremen's view at the monthly meeting | Monthly |
| All | The same three questions asked of the same six sources | In person | Late August |
Who Knows About the Plan
The plan only works if the people who will see the behavior know it exists. I will tell both foremen about the first and third commitments at the March crew leaders' meeting and ask them to keep the tally, which also signals that I take their feedback seriously. I will tell the project manager and the operations manager about the second, since they are the ones who call. Telling people creates a small public commitment, and it also gives them permission to point out when I slip, which is the kind of feedback Unit 7 suggests I am least likely to get by waiting for it.
If the Evidence Says It Is Not Working
If the foremen's tallies have not fallen by the end of May, the first commitment is too vague, and I will ask the foremen to name the moment I usually step in. If call-back times slip in the summer, I will set a fixed call-back window at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Kluger and DeNisi (1996) found that feedback can lower performance when it focuses attention on the self, so the August review will be about the three behaviors, not about what kind of leader I am. If the sources report no change at all, the plan has failed, and the honest next step is to ask the operations manager for help rather than to write a better plan. A plan that fails on evidence still teaches something specific, which a plan judged only by how it feels never does.
References
Day, D. V., Fleenor, J. W., Atwater, L. E., Sturm, R. E., & McKee, R. A. (2014). Advances in leader and leadership development: A review of 25 years of research and theory. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(1), 63-82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2013.11.004
Gollwitzer, P. M. (1999). Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans. American Psychologist, 54(7), 493-503. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.54.7.493
Kluger, A. N., & DeNisi, A. (1996). The effects of feedback interventions on performance: A historical review, a meta-analysis, and a preliminary feedback intervention theory. Psychological Bulletin, 119(2), 254-284. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.119.2.254
Reading the BU 530 Unit 8 instructions
The final BU 530 unit asks for a leadership development plan built on the evidence from earlier units. Expect to open with a compressed statement of what the survey, self-assessment and feedback established, choose two or three priorities and trace each to its source, convert each into behavior in a named situation, identify practice opportunities in work you already do and say what evidence would show change. The plan is usually written in the first person and kept short. A span of several months is typical, long enough for behavior to settle. Where feedback and self-assessment disagree, the plan should explain which it trusts and why. A company competency model can inform the plan but should not replace the course evidence.
How the BU 530 Unit 8 example is put together
The sample compresses seven earlier units into one evidence paragraph. A priority table traces three priorities to their sources and explains why openness was left for later. Each priority is then written as an if-then commitment, following Gollwitzer, in situations the writer meets weekly. A practice section counts the opportunities already in the work. An evidence table assigns each priority a measure, a source outside the writer where possible and a check interval, citing Day and colleagues on how slow development is. A section explains who is told about the plan and why, and the close sets out what happens if the evidence shows no change, with Kluger and DeNisi on keeping feedback focused on the task.
BU 530 Unit 8 rubric: what full points look like
Rubrics for the leadership development plan usually reward a compressed evidence base, traced priorities, behavior in named situations, realistic practice, credible evidence of change and attention to failure, plus clear writing. The evidence base earns credit when it summarizes rather than retells. Traced priorities score when each is linked to specific findings. Named-situation behavior is often the largest criterion, rewarding commitments a reader could observe. Practice earns points when it uses existing work rather than imagined opportunities. Evidence of change is judged on measurability and on whether someone other than the writer can see it. Plans that state what will happen if they fail tend to score in the top band.
BU 530 Unit 8 help before you submit
Development plans lose marks when they list qualities such as be more empathetic without saying what the writer will do and when. Another frequent weakness is priorities with no link to earlier evidence. Writers often choose too many priorities to sustain. Some rely entirely on self-report for evidence of change, though the feedback unit showed self-report is weakest on visible behavior. Others ignore the busiest season, when new habits are most likely to slip. Building the plan entirely on a company competency model can disconnect it from the course. If your plan feels generic, our writers can help you turn your earlier findings into specific commitments.
Get a BU 530 Unit 8 example written to your instructions
For the final unit, the instructions and the BU 530 rubric are enough, along with the priorities your earlier papers landed on. We write a custom example that compresses the evidence, holds to two or three priorities, writes each as behavior in a named situation and closes on what would derail it. First custom sample free, returned in 24 to 48 hours.
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BU 530 Unit 8 questions, answered
What time span should the plan cover?
If the instructions name a horizon, use it. If they do not, pick one long enough that a habit could actually shift and short enough that you can still picture the situations in it. Say why you chose it. A plan running to the end of the term usually measures the course rather than the practice it was meant to change.
What if the feedback and the self-assessment point different ways?
Choose the priority the stronger evidence supports and say why. A theme several sources named independently outweighs a category a self-report returned, and the reasoning is worth writing down because that judgment is part of what the plan is graded on. Where the conflict is genuinely unresolved, make gathering better evidence one of your commitments.
Can I build the plan around my employer's competency model?
Only if it is published; an internal framework, along with review records, ratings and any 360 material, belongs to your organization and has no place in a submitted paper. Build the plan on what the course evidence established about your own practice. Once it is submitted, nothing stops you from mapping the same commitments onto whatever framework your workplace uses.
Where can I find a free BU 530 Unit 8 sample paper?
The BU 530 Unit 8 leadership development plan is open to read in full for free, with the priority table, if-then commitments, the evidence table and margin notes. For your plan, share the assignment and your earlier findings and a custom plan is written at no charge, typically within two days.
What time span should a BU 530 Unit 8 plan cover?
Several months, long enough to include a demanding period. The sample runs March to August so its commitments are tested in the busy summer season, with monthly checks and a full review in August.