| Course | OML-6100 Organizational Management and Leadership I |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 1 |
| Paper type | Module 1 self-assessment assignment |
| Length | About 478 words, 4 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | M.S. in Management in Organizational Leadership |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for OML 6100 Module 1
Strong on Reliability, Quiet in the Room: What Two Self-Assessments Say About a New Team Lead
Student Name
M.S. in Management in Organizational Leadership, Thomas Edison State University
OML-6100: Organizational Management and Leadership I
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
Strong on Reliability, Quiet in the Room: What Two Self-Assessments Say About a New Team Lead
The Assessments
Six months ago I was promoted from senior analyst to lead a team of nine support analysts who handle agents' questions about our policy software. For this assignment I completed two exercises in Lussier and Achua (2022): the personality profile, which scores the Big Five dimensions of surgency, agreeableness, adjustment, conscientiousness and openness to experience, and the leadership motive profile, which scores the needs for achievement, power and affiliation.
| Assessment | High | Middle | Low |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Five personality | Conscientiousness, agreeableness | Openness, adjustment | Surgency (extraversion) |
| Leadership motives | Affiliation | Achievement | Power |
What I Learned
My personality profile fits how my team describes me: reliable, organized and easy to work with. In a meta-analysis, Judge et al. (2002) found that extraversion was the Big Five trait most consistently related to leadership emergence and effectiveness, with conscientiousness and openness also related. My low surgency is therefore worth attention. In meetings with other leads I often wait to speak, and good ideas from my team sometimes go unheard because I do not push them.
The motive profile was more uncomfortable. Lussier and Achua describe the leadership motive profile as high need for power, moderate need for achievement and lower need for affiliation, based on McClelland's research. McClelland and Boyatzis (1982) found that this pattern, with power used for the organization rather than for oneself, predicted managerial success over sixteen years in nontechnical roles. My profile is close to the reverse: I want to be liked more than I want to influence. That explains why I avoid hard conversations about performance. The middle scores fit too. Adjustment in the middle range matches my experience: I stay calm with upset callers but worry over small mistakes for days. Openness in the middle range suggests I accept new ideas but rarely generate them, so the analysts who suggest new ways of working are the ones I most need to encourage.
Strengths
My conscientiousness makes me dependable: the team's ticket backlog has fallen since I took over, and analysts trust that I follow through. My agreeableness and need for affiliation help me build relationships, which matters on a team where analysts absorb frustrated callers all day. Analysts have told me in one-on-ones that they feel heard, which is the affiliation motive working for the team rather than against it.
Areas for Improvement
I set two goals for the term. First, I will speak in the first ten minutes of every leads meeting, bringing one idea or concern from my team, to practice the visibility that extraversion supplies naturally. Second, I will hold the overdue conversation with an analyst whose calls run twice the team average, treating it as using power for the team's benefit rather than as a threat to the relationship. I will review both goals with my manager monthly.
References
Judge, T. A., Bono, J. E., Ilies, R., & Gerhardt, M. W. (2002). Personality and leadership: A qualitative and quantitative review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(4), 765-780. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.87.4.765
Lussier, R. N., & Achua, C. F. (2022). Leadership: Theory, application, and skill development (7th ed.). Sage.
McClelland, D. C., & Boyatzis, R. E. (1982). Leadership motive pattern and long-term success in management. Journal of Applied Psychology, 67(6), 737-743. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.67.6.737
OML 6100 Module 1 instructions, in plain terms
OML-6100 includes four self-assessment assignments, together worth 25 percent of the grade, alongside eight discussions, five written assignments and a final paper. Each self-assessment asks you to complete one to three self-assessment exercises, usually from the Lussier and Achua text, and write a 1 to 2 page paper on what you learned about yourself, your strengths and your areas for improvement. Report your results honestly, interpret them with the textbook and research, and set specific goals. The final paper later draws on these reflections, so keep your results. Choose exercises that matter for your current role, since you will refer back to them in the final paper. Include a short table of results so the reader sees them at a glance, then give most of the paper to their meaning.
Inside the OML 6100 Module 1 example
The paper begins with the writer's job and the two assessments used, and a table sums up the scores. The personality profile is read against a meta-analysis of traits and leadership, and the text names a behavior that the low score accounts for. A second section compares the motive profile with the leadership motive pattern and its research. Short sections set out strengths with evidence and two goals with a way to track them. The paper stays within two pages by focusing on what each result means. The middle scores are interpreted too, adjustment and openness, so the paper accounts for the whole profile rather than only its extremes. Each goal names a behavior, a setting and a check with the writer's manager.
Where the marks sit in the OML 6100 Module 1 rubric
Mentors grade self-assessments on completing the exercises, honest and accurate reporting, insight into strengths and weaknesses, use of the textbook and research, and specific plans for improvement. Papers that connect a score to a real behavior show insight beyond restating results. Comparing one's profile with research on effective leaders demonstrates use of theory. Measurable goals, not broad intentions, show a readiness to grow, and tight writing that respects the page limit earns credit. Accounting for middle scores as well as extremes shows that the whole profile was considered. Honest discussion of an uncomfortable result, here the low need for power, earns more credit than a flattering summary, and research comparisons show graduate-level reading.
Common OML 6100 Module 1 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Students lose points by listing scores without interpretation, by reporting only strengths, by ignoring research or by setting vague goals. Others exceed the page limit with descriptions of the exercises. Report results briefly. Explain what each means with an example from your work. Compare your profile with research on effective leaders. Set one or two goals you can measure. Discuss an uncomfortable result openly; the assignment rewards honesty. Keep each goal small enough to practice weekly, and name who will tell you whether you are improving. A free first sample on your own OML-6100 self-assessment is available on request.
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OML 6100 Module 1 questions, answered
Where can I find a free OML 6100 Module 1 sample paper?
A new team lead's personality and leadership motive self-assessment is the paper above.
What are the Big Five personality dimensions?
Surgency or extraversion, agreeableness, adjustment, conscientiousness and openness to experience.
Which Big Five trait relates most strongly to leadership?
A meta-analysis found extraversion most consistently related to leadership emergence and effectiveness.
What is the leadership motive profile?
High need for power used for the organization, moderate need for achievement and lower need for affiliation.
How long is an OML-6100 self-assessment paper?
One to two pages, discussing what was learned, strengths and areas for improvement.