| Course | OML-6200 Organizational Management and Leadership II |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 1 |
| Paper type | Module 1 module paper: real leaders, moral, intellectual and practical |
| Length | About 724 words, 5 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 6200 Module 1
Seeing, Thinking and Doing: The Moral, Intellectual and Practical Sides of Being a Real Leader
Student Name
M.S. in Management in Organizational Leadership, Thomas Edison State University
OML-6200: Organizational Management and Leadership II
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
Seeing, Thinking and Doing: The Moral, Intellectual and Practical Sides of Being a Real Leader
Three Dimensions of Leadership
The module asks what makes a leader real and divides the answer into moral, intellectual and practical dimensions. I take these to mean seeing what is right, thinking clearly about what to do and having the skill to get it done. Mumford et al. (2000) argued that leadership in complex settings rests on capabilities that can be developed, including problem-solving skills, social judgment and knowledge, rather than on fixed traits. That view matters to me, because it suggests a supervisor can grow into a real leader rather than being born one.
Coles on Moral Leadership
Coles (2000) writes about leaders he knew personally, including Robert Kennedy, whom he accompanied while Kennedy confronted poverty and hunger in the 1960s. What Coles stresses is not Kennedy's power but his capacity to be changed by what he saw. Coles presents moral leadership as something that grows when a person lets the suffering or the needs of others reach him and then acts on it, often at personal cost. Moral leadership in this account is less a set of principles than a way of paying attention.
That struck me because my own failures as a supervisor have mostly been failures of attention. Last winter a sander operator, one of my most reliable people, began missing Mondays. I treated it as an attendance problem and gave a warning. A month later I learned that he was caring for his father after a stroke. I had the information to see it; I did not look.
Friedman on Being Real
Friedman (2008) builds Total Leadership on three principles: be real, by acting with authenticity and clarifying what is important; be whole, by acting with integrity and respecting the whole person; and be innovative, by acting with creativity and experimenting with how things get done. Being real starts with a leadership vision and an honest look at how one's time and attention are spent across four domains: work, home, community and self.
Coles and Friedman meet at the point of attention. Coles shows leaders whose moral growth came from seeing others clearly. Friedman asks leaders to see themselves clearly, including what they value and where their attention actually goes. A leader who does not know his own values cannot act on them; a leader who does not see others cannot lead them.
The Three Dimensions in My Work
My strength is practical. The ratings are my own; at the end of the course I will ask my two lead hands to rate me on the same three dimensions. My weakness is moral in Coles's sense: I have been so focused on getting the work out that I stopped seeing the people doing it.
| Dimension | What it asks of me | Where I stand |
|---|---|---|
| Moral | Notice what my people are carrying, and treat it as part of the job | Weak; the sander operator showed it |
| Intellectual | Understand why problems happen before acting | Moderate; I solve machine problems well, people problems less so |
| Practical | Get the shift's work done safely and on schedule | Strong; our shift leads the plant in on-time orders |
A First Leadership Vision
Friedman asks students to imagine their lives fifteen years from now and to describe the leader they want to be. My first draft: "I want to be the kind of supervisor whose people would say he noticed them, and the kind of father and coach whose kids would say the same." My four-way view shows how far I am from it: I estimate that work takes 60 percent of my attention, home 25, community, where I coach a youth soccer team, 10, and self 5. Friedman notes that the goal is not equal shares but domains that support one another.
Conclusion
A real leader, in the sense this module asks about, needs all three dimensions. My practical skills got me promoted; the moral and intellectual dimensions will decide whether my people follow me willingly. I also expect the intellectual dimension to grow through this course, since much of what I lack is a vocabulary for what I see on the floor; Coles and Friedman supply part of it. I begin the course with one commitment: to learn what each person on my shift is carrying before I judge their work.
References
Coles, R. (2000). Lives of moral leadership. Random House.
Friedman, S. D. (2008). Total leadership: Be a better leader, have a richer life. Harvard Business School Press.
Mumford, M. D., Zaccaro, S. J., Harding, F. D., Jacobs, T. O., & Fleishman, E. A. (2000). Leadership skills for a changing world: Solving complex social problems. Leadership Quarterly, 11(1), 11-35. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1048-9843(99)00041-7
OML 6200 Module 1 instructions, in plain terms
OML-6200 asks for four module papers, one per module and each about three pages, which count for a quarter of the grade between them, alongside reflection papers, video case papers, discussions and a final paper. This first module paper asks what makes a leader real, through the moral, intellectual and practical dimensions of leadership. Expect to draw on Coles's Lives of Moral Leadership and Friedman's Total Leadership, connect them to each other and apply them to your own leadership. Use graduate sources; the syllabus rules out Wikipedia and other encyclopedias. Read the assigned chapters of both books before drafting, and choose one leader from Coles whose story speaks to your own situation. Include a short table or list rating yourself on the three dimensions, and support each rating with an example.
Inside the OML 6200 Module 1 example
The paper opens by defining the three dimensions and supporting the idea that they can be developed. A section draws on Coles's account of Robert Kennedy to describe moral leadership as attention, with a personal failure as an example. A section explains Friedman's three principles and four domains. A paragraph connects the two authors. A table rates the writer on each dimension, and a section drafts a first leadership vision with a four-way view. The conclusion makes one commitment. The writer's self-ratings are presented as provisional, with a plan to ask two lead hands for their view at the end of the course. The conclusion expects the course itself to strengthen the intellectual dimension by giving names to what the writer already sees.
Where the marks sit in the OML 6200 Module 1 rubric
Mentors grade module papers on understanding of the readings, connection between the texts, application to the student's own leadership, use of scholarly sources and clear writing within about three pages. Papers that find a link between Coles and Friedman, rather than summarizing each, show synthesis. An honest example of a personal failure demonstrates the reflection the course values. A leadership vision and four-way view show engagement with Friedman's method, which the final paper builds on. Self-ratings backed by examples, and a plan to test them with others, show the self-awareness authentic leadership requires. Precise use of Friedman's terms, such as the four-way view, demonstrates careful reading.
OML 6200 Module 1 help: mistakes that cost marks
Students lose points by summarizing the books without applying them, by treating the three dimensions as a list rather than an analysis or by citing encyclopedias. Others write about leadership in general without their own example. Connect the two authors. Rate yourself honestly on each dimension. Draft your vision and four-way view now, since later modules use them. Support each self-rating with a real example, and plan how you will check your view with someone who works with you. A free first sample on your own OML-6200 module paper is available on request.
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OML 6200 Module 1 questions, answered
Where can I find a free OML 6200 Module 1 sample paper?
A production supervisor's paper on the moral, intellectual and practical sides of being a real leader is above.
What are Friedman's three principles of Total Leadership?
Be real, by acting with authenticity; be whole, by acting with integrity; and be innovative, by acting with creativity.
What are the four domains in Total Leadership?
Work, home, community and self.
How does Coles describe moral leadership?
As a capacity to be changed by seeing others' needs clearly and to act on what one sees, often at personal cost.
What textbooks does OML-6200 use?
Coles's portraits of moral leaders and Friedman's book on Total Leadership.