Leaders in the Open

You'll notice that this website is licensed under the "Creative Commons." This means that you (or, for that matter, anyone) is free to use this content in any way they might like. This notion of giving away the work we do is fundamental to what many call the open source movement. And, although the "public domain" is very old, the idea that our creative works might explicitly be made free for others to use and extend is relatively new (and, in many ways, a reaction to overly restrictive copyright laws). 

This writing prompt involves conducting an interview, and it encourages you to look at the kind of communities we are reading about in The Art of Community, explore one in some depth, and reach out to one. Specifically, I would like you to identify someone within the community who contributes in some meaningful way, and ask if you can interview them about their role in the project and how (if at all) they perceive themselves to be a leader.

If you pursue this track, we will publish your essay at opensource.com in the Education channel, which will ensure that hundreds of people will (in all likelihood) read your essay. This will be good experience for you as well as good exposure for the open project that you chose. 

Process


Identify a leader. They do not have to be the head of the project—they may manage the mailing lists, or help make sure new people coming to the project get good support for contributing new ideas. Any role is, in all likelihood, a leadership role of some sort.

Choose five questions from the set below as a starting point for your interview. Choose questions that you think best address your interests in the work of the person you are interviewing. 

Your interview should take place entirely in the written form. Email should be your preferred mode of communication for this piece. Leave enough time to get responses back and ask follow-up questions as necessary. I assume that your interview will have at least one round of follow-up.

Present your interview. Your interview should follow a standard form: 

1. Introduce the project, the individual you interviewed, and your interest in the project/work of the individual. (1-2 pages.)

2. Address what it is about the project that inspired you to conduct the interview. (1-2 pages.)

3. Present the interview (with minimal editing). (As long as necessary.)

4. Close with a reflection what you learned about yourself and your own approach to leadership from the conversation you initiated. Feel free to draw on your experiences with Third Thursdays and our readings in class. (2-3 pages as necessary.)

Finding Open Source Projects

I have a short list of some projects online here:

http://www.rockalypse.org/courses/cmpsc303f10/projects/

However, you can find many more through Google searches (for example), or by using sites like Freshmeat, SourceForge, and even links from the Wikipedia article on this topic (which may be of interest).

Twenty Questions

These questions were originally found on Michael Hyatt's website Intentional Leadership. I've asked Michael if I can include these here, and I would like to be clear that they are not included in my site-wide CC license. Specifically, the questions that follow carry the following copyright notice:

(c) 2011, Michael Hyatt. Used by permission.
Originally published at www.michaelhyatt.com.

Michael, in his blog post, encourages us to put these questions into use in our own reflections and explorations of leadership. He closes his blog post with the following directive for aspiring leaders:

You might start by asking yourself these questions. Better yet, ask them and then blog about them. This will give you some basis of comparison as you begin to learn from the leaders around you.

I think we're using them in the right spirit. 

  1. Can you name a person who has had a tremendous impact on you as a leader? Maybe some one who has been a mentor to you? Why and how did this person impact your life?
  2. What are the most important decisions you make as a leader of your organization?
  3. As an organization gets larger there can be a tendency for the “institution” to dampen the “inspiration.” How do you keep this from happening?
  4. How do you encourage creative thinking within your organization?
  5. Where do the great ideas come from in your organization?
  6. Which is most important to your organization—mission, core values or vision?
  7. How do you or other leaders in your organization communicate the “core values”?
  8. How do you encourage others in your organization to communicate the “core values”?
  9. Do you set aside specific times to cast vision to your employees and other leaders?
  10. How do you ensure the your organization and its activities are aligned with your “core values”?
  11. How do you help a new employee understand the culture of your organization?
  12. When faced with two equally-qualified candidates, how do you determine whom to hire?
  13. What is one characteristic that you believe every leader should possess?
  14. What is the biggest challenge facing leaders today?
  15. What is one mistake you witness leaders making more frequently than others?
  16. What is the one behavior or trait that you have seen derail more leaders’ careers?
  17. Can you explain the impact, if any, that social networking and Web 2.0 has made on your organization or you personally?
  18. What are a few resources you would recommend to someone looking to gain insight into becoming a better leader?
  19. What advice would you give someone going into a leadership position for the first time?
  20. What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as a leader?


Introduced

Monday, October 10.

Due

Friday, November 4th.

Return By

Monday, November 7.

Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-SA 3.0 License.