Write a reflection paper on what makes a good manager from the perspective of someone in a management position.

Your Portfolio Project synthesizes information gathered from an interview you will conduct with a manager of your choosing, the knowledge you’ve gained in this course, and your own experience to create a research and reflection paper.
Choose a manager to interview with whom you are familiar—ideally, someone whom you admire and aspire to emulate. Ask the manager what insights she or he has to offer to you at this point in your career.

The goal of the interview is to gain insight into what makes a good manager from the perspective of someone in a management position. Some topics to touch on in the interview could include the following:

How did your interviewee come to be a manager (i.e., what career path she or he followed)?
Has your interviewee found that professional certifications, volunteering, and continued education are important factors to career development?
What has surprised your interviewee most about what it means to be an effective leader (as opposed to the popular view of what a successful leader is and/or does)?
What roles are played by managerial goals, objectives, decision-making, and communication on the job?
How does the interviewee handle change management at his/her organization and what specific challenges has she or he encountered?
What advice does your interviewee offer to someone in your position and with your short- and long-term goals?

Research and Reflection Paper

In the next phase, ruminate on what you learned in your interview—especially anything that helped you to gain a deeper insight into the topics you studied in the course—and write a research and reflection paper in which you draw upon learning shared with your instructor and colleagues, your individual learning, and knowledge you have gained from the interview to demonstrate a more in-depth understanding of the foundational principles of management. In your paper, go beyond recitation of memorized facts or regurgitation of information; strive to synthesize the most important topics of management (i.e., leadership, personality, motivation, decision-making, communication, and the importance of good management to yourself and to society) into a hybrid research and reflection paper.