Leadership and Learning Plan

Dan Thorward
Andrews University

This Leadership and Learning Plan (LLP) is a document designed to provide

guidance and focus to my studies in the Leadership program at Andrews University. It is
a living document, and will be edited each semester throughout my progression through
the program.

Part I: Vision Narrative Statement

One of my mothers favorite stories is about me when I was six years old. We
lived in a suburban neighborhood near Columbus, Ohio where there were many other
families with young children. One day, when I was playing with several of the other
neighborhood children, my mother came out to offer us a snack. She noticed all the kids
were playing in the mud except for me. I was standing to the side. She asked what we
were doing, and why the other children were so dirty? I told her that we were playing
Pharoah, and that the other children were building me (Pharoah) a pyramid. I would
like to think that my leadership style has developed a bit since then, but I think that this
story illustrates that even as a child, my natural tendency was towards leading, rather than
following.
My first experiences with formal leadership development were through the Boy
Scouts. Scouting is designed to foster leadership skills by allowing scouts to have direct
input in the decisions that affect the troop. The senior patrol leader, who is a scout
elected from among the troop members, plans and runs each scout meeting. Scouting
events are planned by patrols, which are smaller groups of scouts, who are responsible for
planning meals, making packing lists, and deciding how to set up their camping area and
transport supplies. One of my first experiences with the scout troop I joined was
planning our first camping trip. I remember contributing suggestions to the group, and
our patrol leader using our suggestions to create a plan for our camping trip. Our patrol
was comprised of a group of fairly young scouts, and our patrol leader was in 7th or 8th
grade. I remember how much fun it was to plan the logistics of a camping trip, and
feeling like the decisions we made would actually impact our final experience.

I think the reason this made such a large impression on me was that, before
joining the Boy Scouts, I had repeatedly asked my parents if I could join our churchs
Pathfinder group. In first and second grade, my class did the Pathfinder honors for our
grade level, and I remember being very excited seeing the older Pathfinders marching in
at church to be presented with their awards. I remember in those Pathfinder meetings that
the adult leaders would show up and have activities for the kids. There was very little
opportunity for the kids to plan or conduct meetings. In fact, it seemed completely
foreign to the adult leaders that the students would have the ability or desire to contribute
to how meetings were planned or executed. In retrospect, the Pathfinder group at my
church was not well organized, and did not do many outdoor activities. Because my
parents decided to put me in Scouts instead of Pathfinders, I had the opportunity to
experience leadership even while I was still in middle school.
My first formal leadership training came from a week-long summer camp at
Polaris scout camp in Oregon. I believe that week laid the foundation for my path to
leadership, and the training I received that week is still relevant for my life today. The
Polaris leadership training program was a week-long summer program for scouts who
held leadership roles in their home troops. We spent the mornings in classes and lectures
designed to teach leadership skills such as communication, logistics, de-escalation, and
others. The afternoons were spent working on group leadership activities where groups
of scouts were challenged with objectives, and left to figure out ways to complete the
objectives without adult help. For example, I was in a group of about 8 scouts who were
tasked with getting our group from one side of a spider web to the other by using each
opening of the spider web only once. After some trial and error, we realized we would

have to pass scouts through openings that were more difficult at first, and the last 2 scouts
would utilize the easiest openings to move through. I took away from that week the
knowledge that people can be leaders at any age, and with any level of academic training.
I did not have to wait until I had graduated from high school to be able to contribute or
have relevant thoughts and ideas.
I continued with scouting through middle school, where in 7th grade I was elected
senior patrol leader. I was one of the youngest scouts in my troop to ever be elected to
that position. As a senior patrol leader, I was responsible for running scout meetings,
planning events, and delegating responsibilities to other scouts. I also had the
opportunity to mentor younger scouts through our Patrol Leaders Council, which is a
committee made up of all of the patrol leaders in the troop. This committee is chaired by
the senior patrol leader. Through this committee I worked to help develop younger
leaders in the troop and planned experiences to help teach skills to our troop members.
These experiences allowed me to develop an appreciation for leadership even before I
started high school.
My high school years were dominated by experiences in the theater. My high
school had a very active theater program which was nationally recognized for quality.
Although leadership was very rarely formally addressed as part of my theater training, the
principles of leadership were embedded in the training I received. Our highschool theater
company produced between 10-15 shows each school year. For each of these
productions, students would be assigned leadership roles. For example, there was a
student in charge of marketing, set construction, lighting, sound, props, and a student
director. In these leadership roles, students functioned in the same way they would if

they were part of a professional theater company, with the responsibility to complete the
different elements of their jobs. Throughout highschool, I participated in each of these
roles.
When I was not performing in a show, I focused heavily on the technical aspects
of theater. Theater gave me the opportunity to work as part of a group, and to lead teams
of high school students to complete activities such as building sets, hanging lights, and
memorizing blocking. During my junior and senior years I served as a Thespian officer,
and was able to experience leadership as an elected leader of the program. As an officer,
my responsibilities included helping to write the monthly newsletter, planning meetings,
and organizing seasonal special events.
After I graduated high school, I enrolled at Andrews University as a music major
and pre-med student. During my freshman year, I remember sitting in Berman Hall and
seeing a sign for the student senate. They were looking for candidates to represent their
dormitories. I decided to run, and was elected to serve as a Senator for my dormitory. I
enjoyed the experience of being a senator, and at the end of my freshman year I decided
to run for Vice President of the Student Body. This office was particularly interesting to
me because the Vice President served as chairman of the student senate. I experienced
leadership in a new way by working with the senate to provide funding for campus
events, and by networking with other student organizations such as the Student
Movement, Branch, and student recreation.
During my time at Andrews, I also had the opportunity to participate in other
leadership roles on campus, such as University Singers and Gymnicks. As a member of
these organizations, I represented Andrews University across the country. Both of these

organizations taught me about the importance of teamwork, and gave me the opportunity
to network with other future leaders.
It seems that in each environment that I have found myself in I have risen to
leadership. Even while working as a gymnastics instructor in Dayton while I was a
student at Kettering College of Medical Arts I was asked to assume a leadership role at
the gym and became the director of recreational gymnastics. In this role, I had
responsiblties including staff scheduling and curriculum development for a gym of
approximately 600 students. While working as a director, I also had a part-time job as a
paramedic with a private ambulance company. After graduating from Kettering, I was
asked to accept a Lieutenants position with the ambulance company, and moved back to
Columbus. As Lieutenant, I was responsible for daily operations of the company.
Although I enjoyed working as a paramedic, and I appreciated the leadership
opportunities provided by my Lieutenants position, I felt that my career options in the
field of EMS were somewhat limited, and decided to broaden my options by pursuing a
nursing degree.
In 2010, I graduated with my Associates Degree in Nursing, and I was very
excited to be accepted into the critical care nurse internship program at Ohio State
University. The internship provided me with work and learning experiences on several
units within the critical care department, as well as opportunities for professional
development. After completing my internship, I accepted a position as a staff nurse in the
medical intensive care unit (MICU).

Furthering my education was still important to me,

and I enrolled in a program to finish my bachelors degree in nursing. While working on

my bachelors degree, I continued to develop as a staff nurse, adding specialty

certifications and becoming a preceptor for my unit. As I completed my bachelors

degree, I decided to continue on to a masters degree while I had momentum. Around the
time I finished my masters degree, the unit I worked on experienced a transition in
leadership when both the nurse manager and assistant manager accepted positions on
other units. Although I had only been a staff nurse for two years, the outgoing
management team and the Director of Nursing identified me as a candidate for the
assistant nurse manager (ANM) position. I stepped in as an interim ANM, and continued
in the role after completing the interview process.
While working as an assistant nurse manager, I applied and was accepted into the
Nurse Leader Development Program a semester-long training program for new nurse
leaders. This program provided me with an opportunity to network with fellow leaders,
and to participate in training that was provided through the Leadership Academy at the
university.
After about a year and a half in the ANM role, I decided to apply for a manager
position in the brand new department of critical care for the Wexner Medical Center
James Cancer Hospital. After an extensive interview process, I was offered the position,
and am currently working as Nurse Manager for three units surgical intensive care
(SICU), neurocritical care (NCCU), and medical intensive care (MICU). This position
has provided an exciting opportunity to build three intensive care units from the ground
up as I prepare to move my department into a newly-built critical care tower on the
campus of The Ohio State University. In this role, I was selected this year to participate
in the Outstanding Leader Program 2015. For this program, 50 individuals were selected

from throughout the university. I plan to pursue this and other opportunities to continue
to develop as a leader, and to demonstrate competencies in leadership.
In addition to my professional leadership activities, I am very active at my local
church, where I serve as a church elder, board member, school board chairman, and as
Health Ministries Director for the Ohio Conference of Seventh Day Adventists.
As I begin my PhD program in leadership, I have thought about what a leader is,
and what leadership means to me. I believe that leadership must be intentional. I believe
the same thing about art. A thing can be beautiful, but beauty alone does not create art.
Art is created through the intentional action of the artist. In the same way, people can
demonstrate attributes of leadership, but true leadership is only achieved through
intentional action. My personal leadership style is heavily influenced by my fathers
leadership style, which has always been very inclusive. I believe the role of a leader is to
serve the people he or she leads, and to provide his or her team with the resources they
need to be successful.

Part II: Planned Experiences

Philosophical Foundations Leadership functions within the context of multiple
perspectives and understands how individual worldview influences practice
Past Experiences
Planned Experiences
Polaris Leadership training, OR XXXX
OLP 2015 - What Makes a Great Leader
(4h) 1/2015
Linworth Alternitive Progran, 1994-1998
LEAD630 Introduction to Leadership
LEAD636 Issues in Leadership
Andrews Univrsity, 1998-2000
REFLECTION PAPER
Foundations WORLDVIEW PAPER
Mission trip to El Salvador, XXXX
LEAD638 Issues in Leadership Theory
Mission Trip to Guachochi, Mexico 2004

Ethics, Values, and Spirituality Leadership functions from a set of principles and
standards that guides work and relationships
Past Experiences
Planned Experiences
Big Lake Youth Camp, Camper 1988-1993 LEAD 645 Ethical Leadership
Camp Mohaven, 1994-2001

Reflection Paper

Big Lake Youth Camp, Staff 2000-2004

Elder, Worthington SDA Church
Five Soapboxes Sermon 11/2/13
And a Healthy New Year Sermon 2/1/14
Love and Evangelism Sermon 8/1/15
United We Stand Sermon 5/14/16
Learning and Human Development Leadership fosters an understanding of the
principles of learning and commitment to continuous personal, interpersonal, group, and
organizational learning
Past Experiences
Planned Experiences

Master of Science Nursing Education,

Andrews University

Reflection Paper

ACLS Coordinator for Critical Care, OSU

Nurse Education Lecture Series

Effective Communication Leadership fosters effective communication in all internal

and external interactions, to establish and maintain cooperative relationships
Past Experiences
Planned Experiences
RN Leader Development Emotional
Reflection Paper
Intelligence (2.7h CE) 3/2014
James Collaborative Communication Skill- Outstanding Leader Program (OLP), OSU
Building (2h seminar) 11/2014
Five Soapboxes Sermon 11/2/13
And a Healthy New Year Sermon 2/1/14
Love and Evangelism Sermon 8/1/15
United We Stand Sermon 5/14/16
Mentorship Lecture spring 2016

Mentor/coach Leadership promotes relationships that are trust-centered, providing the

kind of empowerment that results in personal and performance improvement torward
satisfying mutual objectives
Past Experiences
Planned Experiences

RN Leader Development Reconnecting

to Passion and Purpose (9h CE) 6/2014
Letters of Support various
Mentorship Lecture Spring 2016

OLP Instilling Accountability (4h)

4/2015
Reflection Paper

Social Responsibility Leadership understands social systems and is accountable to

others and endeavors to see that family, community, and environmental needs are met in
local and, as appropriate, in global ways
Past Experiences
Planned Experiences
Member, Church Board, Worthington SDA Reflection Paper
Church
10TV Health and Fitness Expo 2015
CHIP Coordinator, Worthington SDA
Church
Health Ministries Coordinator, Worthington
SDA Church
Health Ministries Director, Ohio
Conference of SDA
10TV Health and Fitness Expo 2013
WSDA Health and Welness Fair 2014
Resource Development; Human and Financial Leadership appropriately allocates
and manages human and financial resources for healthy and strategic outcomes
Past Experiences
Planned Experiences

RN Leader Development Quality and

Safety (4h CE) 5/2014
Budget Basics lecture by Ryan Walton,
Nursing Business Operations 4/2014

OLP Building an Effective Team (4h)

5/2015
Reflection Paper

Member, Church Board, Worthington SDA

Church
School Board Chairman, Worthington
Adventist Academy

Legal and Policy Issues Leadership applies and understands the scope of a legal and
policy structure appropriate for their field
Past Experiences
Planned Experiences
Nurse Manager, Critical Care, OSU
Reflection Paper

Organizational Behavior, Development, and Culture Leadership understands

personal, group, and inter-group behaviors, and how they impact organizational history,
needs, and goals
Past Experiences
Planned Experiences

RN Leader Development Culture

Shaping (2h CE) 4/2014
RN Leader Development Healthcare
Management (1.7h CE) 4/2014
OSUMC James Expansion 2015

Reflection Paper

Implementing Change Leadership involves working with others in order to

collaboratively shape the vision and strategy for change, as well as being capable of
facilitating the change process
Past Experiences
Planned Experiences
RN Leader Development Innovation
OLP Effective Problem Solving (4h)
(3.7h CE) 5/2014
2/2015
RN Leader Development Blending Two
OLP Leading Change (4h) 3/2015
Specialities: Oncology and Critical Care
Reflection Paper
(1.4h CE) 9/2014
DMAIC Training (8h training) - 9/2014
2014 Ohio Health Ministries Conference

Evaluation and Assessment Leadership uses appropriate evaluation and assessment

tools to make decisions about programs and plans
Past Experiences
Planned Experiences

RN Leadership Development EvidenceBased Management (3.7h CE) 2/2014

RN Leadership Development Feedback
(2h CE) 3/2014
Feedback forms various

Reflection Paper

Reading and Evaluating Research Leadership critiques the adequacy of research

reports, conducts literature reviews using electronic sources, and relates research to the
body of knowledge in their professional field
Past Experiences
Planned Experiences
RN Leader Development Nurse Manager LEAD637 Issues in Research
Series: Evidence Based Management (3.7h
CE) 2/2014
Leadership Dissertation
NRSG

Conducting Research Leadership understands the logic and processes of scientific

inquiry, explains major research methodologies, formulates empirically-driven research
problems, selects appropriate research designs, explains standards for data collection, and
conducts basic data collection and analysis
Past Experiences
Planned Experiences

EDRM505 Research Methods

EDRM611 Applied Statistics
EDRM712 Applied Statistics II
LEAD880 Dissertation Proposal
Development
Leadership Dissertation

Reporting and Implementing Research Leadership adequately communicates

research findings and implements the findings in the workplace
Past Experiences
Planned Experiences
LEAD535 Principles of Academic
Writing
LEAD625 Research Writing Seminar
LEAD899 Doctoral Dissertation
Leadership Dissertation

Leadership References
Attiken, R., & General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists. (2012).
Refreshed: A new paradigm for church leadership.
Barger, J. V. (2008). Step back from the baggage claim: Change the
world, start at the airport. United States: One Love Publishers.
Barker, K. L., & Burdick, D. W. (1995). The NIV study Bible. Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan Pub. House.
Bell, S. (2014). Servants & friends: A biblical theology of leadership.
Cloud, H., & Townsend, J. S. (1992). Boundaries: When to say yes, when
to say no to take control of your life. Grand Rapids, Mich:
Zondervan Pub. House.
Doody, Owen, & Doody, Catriona M. (n.d.). Transformational leadership
in nursing practice. (http://hdl.handle.net/10344/2782.) Mark
Allen Healthcare.
Freed, S. A., Covrig, D. M., & Baumgartner, E. W. (2011). Learning while
leading: The Andrews University Leadership Program. Journal of
Applied Christian Leadership, 5, 1.)
Goldsmith, M., & Reiter, M. (2007). What got you here won't get you
there: How successful people become even more successful.
New York, NY: Hyperion.
Goleman, D. (2000). Leadership That Gets Results. Harvard Business Review, 78, 78-93.
Knight, G. (2006). Philosophy & education: An introduction in Christian perspective (4th
ed.). Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press.
Koloroutis, M. (2004). Relationship-based care: A model for
transforming practice. Minneapolis MN: Creative Health Care
Management.
Kriger, M., & Seng, Y. (2005). Leadership with inner meaning: A contingency theory of
leadership based on the worldviews of five religions. The Leadership Quarterly,
16, 5, 771-806.
Kuppler, T. (2014). Culture Fundamentals 9 Important Insights from Edgar Schein.
Retrieved March 9, 2015, from http://www.cultureuniversity.com/culturefundamentals-9-important-insights-from-edgar-schein/
Lacasse, C. (2013). Developing nursing leaders for the future:
achieving competency for transformational leadership. Oncology
Nursing Forum, 40, 5, 431-3.
Marshall, D. R. (2008). Evidence-based management: the path to best
outcomes. The Journal of Nursing Administration, 38, 5, 205-7.
Martin, R. L. (2007). The opposable mind: How successful leaders win
through integrative thinking. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business
School Press.
Peterson, G. R. (2001). Religion as Orienting Worldview. Zygon, 36, 1, 5-19.
Rath, T. (2007). Strengths finder 2.0. New York: Gallup Press.
Rath, T., & Conchie, B. (2008). Strengths based leadership: Great
leaders, teams, and why people follow. New York: Gallup Press.
Rogers, R.W. (2005). Realizing the promise of performance
management. Bridgeville, PA: DDI Press.

Schlitz, M. M., Vieten, C., & Miller, E. M. (2010). Worldview transformation and the
development of social consciousness. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 17, 1836.
Sire, J. W. (2009). The universe next door: A basic worldview catalog.
Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press.
Sinek, S. (2014). Leaders eat last: Why some teams pull together and
others don't.
Studer, Q., Robinson, B.C., & Cook, K. (2010). The HCAHPS handbook:
Hardwire your hospital for pay-for-performance success. Gulf
Breeze, FL: Fire Starter Pub.
Valk, J., Belding, S., Crumpton, A., Harter, N., & Reams, J. (2011). Worldviews and
leadership: Thinking and acting the bigger pictures. Journal of Leadership
Studies, 5, 2, 54-63.
Wilkens, S., & Sanford, M. L. (2009). Hidden worldviews : eight cultural
stories that shape our lives. Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Academic.
Wilkinson, J. E., Nutley, S. M., & Davies, H. T. (2011). An exploration of
the roles of nurse managers in evidence-based practice
implementation. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing / Sigma
Theta Tau International, Honor Society of Nursing, 8, 4, 236-46.
Williard, D. (2006). The nature and necessity of worldview. Veritas Forum. Retrieved
from www.veritas.org

Part III: The Credit Checklist/Course plan

Dans PhD Course Plan
Spring 2014
LEAD 535

Principles of Academic writing

0
2

Annual Conference
Introduction to Leadership

S
S

Leadership and Learning Plan

Issues in Leadership Foundations

A-

0
1

Annual Conference
Ethical Leadership

S
A

Adv Portfolio Development

DG

2
2

Issues in Leadership Theory

Research Writing Seminar

Annual Conference

Summer 2014
LEAD 600
LEAD 630
Fall 2014
LEAD 635
Spring 2015
LEAD 636
Summer 2015
LEAD 600
LEAD 645
Fall 2015
LEAD 775
Spring 2016
LEAD 638
LEAD 625

I
A

Summer 2016
LEAD 600

Fall 2016
LEAD 637 2
EDRM 605 3
Spring 2017

Isssues in Leadership Research

Qualitative Research Methods

X
X

LEAD 647

Creative Critical Thinking and Prob Solv

Annual Conference
Research Meth Stats II

X
X

Doctoral Dissertation

2
5

Dissertation Proposal Development X

Doctoral Dissertation
X

Doctoral Dissertation

Summer 2017
LEAD 600 0
EDRM 611 2
Fall 2017
LEAD 899
Spring 2018
LEAD 880
LEAD 899
Summer 2018
LEAD 899

Part IV: Annual Competency Progress Plan

2014
This was my first roundtable and leadership conference. I really enjoyed
interacting with other participants and getting a chance to know my professors better. I
was very impressed by the facultys engagement throughout the orientation and
roundtable process. I know from experience that it is quite uncommon in graduate school
to see that level of engagement of faculty in the orientation process of students. I feel
like this commitment to the personalization of the orientation process led to a true
appreciation of the concept of participant-colleague.
During the leadership conference, I met other doctoral students who are in the
same track as me and we formed a Leadership Learning Group (LLG). We are calling
ourselves Global Express because we have group members from all over the world, and
we are all on the express track to graduation. At this time, our plan is to meet every
month via Zoom so that we can record our meetings and refer back to them when
necessary. We have also started a Facebook group where we can interact with eachother
and share resources with other group members.
My plan for the fall is to focus on my LLP and to develop a course plan that will
realistically help me meet my goals. I look forward to interacting with my group
members and meeting back at Andrews in 2015.
2015
At roundtable this year, my group signed off on my LLP, and now I am
focusing on my first two competencies: worldview and ethics. This year, I will try to
complete my core classes, and begin to focus my dissertation topic. I want to begin to

capture my artifacts in LiveText so that I can begin to build my portfolio. By roundtable

2016, I hope to have a least 2 competencies completed, and to have my dissertation topic
ready for approval by my committee.
2016
This year has been a busy year for me. My wife and I had our first child at the
end of Spring semester, and that has brought with it a great many new challenges. I took
an incomplete grade in LEAD 638 so that I could finish my coursework after Palmer was
born. At this point, I have completed all of the coursework and am awaiting a final grade
from Dr. Baumgartner. I am thankful this year especially for my LLG, which has been
supportive and helpful as we have been working together through many of the core
classes for the program. This coming year, all of us are turning our attention to
competencies as a priority. I believe I have the content finished for two of the
competencies, and would like to get them signed off by my LLG at our next meeting in
July.
This year at roundtable, I made the decision to use Weebly to format my portfolio.
After looking at some of the alternatives, including LiveText, I believe Weebly will
provide the best platform. This is tremendously helpful to me personally as at this time
most of my artifacts are in a canvas bag that I carry around with me. Scanning and
uploading these artifacts will help me to get organized and help me to keep track of the
competencies I have finished.
This fall I will take LEAD 637, which will be the last core class needed for my
degree. After the fall semester, I will focus on research courses and competency
completion, and will begin to work on my dissertation.