WGU C200 Task 1 Guide and Example: Personal Leadership Evaluation

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WGU C200 Task 1 Guide and Example: Personal Leadership Evaluation

WGU C200 Task 1 requires you to complete the CliftonStrengths assessment, reflect on your five signature themes, evaluate your leadership using a scholarly theory, and set two SMART goals with specific action steps; all in a 6–10 page paper with APA citations. This guide walks through every rubric section with clear instructions and an annotated sample you can study before writing your own.

Task 1 is your first WGU MBA submission. Most students underestimate how specific the rubric is; it is not a personal essay about your leadership philosophy. It is a structured analytical document that must address each rubric competency explicitly. The guide below shows you exactly what that means.

See also the WGU C200 Task 2 guide for the organization and leadership evaluation.

What Is WGU C200 Task 1?

WGU C200 Task 1 is the Personal Leadership Evaluation, a written performance assessment requiring you to reflect on your CliftonStrengths results, apply a scholarly leadership theory to your own leadership style, identify a personal leadership weakness, and develop two SMART goals to address areas for growth.

C200 (Managing Organizations and Leading People) is typically one of the first courses in the WGU MBA program. It is PA-only — there is no proctored exam. Both tasks are evaluated by WGU assessors against a detailed rubric using the Competent / Not Yet Competent framework.

What Does the C200 Task 1 Rubric Require?

The C200 Task 1 rubric evaluates four core sections:

• Section A — CliftonStrengths Reflection: Attach your Signature Themes PDF and reflect on all five themes, explaining what each reveals about your leadership.
• Section B — Leadership Theory Evaluation: Select one scholarly leadership theory and evaluate your leadership against it — covering your strengths, a weakness, and recommendations for improvement.
• Section C — SMART Goals: Discuss two short-term SMART goals that will help improve your leadership, with at least two specific action steps for each.
• Section D — Sources and Citations: APA in-text citations and a reference list for all quoted, paraphrased, or summarized content.

Download your current rubric from the WGU student portal; it is the authoritative guide.

Step 1: Complete the CliftonStrengths Assessment

The CliftonStrengths assessment is a required prerequisite for Task 1 — you cannot write the reflection without completing it first.

Access the assessment through your WGU course materials. It takes approximately 30–45 minutes and generates a Signature Themes report listing your top five strengths from 34 possible themes. Save the PDF immediately — you must attach it to your Task 1 submission.

Common CliftonStrengths themes WGU MBA students encounter include:

• Achiever — strong drive and work ethic; satisfaction from productivity
• Strategic — ability to spot patterns and plan multiple paths forward
• Learner — excitement about the learning process; continuous improvement orientation
• Relator — deep, trusting relationships; preference for known over unknown
• Responsibility — strong ownership of commitments; psychological sense of accountability
• Futuristic — inspiration from visions of the future; energizing others with that vision
• Connectedness — belief that all things are connected; bridge-builder across groups
• Restorative — energized by solving problems and reviving struggling situations

How to Write the CliftonStrengths Reflection (Section A)

Reflect on all five themes — not just define them. The most common Task 1 revision trigger in Section A is describing what a theme means rather than analyzing what it reveals about your specific leadership.

For each of your five themes, write two to four sentences covering:

1. What this theme means in the CliftonStrengths framework (one sentence max)
2. How this theme shows up in your actual professional behavior — with a specific example
3. What this theme indicates about your leadership strengths or tendencies

Weak reflection (triggers revision): “Achiever means I work hard and am productive.”

Strong reflection (rubric-aligned): “My Achiever theme manifests as a consistent drive to set and exceed daily productivity targets — in my current role as a charge nurse, I rarely end a shift without ensuring every patient documentation task is completed and handed off clearly, even when that extends my shift. This theme indicates that I am a high-output leader who sets a strong pace for team performance, though it also signals a risk of pushing team members to a standard that not everyone can sustain without adequate support.”

Notice the structure: what it is → how it shows up → what it means for leadership.

How to Choose Your Leadership Theory (Section B)

Choose the theory that best fits your actual leadership behavior — not the one that sounds most impressive.

The seven WGU-approved theories for C200 Task 1:

For healthcare professionals, transformational and servant leadership are natural fits and well-supported by nursing and healthcare leadership literature. For business and operations professionals, situational and participative are often the strongest match.

How to Write the Leadership Theory Evaluation (Section B)

The rubric requires you to evaluate your leadership using the chosen theory — meaning you apply the theory to your own behavior, not just describe the theory.

Structure your Section B as follows:

B1 — Theory Overview (brief): Define the theory in two to three sentences with an APA citation. Do not spend more than a paragraph on this.

B2 — How the theory applies to your leadership strengths: Give two to three specific examples of your leadership behavior that align with the theory. Each example should reference a real situation (with names changed if needed) and connect explicitly to the theory’s core principles.

B3 — Your leadership weakness through the lens of the theory: Identify one meaningful gap between your current leadership behavior and the theory’s ideal. Be specific — “I sometimes struggle with communication” is not a weakness analysis. “My Achiever drive causes me to delegate infrequently, which conflicts with transformational leadership’s emphasis on developing follower autonomy and intrinsic motivation” is a rubric-aligned weakness analysis.

B4 — Recommendations for improvement: Two to three actionable recommendations for how you will close the gap between your current leadership and the theory’s ideal. These should connect directly to your SMART goals in Section C.

How to Write Your SMART Goals (Section C)

Two SMART goals are required — each must satisfy all five SMART criteria and include at least two specific action steps.

The goals must be short-term (achievable within 6–12 months) and must relate to improving your leadership based on the weakness you identified in Section B.

SMART criteria applied to a leadership goal:

Goal 1: Within six months, I will increase the frequency with which I formally delegate complex tasks to my team by implementing a weekly delegation planning session every Monday morning, measured by tracking the number of tasks delegated versus self-completed in a shared team log.

• S: Increase formal delegation of complex tasks
• M: Weekly delegation log tracking tasks delegated vs. self-completed
• A: Current role provides direct reports and task volume sufficient to practice delegation weekly
• R: Addresses the Achiever-driven under-delegation weakness identified in my transformational leadership analysis
• T: Six months from submission date

Action steps for Goal 1:

1. Create a Google Sheet delegation tracker by end of Week 1 and share with my supervisor for accountability.
2. Attend one workshop or complete one LinkedIn Learning course on delegation skills within the first 30 days.

Write both goals with the same level of specificity. A goal that says “become a better communicator” will trigger a revision request for lack of specificity and measurability.

APA Citations in C200 Task 1

Every leadership theory claim must be cited. WGU assessors check that your theoretical framework is supported by a scholarly source — not just stated from memory.

Minimum citation requirements for Task 1:

• The leadership theory you selected: cite the original theorist or a peer-reviewed source that defines the theory
• Any specific model, framework, or research finding you reference
• CliftonStrengths theme descriptions if you quote or paraphrase them directly

Acceptable sources: peer-reviewed journal articles, published books, WGU library articles, and scholarly publications from recognized institutions. Wikipedia and general websites do not qualify as scholarly sources.

APA format example for a journal article:

Bass, B. M., & Riggio, R. E. (2006). Transformational leadership (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Common C200 Task 1 Revision Triggers

• CliftonStrengths reflection that defines themes rather than analyzing what they reveal about your leadership. Assessors want personal application, not textbook definitions.
• Leadership theory section that describes the theory without evaluating your own behavior against it. The rubric requires evaluation, not explanation.
• Weakness identified as too minor or generic — “I sometimes work too hard” or “I could communicate better” are not substantive leadership weaknesses.
• SMART goals missing one or more criteria — especially measurability (no metric stated) or time-bound element (no specific deadline).
• Action steps that are vague — “I will read books about leadership” is not a specific action step. “I will read The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni and summarize three leadership takeaways in my journal by March 31″ is specific.
• Missing or incorrectly formatted APA citations — all leadership theory claims need in-text citations.

Annotated Sample: WGU C200 Task 1

This sample is provided for educational reference only. Do not submit this document as your own work. Need a custom Task 1 written for your CliftonStrengths results? Message us on WhatsApp: +1 564-544-6924

Sample CliftonStrengths Reflection (Section A)

[Note: In your submission, attach your actual Signature Themes PDF. The five themes below are illustrative — yours will differ.]

Theme 1 — Achiever The Achiever theme reflects a constant internal drive for productivity and the deep satisfaction that comes from accomplishment (Gallup, 2023). In my role as a Nursing Unit Supervisor at Regional Medical Center, this theme appears in my daily practice of completing all shift documentation before handoff and my tendency to stay late when the team is short-staffed rather than leaving tasks unfinished. As a leader, Achiever signals that I model high standards and work ethic — but it also indicates a risk of setting an unsustainable pace for team members who do not share the same output drive.

Theme 2 — Relator Relator describes a preference for close, trusted relationships over broad, shallow networks (Gallup, 2023). I have consistently built deep working relationships with my direct reports over time — I know their career goals, their family situations, and what motivates each person at work. This depth makes me a trusted sounding board for my team and strengthens retention. The leadership implication is that I lead best in stable team environments where relationships have time to develop, and may need to be more intentional about building rapport when working with new team members or cross-functional partners.

Theme 3 — Strategic The Strategic theme describes the ability to quickly sort through complexity and find the optimal path forward (Gallup, 2023). In practice, this shows up in my ability to manage competing priorities on a busy surgical unit — when three patients need simultaneous attention, I instinctively map the decision tree and direct resources to the highest-acuity need. As a leadership quality, Strategic enables clear-headed decision-making under pressure, though it can also make me impatient with colleagues who need more time to process decisions before acting.

Theme 4 — Responsibility Responsibility in the CliftonStrengths framework reflects a deep psychological ownership of commitments made to others (Gallup, 2023). I rarely miss a commitment to my team or my patients, and I hold myself accountable at a standard that sometimes exceeds institutional expectations. This quality builds trust with my team and administrator — people know I will deliver what I promise. The risk is taking on more accountability than is sustainable without adequate delegation.

Theme 5 — Learner The Learner theme reflects a love of the learning process itself — not just acquiring credentials, but the intellectual excitement of studying new ideas (Gallup, 2023). The WGU MBA itself is a direct expression of this theme. As a leader, Learner means I am frequently the first on my team to understand and implement new clinical protocols or technology tools. It also means I sometimes invest more time in learning than in executing, which requires awareness to manage.

Sample Leadership Theory Evaluation (Section B)

Theory: Transformational Leadership

Transformational leadership is a theory of leadership that emphasizes the leader’s ability to inspire followers to transcend their self-interest for a higher collective purpose, developing followers’ intrinsic motivation, moral reasoning, and capacity for leadership themselves (Bass & Riggio, 2006). The theory identifies four dimensions of transformational leadership: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration.

Strengths as a Transformational Leader:

My Relator and Responsibility themes align closely with the individualized consideration dimension of transformational leadership — the degree to which a leader attends to each follower’s individual needs and supports their development. In practice, I conduct monthly one-on-one meetings with each of my seven direct reports focused on their career goals rather than operational tasks, which has contributed to a team retention rate of 87% over the past two years against a unit average of 68%.

My Strategic theme supports the inspirational motivation dimension — the ability to articulate a compelling vision that energizes followers. When our unit was transitioning to a new EHR system, I communicated the long-term efficiency benefits to the team in terms of patient care outcomes rather than administrative compliance, which improved voluntary participation in training sessions by 34%.

Leadership Weakness:

My primary gap relative to transformational leadership theory is in the intellectual stimulation dimension — the degree to which a leader challenges followers to question assumptions and develop their own problem-solving capacity. My Achiever and Responsibility themes drive me toward resolving problems quickly and personally, rather than using problems as development opportunities for team members. This pattern reduces my team’s growth in independent decision-making, which is a core objective of transformational leadership.

Burns (1978) argues that transformational leaders create more transformational leaders — but my tendency to resolve issues directly limits the conditions under which my team develops that capacity.

Recommendations:

1. Implement a structured “pause and delegate” practice: when a solvable problem arises, wait 24 hours before resolving it personally to determine whether a team member could lead the resolution with coaching support.
2. Introduce monthly case-based team discussions where clinical scenarios are presented without my input first, creating space for team members to develop analytical reasoning before I weigh in.

Sample SMART Goals (Section C)

Goal 1: Improve Delegation Frequency

Within six months of this submission (by [DATE]), I will increase the proportion of complex clinical problem-resolution tasks delegated to team members from an estimated 20% to at least 50%, measured by a weekly delegation log I will maintain and review with my supervisor monthly.

• Action Step 1: Create a Google Sheets delegation tracker by the end of Week 1, with columns for task type, delegation decision (yes/no), reason, and outcome. Share access with my supervisor for monthly review accountability.
• Action Step 2: Complete the LinkedIn Learning course “Delegating Tasks to Your Team” (2.5 hours) within the first 30 days to build a structured framework for identifying which tasks are appropriate to delegate versus retain.

Goal 2: Develop Intellectual Stimulation Practices

Within four months of this submission (by [DATE]), I will implement a structured monthly case-based team discussion session, facilitated without my direct input for the first 20 minutes, measured by team participation rates and documented in meeting notes shared with my supervisor.

• Action Step 1: Design a facilitation guide for the first three monthly sessions by the end of Month 1, drawing on Bass and Riggio’s (2006) intellectual stimulation framework to structure the discussion format.
• Action Step 2: Survey team members after each session (anonymous Google Form) to measure their self-reported confidence in independent problem-solving, using those results to adjust the format each month.

Frequently Asked Questions About WGU C200 Task 1

Do I have to use my real name and employer in C200 Task 1?

You must use your actual CliftonStrengths results — the Signature Themes PDF attached to your submission must match your assessment. For professional examples, you may use real experiences but change identifying names (employer, colleagues, patients). Using a real organization name is acceptable if you are comfortable with it; using “Company X” or “Regional Medical Center” as a fictional placeholder is also fine.

What if I don’t like my CliftonStrengths results?

The CliftonStrengths assessment reflects patterns in how you naturally think and behave — there are no “bad” results. Assessors evaluate the quality of your reflection, not the specific themes you received. Strong responses have been written about every combination of themes.

How long should C200 Task 1 be?

WGU suggests 6–10 pages. Most passing submissions fall in the 7–9 page range. Length matters less than rubric completeness — if every section is substantively addressed, 7 pages will pass. If Section B is thin, 12 pages will not.

Which leadership theory is easiest to write about?

There is no objectively “easiest” theory — the best choice is the one that genuinely matches your leadership style, because authentic examples are more convincing than forced ones. That said, transformational and servant leadership are the most widely published, making it easier to find APA-cited scholarly sources to support your analysis.

How many scholarly sources do I need?

The rubric requires citations wherever content is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized. Most passing submissions include three to six references — at minimum, one for your leadership theory definition, one or two for specific theoretical claims, and the Gallup source for CliftonStrengths theme descriptions.

Author Bio

This guide was developed by the Gradevia academic content team — specialists in WGU MBA curriculum, leadership development frameworks, and performance assessment standards for working adult learners.

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