WGU LZT2: Power, Influence and Leadership

What LZT2: Power, Influence, and Leadership Is Really About

LZT2 is a graduate-level leadership course at Western Governors University built around one central idea: leadership is not a title you are handed, it is influence you learn to exercise responsibly. Instead of memorizing definitions for a multiple-choice test, you study how power actually moves through an organization, how different leadership approaches produce different results, and how skilled leaders manage conflict, drive change, and build engaged teams. You then prove what you have learned by writing about it. The course appears in WGU's management-focused programs, especially IT management and network management tracks, so most students taking it are working adults who already lead people or expect to soon.

Direct answer: LZT2 is passed by completing written performance assessment tasks, not a proctored exam. Read each task prompt and grading rubric line by line, apply real leadership theory (power sources, leadership styles, conflict-management strategies) to the scenario you are given, support your reasoning with properly cited sources, and revise carefully before you submit. Meet every rubric point explicitly and you pass.

Because there is no timed test to cram for, the challenge here is different from a knowledge exam. Success depends on clear analytical writing, genuine understanding of the concepts, and disciplined attention to what the rubric asks. Treat it as a professional deliverable rather than a school assignment and you will be in the right mindset.

Topics the Assessment Draws On

The written tasks ask you to apply a defined set of leadership concepts to a workplace scenario. Based on the course's stated competencies, plan to be comfortable with these areas:

• Leadership approaches and styles — transformational, transactional, situational, and servant leadership, and when each fits a situation.
• Sources and bases of power — legitimate, reward, coercive, expert, and referent power, and the difference between position-based and personal power.
• Influence tactics — how leaders persuade, build coalitions, and gain commitment ethically rather than through manipulation.
• Conflict management — recognizing conflict types and choosing strategies such as collaborating, compromising, accommodating, avoiding, or competing.
• Organizational change and decision making — leading people through change and making sound decisions under uncertainty.
• Engagement, collaboration, and communication — fostering team commitment and using message strategies effectively.
• Organizational culture — how culture shapes and is shaped by leadership behavior.

How Hard Is It, and How Long Should You Plan?

LZT2 is widely considered one of the more approachable courses in its programs, especially for students who already have management experience or who write comfortably. It is a writing course, not a math or coding course, so the difficulty comes from analysis and organization rather than volume of content. Many students report finishing in a few weeks of focused effort, and some complete it faster when they already understand the leadership frameworks going in. Others take longer because their first submission is returned for revision.

The honest bottleneck is the evaluation-and-revision loop. A task that misses a rubric point comes back, and the wait for re-evaluation can add days. So the realistic timeline is less about how fast you write and more about how completely you address the rubric the first time. Plan for a couple of focused weeks: a few days to learn the frameworks, a few days to draft, and time to revise against the rubric before submitting.

If leadership theory is new to you, add reading time up front. The concepts are intuitive once they click, but connecting an abstract theory to a concrete scenario is exactly the skill the assessment measures.

A Study and Writing Plan That Works for This Course

Because LZT2 is assessed by writing, your "studying" and your deliverable are closely linked. Use these course-specific tactics:

• Reverse-engineer the rubric first. Before you read the course material end to end, read the task prompt and rubric. List every "aspect" the evaluator will score. That list becomes the outline for your paper — one section per requirement.
• Build a concept cheat sheet with active recall. Make a one-page map of the five power bases, the main leadership styles, and the conflict-management modes. Then quiz yourself: close it and try to define each and give an example. Retrieval practice makes these easy to deploy when you write.
• Space your learning. Rather than one long cramming block, review your concept map briefly across several days. Spaced repetition cements the frameworks so you are applying them, not re-reading them, when you draft.
• Practice application, not memorization. Take a leadership situation from your own job and write a short paragraph analyzing it through one theory. Doing this two or three times is the closest thing to a "practice test" this course offers, and it is exactly what the tasks require.
• Cite as you draft. The assessment expects properly formatted APA citations for the sources and theories you reference. Add citations while you write instead of bolting them on at the end.
• Use the rubric as a final checklist. Before submitting, reread each rubric item and point to the sentence in your paper that satisfies it. If you cannot point to one, you have found your next revision.

If you also take other management courses, the analytical habits here transfer directly. Guides like D081 Innovative and Strategic Thinking and D370 IT Leadership Foundations reward the same rubric-first discipline.

Mistakes That Send LZT2 Papers Back for Revision

• Describing theory instead of applying it. Explaining what transformational leadership is earns little credit; showing how it would resolve the specific scenario earns the points.
• Skipping a rubric aspect. Evaluators score each required element separately. Miss one and the whole task is returned, even if the rest is excellent.
• Weak or missing citations. Making claims about leadership without APA-formatted support is a common reason for revision requests.
• Writing generically. Answers that could apply to any company signal that you did not engage the given scenario. Tie every point back to the details in the prompt.
• Confusing similar concepts. Mixing up coercive and reward power, or transactional and transformational leadership, undermines the whole analysis. Keep your cheat sheet handy while you write.
• Treating it as an essay contest. Elegant prose does not compensate for an unaddressed requirement. Clarity and completeness beat flourish every time.

LZT2 Readiness Checklist

• Can you name the five bases of power and give a workplace example of each?
• Can you distinguish transformational, transactional, situational, and servant leadership and say when each fits?
• Can you match a conflict situation to an appropriate conflict-management strategy and justify the choice?
• Can you take the assessment scenario and apply a specific theory to it, rather than merely describing the theory?
• Have you turned every rubric aspect into a labeled section of your draft?
• Can you support your claims with credible sources in correct APA format?
• Have you checked each paragraph against the exact wording of the prompt?
• Have you done a final rubric walk-through, pointing to where each requirement is met?
• Is your writing professional, organized, and free of grammar issues that would distract an evaluator?

FAQ

Is LZT2 an objective assessment or a performance assessment?

LZT2 is assessed by a written performance assessment. You submit one or more papers that are evaluated against a rubric; there is no proctored, multiple-choice objective exam for this course.

How long does LZT2 usually take to finish?

Many students complete it within a few weeks of focused effort, and experienced managers or strong writers sometimes move faster. The main variable is whether your first submission meets every rubric point or comes back for revision.

Is LZT2 hard?

Most students find it manageable because it rewards clear thinking and writing rather than heavy technical content. The difficulty lies in applying leadership theory precisely to a scenario and covering every rubric requirement, not in the concepts themselves.

What is the best way to prepare?

Read the rubric first, build a one-page map of power bases, leadership styles, and conflict strategies, practice applying them to real situations, and cite your sources in APA as you draft. Then check your paper against the rubric before submitting.

Do I need prior leadership experience to pass?

No, but it helps. If you already manage people, you will have ready examples to analyze. If you do not, spend extra time up front learning the frameworks and use realistic scenarios so your application feels concrete.

Where can I find official course details?

Check your program of study and course page inside the WGU student portal for the current task prompts and rubric, and the university's program pages at WGU Business Programs. You can also browse related study guides on our School of Business hub or the full guide index.