Leadership Management example essay topic

Case Study Paper On Leadership Development Francis B. Smith October 28, 2003 Problem I am currently employed by a fortune 500 Company as Manager of Customer Service. My immediate Manager is Sue Clark, who is Director of Administration and she is highly experienced in the Records Management industry. The problem with her is that she lacks people skills and this is affecting her leadership ability. She's very competent and her input is highly valuable to the daily operations of the business. She has over 10 years experience in the Information and Records Management industry, and has established a reputation that exceeds our expectations.

She is valuable to the organization, we don't want to lose her, but she comes across a bit condescending. She can be short and rude at times. She's very impatient, and she has been known to be defensive and rules with an iron fist (It's either my way, or you can forget it). It is important to provide constructive criticism; it is definitely needed in this case. Recommendation Poor Management skill is a disaster waiting to happen. Once detected upper management should discuss and provide support to the manager / executive in question.

After coaching, the progress should be monitored to make certain retraining is not necessary. It is my opinion that management must be people oriented, open-minded, understanding and willing to listen. The above Executive must make the appropriate changes, if not her career will be at risk because no matter how knowledgeable she is, her people skills must be up to standard. This is what management should be and must continue to foster. Ms. Clark should meet with her direct reports and peers to discuss the issues. The information gathered from the survey will be shared with her, this includes what was heard, and started to discuss how impressions get formed, especially unintended impressions.

We could either have the Executive's boss provide counseling or we could do further research to gain additional insight on the extent of the situation. But because Ms. Clark understood the frustrations out there, she became the motivator behind the change process. The agreement was to do further research to gain additional insight. Focus for Analysis o The challenge to overcome is to help her refine her communication style to come across more open to new ideas and inviting of other opinions. o To value the positive influence of diverse cultural and gender perspectives on organization effectiveness and to develop a global outlook; o To become conversant with a wide variety of leadership models and be able to select appropriate models to meet existing needs; o To understand effective interpersonal communication and master organizational functions of written and oral communication; o Most importantly achieving the above will motivate her staff in making them feel comfortable to have an open conversation with her. The alternative solution and the solution I believe is best is a suggestion to have the Ms. Clark take a leadership development class.

The recommended program consists of the fact that leaders in supervisory and administrative positions need a variety of human and conceptual skills. They use planning, communicating, problem solving, and decision-making to guide the efforts of individuals and groups to achieve organizational goals. The program is designed to impart the theories, tools and techniques that make such leadership effective. It focuses on in-depth understanding of human behavior, development of leadership skills for multiple applications, and adapting leadership models to the changing organizational settings of the twenty first century. On the other hand, (opposing view point), if Ms. Clark had become adamant about opening up, refusing to accept new ideas, failing to accommodate others opinions, and not willing to apply herself, she would not have been able to overcome the obstacles that were negatively affecting her career and that of her employees. After Ms. Clark takes the recommended class she will be able to defined her style, she will be much more approachable, understanding and open minded.

Her behavior will change and her employees will be much more relaxed and upbeat. The change will also play a positive role in her career because her superiors will notice the difference. She herself will be surprised by the change, as the morale in her employees will increase tremendously. The turn over level in her direct reports will drop. She will find that her communication skills will improve in all areas. Solution As a result of interviews with her direct reports, and about six of her peers, it was determined that she is lacking strength in her communication style, leadership presence, managerial style, and credibility.

By collecting feedback from seniors, peers and direct reports, we will be able to get a well-rounded objective version of the concern. Next, all notes will be complied and conducted a qualitative analysis. This will focus on key areas that were of concern to her peer's and subordinates. It will bring out issues of abruptness and condescension. I am one of those employees who will deliberately stay away from her unless I absolutely have to approach her for any reason. The research will also allow the discovery themes of micromanagement, closed-mindedness, and a personal agenda.

Even though these impressions might not have being intentional, they are there. The behaviors that were being displayed to send out these negative impressions will be pinpointed. Since Ms Clark understood the need to change her behavior and has been willing to try new approaches to develop more flexibility. This means that she is open to accepting feedback that will help her develop her leadership and impact. Conclusion I view the program as a means to further enhance ones leadership skills. The programs philosophy of integrity, competence, and vision makes it valuable and worthwhile.

Another benefit is that everyone within organization will feel comfortable in his or her dealings with Ms. Clark. One of the policies in place is "open door policy"; this change makes it very effective. Work Cited web web web Analysis of my Readers My readers are top executives within the organization. The Executives were fully aware of the situation; they were concerned that one of their colleagues was having a negative effect on the performance of peers and direct reports.

Their viewpoint was to have the problem solved as soon as possible, even if the outcome was to terminate the executive. The recommended solution will achieve a positive outcome because Ms Clark will still be employed by the organization, which is my purpose. Self Evaluation This class has taught me to embrace all types of writing formats, addressing various topics of interests. I have found that my usual, formal, textbook-like, style of writing is anything but fitting for the leadership management topic that I have described.

I have found that I have had to push my writing to become a much more personal - a concept that I possibly took too far in this leadership paper. What I have found, is that because leadership management is such a personal thing for me, it must be discussed in the manner in which I did, as depicted above. I love how the introduction paragraphs appear catchy and the writing throughout it is witty and enjoyable. This class has been very rewarding thus far I feel that I have become much more confident as a writer. I feel like what I am writing has importance and that my opinions are valid and personal. In the past, I have always considered myself a weak writer, but just by the sheer amount of writing that we have done this semester, I feel that my ability to write and convey opinions has grown leaps and bounds.

I hope to continue to grow as a writer throughout the semester.