A Leaders Role

A Leaders Role KB Washington University of Phoenix Leading Organizational Development in the Public Sector LDR/532 Lana Kains December 17, 2012

Case Scenario Consultants are often used to help people in leadership roles consider best practices and strategies for maximum growth for their teams and ultimately the company. In this case, the consultant must consider Joans issue with Joe, one of her assistants. Joan is one of many module managers for Social Security Administration. She is responsible for the management of close to 40 employees including her two assistants. According to the case notes, Joe is very intelligent, talented, and younger than most Assistant Module Manager (AMMs). His knowledge of the work and technical details is extremely promising and has excellent prospects to move up to become MM and beyond that. Joe, however, is arrogant in his dealings with the workers in the module. He talks down to people and treats them curtly and rudely. He behaves as if he deserves more special treatment and attention than the module members because he is an AMM. (Rainey, n.d.). Joe Before reviewing Joans leadership and ways she can motivate her team, a review of Joe is the best place to begin. Joe is dealing with several major issues personally: Spouse with long-term illness facing serious operation Two children in car accident, one now seriously disabled as a result Unwillingness to connect with peers and those he manages

This is an employee that is dealing with a tremendous amount of personal stress coupled with his unwillingness to build positive work relationships with those who he believes are not important to his growth and promotion. Joe has shown he has the capability of being a positive team player because of his behavior in meetings with upper management. However, he continues to show no concern for the employees he manages and has made work relations with his peers

unbearable to the point that they are considering transferring to another department. Joan, his manager, has not been able to motivate him to change in their one-on-one meetings. Joans leadership and motivation style Joan is responsible for the entire team including the two assistants that work with her to ensure that their module is meeting their departmental and company goals. One of her roles is to help identify new leaders from within her ranks. It is unclear if Joan promoted Joe into the AMM position; however, it is likely that Joes behavior was already evident prior to his promotion to assistant manager. It is possible that he hid his true behavior because he was seeking a management position. Joan has been compounded with issue after issue concerning Joes treatment toward his co-workers and those he is responsible for managing. Although Joan has talked with Joe individually, she has not taken as active a role as needed to help Joe realize the seriousness of his behavior and actions. It appears none of their conversations were warnings or documented to his file. Additionally, it appears that he has been allowed to say and do as he pleases with no immediate accountability except the one-on-one conversations. During the individual conversations with Joe, Joan has noted his insubordination and his unwillingness to make any of the changes that have been asked of him regarding his behavior. Joan has been extremely passive with Joe. Her leadership style has been nonexistent and her attempts to motivate Joe have failed. Conflict Conflict is most often caused by differing ideas about a specific topic or matter that requires agreement and/or consensus by two or more people. According to Rainey (2010) Lawrence and Lorsch (1967), in their seminal study of organizational design processes, found high levels of conflict in very effective organizations and very high investments in managing

rather than avoiding conflict (p. 368). When conflict is managed appropriately it can help improve teamwork overall. Some of the major or more common sources of conflict include: poor communication, lack or unwillingness to accept differing value systems, fighting for personal goals and ignoring organizational goals and company well-being, scarce resources, personality clashes, poor performance, and cultural and background differences. Recommendations It is evident that Joan must take a more active role in helping Joe come to terms with his behavior as an employee of their organization. Before Joe can aspire to higher levels of management he must first understand the organizations policies for conduct. Strategies to assist Joe should include: Required reading or retake of intranet modules on companys code of ethics and any and all conduct training. A period of probation. Joe must understand his behavior is jeopardizing his career with the organization. At the performance review, rate him accordingly on his work, however, explain to him clearly that his unwillingness to be a team player and work positively with his team and co-workers are the reasons that hinder him from advancing. Intellect and knowledge of the work is definitely needed, but they must be coupled with care and concern for everyone. He must embrace that no one is beneath him and manage others accordingly.

Employee Assistance Programs offer counseling free of charge. Although a manager cannot make participation a mandate, it should be strongly suggested.

During his probation, he should be allowed to manage a smaller team to see how hes progressing. He should be closely monitored and all decisions should be cleared through Joan first.

Regular coaching must be included, and not with Joan only. Twice a month for only an hour, Joe should be able to discuss his challenges, victories, and discuss any issues he may have. The coach can provide strategies and provide an outlet for Joe. This is a session that could be done over lunch as well.

In addition, Joan should be required to take some leadership classes to assist her in learning better employee management strategies. Ultimately, Joe must see that his behavior must change. Joan must clearly explain to Joe that the strategies above are set in place to help him succeed so he can attain his goal which is to move up in the organization.

Resources Rainey, H. G. (n.d.) The case of Joe the jerk (or, the very capable jerk). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Rainey, H. G. (2009). Understanding and Managing Public Organizations (4th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection Database.