Suki Andrews supervises a unit of sales representatives at Listo Systems. Recently, there have been problems. Customers have complained that her sales officers are not completing invoice orders quickly enough. Other daily tasks have also been neglected and performance numbers have shown a steep decline.
Suki called the sales representatives into a meeting and listed the problems that were occurring. After limited discussion, she reminded them that their unresponsiveness and omissions could result in major financial hardships for the company through a loss of sales and customers. She reviewed the schedule for daily tasks and invoice procedures. She added that she would be monitoring the invoices and daily tasks and would follow-up on any complaints from customers in the next week by meeting with the sales officer responsible for that invoice.
Answer the following questions:
- What are some of Suki’s actions that indicate task behavior?
- Is Suki’s level of task behavior high or low? Why?
- Which of Suki’s actions indicated relationship behavior?
- Is Suki’s level of relationship behavior high or low? Why?
- Which leadership style was Suki using (S1, S2, S3, or S4)?
- Did Suki’s leadership style match what was needed in the situation? Why or why not?
Identifying Power
For our look into the concept of power, we’ll revisit Cami and a few previous exercises. As you may remember, Cami has worked with Listo Systems for eight years and has been charged with implementing a new “black box” security system. This process has involved significant changes in information flow, created people issues, and has called out the need for mass training throughout the organization. The way in which Cami uses her power can either help or hinder her attempts to resolve the people issues and get buy-in from the trainers.
Answer the following questions:
- Based on information from previous exercises, what types of power does Cami have which she can utilize given her current situation?
- How can she use these power bases to help influence the trainers and Listo staff rather than hinder her efforts?