Identify the Combination of Leadership style, role, and traits that would be best for the following situations:
A company with routine and unskilled job functions.
A company with dangerous job functions (toxic waste handling or heavy equipment operation).
A company preparing to disrupt an existing market with ground-breaking technology.
A company preparing for an IPO
Answers
Assignment: Leadership and Management
Scenario
When you joined Workplace Solutions Consulting three years ago, you were required to participate in an intensive interview process. After going through preliminary interviews with individuals of the same rank/title and a manager-level person in your division, you then met with the Director of the Consulting division. Everyone you met thus far from the organization seemed smart, outgoing, and friendly.
Apparently the interview process had gone well as you were then scheduled to meet with company executives and officers. First, the VP of Customer Service, then the CFO, and finally the CEO of Workplace Solutions Consulting. The VP of Customer Service seemed highly meticulous in her interview questions, asking for detail behind every answer to her questions. She posed scenario questions to you regarding situations in which she was involved with tasks assigned on a daily basis.
Then you met with the CFO. He was a graduate of one of the nation’s military academies (it was apparent from the office decorations and diplomas). His questions carried implication regarding your self-organization. Do you make daily lists? How do you prioritize your lists? How do you keep your calendar? He even asked to see your daily planner.
Finally it was time to meet with the CEO. After the interviews with the VP and the CFO, you could only imagine what you were getting into with the company’s top leader. When you sat down with the person who had built this incredible company, imagine your surprise when he turned out to be the most pleasant, genuine, thoughtful, and enthusiastic individual you had ever met. He explained that his job as CEO was to ensure that every employee had what they needed to succeed. He told me that if you were hired, he would be working for you. You could not sign up fast enough to join his company!
Your Task
Part I
What a variety of leadership styles, roles, and traits—and all in one interview process! Which interviewer do you think you would work best with? Why do you prefer the leadership styles, roles, and traits they demonstrated?
Part II
What combination of leadership style, role, and trait would be best for the following business situations:
A company with routine and unskilled job functions.
A company with dangerous job functions (toxic waste handling or heavy equipment operation).
A company preparing to disrupt an existing market with ground-breaking technology.
A company preparing for an IP