Sullivan College of Technology and Design Leadership and Obstacles Discussion

What should leaders do when the obstacles faced by group members are of a personal nature and not directly related to the group efforts? Is there a preferred leadership style in these situations? Explain.

MY ANSWER:

When a group member gets into some challenges that are personal and are not related to the group‘s efforts, leaders are supposed to be there for members, emotionally and personally. When members are faced with obstacles resulting from something that happened in their personal lives, leaders are supposed to act like their friends.Problems of a personal nature require the help of friends and trusted ones. Trying to offer comfort and solace to the member as a leader doesn‘t always help themovercome their challenge. Reminding them that you are their leader and wishing to recover quickly can be interpreted as pressure to return to work. When confronted with work–related pressure, the chances are that the individuals might have their situation worse than it was. In situations like this, there are no preferred leadership styles.When such situations arise, leaders shouldn‘t always assume the role of leadership. The best a leader can do in such a situation is to be as humane as possible and act as a friend rather than a leader(Northouse, 2018). Having someone with authority as a friend rather than in their authoritative capacity increases one‘s confidence in individuals and increases their chances of recovering quickly.

Northouse, P. G. (2018). Introduction to leadership: Concepts and practice. (Vol. 12). Los Angeles: Sage.

REPLY TO THREE POST! 150 word responses per post. Please make the responses relatable to my response.

Response 1
Zarah, When group members gave obstacles that are of personal nature and do not related to the group efforts, the leader should begin to work on their path-goal leadership. This suggests that the leader should choose a style best fitting the needs of the individuals with in the group and the type of work they are doing (Northouse, 2018). The leader should be able to assist the group members in defining their goals and how they would like to reach them. This is important because the individual may need some guidance when deciding how to go about hitting their goals. There are many obstacles on the road to achieving goals. According to Northouse (2018), these obstacles include unclear goals, unclear directions, low motivation, complex tasks, simple tasks, low involvement and lack of change. Northouse (2018) gives a different leader ship style with each obstacle. I believe that the most important leadership style would be directive leader ship because one needs to take charge and clarify their path to the goal they have in mind. It’s important for the leader to be able to do this so that the group members can grow and prosper in their role.

Response 2

Stephanie, In most professional environments there is no requirement to like or prefer the people surrounding you on a personal level. Although they must tolerate each other, personal differences must be set aside. It’s not likely that a leader will click with each person in their group, although they should be able to set those differences aside. Both participative and supportive leadership would be important for this type of situation. People want to feel heard and like their work is leading to an expected goal or outcome. “The supportive leadership enhances talking about personal things that are important to that person and cares for the well-being and needs of each individual in the group” (Northouse, 2017, p. 310) . Discussing things on a more personal level definitely enhances the environment and may actually open up similarities in the leader and group that were not initially noticed. It also will help to break the barriers in communication that tend to be present with different personality types. While they may not completely prefer each other, understanding their background and perspective may enhance that new found relationship. I personally find that when my boss and I are able to talk and I feel that I am supported by them that I do better work. It also encourages me to put more effort into my work and take on tasks that initially may not have been required of me.

Response 3

Jessica, When personal problems and the issues generally differ from the members of a group it is important for the leader to emphasize on the transformational leadership. It is important to emphasize that “transformational” leaders bring change and assists team members to have a vision and work as per the vision. I think transformational leadership is a leadership style that can inspire positive changes in those who follow, and would be useful for this case. Transformational leaders are generally energetic, enthusiastic, and passionate. These types of leaders are concerned and involved in the process and they are also focused on helping every member of the group succeed as well. This element is key to the question at hand. With this leadership approach the individual can be focused on. The leader should take time to analyze and develop a solution for the problem at hand.