Getting the Message

After reading chapter 5, "Situational Approach" in Northouse, I was struck by the simplicity of how leadership style can be applied to different situations based on what the situation calls for. It seems easy enough; evaluate what is going on and figure out what needs to be done. I was especially interested in the final case assessment involving Ann Caldera and her college radio situation. In this particular example, Ann is concerned with why her employees seem to not be able to grasp the rules of the station and, more importantly, the rules of FCC appropriate airtime communications. The case example states that Ann always gives her employees a handout explaining the policies and procedures of the station. She also tries, according to the text, to get to know her employees on a personal level. So far this situation, to me, seems to be a little faulty.

One of the things that I think Ann is doing wrong starts with her handout. It is well and good to have documented rules and regulations when starting a new job but, honestly, who is to say that all her employees are reading this? At past jobs I have had I rarely read through the entire policy manuals that were given to me. At times I would read the sections that were of interest to me (especially the dress code) but many times there were a lot of things in these manuals that I felt were either "boring" or felt did not apply to me. Maybe, in this example, Ann's employees feel the same way. She comes off as being "the nicest adviser on campus" but it seems to me that she is putting too much faith in their competence and is relying too much on the "low supportive-low directive" Situational Leadership II (SLII) model. In this model, Ann is "[lessening] involvement in planning, control of details, and goal clarification" by doing so (Northouse 92).

It is my opinion that, in this situation, Ann would do better by sitting down with her employees and going through her handout with her employees as a group. This way she can explain the details further and allow her employees to ask questions, get clarification, or offer input. She is nice, sure, but she needs to be more involved in her employees training and refrain from "[letting] them do what they want at the station" (102). Her employees, and her station, would seem to benefit more if she were to adapt the coaching approach; she should be using a "high directive-high supportive" style of leadership. This way, Ann maintains her personal appeal to her employees but also "focuses communication on...achieving goals" (91). She still supports her team socially, but will also be supervising them carefully and gives them clear instructions about what and how the goals of the station are to be achieved.