Question

I need new and unique answers, please. (Use your own words, don't copy and paste), Please Use your keyboard (Don't use handwriting) Thank you..

You should read more in leadership styles, skills, and theories to answer these questions. You should support your answers with some evidence such as journals articles or books, Do NOT use newspapers, websites or any other sources that are not reliable.

​Sara is the associate director of a nonprofit institution that provides assistance to family and individual. She is the head of a department that focuses on evaluating the skill-building programs the institutionprovides to families. She reports directly to the institution leadership. As a whole, the institution has been cautious in hiring this year because of increased the financial issues. However, they have also suffered high staff turnover. Two directors, three key research staff, and one staff person from the finance department have left.

Sara has a demanding schedule that requires frequent travel; however, she supervises two managers who in turn are responsible for five staff members each. Both managers have been appointed within the last six months.

Manager 1: Reem has a specific background in research. She manages staff who provide research support to another department that delivers behavioral health services to youth. Reem supports her staff and is very organized; however, she often takes a very black and white view of issues. Upper level leadership values Reem’s latest research on the therapeutic division’s services. Reem is very motivated and driven and expects the same from her staff.

Manager 2: Lia has a strong background in social science research and evaluation. She manages staff that work on different projects within the institution. She is known as a problem solver and is extremely supportive of her staff. She is very organized and has a wealth of experience in evaluation of family services. Lia is very capable and can sometimes take on too much.

The managers are sensing that staff are becoming overworked as everyone takes on increased responsibilities due to high staff turnover. Staff have also mentioned that Sara’s "glass half-empty" conversation style leaves them feeling dejected. In addition, Sara has not shared budgets with her managers, so they are having difficulty appropriately allocating work to staff. Sara said she has not received sufficient information from the finance department to complete the budgets. The finance department said they have sent her all the information they have available.

As staff become distressed, the managers are becoming frustrated. They feel like they are unable to advocate for their staff or solve problems without key information like the departmental budget.

1. How can Sara most effectively use both management and leadership skills in her role as associate director? What combination of the two do you think would work best in this setting?

2. Which leadership style do you think a leader would need to be effective in this situation?

3. What steps could be taken to build staff confidence?

4. What advice would you give Sara on improving her leadership skills and to the managers on improving their management skills?

Answer 1

1.

A director could be a leader as well as a manager. Sara should concentrate on being a leader, however, given that the two managers are very capable and directly handle all the department employees. The two executives should be delegated managerial duties. This approach will create the trust of executives, enabling them to address their staff's issues. Focusing on building a higher feeling of personnel engagement to mission and vision will also be free for Sara.

2.

Several leadership approaches may be suited to the position described in the scenario:

• Skills: Centers on the ability to solve complex problems. The nonprofit is having several difficulties at the organizational level, including high turnover.
• Path Goal: Motivates employees by defining goals, clarifying paths, removing obstacles, and providing support. This type of leadership may work well in building employee morale.
• Transformational: Treats employees as complete human beings, considers emotions and perspectives. Builds motivation by providing a clear vision, acting as a social architect, building trust, and positive self-regard.

3.

Staff seems uncertain about the future due to high turnover and Sara’s negative conversation style. Building staff confidence could involve

• Giving managers more autonomy and the needed information to manage their staff
• Communicating regularly with staff about changes
• Encouraging staff to pursue professional development and learning opportunities and providing time for them to do so
• Engaging in team-building exercises and interactions
• Incentivizing excellent performance
• Addressing Sara’s conversation style directly, explaining to her how it impacts staff perceptions
• Involving staff in the hiring process where possible as team vacancies are filled
• Talking to staff directly and without retribution about the issues they think contribute to high turnover

4.

It might help for both Sara and the managers to take a personality or leadership/management assessment. This way the mangers can ascertain their individual skills, learn how they can best support employees, and figure out how they can work together to use each other's strengths to run the department. Using a style approach, Manager 1 appears to utilize a task-oriented approach and Manager 2 demonstrates a relationship-oriented style. These two orientations could be structured to support one another.

Sara can focus on building leadership skills by building on her current strengths. In addition, Sara may want to revisit the roles and responsibilities of each position and how her division's work aligns with the overall organizational mission. Aligning with the overall mission and communicating it to staff may help improve morale and provide clarity on the department's role and direction.

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