Sue's Leadership Style

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Leadership is defined as the action of guiding an individual or group of people. Effective leaders shape the behavior and thought process of the individuals around them. As a result, the success of an organization is often impacted by the leadership style and approach of its leaders. Even when engaging with multiple people, impactful leaders maintain their own style of leadership but occasionally change their approach based on the motivational needs of each individual. However, regardless of the style, leadership within an organization is designed to drive the performance of their employees and it is done through proficient communication. This guidance influences the culture of an organization, which subsequently, helps to shape its leaders. …show more content…

According to the Tannenbaum-Schmidt leadership continuum, this would categorize Sue’s leadership style is less about the influence of her authority and more about creating an environment that cultivates the autonomy of our team members. However, this leadership approach is developed through trust and dependency. Without the foundation and relationship building with her team, Sue is much less trusting. For example, when a new member is hired to join our team, we notice a shift the autonomy she allows to all members. As referenced by Tannenbaum and Schmidt, the situation can be a significant determining factor in Sue’s decision to seek team member participation (Lumpé, …show more content…

Dependent on the individual or situation, an effective leader must be able to adapt their leadership approach (MindTools, 2013). Hersey and Blanchard made a distinction in the levels of maturity that can be engaged in situational leadership; telling, selling, participating, and delegating (MindTools, 2013). Sue validates this understanding with the shift mentioned previously. A new team member still has considerable amount to learn when starting. In this case, Sue shifts between the telling and selling style to be able to provide beneficial instruction and monitor their work. Having the appropriate amount of support and guidance helps to leads to the shift between participating and delegating, which depends on the task that Sue assigns to the team

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