MGT-525-BN Assignment 2

Case Studies – An Impossible Dream and A Nice Manager

An Impossible Dream

How would you characterize Block’s leadership approach (task versus people)? What
approach do you think is correct for this situation? Why?
The leadership approach used by Block is task-oriented. He is having a very short-term vision
where he plans to finish a project in ten weeks, and he is very focused on monitoring
performance and make it work. He cares more about his job and the end-result than his team
members. The fact that he is thinking about what is wrong with his team, and he is not
capable of solving it, shows that he is not the best people-oriented manager. He is failing to
handle the problems faced by his team members which have to do with their work-life
balance. He is mainly thinking about his promotions and how to achieve it, instead of paying
attention to his team and their problems and career interests. Furthermore, he asks himself
why the team in Chicago is not performing as good as the team in LA. It is obvious that the
teams differ a lot, since Chicago is not LA. This means you have to be flexible and adaptable
and treat your team Chicago differently than the one in LA. In this, Block is failing.

According to me, the best leadership approach would be people-oriented. His boss is
persistently complaining that his team lacks passion and that they do not understand the
urgency of the project they are working on. Furthermore, there is no harmony within the team
since there has been an argument between two team members. Block simply tells them to get
along until the end of the project and does not even help to solve the argument. This is a sign
of bad leadership, or maybe better said lack of leadership, when it comes to taking care of
your people. In this case, it would have been better if he was more people-oriented, so that the
harmony and motivation in the team would be higher. When the team spirit is good, the
passion for the project will probably increase too since you want to achieve the same goal
together. When you are not a team, you will not work efficiently, and people will not help
other team members out. Especially when working on a project of a short period, teamwork
and efficiency are very important. Normally, I would say for a short-term project it is better to
be task-oriented. But in this case, where the team is really divided and the members are not
happy, it is a priority to bring harmony, so people are motivated to do the work they are asked
to do. They need to do this project as a team, which is not the case right now. Block should
have built good relationships with his employees, communicate with them, try to understand
and resolve their problems and consider their feedback as a method of improvement for the
company operations.

What would you do now if you were Block? How might you awaken more enthusiasm in
your team for completing this project on time? Specify the steps you would take
If I was Block, I would have set up a team meeting to discuss everything that is going on. I
want everyone to speak freely and bring problems to the table, so we can critically assess
them and try to resolve them as soon as possible. We must bring back the harmony within the
team so that we can achieve our goals together. Each individual involved in a team has a
different view on things, which can create teamwork issues. You have to understand all of
them and accept that you have to treat every person differently. If Block knew how to do this,
the project would have gone smoother than it goes now. Listening and observing what team
members have to say and to recognise what they hope to accomplish from the task is one of
the most important things. One of the most effective ways to adopt good relations within the
workplace is to encourage discussion and effective communication. With the meeting, I hope
to encourage both so we can move on and try to change the mindset towards achieving our
goals together, as a team. After I fixed the problems in one team, I would try to set up a
meeting with the team which operates in LA, so they can share their viewpoints on specific
issues too. It is good for the team spirit and gives room to gain more and different insights
which can also help improving performance (and team spirit) in Chicago.

Since employees are complaining about their work-life balance, I would also pay
attention to this problem. By introducing schemes such as flexible working practices, I will
show that I have my employees’ best interests at heart. Besides this, I want to try to make
clear they are contributing a lot to this company by working on this project since it is very
important for the company. Mansell emphasized that, specifically, this project is really
important and that the performance needs to be good. The team can contribute to this and it
will probably give them a sense of purpose as why they come to work. It is also possible to
give an incentive for the team to perform well together, by implementing a reward bonus if
specific goals are met.

Especially the fact that he has to allow his team members to share their ideas, can be
linked to the Vroom-Jago model. It focuses specifically on varying degrees of participative
leadership and how each level of participation influences the quality and accountability of
decisions (Daft, 2018). The model employs five levels of subordinate participation in decision
making, going from highly autocratic to highly democratic. I think, in this case, Block has to
take a position between autocratic and democratic. In the Vroom-Jago model, the decision
style ‘consult group’ would be a good fit, where Block would present the problem to the
group members meeting, get their suggestions and then make a decision (Daft, 2018). This is
a good fit since he needs to listen more to his employees, but he also needs to perform well
since there is a deadline for the project. Because of this deadline, there is a need for a leader
who can make decisions under pressure but also takes into account suggestions of his team
members.

How would you suggest that Block modify his leadership style if he wants to succeed
Mansell in two years? Be specific.
Block must develop his people-oriented leadership skills. He is mainly focused on the task
and his performance, but not on the issues within his team which limit team performance. He
must find a balance between task-oriented and people-oriented leadership so that on the one
hand his team members are motivated, happy and passionate in what they do, and on the other
hand, he sets objectives and focuses on the performance. I think that finding the right balance
will help him to be a good successor of Mansell. When he scores a bit lower on the task-
oriented leadership dimension and higher on the relationship-oriented dimension, he will be
able to provide more support and encouragement to his subordinates (Daft, 2018). He will
also be less stressed out than he is now when solving problems within his team since he will
communicate better with his team members and is more up to date of the problems in his
team. Effective leadership depends partly on developing diagnostic skills and being flexible in
your leadership behavior, which is essential for Block if he wants to succeed Mansell (Daft,
2018).
A Nice Manager

What does nice mean to you? Do you think nice is a good trait for leaders or the kiss of
death?
A nice manager to me is one that gains respect from his subordinates as well as his peers and
bosses. Furthermore, they provide a positive work environment for both themselves and their
subordinates and keep the team spirit high. A nice manager is always ready to help you with
your problems and tries to develop and maximize the skills of his employees.

I think being a nice manager is a good trait for leaders, especially now a new paradigm
mindset is almost required when leading a company (Daft, 2018). Leaders who project
warmth are more effective than those who lead with toughness. The main reason for this is
that employees feel greater trust with someone who is kind. When leaders are nice to the
members of their team, the team members display better behavior and are more productive,
both individually and as a team (Seppälä, 2014). Employees feel more loyal and committed
and are more likely to be helpful and friendly to other employees, which creates a strong
organizational culture. Such a culture can even help mitigate stress, which you can see in
future performance and happiness among employees. All in all, being a nice manager may
help create a happier culture, in which employees help each other, and become more
productive in the long run. This said I think being nice is definitely a good trait for leaders.

The fact that being a nice manager can be a kiss of death is also valid, but not as much
as the positive side of being nice. Being too nice can also backfire, causing people to take
advantage of you being too nice. If they are thinking you, as a nice manager, will help them
anyway, they will probably put less effort into it and think that you will solve it anyway. So,
as a ‘nice’ manager, you need to draw a line for yourself. But as a good, nice leader, you will
know when to say no in a respectful way. When you are nice you gained respect from your
subordinates anyway, so if you have to bring ‘bad news’, they would accept this without
having any hard feelings.

Finally, I want to add something to the fact that being nice is a good trait of a leader. I
believe you cannot determine the quality of a leader simply by looking at how nice he is.
Some nice people will make great leaders, and other nice people will not. This, since there are
many factors (e.g. situational factors, followers, equipment available) that will make or break
a leader.

Is nice related to any concepts in the chapter, such as one of the big five personality
dimensions, Myers–Briggs components, or left–right brain dominance? Discuss.
Firstly, I think it relates to the concept of social awareness in the form of emotional
intelligence. Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive, identify, understand, and
successfully manage emotions in self and others. Leaders who score high on this dimension
are typically more effective (Daft, 2018).

Secondly, it also relates to the big five personality dimensions. Especially the
dimension of agreeableness is a good fit since this dimension refers to the degree to which a
person can get along with others by being good-natured, cooperative, forgiving,
compassionate, understanding, and trusting (Daft, 2018). A nice leader, as in this case, would
score high on agreeableness since he is warm and approachable. Today’s successful leaders
are not the tough guys but those who know how to get people to like and trust them.

Thirdly, I want to stress out a Myers-Briggs component that is also related to the term
‘nice’. Especially the ‘thinking versus feeling’ dimension is applicable since feeling types
tend to rely more on their values and sense of what is right and wrong. Furthermore, feeling
types are able to consider how a decision will affect other people’s feelings. When being a
nice manager, you value how people feel since you care about your subordinates. Therefore,
being ‘nice’ is closely related to this dimension of the Myers-Briggs component

Lastly, I think the term ‘nice’ is also related to the concept of relationship management
where leaders are people-oriented. This simply deals with the ability to connect with others,
so you can communicate effectively with them and maintain intense relationships. Especially
in this case, where the manager being discussed is described as a ‘nice guy’ who helps out his
employees and takes care of them. This is key for relationship management, where you try to
maintain good relationships and keep your employees happy at all cost.

If Harry is passed over for promotion, what feedback and advice would you give him
about how to improve his leadership skills for possible future promotion?
Harry is a nice guy whom people trust. He always reaches out to people to help them solve
their problems. The thing is, that the people hiring him are not sure if he can handle tough
decisions and bring bad news to his subordinates who like him so much. Therefore, I would
advise him to work on his authoritative tone on others for when he needs it. It is good to be
nice, but you have to draw a line since you cannot be nice all the time. Sometimes you need to
be a leader that makes tough decisions, which can be disliked by employees. It is almost
impossible to keep everybody happy all the time. Next to his friendly, caring tone and
personality, he also needs to have a managerial, formal tone to also let them know he is the
leader who takes care of both his employees and the company. As a good leader, you need to
have the ability to find the good balance between being ‘nice’ and being ‘tough’, so you can
meet both the needs of your employees and the company. Toughness matters because you
need a leader who has the capability to stand up for what he or she believes in, as well as
stand up to others (in a good way) to achieve team and organizational goals. More important,
toughness matters when things are not going well or, for example, when the economy’s
tanking (Baldoni, 2008). Furthermore, I think he has the position to be tough sometimes, since
he is accepted and trusted by his employees and they know how Harry is like.

References
Baldoni, J. (2008). Three Traits of a Tough Leader. Retrieved September 6th 2020 from
https://hbr.org/2008/09/whos-next-is-a-question.

Daft, R. L. (2018). The Leadership experience. New York: Cengage learning.

Seppälä, E. (2014). The Hard Data on Being a Nice Boss. Retrieved September 6th 2020 from
https://hbr.org/2014/11/the-hard-data-on-being-a-nice-boss.