Reasons for Subordinates’ Issues
Discussion #2
Directions: Read the Case Scenario and answer the questions using course materials to support your reasoning and conclusions. Post the answers to your questions in the Week 6 Discussion by Saturday at 11:59 p.m. eastern time.
Respond to a minimum of three classmates by Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. eastern time in the following manner: Select ONE of the recommendations provided by your classmate and explain why you think this recommendation would work or why it would not work. Use course materials to support your opinion, reasoning, and conclusions.
Case Scenario
Tisha Allen is Senior Vice President (SVP) of Life Sciences Nutraceuticals, Inc.(LSN) east coast operations. (The LSN company profile can be found in Week 1 above Discussion 1, although it is not specifically needed for this case.) Tisha has received your memo request to be considered for further leadership positions. You have been with the company for 12 years. You are now a senior analyst in the Management Effectiveness Division. You supervise 13 junior analysts. Your roles involve conducting a quality analysis of management practices in all LSN departments on a scheduled basis. You are highly valued by LSN's leadership and known for your ability to work well with everyone and for being liked and respected by those you have supervised. After reading your memo to her, Tisha has decided to ask you to perform a specific function so she can observe your approach. She assigns you to help the Manager of Accounts Payable, Ken Count.
You walk over to Accounting and visit Ken. He is visibly upset. He has just received a performance review from his manager. This is a six-month review, as Ken was recently assigned to this role after working with great success for 10 years in another area of the Accounting Department. As part of this review, Ken's manager interviewed the six members of the Accounts Payable section, who all report to Ken. Ken's boss summarized their feedback in Ken's performance evaluation. Ken shares this feedback with you:
"Ken marched in here thinking he knows everything. He doesn't want to listen to any of our ideas. It's his way or the highway."
"We really don't know Ken all that well. He keeps to himself, except of course when deadlines are due, and then he's all over our backs."
"He acts as if he is perfect. I'm scared of getting yelled at when I make a mistake."
"Most times, Ken is fine, but when we have a deadline, he micromanages us. I literally dread coming in to work on days our accounts are due because I know Ken will be watching over us like a hawk."
Based on your readings this week, answer the following questions, and support your answers with the course materials:
What would you explain to Ken is the major reason for his subordinates' issues with him?
What are three specific recommendations you would make to Ken that would immediately improve the situation with his subordinates? You must use course materials to support your answer. (The three recommendations must not overlap with the three suggestions in #3.)
What three specific course materials from this week's course materials would you suggest to Ken that he should carefully review to enhance his future leadership development. You must explain the rationale for each of your three suggestions. (Thee three suggestions must not overlap with the three recommendations in #2.)
Completing the Discussion
Read the grading rubric for the project. Use the grading rubric while completing the project to ensure all requirements are met to lead to the highest possible grade.
Third-person writing is required. Third-person means that there are no words such as "I, me, my, we, or us" (first-person writing), nor is there use of "you or your" (the second person writing). If uncertain how to write in the third person, view this link: First, Second, and Third Person.
Contractions are not used in business writing, so do not use them.
Paraphrase and do not use direct quotation marks. Paraphrase means you do not use more than four consecutive words from a source document, but put a passage from a source document into your own words and attribute the passage to the source document. Not using direct quotation marks means there should be no passages with quotation marks, and instead, the source material is paraphrased as stated above.
Provide the page or paragraph number when they apply to in-text citations. Note that a reference within a reference list cannot exist without an associated in-text citation and vice versa.
You may only use the course material from the classroom. You may not use books or any resource from the Internet.
Course material:
https://www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=kgLcAF5Lgq4
https://www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=KM2XM7kRKgQ&t=1s
https://ctb(dot)ku(dot)edu/en/table-of-contents/leadership/leadership-functions/build-sustain-relationships/main
https://learn(dot)umgc(dot)edu/content/enforced/640930-M_001034-01-2218/The%20Leadership%20Relationship,%20Part%20I%20-%20Understanding%20Trust.pdf
https://iveybusinessjournal(dot)com/publication/the-allure-of-toxic-leaders-why-followers-rarely-escape-their-clutches/
Organizational Leadership
Student’s Name
Institution
Course Number and Name
Instructor’s Name
Date
Reasons for Subordinates’ Issues
In any given organization, leadership plays a critical role in influencing overall success. For leadership to be successful, it must encompass three essential components: the web of leadership, the leader, and the follower (Kellerman, 2009). For reasons that go beyond comprehension, many leaders neglect followers, which inevitably affects the leader-follower relationship, culminating in a collision of sorts. This constrains followers to develop issues with their leaders owing to several factors, including poor emotional intelligence. Unsound emotional intelligence means lacking the capacity to competently handle interpersonal relationships, which is the case with Ken.
Leaders who hope to establish robust and longstanding relationships with their followers must demonstrate sound emotional intelligence. One fundamental aspect of emotional intelligence, which Ken evidently lacks, is the ability to perceive and evaluate other people’s emotions. When leaders exhibit such a deficiency, they resort to taking matters into their own hands, which according to Kellerman (2009), illustrates bad leadership. Ken, for instance, ought to understand that alienating himself from his followers and yelling at them when he wants them to fall in line will only result in unfavorable outcomes. In this regard, Ken must work on enhancing his emotional intelligence, which will pave the way for him to value his subordinates. Valuing his followers will undoubtedly motivate them and revitalize his working relationship with them.
Three Recommendations to Improve Leader-Follower Relationships
The relationship between leaders and their followers plays a prominent role in influencing the performance of an organization. In essence, relationships are the building blocks of any organization, and they play a central role in helping achieve desired goals (Community Tool Box, 2023, par. 1). As such, leaders must undertake constructive measures to enhance such relationships in the interest of all stakeholders.
In Ken’s situation, he...