Matching your Leadership Style to the Situation Individual reflection and group discussion – participants review a series of workplace situations to determine the leadership style they would normally use in each situation to maintain an engaged team and provide their rationale. Your Interpersonal Barriers Individual reflection and group discussion – participants identify their own interpersonal barriers in interactions with their employees and possible solutions to address those barriers. Role Play Small group activity with report out discussion – participants assume the role of a leader or a team member; the participant with the leader role must assume the leadership style listed on her/his Leadership Style Card and work with her/his team members to develop an action plan for improving the engagement of employees in their office. The report out focuses on what the team members felt during the exercise based on the leader’s conduct of the activity. Those in the leader role are then asked to assess the effectiveness of the plan development and how that leadership style impacted the results/outcomes. Develop Your Action Plan Individual activity – each participant develops (or begins development of) an Action Plan to address employee engagement within their own work group. Depending on time, each is to identify three (3) long term and three (3) short term challenges. This Action Plan should be informed by everything they covered during the course. Optional Activity – Lesson 1 Vignettes Small group activity with report out discussion – participants review a vignette and assess the supervisor’s/manager’s engagement with her/his employee. Optional Activity – Lesson 3 Case Study Small group activity with report out discussion – participants review a case study and identify factors that both support and hinder employee engagement; recommendations for improving engagement are also to be suggested. At a minimum, you will need the following supplies available for instruction: Projection system (projector, screen, and computer) Electronic remote device to advance slides in PowerPoint presentation, if available Instructor Guide Participant Guides (one for each participant)
Activity: Matching your Leadership Style to the Situation Goleman’s Six Leadership Styles Characteristics Coercive Authoritative Affiliative Democratic Pacesetting Coaching Leader’s modus operandi Demands immediate compliance Mobilizes people towards a vision Creates harmony and builds emotional bonds Forgoes consensus via participation Sets high standards for performance Develops people for the future The style in a phrase ‘Do what I tell you’ ‘Come with me’ ‘People come first’ ‘What do you think?’ ‘Do as I do, now’ ‘Try this’ Underlying emotional Intelligence Drive to achieve, initiative, Self-confidence, empathy, change catalyst Empathy, building relationships, communication Collaboration, team leadership, communication Conscientious, drive to achieve, initiative Developing others, empathy, When the style works best In crisis; to kick start a turnaround; with problem employees When changes require a new vision, or when a clear directive is needed To heal rifts in a team or to motivate people during stressful circumstances To build buy-in or consensus, or to get input from valuable employees To get quick results from a highly motivated and competent team To help an employee improve performance or develop strengths When the style might fail When there is not a lot of emotional When trying to motivate more experienced experts or peers on the team When there is avoidance of emotionally distressing situations When there is a lot of listening and discussion but very little action When very little guidance is given to the team on how to achieve results When micromanaging
Activity: Role Play Instructor Notes: Separate the class into six groups of 3-4 members. In cases of very small class sizes (i.e., 18 or less), ensure there are at least six groups of at least two pairs of participants, where one person plays the role of the leader and the other member(s) play the role of team members. For groups of three or more members, ask for a volunteer from each group to play the role of a leader, while the rest of the group members play the roles of team members. Ask for a volunteer from each group to play the role of the leader for this exercise. The rest of the group members will be team members. Once leaders have been assigned in each group, give the assigned leader one of the Leadership Style cards to act out. Instruct the leader not to allow their group members to see the leadership style they have been given. Remind them that they must behave according to the leader type they receive throughout the duration of the role play exercise. Answer any questions they may have, and then begin the role play exercise. Scenario Your organization has just received the results from the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey. The scores were captured at both the department and organizational level, and your department-level scores reveal that engagement in relation to supervisors and intrinsic work experience is low. The results show: Lack of support for their individual development from their supervisors Supervisors do not listens to what employees have to say Supervisors do not encourage employees to come up with new and better ways of doing things Managers do not communicate the goals and priorities of the organization to employees Senior leaders have asked supervisors and managers to work with their employees on how to overcome these challenges. They requested action plans from each department by the end of next month. Task The group must develop two to three actions to improve engagement in the department on the scenario described above. The leader must stay in character the entire time, and document their plan in the Action Plan table on the second page of their activity form. Role Play Action Plan