Chapter 8Leadership 291OBAT WORKhigh school graduates with little previous working experi-
ence. They earn between $1850 and $2400 a month. You
will be replacing a long-time LMI employee, Jan Allison. Jan
is retiring after 37 years with LMI, the past 14 spent as a pol-
icy-renewal supervisor. Because you spent a few weeks in
Jan’s group last summer, you are familiar with Jan’s style
and are acquainted with most of the department members.
But people don’t know you very well and are suspicious of
the fact that you are fresh out of university and have little
experience in the department. And the reality is that you got
this job because management wanted someone with a post-
secondary degree to oversee the department. Your most
vocal critic is Lillian Lantz. Lillian is well into her 50s, has
been a policy-renewal clerk for over 12 years, and—as the
person who has worked the longest in the department—
carries a lot of weight with group members. It will be very
hard to lead this department without Lillian’s support.
Using your knowledge of leadership concepts, which
leadership style would you choose and why?
Reinforcing Skills
1 .Think of a group or team to which you currently
belong or of which you have been a part. What
type of leadership style did the leader of this group
appear to exhibit? Give some specific examples of
the types of leadership behaviours he or she used.
Evaluate the leadership style. Was it appropriate for
the group? Why or why not? What would you have
done differently? Why?
2.Observe two sports teams (either college or profes-
sional—one that you consider successful and the
other unsuccessful). What leadership styles appear
to be used in these teams? Give some specific
examples of the types of leadership behaviours you
observe. How would you evaluate the leadership
style? Was it appropriate for the team? Why or why
not? To what degree do you think leadership style
influenced the team’s outcomes?