Leadership case study sample

Woodside possesses various traits that are likely to help him succeed in his new role as the Director of the research department for product development at Sunshine. For instance, he is a risk taker because he has accepted the position of a director despite the fact Harmon Davis, the assistant of the retiring director is eyeing the same position and has the backing of loyal subordinates. The other traits are dedication as seen in his commitment to see tasks to their completion; he is a leader by example, he is a team player, he has a passion for learning as seen in his achievement of a Bachelor degree to PHD in management through night classes. He is also able to communicate effectively and he possesses confidence in all his endeavors. These traits will definitely assist him in his new appointment as director at Sunshine. However, his easygoing personality might be detrimental because he is now the director and needs to lead with authority for the subordinates to take him seriously (Cooper, 2002).
Good leadership is about balancing between being both people and task oriented (Cooper, 2002). Woodside has demonstrated the same as seen in where we are told he single handedly introduced four new successful product lines when he used to work at Skid’s. Woodside is described as a man who rarely rested until he finished well whatever assignments he was handling. These examples demonstrate his task oriented personality. On the other hand, Woodside’s people oriented personality comes out clearly where we are told he had the ability to get along with anyone he met. Consequently, he was able to work in various positions at Skid’s. Furthermore, he would go to the extent of helping colleagues who were having difficulties with their projects. As the director at Sunshine, he should balance between the two but incline more towards being a task oriented leader because the management has stated clearly that they want to initiate several projects at the same time that need to be completed successfully.
The understanding individualized leadership theory will help Woodside in his new appointment. He faces subordinates who are loyal to the assistance director, Harmon Davis, who has been passed over for the director position. Consequently, naturally there will be a tendency to resist change by the subordinates who are used to working under Henry Meade and Harmon Davis. Woodside should make the employees understand that the change process is inevitable in organizations if they are to maintain growth (Cooper, 2002). He should involve every employee in the change exercise for the Sunshine Company to succeed in its new endeavor of initiating several projects.

References

Cooper, A. A. (2002). Leadership in organizations. Cincinnati, OH: South-Western.