Working with alex as my respondent

When one is placed in a management or leadership position, it is imperative that they adopt relationship skills with their subordinates in order to enhance the performance of the organization and the department t that they head. It is important for managers and leaders to realize that the employees look up to them thus any ill treatment from the top management could demotivate the workforce they supervise. Alex is an enviable manager with an encouraging track record of increased sales and achievements. However, the methods of management that Alex uses are to some extent crude and intimidating to other employees. From the case, there are some behaviors that can be pointed out on Alex’s performance which would greatly impact on how people perceive him and thus impact on the 360 data provided as well. It is in the nature of humans to remember the bad things you do to them and forget the good things to them. Sadly, nothing can be done to change that. This applies on the kind of data collected regarding Alex. The people he may have collided with on duty would give a bad review about him while those that he treated fairly would give a good review about him.

Some of the behaviors that impacted greatly on the 360 data collected are: aggression, anger, intimidation, overconfidence, criticizing other employees, hardworking, motivating others, dedication and commitment to work, curiosity to learn more bossing other employees and arrogance. These behaviors collectively have helped Alex to manage his tasks. However, there are both positive and negative attributes of some behaviors that may lead to some serious consequences within Landon. Among his behaviors, Competence, motivation of other employees, commitment to work, hard work, and positive aggression are some of the positive behaviors of Alex. Contrary, anger, arrogance, overconfidence, and intimidating other employees are negative behaviors that humiliate other employees.

What does the 360 data tell us about Alex’s likely career success? If you were Sam Glass, would you invest more time in helping Sander progress at Landon?

From the 360 data collected, it is evident that Alex is a dedicated manager who pushes for what is best for the company. However, it is also evident that Alex has some poor management aspects that may affect other employees. Alex is an aggressive manager who wants things done his way. However, a good manager should be assertive rather than aggressive. There is a very thin line between aggressive management and assertive management because in both, the managers are all trying to ensure that their needs are met by the employees. However assertiveness and aggression lies in a person’s personality (Singleton, 2014). As much as both methods will get thing done, Machiavellian styles of management such as those practiced by Alex are ineffective in the long run as employees gradually become overwhelmed by the senior’s aggression.

An assertive manager is firm about his stand but at the same polite to his subordinates. It is based on the principle of winning but not at the expense of other peoples feeling and opinions. Assertiveness enables a manager to win and at the same time help others benefit. Aggression is the complete opposite of this because it entails a manager being firm about their opinions and at the same time impolite to others such that they trigger fear and to some extent have within a workforce. Aggressive managers care less about the needs and opinions of other people. It goes without saying that Alex is an aggressive manager who does not give regard to opinions from his colleagues and subordinates (Singleton, 2014).

Alex is more of a manager than a leader which explains why he has some negative behaviors that affect other people. However, I believe that leaders are made while many people would say leaders are born. On that note if I were Sam Glass I would gladly keep Alex in his position owing to his good performance records but at the same time enroll him for leadership sessions to make a good leader out of him. Assertiveness is something that one can learn especially if they start respecting other peoples’ opinions. Aggression can be eliminated through consideration and active listening of other people. The only thing that Alex needs to learn is to be polite and considerate which are primary aspects of assertiveness. The beauty of it is that these are qualities that an individual can learn. Having replaced aggression with assertiveness, Alex would make an impressive manager and leader.

How well do you do working with a person like Alex as a teammate? As a boss? As a direct report of yours?

As mentioned earlier, Alex is a hardworking member of Landon and every organization dreads to have such employees who can rapidly create change within the company. However, people working at various levels of management would have different view on the management methods used by Alex.

Working with Alex as a teammate

Working with Alex as a teammate could have various negative and positive effects. Since he is a hardworking individual, we would complete our peer projects in time as well as help on another on various tasks. Alex is also knowledgeable on various areas hence we could also share variable information and skills to improve the level of performance. On the contrary, Alex is bossy and while on the same levels of employment, it could be very aggravating when a colleague tries to boss and command his fellow employee. Owing to his aggressive nature, we would often engage in confrontations. This could affect how we interact in the workforce and hence translate to poor performance.

Working with Alex as a boss

To some extent Alex is an effective leader based on the achievements he has in the company. However, when it comes to employee satisfaction, he fails to understand the best ways to supervise, handle and approach his employees. As much as the employees may fear you and perform their tasks for fear of what he would do to them, in the long run his practices would result to tragic results and even physical confrontation with his employees. Working with Alex as my boss would be an advantage in the sense that he would appreciate when I perform my tasks well and at the same time I would learn some of the positive aspects from him. However with behaviors like not giving credit to work hours and confronting people publicly, I would feel demotivated and discouraged which may totally affect my performance in the company.

Working with Alex as my Respondent

Alex is a manager that every company should keep based on the achievements he has accomplished. However, one man cannot deliver the company’s goal which is why the interests of the other employees should be considered. I would insist on his change of behavior and retain him because of his management skills. However, if the cases of humiliation, aggression and arrogance persist, I would let him understand the importance of each individual within the organization and fire him.

Effective leadership is a vital element of small-business operations (Singleton, 2014). A manager who understands the best ways to train and supervise his small-business staff is better positioned to run his team efficiently, resulting in greater productivity for his company. Providing comprehensive and effective training to your managers and supervisors is an investment that can pay off for your business in both tangible and intangible ways.