Writer’s choice

Kelly is the new controller of LB Co., a small accounting firm that employs about 30 employees. Kelly was with KPMG for the last 10 years and as a manager for 5 years before moving to LB Co. LB Co. has experienced high staff turnover in the last year, and the company has been cautious in hiring because of the decreased profit. During the first six months, Kelly has spent a lot of time trying to correct the mistakes of the previous controller, improve the accounting policies and procedures, and revise the company compensation policy. She works very hard and often eats lunch at her desk. Due to her demanding schedule, Kelly does not have much interaction with her staff, except a 30-minute weekly meeting with her two managers to assign job responsibilities. Employees have strong and different reactions to Kelly’s style. Those who like her style agree that when she is in charge, the accounting department and the company as a whole is very organized and efficient. Kelly makes the tasks and goals for her staff very clear. They like to work for Kelly because she knows what she is doing. Those who do not like her complain that she is too rigid. It seems that her sole goal is to get the job done. She rarely takes a break or just hangs out with the employees. The young staff says Kelly is pretty hard to relate to and as a result, it is not much fun working with her. Some of them already talking about leaving the company. The two managers are recognizing that employees are overworked and distressed as everyone takes on increased responsibilities due to the high staff turnover. The managers are also frustrated as they try to communicate with Kelly, but she just does not have time to listen to them. Kelly is sensing the mixed reactions from the staff, but she does not know what to do. Write a 2–3-page paper responding to the following questions: 1. How would you describe Kelly’s leadership style and characteristics? 2. Why does her leadership style create such a strong reaction from her subordinates? 3. What recommendations would you give Kelly on improving her leadership skills? 4. Which leadership style do you think a leader would need to be effective in this situation? 5. How could Kelly combine the leadership style you respond in question #4 with the Three Keys framework to inspire her team?

ANSWERS

1. Kelly is an autocratic type of a leader. An autocratic type of a leader is the one who get things done with very little input from his/her subordinates. In the case of Kelly, she was busy working on the mistakes done by the previous controller. She was too focused on that goal and she forgets her other responsibilities such as taking care of her people.

2. The leadership style of a manager usually receives different reactions from its team members. Although there are some employees who appreciate Kelly’s style, there are others who don’t like her rigid approach. There are some employees who wanted to be guided and motivated on the work that they do. The employees of Kelly who feel demotivated also wanted to resign. Moreover, her managers find it hard to communicate with her since she was too busy with her own work.

3. As a manager, you are also responsible for your subordinates. This is a task on top of your current responsibilities. In the case of Kelly, she should try to reach out to her employees from time to time and not just with her managers. She could also do some non-work related gatherings with them so that she can build camaraderie.

4. There is no perfect leadership style. Each person has one or more leadership style which he/she combines in order to build a certain balance in the management. The authoritative and coaching styles could be combined by Kelly in order to create a balance between a visionary leader and a motivational leader. The authoritative style will inspire the employees to reach their goals while the coaching style will help them reach it.

5. Being authoritative, Kelly could set certain performance measurement methods in order to drive performance of its employees. Moreover, she could use the coaching style to drive the emotional elements of the framework. She can work on coaching or counseling each employee to know their concerns and issues. And lastly, it is also her responsibility to implement this change with the help of his subordinates. It is important that the employees see how she wanted to improve her management style and how she is committed to do it.
Step-by-step explanation
Explanation:
Leadership styles
1. Autocratic Style- wanted the employees to follow his lead and always get the things done
2. Authoritative Style- a visionary leader who sets certain expectations to its members but takes time to explain it
3. Coaching Style- consider the inputs of other people and provides direction to them
4. Democratic style- always consider the participation of each ember of the team.

3 Keys Framework
– These are the three key elements in a change management

1. Rational Elements- quantitative and qualitative measurement of the employees’ performance
2. Emotional elements- incorporation of a purpose or a set of principles which could drive employee performance
3. Process driven elements- this is the management’s commitment and accountability in the change that the company wanted to implement.