By day, Alice and Heather are the director and assistant director (respectfully) of a human resources (HR) department for a large community college that has 30,000 students at multiple campuses and educational centers. On nights and weekends, Alice and Heather jointly run a local nonprofit organization called Operation D.O.G. (ODOG).

As a member of the executive team for the college, Alice has a leadership role that extends not just to those who report directly to her but to the college overall. Constantly busy with different projects both at work and at home (she owns a small acreage on the outskirts of town where she raises vegetables and cares for geriatric horses), her days are filled with to-do lists. On the rare “girls’ weekend away,” she is the one who makes up the itinerary, makes the hotel and restaurant reservations, and sees to it that everyone is where she is supposed to be at the designated time. At the college, Alice is responsible for the overall management and day-to-day operations of the HR team, ensuring deadlines are met, projects are completed, and the team meets the needs of its diverse customer base. On an average day, Alice and her team may perform a complex set of tasks, including negotiations, recruiting, regulatory interpretations, compliance and reporting, salary and benefit plan administration, and counseling and advising, as well as navigating personnel issues across the campuses. As a member of the institution’s executive team, Alice also participates in strategic planning for the college and is heavily involved with the Board of Education that governs the college. Acutely aware that the development of her team is key to its success, Alice takes a personal interest in each employee, purposefully leading her team members through coaching, empowerment, and trust building.

Heather, who in her 20s survived an aggressive form of cancer, has a strong proclivity for fostering relationships. Her battle with cancer at such a young age heightened her sense of compassion and helped shape her perspective on the importance of connection. While she has many task responsibilities in her role as the assistant director, she, not surprisingly, describes her primary focus as “maintaining the culture” for the team and the college as a whole. This involves developing connections and having ongoing communication with internal and external customers. Heather also guides managers across the college in developing their leadership, conflict resolution, and effective communication skills. She does this through training and in one-on-one consultations with people and modeling the leadership behavior she wants to instill in others.............

Questions 

1. In their roles for the college, how would you categorize Alice’s and Heather’s task and relational leadership behaviors? Using the format in the following grid, rate each woman’s predisposition toward each behavior type (on a scale of 1–10, with 10 being high). In the explanation column, support your rating with examples.

2. Looking at your rankings in question 1, do you feel the two women’s leadership styles complement each other? Why or why not?
3. How would you rate the importance of task behaviors vs. relationship behaviors in their leadership of Operation D.O.G.? Is one behavior more important in these roles than the other? Will Alice and Heather be equally as effective in running the nonprofit as they appear to be at the college? Explain your answer.

Transcribed Image Text:

Behavior Type Task Relationship Alice Task Heather Alice Heather Behavior Type Alice Heather Rank (1-10) Explanation Rank (1-10) Explanation