Just after 2 months out of training you were assigned to the department as a Floor Manager in More Mega Store, Indore. After in-processing with the store, you sit down with Logistics Manager, Mr. Sumeet, and relay your lack of experience and uncertainty about the job. "Sir, I was open to anything the company handed me," you said, "but floor management in Indore wasn't even close to being on my dream sheet. How am I going to lead if I don't even have the skills to tell people how and what to do?" Mr. Sumeet repiled, "As a Floor Manager you should be ready to lead anywhere and anytime you are put into a position, no matter what training you've had. Don't worry about it though--you're going to be the Floor Manager for More Mega Store under the eyes of Mr. Dayanand, the Store Manager."

After 9 months on the job, Mr. Dayanand tells you he is leaving in 2 weeks for Delhi as he got promoted and will be handing the Indore region over to you permanently. You shudder at the thought but quickly remember what Mr. Sumeet had said about managers leading anytime and anywhere.

You take the job head-on, using the same techniques Mr. Dayanand applied to lead the store. For some reason, the 15 personnel under your supervision randomly disregard your orders and quickly fall behind on the store maintenance schedule. Mr. Sumeet calls you into his office one day to discuss the decline in morale and store effectiveness.

You begin to think about the situation and the variables at hand and say, "I'm a store manager with some job knowledge, I've already sat down with the staff members and told them what I expect from them--just to let them know who's boss. I take care of tasks they should be doing to show I care about them, I give each member as much required time as needed; I don't nag them about accomplishing their jobs because that would be considered micromanagement, and I even give them leeway with mistakes by not reprimanding or correcting them. I thought they would like me for being down to earth and joking around with them. What the heck am I doing wrong?"

QUESTIONS:

1. Given this scenario, what have you been doing wrong as a leader?

2. If you were the Logistics Manager of this organization, what would you do with the Store