Appendix D
Contingency Theory of Leadership
Description of work environment
At my workplace we have sales goals that we have to meet and part of my job is to ensure that the staff is achieving their goals and if they are falling behind, I help them find ways to better their selling skills and recognize opportunities.
In the table below, categorize different leadership approaches that could be used in the work environment you have described. Provide different suggestions for each of the four approaches to leadership.
Directive approach Supportive approach
The company has weekly product knowledge training so that the employees know about the products that they are selling. The employees are also rewarded incentives that relate directly to their goals and are aware of their job duties (Jones, 2007) and new procedures shared in our weekly meetings. The individual goals also relate to work schedules the full time employees goals are higher than the part-time employees. The supportive approach to leadership of this group the management is open and very approachable (Jones, 2007). The management also has goals to meet and are always willing to offer advice and additional training to employees. They also meet with employees individually and find out what motivates that specific employee because everyone is different.
Participative approach Achievement-oriented approach
The employees participate in creating individual goals for themselves (Jones, 2007) and for the branch. They create in-branch promotions and try to make sales fun. Employee suggestions for improvement are put into action and employees are commended for their work ethics and participation with branch promotions. The goals that are set for the employees are realistic, not outrageous (Jones, 2007). By observing the amount of branch traffic, and amount of customers that do not currently have a specific product we can set goals that are