Directional Lending Credit Union Case Study

Leadership can be defined as the process of influencing, motivating, and enabling others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of organisations which they are members (Mc Shane and Glinow, 2015). Within the business world, there are a number of varying leadership styles, all possessing differing advantages and disadvantages. These styles include, but are not limited to, Autocratic, Transformational, Charismatic, and Democratic styles. Some leaders often adopt a combination of two or more of these styles to effectively manage their groups and organisations. This paper serves illustrate the leadership style adopted at a financial institution known as Directional Lending Credit Union (DLCU) by highlighting the current style and managerial
They have opened nine (9) branches throughout Trinidad and Tobago and have successfully become the premier Credit Union in both product and service type and delivery. They have gone beyond what is generally expected of a credit union, so much so that their main competitors are now banks, as opposed to other credit unions like itself. Within DLCU, an autocratic leadership style has generally always been assumed. This means that one person or group, in this case the board, executive management and upward, controls all decisions with little to no input from the rest of the staff body. These decisions are usually made based on their own beliefs and views. This type of leadership is common among financial institutions since the main goal of these organisations is to make choices with error free outcomes (Tsolakis, 2016). It is argued that this style also allows for quicker decision making, reduced time wastage, and increased
Some have opted to leave the organisation entirely and seek employment at other organisations. However, due to the instability of the economy and difficulty in finding employment, many prefer to not consider exiting the institution altogether.
Action 2: Voice – Employees voice their opinions and concerns about upper management and their decision making on a nearly daily basis. However, these often fall on deaf ears as generally, the talk of dissatisfaction usually does not go any further that the Branch manager level. Formal complaints or suggestions are rarely given to upper management as several employees perceive that this action will cause further victimisation to them.
Action 3: Loyalty – As mentioned previously, many of the workers prefer to remain quiet about the situation. They wait penitently, and sometimes “suffer in silence”, for the problem to work itself out or for others to resolve them.
Action 4: Neglect – This seems to be the preferred method of dealing with job dissatisfaction by DLCU staff. This is evident in the reduced work efforts by some, reduced quality of services to customers, and increased absenteeism and