Leadership Case free essay sample

But excessive self – confidence may make leaders of this trait to be overly optimistic and inclined to be arrogant, autocratic and intolerant of dissenting viewpoints, especially in managers who are not emotionally mature like Bill. He is impatient with the bureaucracy and does not listen to advices. But he possesses the locus control of orientation where he believes that the events in his life are determined by his own actions, and not by mere chances or uncontrollable forces. Candidate 3: Ray Johnson Ray has low emotional stability and maturity since he is self-centred, impulsive and not able to resist hedonistic temptations. He is prone to mood swings and / or outbursts of anger and he is very defensive of his decisions or threats to his reputations. He does not maintain cooperative relationship with his subordinates (since they fear him), peers or superiors. Ray is also someone with a high need for power where he enjoys influencing others and more likely to seek positions of authority. We will write a custom essay sample on Leadership Case or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page His personalized power orientation keeps his subordinates weak and dependant. His decision is centralized to him as the leader, and information is restricted. Rewards and punishments are used to manipulate and control his subordinates. We can say that Ray is a Narcissist. He has some traits relevant to effective leadership, such as strong need for esteem (such as prestige, status, attention, administration and adulation), personalized need for power and low emotional maturity and integrity. Ray seeks continuous attention and admiration from others, and since he is so preoccupied with his own ego needs, he has little concern for others. He would exploit his subordinates without feeling any remorse, and expect special favours from others without feeling any need for reciprocity. Since Ray is very defensive, any criticism from others means dejection and disloyalty. Though he has the tendency to be charming and helpful, he has the tendency to be cruel and aggressive towards those who oppose him or anyone else who stands on his way. Those surrounding him are those loyal and uncritical of him. Ray also prefers to maintain control over all aspects of his work and that makes him poor delegator and reluctant to work as a team. Low interpersonal skill is one of the traits that Ray possesses. He has no empathy and understanding of other people. Inter-personal skill is very important in influencing people and persuasiveness and oral communication skill enhance the success of influence attempts. Ray may have self confidence but he does not have the inter-personal skill to influence others, especially the top management. 3) Should Susan recommend one of these candidates for the position, or look for external candidate? From the analysis, none of these candidates has the traits for the top position; only if all traits are combined together in one person then Susan will be able to have her General Manager. According to the Findings on Leader Traits and Skills, one must be able to adapt to situations, assertive but at the same time cooperative, decisive, has power motivation with high activity level, high self-confidence, alert to social environment, ambitious, dependable and tolerant of stress. None of the candidates can fulfil the criteria needed. But compare to all of the three candidates, I may suggest Charles Adam since he has high emotional intelligence than the other two. Charles also has a positive behaviour, and traits. He manages people very well. He has strong interpersonal skills and good team player. But Charley is less respected by others as a boss. Less controlling power in workplace and too much concern on people and staff will make him less focus, less productive to become an effective manager. The other two if selected (Bill Stuart Ray Johnson) will certainly contribute to a derail manager. If possible Susan should continue to look for external candidates who are more qualified than the three. Susan should look for those who possess the traits and skills that managers should have. But the implication by appointing manager from outside is quite difficult and consume time, lead to a low morale of existing internal potential managers who will perceive negatively on their career advancement in the company. Outside candidates also take time and effort to learn about the company culture.