中国经济管理大学MBA课堂笔记

Leadership and the Sales Executive

中国经济管理大学 MBA课堂笔记《销售管理：塑造未来的领导者》

中国经济管理大学/中國經濟管理大學

After completing this chapter, students should be able to:

·         Understand the historical development and different approaches to examining leadership.

·         Recognize the contributions made by contemporary leadership approaches.

·         Identify issues today’s sales leaders face.

·         Use the information in this chapter to develop their leadership skills.

Introducing the Chapter:

The topic of leadership is of great interest to everyone from world leaders to sales managers, but too often overlooked by students and employers.  Research shows that too few companies believe they have the leaders they need and have difficulty recruiting them. A good way to introduce this chapter is to ask students to describe their leadership style.  Often times we’ll find that while they may have heard discussions about leadership they haven’t looked at how the topic applies to them at a personal level.

The chapter looks at a historical review of the major approaches to studying leadership and the contributions made by each. Within each of the five major approaches, several individual theories or approaches are described. Each school of thought has made a contribution and has set the stage for further research. The most recent approaches have incorporated past contributions as well as bringing forward a focus on more personal qualities of the leaders.  One idea for a class discussion would be to identify who they consider to be good (and not so good) leaders.  A visit with past issues of Selling Power or Sales & Marketing Management may help them better define the topic from a sales perspective.

Given that sales executives have noted shortcomings in the leadership demonstrated by their sales managers, we believe that this chapter will help students begin the process of actively shaping their own sales management leadership skills – regardless of which model they prefer to follow.

The chapter closes with a discussion on the challenges of the future for sales leaders and executives. Many of the issues identified are tied with leader-member interactions and the development of members of the sales force.

Chapter 10 Supervising, Managing and Leading: Individually and in Teams, is an extension of this chapter. It focuses more heavily on the application of these behaviors by sales managers, with sections on coaching, mentoring and virtual leadership.

Chapter Outline:

What is Leadership? - It is a process (not a trait or set of characteristics). It involves influence. It occurs in a group. It involves movement toward a goal or goals.

A.                 Leading versus Managing

1.                   Research on leadership has defined it as:

a)       As a process that helps direct and mobilize people and ideas.

b)      As a person – in a formal position whose job is to be the group’s leaders (i.e., manager)

2.                   Leadership is involved with establishing direction, aligning and communicating direction and motivating and inspiring. The focus is on change.

3.                   Management is involved with planning and budgeting, organizing and staffing, and controlling and problem solving. The focus is on results that keep things working efficiently.

4.                   These concepts are similar in that they both include: deciding what needs to be done, working with people to be sure action is taken.

5.                   Current research shows many leadership challenges:

a)       Two thirds of companies believe they have strong management skills but weak leadership skills;

b)      95% of companies report too few people have both strong leadership and management skills;

c)       80% of companies report having trouble recruiting strong leaders;

d)      Some two thirds of companies indicate less than 60% of sales managers were meeting expectations.

B.                  Understanding Leadership: An Historical Perspective

1.                   Trait Approach – “These are the traits you need to be a leader”

a)       Leaders are born, leadership is not a skill you can learn. “Great Man Theory” e.g., Abe Lincoln, Napoleon, Mahatma Gandhi.

b)      Traits commonly associated with leadership were height, intelligence, dominance, and social skills.

c)       This approach was initially not supported by research. Recent meta-analyses of past research now show some support of this approach. Findings note that leaders differ from followers in intelligence, alertness, insight, responsibility, initiative, persistence, self-confidence, sociability.

d)      Shortcomings of this approach include no universal listing of traits, findings that lacking some of these traits people can learn to lead, and whether a strength of one trait do seem to overcome the weakness or absence of another.

e)       Application – Many firms recruit and select based on these skills – so develop them. Training programs use these as basis of some programs.

2.                   Behavioral Approach – “This is how a leader behaves.”

a)       Ohio State researchers found leaders high in 1.Consideration for maintaining good social relationships and building trust and 2. Initiating structure, or dealing with task-directed behaviors.

b)      University of Michigan researchers identified similar dimensions. Leaders were more employee-centered as opposed to production-centered.

c)       The Managerial Grid pulls from past researchers and uses two axes as their basis of leadership: 1. Concern for people and 2. Concern for production. This approach has developed into a training program that helps individuals move toward a higher level of both skills (i.e., Team Management).

d)      Application – It is important for the sales manager to balance leadership behaviors between the social needs of the group members and accomplishing the task. The more a leader demonstrates ‘consideration’ the more satisfied the group.

3.                   Situational Approaches – “Assess the situation, then adjust your behavior to it”

a)       Contingency Theory suggests that the best type of leadership is contingent on the characteristics of the situation. Each situation differs depending on 1. Leader-member relations, 2. Task structure, 3. Position power. It proposes that leadership behaviors are stable, and leaders can’t shift their orientation from one situation to another. Task-oriented leaders are better in one situation; relationship-oriented better in another. Attempts at organizational engineering were suggested to match leaders with tasks that match their strengths.

b)      Situational Leadership of Hersey and Blanchard asserts that leaders are able to adapt their behavior to the constraints of the situation. Leaders diagnose the group’s task competency and commitment on a continuum from developing to developed. After this they must adapt their behavior along two dimensions 1. Directive (task-oriented) behavior and 2.Supportive behaviors (relationship-oriented). Depending on the group’s level of development the leader utilizes one of four leadership styles (directing, coaching, supporting, or delegating).

c)       Vroom and Yetton Model is similar in approach to Situational Leadership. The model offers a greater degree of specificity in diagnosing the situation by examining, 1. The amount of structure in the situation, 2. The amount of information available to solve the problem and 3.The level of importance the decision’s acceptance is to its implementation. Based on these inputs the model then proposes the level to which followers should be involved in the decision making.

d)      Application -There is no one “best style”. Leaders need to consider the characteristics of the situation and adapt their behaviors to each unique situation.

4.                   Contemporary Perspectives – “Motivate your followers”

a)       Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) focuses on the relations between a leader and each group member. In-group relations develop with high levels of interaction, support, trust, and respect. When these types of relations don’t develop, an out-group relationship exists. It has less interaction and relies on formal roles, consequently followers are less satisfied and productive. Leaders should maximize the number of in-group relations they have and minimize out-group relationships.

b)      Transformational Leadership does not prescribe how a leader should act. They should encourage, inspire, support and develop their followers. Leaders need to establish trust and respect among followers.

c)       Application -These two approaches emphasize the roles of followers in the leadership process, and encourages leaders to develop their followers.

5.                   Emerging Theories of Leadership – “Develop your followers”

a)       Principle-Centered Leadership – Steven Covey developed his approach from his popular book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Leaders should follow seven principles to guide their behavior: 1. Be proactive. 2. Begin with the end in mind. 3. Put first things first. 4. Think win-win. 5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood. 6. Synergize. 7. Practice self-renewal. 8. Added later: Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs.

b)      Servant Leadership Model – Robert Greenleaf proposed that leaders should serve their followers. They should be role models in their use of collaboration, empathy, and the ethical use of power. They are characterized by traits such as listening, awareness, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people, and building community.

c)       Level 5 Leadership Model – Jim Collins found that high performing companies had leaders who were modest, humble, and set up their successor for greater success. He proposed 5 levels that characterized leaders: 1. Highly Capable Individual, 2. Contributing Team Member, 3. Competent Manager, 4. Effective Leader and 5. Level 5 Executive.

d)      No Leader? – Do you always need a leader? A number of proponents believe you don’t. Sometimes referred to as shared leadership, team leadership or leaderless work groups, members assume leadership responsibilities.

e)       Application – These approaches places an emphasis on the leader demonstrating moral character and a passion for helping their followers develop into leadership positions themselves. Many companies have embraced these principles and work to apply them.

II.                  Leadership Challenges for the Sales Executive

A.                 Recruiting and selecting good employees – Bad hires can be costly in terms of sales, goodwill and training costs.

B.                  Keeping good employees – Once you hire them you have to keep them working for your firm.

C.                  Executing virtual leadership – Sales managers will go long periods of time without being physically together with their sales force. Sales managers must be adept at communicating through multiple channels.

D.                 Diversifying the sales force – A diverse sales force will better understand existing customers and attract new ones.

E.                  Removing limitations facing females – Make sure women play an important role at all levels in the sales organization.

F.                  Avoiding ethical mistakes – Training and good leadership will help the sales force act in the most ethical manner.

G.                 Maintaining motivated sales teams – Sales managers must provide meaningful rewards to their sales force.

H.                 Integrating technology in sales – Technology is often the difference between the most successful companies and those who follow them.

III.               Summary

A.                 Leadership research finds no “best way” or things to do to be a great sales leader. It is important to recognize that being a good sales manager and a good sales leader requires different skill sets. Being good in one role does not compensate for being poor in the other.

B.                  The trait approach suggests that certain characteristics will better position a person to be a good leader. Frequently referenced traits include self-confidence, determination and sociability.

C.                  The behavioral approach suggests that leaders have good skills in dealing with people and task orientation.

D.                 The situational approach proposes that the appropriate leadership style should be determined by first examining the requirements of the situation and then adapting leadership behaviors to best fit the situation.

E.                  The contemporary approach recommends that leaders motivate their followers by developing an atmosphere of trust and respect in the workplace.

F.                  The emerging leadership approaches suggests leaders should follow a set of principles and focus on developing their followers.

G.                 A variety of leadership challenges faces sales managers and sales executives. The majority of them deal with interacting and developing their sales force.

Questions and Problems:

1.      Think of one person you know who is an effective leader. What actions or traits does the person demonstrate? What behaviors does he or she engage in? Now do the same for an ineffective leader.

This question should generate a great deal of discussion. Encourage students to think of several people and why they thought of this person as a leader. Answers to this discussion question will run the range from pop celebrities to politicians and (hopefully) some business leaders. Typical answers might include: Oprah Winfrey, Bono, Madeline Albright, John McCain or Barack Obama, Mary Kay Ash, Sam Walton, Warren Buffet, Steve Jobs or Bill Gates.

Once the names are volunteered students need to offer what leadership behaviors they believe this person has displayed. Are they identifying management skills or leadership skills – or both? Another option would be to drop back and consider the individuals highlighted in the chapter opening.

What about ineffective leaders? What about Martha Stewart (who spent time in prison for her illegal insider trading) or Ken Lay (of Enron fame who died before his day in court)? Some might consider these two ineffective and some might consider them effective.

The ultimate ineffective leader is probably the one who no one remembers or the leader of a company that is no longer is business.

2.      What behaviors or actions can you engage in to help develop your leadership skills while you are still in school?

Students should be able to volunteer a number of good examples ranging from being an officer in a student organization, a community or religious volunteer, or a leader at work. Consider asking them to write down two examples and then do a tally to determine what behaviors are making their list. Are they offering behaviors that deal with managing or leading? How many are helping others develop?

3.      What is the difference between managing and leading? Give some examples of each for a sales manager. How are the two concepts interrelated?

Management is involved with planning and budgeting, organizing and staffing, and controlling and problem solving. The focus is on results that keep things working efficiently. Managers organize and direct work assignments. Management is needed to accomplish many business tasks.

Leadership is involved with establishing direction, aligning and communicating direction and motivating and inspiring. The focus is on change. Leaders communicate what needs to be done and motivate followers to accomplish it. Leadership is needed to help companies address and accomplish difficult challenges.

A successful organization needs sales mangers with both good management and leadership skills to prosper.

4.      If leadership can be developed, how good of a job are organizations doing? Identify their strengths and/or weaknesses.

Research results indicate that companies are not doing a very good job at developing leaders. It may be due in part toy the fact that most organizations are involved in activities which are focused more on managerial tasks and less on leadership development. Without good role models, many individuals may not see good leadership behaviors at work. Many companies have now acknowledged the importance of leadership and what they think constitutes it.

5.      What traits are considered important for a leader’s success? What are the shortcomings of the trait approach to leadership?

From a historical perspective important leadership traits have run the gamut from height to masculinity to intelligence. More recent studies typically identify intelligence, self-confidence, determination, integrity and sociability. No universal list of leadership traits has been assembled and no research has demonstrated the relationship between traits and leadership outcomes. Additionally, even with a list it might be very difficult to incorporate them into leadership training.

6.      Describe the central tenets of the behavioral approach to leadership. Provide examples of each in a sales-management situation.

The behavioral approach examines how a leader interacts or behaves with their subordinates. Several different groups of researchers identified two similar dimensions, one focusing on social interaction between the leader and followers and the second on completion of the group’s task(s). The social interaction dimension would show how the leader focuses on issues such as availability and ability to perform the job. The task centered dimension would focus on getting the job done, such as when a job would be performed or reporting results.

7.      According to situational theorists, what characteristics of a leadership situation need to be considered? What is organizational engineering?

Task-oriented leaders will be most effective in either well-structured or disorienting situations (i.e., they can give direction). Relationship-oriented leaders are more effective where the solution to the task is ambiguous (i.e., they have the interpersonal skills to work with individuals and teams to develop a solution.) Organizational engineering is where people are matched with organizational settings. For example, some sales people will be better suited to maintain accounts (i.e., they enjoy detailed work and delivering customer service on a routine basis) whereas others may enjoy securing new accounts (i.e., they enjoy the work involved in finding and making a successful presentation to a new customer.)

8.      What are in-groups and out-groups? Why is it beneficial to develop more in-group relationships?

Leadership-member exchange theory proposes these two concepts to describe the unique relationships between a leader and a follower. In-group relations develop between a leader and follower with high levels of interaction, support, trust, and respect. When these relations don’t develop, an out-group relationship exists. An out-group dyad has less interaction and focuses on formal roles, resulting in followers who are less satisfied and productive

9.      What types of activities do transformational leaders engage in? Describe someone you believe displays these characteristics.

Transformational leaders stimulate their followers intellectually, encouraging them and supporting their development. They offer personal attention to each of their followers and make them feel valued and important. There are no set behaviors that a transformational leader should follow. In some situations it may be working on a personal relationship and in others it might be laying out the steps and activities needed to help make for a rep’s successful sale.

Students may offer a number of examples of a person with these characteristics. This person may be a college or high school teacher, a coach, an employer and sometimes even a parent!

10.  What is the focus of Covey’s Principle-Centered Leadership? How can you apply these principles to your situation as a student? As a sales manager?

The focus of Covey’s Principle-Centered Leadership is the initial seven principles (one additional principle was added later) that should guide a leader’s behaviors. They are: 1. Be proactive. 2. Begin with the end in mind. 3. Put first things first. 4. Think win-win. 5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood. 6. Synergize. 7. Practice self-renewal. 8. (Added later:) Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs.

Student examples will focus on how they can apply the principles to themselves. As a sales manager students should be able to generate examples of how these behaviors might be displayed between a sales manager and one of several sales representatives.

11.  Visit the websites for ServiceMaster, Starbucks and the Men’s Warehouse. How is the servant leadership approach conveyed in the mission statements of these firms? What servant-leadership behaviors might a sales manager engage in?

All three of these companies clearly state that they place an emphasis on making sure their employees (i.e., sales people) develop both personally and professionally.

ServiceMaster – has a lengthy description of their philosophy on their home page. Their four guiding principles are: 1.Honor God in all we do (e.g., do the right thing; treat others with respect, etc.) 2. Excel with customers, 3. Help people develop, and 4. Grow profitably.

Starbucks – has six guiding principles. The one principle that most displays servant leadership is:” Provide a great work environment and treat each other with respect and dignity.”
Another related principle is: “Embrace diversity as an essential component in the way we do business.”

Men’s Warehouse – has an interesting company philosophy which includes the following, “Trust and respect are the cornerstones of our philosophy; our collective honesty, sincerity, integrity, responsiveness, authenticity, mutual goodwill, and caring for each other will allow us individually and as a company to achieve maximum success.

A sales manager demonstrating servant-leadership behaviors would likely spend time reviewing a sales representative’s past performance in an effort to support what they did correctly and work on the challenges they were facing. Their actions and comments would reflect respect and foster trust.

12.  How would you describe the leadership behaviors exhibited by a person in Collin’s Level 5? What behaviors can you personally improve on to approach this level?

A Level 5 Executive is modest, humble, diligent and helps ensure that their successors are positioned for greater success.

No doubt, most of us (including students) can work on our humility and continue to be diligent in our efforts. Many students may not have looked beyond what they currently do in terms of setting up their successors. However, some may have or are about to transfer leadership responsibilities to another person and may have some insights on how they have positioned their successors.

13.  What leadership challenges do you believe today’s sales executives face?

Sales management challenges of the future focus heavily on securing and developing a good talent pool of sales representatives and sales managers as well as integrating the use of technologies for competitive purposes. Specific challenges include: Recruiting and selecting good employees. Keeping good employees. Executing virtual leadership. Diversifying the sales force. Removing limitations facing females. Avoiding ethical mistakes. Maintaining motivated sales teams. Integrating technology as a competitive advantage.

Answers for Chapter Caselets:

“I Never Thought About It”

Elena has been a good sales representative in terms of exceeding her sales goals and delivering high levels of customer service. She has always done well in leadership roles in college and has displayed the same natural tendencies in her training classes. Her sales manager Liz has called her in to discuss a future in sales management. She lets Elena know that in an interview she will likely be asked to describe her leadership style. Elena replies that she really hasn’t thought about it much, to which Liz suggests that she start to think about it, because management will want to know something about how she would lead.

1.  Put yourself in Elena’s position. Based on what you know about different leadership approaches, how would you describe your leadership style?

Many students may find that they really are a lot like Elena. They really haven’t thought much about how they would implement a leadership style they are comfortable with. This is an opportunity for students to ‘try on’ a leadership approach and see which one ‘fits’ them the best. Answers will range from a trait theory (a rather simple response) to others that will require a little more thought. When students suggest that they may prefer some of the newer approaches that encourage development of their followers, follow-up by asking if they have had an opportunity to do this? Consider encouraging students who haven’t to set a goal to do so during the term they are taking your course.

“Coach” Charlie Hustle

Two former college friends, David and Michael, who now work for the same company, have been discussing David’s boss’ leadership style. David, an avid athlete, likes the coaching style displayed by his sales manager, Chuck Houser, aka “Coach” or Charlie Hustle. He likes it because, just like a coach, he tells his sales representatives what they need to be doing to “win” the next sale. Coach also keeps a score board of each person’s “points” or sales.

Michael thinks this is a bit much. What kind of a leader would tell you what to do all the time?

1.  Put yourself in Michael’s shoes. What should he tell David about other leadership behaviors Coach could use?

It sounds like David enjoys the direction given to him by his sales manager. Coach sounds like he emphasizes task orientation, but not to the point that it alienates his current group of sales reps. Without additional information we don’t know if Coach is a supportive person or has high turnover and only those reps who enjoy this directive style in a sales manager remain. As a new rep, David may have benefited from this style.

Michael is reacting against such a strong task orientation. He may feel that with someone always telling you what to do, that you will never have an opportunity to solve problems or develop on your own. He may believe that at some point the sales manager should trust that his sales force has the skills needed to accomplish the job – and don’t require the explicit acknowledgement of just doing their job.

Role Play:

Jackson Kramer Clothiers

In this role play students need to develop questions that a job candidate can answer about their own leadership style and experience. They will find that identifying the correct question to ask can be a challenge in itself.

Jackson Kramer Clothiers has been successful employing former department store employees in a direct sales channel. They work as wardrobe consultants to busy business people. They want to develop a younger clientele and realize that they may not be able to recruit them from department stores as they have done in the past. They are taking the firm’s youngest sales managers out to recruit on campuses. The founder wants them to identify individuals with leadership potential.

 Each of the two sales managers needs to develop a list of 4 or 5 questions that they believe will help them identify these potential leaders. After developing their own list they should work jointly to consolidate their list into one final list. Using this list the two of them need to convince a third student (the company founder) that their questions will help them identify the best recruits.

Many companies are also including questions about ethics in their interviews. They typically present the candidate with a scenario and ask them to explain how they would handle things.

You may wish to encourage students to or discuss the advantages of using a question that reveals behaviors about the interviewee. What did you do? How did you accomplish that? What difficulties did it present? How did you handle those?

Self-Assessments:

In your copy of Sales Management, you will find an Access Code Card. By using this code at www.pearsonhighered.com/tanner, you will gain access to the SAL program. Students will find an Access Code Card in their copy of the book as well.  The first SAL instrument is addressed in the text, the second is provided as an additional exercise.

IIIB4 – What’s My Leadership Style?

Much of this chapter focuses on leadership styles. Self-assessments are a good starting place but there is nothing like an outside view. This Self Assessment pulls from those taking the behavioral approach. After completing the series of 35 questions it will provide the student with some insights into the degree they are task or people-oriented. The instrument’s developers suggest that the best leaders are those who can balance their task/people orientation to various situations. A high score on both would reflect that balance. A high task score reflect more of an autocratic perspective while a high people-oriented score may reflect a high emotional cost in getting the job accomplished.

IIB4 – Do Others See Me as Trustworthy?

The more recent leadership approaches frequently discuss the importance of trust between the leader and followers. This short instrument provides the student some insights into how trustworthy others are likely to perceive them. Those with low scores are given some suggestions on how they might improve how others perceive them. Among the actions included are being more open, giving generous credit to others, following through on commitments and maintaining confidences.

Using Videos:

Go to the website with videos from Selling Power and consider the two videos selected for this chapter. Listed below are potential ways to introduce each video and questions you might consider to encourage further discussion after you have viewed the videos. To access the videos go to www.pearsonhighered.com/tanner.

From Salesman to President Part I – David Berman, Webex

David Berman chats about how he progressed from a telemarketer at Xerox, to a sales person to sales manager and finally to the President of Webex. He jokes that he has made lots of mistakes and discusses how he handled a job rejection and used it to help motivate himself for his next interview. He outlines what he considers to be some of his success factors, including:

·         Always learning, using coaches to help you to the next level, and helping others do the same.

·         Never giving up. Get training either on your own of through classes.

·         Watch others who are good, and adapt their behaviors into your skill set.

·         Realize you can’t do it all yourself. Managers do; leaders get others to help get it done.

1.      BEFORE WATCHING ASK – What personal traits do you think a president of a large company will consider important in moving up from a telemarketer to president?

2.      What approach to leadership do you think Berman uses?

3.      How does your view of a manager and a leader compare with Berman’s?

How Women Lead Differently – Mary Delaney, CareerBuilder.com

The publisher of Selling Power, Gerhard Gschwandtner – opens this interview with Mary Delaney, Chief Sales Officer (CSO) of Careerbuilder.com, by noting how difficult it is for him to find female leaders who will agree to be interviewed. In the conversation, Delaney describes how she leads and if she thinks there is a difference between how males and females lead groups. Research findings indicate that women leaders tend to:

·         Be more sensitive to reading nonverbal signals (in meetings and sales calls).

·         Relate more on an individual level and are less hierarchical than men.

·         Focus more on building relationships.

1.      What differences do you think there are between how women and men lead?

2.      Why do you think there fewer female CEOs than male CEOs?

3.      What are some of the ‘off-ramps’ for women leaders? How well do you think companies are handling these situations?

4.      Do you think we are moving toward more equity or not? What forces are pushing us in the direction you have indicated?

Full Case Recommendations:

Cannon Associates is experiencing generational stresses between older sales veterans and new hires that threatens it sales teams.  A recent team-training workshop hasn’t diminished the tension and lack of cooperation between the inside and field sales personnel.   The sales manager has developed some proposed changes that he wants to review with corporate officer personnel. Discussions should include what types of leadership styles would appear to be effective in this situation.  Additional discussions address which of the proposed suggestions should be implemented and which should not.

The Plantation revolves around the development of a golf course, a plantation-like clubhouse, and the home sites surrounding the development.  An over-extended investor must now accelerate the sales or face bankruptcy. The case describes the new marketing plan and sales goals that must be met in a very limited time span.  It lays out different types of sales goals and discusses the roles played by members of a sales team.  Discussions should focus on the proposed sales structure and how it will be led, if in fact, it will.  Both the old and the new sales force organizations involved family members.  What are the ramifications of using family members in this situation?

Other In-Class Exercises:

Which leadership training would you send your sales force to?

Below are four commercial suppliers of ‘leadership’ training. Ask your students, as sales managers which ones they would most likely consider sending members of their sales force to? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each? Would level of sales experience make a difference in their choices? Which one would they consider for the most experienced members, average level of experience and little experience? If they had a sales force of seven people how much would it cost to implement their leadership training? What does that say for larger sized sales forces?

·         The Center for Creative Leadership has conducted research on leadership as well as offering leadership training for many years. http://www.ccl.org/leadership/index.aspx

·         Grid International - http://www.gridinternational.com/foundations.html

·         Steven R. Covey – 7 Habits of Highly Effective People- http://www.stephencovey.com/

·         Robert K.  Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership - http://www.greenleaf.org/

What is Their Leadership Style?

In several of the questions and caselets students are encouraged to explore what leadership approach they prefer. Most salespeople are not grounded in leadership research but when asked to describe their style may have a pretty good idea.

In the course of a sales manager interview (or other school mates if it more convenient) students should ask the manager to give three examples of how they lead. Compile the class’ responses and first, see if they have given examples of management or leadership. From the leadership examples ask the student’s which approach they think this person best exemplifies? What style is most frequently and least frequently observed? Why might this be the case?

Revisiting Good Websites

Discussion question 11 refers to the websites of Service Master, Starbucks and the Men’s Warehouse. All 3 of these offer some interesting insights into each company’s philosophy.

Assign students to teams and let them summarize what they see as worthy goals and others that might be considered as ‘just talk’. Another option would be to have them identify other companies that they might consider following a servant leadership approach (i.e., Southwest Airlines, Medtronic). An online search should help them easily identify several.

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