Leadership Final Project- L500

8/3/2019 Leadership Final Project- L500

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Leadership Styles and Theories- Lead 500Dr. Ron Beach

Marisa Crawford GrayDecember 2010


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Abstract

This papers object is to look at the challenges facing the Workforce Development

department at Kansas City Kansas Community College. The level of commitment from

this department to the community as a provider of workplace skills and education. This

paper will also evaluate the leadership styles and performances of an effective leader.


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Table of Contents

Abstract 2

Table of Contents 4

Introduction 5

Background Information 5

Purpose 8

Leadership Styles and Theories 8

Conclusion 20

Reference 22


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Introduction

The Kansas City Kansas Community College (KCKCC) is located in Kansas City,

Kansas and is identified as an urban community college to serve the needs of citizens in

Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties.

The mission of KCKCC reads as follows:

Kansas City Kansas Community College is a public, urban, open-door, and

comprehensive community college committed to excellence in higher education.

Through an accessible and supportive learning environment, the college mission is to

provide higher education and lifelong learning to the varied communities, primarily in its

service area of Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties.

KCKCC seeks to fulfill its mission by providing:

An educational environment

Transfer education

Career education

General education

Continuing education

Continuing education

Developmental education

Community services

Education and support services

Student support services


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A multicultural environment

Administrative and institutional support services

Activities

A campus environment

Quick facts about KCKCC include:

Total enrollment 7,465

Full-time 34% and part-time 55%

Average age of the students being 30.4 years of age.

Of the total population, 42.6% are minority (Center for Research & Community

Development)

The college is governed by elected officials from the community seven (7) Board of

Trustees, with the Administration leadership being comprised of the President, Provost

for Academic Affairs; Vice President for Financial and Administrative Services and

eleven (11) deans.

Background Information

The Workforce Development department is located within the business division

on the organizational chart. The Dean of Business and Continuing Education has the

responsibility of leadership for Workforce Development. The current dean has been in

this position since July, 2010. Prior to this administration, the position has experienced

a change in leadership of 3 deans/directors over the past four years. Based on this

inconsistent leadership, the Workforce Development department has been challenged


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to meet the goals identified in the colleges strategic plan. In addition, there have been

internal struggles with leadership of the Board of Trustees identifying clear goals and

expectations for the department.

The mission of Workforce Development Department is to serve the training

needs of emerging, current and returning workers, supports economic development,

and is a resource for the college, employers and their employees.

Wyandotte County, which is located in Kansas City, Kansas, has historically

been challenged with a high unemployment rate. The community has a history of being

a manufacturing area with the major employer being General Motors. In 2007, the Boart

of Trustees advised the Workforce Development department to focus on economic

development with the emphasis on training and development for the citizens of the

serving areas. With current unemployment figures that continue to be in the double

digits the leaders of the economic community have been aggressively recruiting new

businesses into the area. With the success of these business creates new employment

opportunities for the citizens in Wyandotte County. The challenge becomes getting

them retrained with up-to-dates skills that match the needs of the industry.

The primary challenge with the direction of focus requested from the BOT is the

lack of physical and fiscal increase in the budget of the Workforce Development

Department. The department has two full-time coordinators and no one identified to

serve as a director for the area. There has been no clear definition of what success

looks like for the department and specific strategy of how to reach the goal. In addition,

morale is very low and because of the lack of leadership, current employees are left to


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set their own agenda in hopes of having something to provide to the BOT at the time of

the year-end report.

Purpose

The purpose of this Gap Analysis is to understand what role the leadership of

Business and Continuing Education was responsible for as the department strived to

meet the directions of the Board of Trustees. The analysis will look at the various

leadership styles and the impact of effectiveness of these styles in the workplace and

the subordinates. It will also show the impact of the leadership style in the development

of new and existing partnerships of the college. We will also look at the impact of the

leader-follower relationship and how it affects productivity within the organization.

Leadership Styles and Theories

Leadership can be defined as an interaction between two or more members of a

group that often involves a structuring or restructuring of the situation and the

perceptions and expectations of the members (Bass, 1990). While there is not one way

to lead, it has been stated that leaders have to have followers in order to lead. Effective

leaders serve as change agents and are a person who acts affects other people more

than other peoples acts affect them, (Pierce & Newstrom, 2008).

Over the course of time there have been many scholars that have shared their

theories and research to define how leaders lead. The most effective leaders of the 21st

century seem to have these common traits: drive, the desire to lead, honesty and


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integrity, self confidence, cognitive ability, and knowledge of the business. In addition

they have characteristics that include charisma, creativity and originality, and flexibility

and adaptiveness (Kirkpatrick and Locke).

The Dean of Business and Continuing Education in 2005, upon my arrival was an

individual that had been in position for thirteen (13) years. Her leadership style could be

identified as a combination of democratic and participative. As a woman, she was

sometimes challenged with the task of leading a department that had 20 women and

only 2 men. The office climate could range from very caring and supportive, to

competitive and backbiting on any given week. As a democratic leader, this style

involves the leader including one or more employees in the decision making process.

However, the leader maintains the final decision making authority. It was the common

practice of this leader to hold weekly meetings with department leaders allowing

information to be shared of what the tasks were for the week and where support might

be needed to accomplish any of these objectives. While the meetings were generally

very informative and informal in nature, it was very easy for us to get off track and

extend beyond the one hour allotted time frame on Monday mornings. Since many of

the directors had been in their position for a number of years the dean also exhibited

traits of the delegative style. With this style, the worker might often know more than

the leader in certain areas. The leader is not expected to know everything, but has

placed value in trusting that various team members will keep her informed on any

decisions that need to be made. This also speaks to the leaders confidence level and

her ability to share the power within the group for the overall good and productivity of

the group.


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This leader also valued knowing her team members as an individual and finding

out what was important to them. With the current budget cuts surrounding our

economic times, she was creative in finding ways to reward her followers that did not

include financial expenditures. She would take the time to research certain articles or

presentations and then share the information with the staff in order to expand our

knowledge with the expense of a conference. She was also aware of personal

challenges or celebrations of the team. This helped to create a sense of family on the

team. Because she was willing to share her power as a leader, as her follower, we

were often inspired to find creative ways to bring value to the department. Celebrations

within the department were also meaningful because they were personalized reflecting

the task that had been completed.

Toward the end of this deans leadership period there were signs that her reigns

of authority had been limited by new management above her. The new Provost, which

is who the dean reported to, was a very authoritarian or autocratic male leader.

Traits of this style leadership include the leader wishes to have unquestioned author

and power over their employees. They will tell their employees what they want done

and how they want it accomplished with getting advice or feedback from their followers.

This would create conflict for the dean as a leader to have her supervisor to tell what

and how a task was to be completed and then she be democratic and allowing input

from her followers. Especially, on those projects where she exhibited delegative traits

where she depended on others to carry out an assignment without her being there. If

you ever want to see a group of women ban together, just have a leader who they

support and feel that the leader has been wrongfully released of her leadership powers.


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The climate of the department quickly became an us vs him atmosphere in protection of

their leader. The situation became so hostile for the dean that she became emotionally

traumatized and left the organization of a medical leave. The long term effect of this

type of atmosphere is erosion of trust and respect towards the organization.

The replacement dean for the department happened to be female as well, but

also was a pseudo-transformational leader. This style is very manipulative and at

times condescending. Pseudo-transformation leaders, has unethical motives and

values. Their behaviors might exhibit those of the transformational leader, but their

interest is in self and becoming personal idols than caring for the benefits of those that

follow them or those they serve. They are generally very good at communicating their

beliefs and promoting their missions, but they motivate their followers through deception

and false promises.

Under the leadership of the pseudo-transformational leader, the department

moral was rock bottom. Communication was one-way, instead of being gathered and

shared amongst each other. The weekly Monday morning meetings and the monthly

division meetings became sessions of information shared only by the dean without input

from the department heads or followers involved with the projects. Even though you

might be responsible for a particular project, during the meetings she would summarize

what was happening and if you tried to add additional comments you were quickly

dismissed with a quick thank you, now moving on. When there were examples of we

it became very evident that we really meant I. Even our times of celebration were

deceptive in nature because food was used as a way to buy or influence our support for

her motives.


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In addition to the poor communication between team members,

characteristics identified with the LeaderMember Exchange (LMX) theory were also

evident. There were some in-group members that were treated better than other out-

group members. The LMX theory looks at the unique relationship-based social

exchange between leaders and members (Grains & Ul-Bien, 1995). As this strategy

was played out in the department, unhealthy competition between the teams of inner

circle and outer circle members became very obvious. The false perceptions that had

been created because the two parties did not talk directly to each other eroded the

departments trust and support of each other.

It is important when operating with the LMX theory that the leader must be

consistent and not hide things from members. The LMX theory is equity based. It was

not until various team members starting asking questions to each other that the deans

cover was blown. This type of leadership also had a negative effect on the image of

department as we tried to maintain our relationships with our business community. As

an organization that is commissioned to serve others, we have to be good listeners

and show value of each other. What we experienced was business telling us what they

needed and then being rejected by our leader because of her arrogance and

condescending tone. It was more of an attitude of we know what is happening better

than you do, so let us tell you what you need. Our client base dropped considerably,

but it will be hard to prove that it was a lack of trust in our relationship and not a signor

excuse of the economic times.

This leader also had been known to rule by intimidation. While some of these

traits can be identified as Autocratic, they also are very destructive in the workplace.


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When a leader uses their power to withhold information or praise from an employee or

does not set clear goals or messages, then they run the risk of creating a hostile

environment within the organization.

Employees that work in a close small environment depend on trust and

relationships within their teams. Many of the employees in this division had been

together for an extended period of time and view each other as family. They have a

passion for the work that must be done in the community and have an internal support

system that is difficult to break. Once it was determined among the teams that the

leader was not operating in the best interest of the department then help was sought

from higher leadership. Thankfully, this leader was only in place for about 18 months

before she was asked to resign by upper leadership.

The next leader to be given the responsibility of dean for the division has the

challenge of building morale between the department teams, damage control in the

community with business clients, and reorganizing the department to better meet the

needs and requirements as defined by the BOT. The leadership styles exhibited by this

new leader are transformational.

Transformational leadership has several characteristics (Bass, 1985):

1. Leaders communicate a clear vision

2. Leaders explain how vision can be achieved

3. Leaders show confidence in both vision and followers

4. Leaders lead by example

5. Leaders empower followers to work toward vision achievement


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When operating with the transformational leadership theory, there is an exchange of

relationships between the leader and the follow. It focuses on the leader empowering

the follower to work for the best interest of the organization to meet the goal. The leader

builds a relationship with the follower and knows what rewards motivate them.

Research supports the concept that there are four components of authentic

transformational leadership characteristics:

Idealized influence

Inspirational motivational

Intellectual stimulation and

Individualized consideration (Bass and Steidlmeier, 1999)

Also important is for the transformational leader to be grounded in moral foundations.

This leadership depends upon three pillars:

The moral character of the leader;

The ethical legitimacy of the values embedded in the leaders vision,

articulation and program which the follower embraces or rejects; and

The morality of the processes of social and ethical choices and action that the

leaders and the followers engage in and collectively pursue, (Wren, 1998p

Kouzes & Posner, 1993; Greenleaf, 1977 Conger and Kanungo (1998).

Looking at the moral character of the new leader is something that can be seen

at the surface level during the initial interview, but will not be verified until you are able

to observe the leader in action. Yes the human resource department is able to check

references and look at their background performances, but until a person is immersed


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into the environment and has to interact with others do you get a true sense of their

values and core morals. Professionals today are trained to respond to what is expected

as appropriate behavior. When interviews are limited to an hour, it is easy to for an

individual role play and receive a passing grade. To address this issue, perhaps

during the interview process, the interviewee could be taken through a number of skilled

scenarios to get a feel of their response.

The new dean has been in the position since July, 2010. He has been given a

very challenging task of learning how to balance two departments, lead 40 plus full-time

employees and respond to the BOT request to focus on workforce development in the

service area communities. Since he came from an academic setting he is familiar with

the responsibilities associated with running a division. The challenge for him has been

learning the climate of the institution. Over 75% of the employees at KCKCC have been

with the institution for 20 years plus. The president has been affiliated with the college

for over 25 years. The BOT has members that have been on the board for 18 plus

years. So change happens very slowly at KCKCC. Ironically there was a survey done

by the BOT for the community to respond to and make recommendations in the spring

of 2010. The number one statement was the college was not visible enough in the

community. We are here but we are not a fixture in the community that businesses and

individual community citizens consider as a first point of contact for resource needs.

In addition, the new dean is not a resident of this community, so learning the

political climate of the city and local businesses is also a new learning curb for him.

Wyandotte County has a 51% minority population rate that is primarily Hispanic and

African American. We happen to have the most diverse ethnic backgrounds of polish,


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Hmong, and Asian for this part of the metropolitan area. We also have a 65% senior

population that is 55 plus years of age and older. Wyandotte County is considered to

be one of the most diverse populations and also one of the most closed communities.

They value the home grown factor. This being said, it will take the new dean a series of

just attending community gatherings so that people get accustomed to seeing his face

before they respond with a great deal of trust.

According to research conducted over a 25 year span, the following open-ended

question: What values, personal traits, or characteristics do you look for and admire in

a leader? was asked in a survey of thousands of business and government executives,

(Kouzes & Posner, p 28). The results have been consistent over time with the top

responses being:

Honest- a person that knows right from wrong. Honesty is strongly tied to

values and ethics (Kouzes & Posner, p 33).

Forward-looking- leaders must know where theyre going if they expect

others to willingly join them on the journey. Their ability to imagine or

discover a desirable destination toward which the company, agency,

congregation, or community should head, (Kouzes & Posner, p 33)

Inspiring- leaders must be enthusiastic, energetic, and positive about the

future. They must be able to uplift their constituents spirits and give them

hope, or breathe life into peoples dreams and aspirations. Their ability to

speak to the needs of their constituents or followers to have meaning and

purpose, (Kouzes & Posner, p 34).


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Competent leaders must have relevant experience and sound judgment

enough to guide individuals where they are headed (Kouzes & Posner, p

35).

To his credit, the new dean is a good listener and has a very humanistic spirit.

He is very methodical with his approach to change and has been very cautious about

suggesting any radical changes thus far. He is willing to share a vision that he is

putting together based on collaboration of his followers.

Transformational Leader

Transformational leaders also have charisma, inspirational motivation, intellectual

stimulation, and individualized consideration (Bass 185, 1998; Bass & Avolio, 1993).

They have a deep rooted respect for others and are concerned about the good that can

be achieved for the group organization or society that they are responsible for. They

are open in their leadership style that transforms to a spirit of altruism and willingness

for others. More importantly, they believe in developing their followers into leaders.

Situational Leadership

While there is no one best leadership style, this leader has the knowledge to

operate using situational leadership traits. Situational Leadership models are based

on three factors:

1. The amount of guidance and direction a leader gives

2. The amount of socio-emotional support a leader provides; and


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3. The readiness level that followers exhibit in performing a specific task,

function or objective.

The new dean has a very humanistic approach to dealing with people in the division and

the Workforce Development Department. He has not been grounded in the academic

world very long, which is a big plus for him. Coming into the college, his challenge was

to focus on workforce development and providing services for both citizens and

business in our service area. Since he is not from this area, he has taken the time to

actually learn about the community. This has been a change in leadership style for the

department. The previous leaders were not public workforce friendly. They were so

heavily influenced in the academic way of life that working beyond the walls of the

college was often operating out of their comfort zone.

The new dean, at times he is over zealous in getting out and meeting companies

to the point that it becomes offensive to the team. We have had to adapt our approach,

which has not been very aggressive in the past. He has taken the time to help the

department develop a plan that compliments the overall strategic plan for the college.

Everything we do now can be correlated to supporting the mission. His leadership style

is non-threatening and inspires you to want to dig a little deeper with your pre-research

and then find other ways to connect the company with the college.

One of the new projects for our department was a grant from the Department of

Labor to provide entry level training for individuals interested in hospitality and retail

careers. Using this project as a means of helping to create additional visibility for the

college in the community has been a challenge. While the upper leadership is aware of


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the program, there is little support in making sure that key players are involved when it

comes to publicity. The previous dean did not see the value in the program to the

community and elected to alter the information that had been submitted for approval.

Prior to the new dean coming on board, our department had the responsibility of

learning the requirements of the grant and completing the necessary reports. The new

dean, having experience with DOL grants has been very instrumental in helping to

make sure we stay on task and find cost effective ways to meet the requirements. His

is very supportive and is interested in making sure that we find ways to meet our

personal goals while completing this project.

The Leader-Follower Relationship

If you look at the number of leadership programs that outnumber programs

designed to help with followership, one might believe that everyone is training and

should be a leader. Leadership has been glorified and many leaders are placed on a

pedestal without just cause. Reality is, not everyone desiring to be a leader should lead.

There are significantly more followers than leaders in todays society. Building

relationships between leaders and followers requires trust. An effective leader is willing

to open himself up and find ways to not only share the power, but also to show to others

where areas of support are needed. They have to model the way of what they want the

relationship to look like. Through their modeling, they are showing what their values

and beliefs are and they are not afraid to put a voice to them. Their passion for the

cause shows and they are prepared to align values together to show strength.


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you cannot lead. A true leader has to show trust to build trust. That was the challenge

with the previous Dean, the trust had been broken within the group and relationships

had been compromised. Being an effective leader takes work, but the results can be so

rewarding for the team. As a leader strengthens others, they help to help to create a

climate where people are engaged and feel in control and accountable. They increase

the followers belief in their own ability to make a difference, learn new skills and

develop new talents. In the end, they help to turn their followers into leaders.


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References:

Ciulla, Joanne B., Ethics, The Heart of Leadership. 2004. 2nd Edition, PraegerPublishers, Westport CT

Dickson, Robert, Culturing personal leadership, CMA Magazine; Feb 95, Vol 69 Issue 1,p10, 5p.

Grayson, Don & Speckhart, Ryan, The Leader-Follower Relationship: Practitionerobservations. Leadership Advance online-Issue VI Winter 2006

Kouzes, James M. & Posner, Barry Z., (2007) The Leadership Challenge. 4th Edition,Jossey-Bass, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Phillips, Antionette S., and Bedian, Arthur G., Leader-follower exchange quality: Therole of personal and interpersonal attributes. Academy of Management Journal; Aug 94,

Vol 37, Issue 4, p 990.

Pierce, Jon L. & Newstrom, John W. (2008). Leaders & The Leadership Process. 5thEdition, McGrill-Hill Irwin

Stage Roberts, Betty and Dean, Mahnaz A., Leadership in the 21stCentury-UncharteredWaters or Same Drip. PA Times; Jul 2000, Vol 23 Issue 7, Leadership p 4, 2/3p

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Leadership Final Project- L500