1. affect your instructions,” (7-12). Additionally, she

1.                 What could Helen havedone differently to get started on the right foot with her new team?To go beyond management and enterthe leadership role, one must not make some of the novice mistakes, Helen, arecent Masters of Public Administration (MPA) graduate made in the case study.Although Helen used the technical knowledge acquired throughout her schooling,as the new leader, she was not prepared to be a person in authority.

            Threemonths after receiving her degree, Helen came into her new position at thestate department of parks and recreation, she did not have the adequateexperience, nor did she possess the communication or people skills that arenecessary to become a leader.  Due toHelen’s lack of leadership skills, she approached her position as a manager andnot a leader. Thus, this obstructed her efforts with her colleague, and she fellinto what McCorkle and Witt define as “The Dark Side of Positional Authority”(p. 21). Helen knew shewould be running the meeting, and her inexperience, inabilities, insufficientand poor communication skills were demonstrated during the event; it did not gowell.  For instance, during the encounterwith her staff members, she read directly from her notes, avoid eye contact,and pushed her own agenda.

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Maintaining eye contact with those you are speakingto is a good communication technique. According to the Marine Corps University,eye contact is one of, “the four mannerisms that can affect your instructions,”(7-12).  Additionally, she did not takeinto consideration the effects that her abrupt concepts and ideas would have onher staff.  Moreover, she did nottake the time to pay attention to any of her employee’s reactions or bodylanguage. She failed to communicate effectively with her staff, and she had thenotion that they understood what was presented to them without checking if shehad articulated her points well enough. By ending the meeting abruptly, she didgive her staff time reflect on her suggestion and they were left come up withtheir own assumptions.

Due to this, Helen created tension in an already uncomfortablesituation.   These are all concepts of McCorkle and Witt(2014, p. 21) stages: self-focus, counterproductivecommunication habits, premature change, anemic expectation management.New leadership positions turn over naturally creates a greatlevel of anxiety and apprehension and Helen’s hasty dictates only affirmed heremployee’s fears (McCorkle & Witt, 2014, p. 25).

Prior to concluding hermeeting, she should have taken this opportunity to listen to and become betteracquainted with her staff, and she should have allowed her staff theopportunity to be heard by opening the floor for feedback and questions. As reportedby Berman et al. “Such detailed feedback is useful for managers, of course, andit is sometimes quite serious when the area of feedback is also the subject ofongoing employee concerns” (p. 233).Helen should have taken advantage of the apprenticeship andworkshop programs that her graduate program offered to hone her skills and getthe much-needed exposure to become a knowledgeable leader. Having not givenherself the chance to grow into her new position, she thought commanding hernew employees to perform would be enough, focusing on giving them orders ratherthan understanding the issues. Because of this, Helenentered the apprentice stage of the Positional Authority of McCorkle& Witt (2014, p. 21),Helen’s lack of leadership experience led her to make novicemistakes that could have easily been prevented.

Skipping leadership, acting asa manager and not a leader and her inexperience, insufficient and poorcommunication skills, ineffectively with staff lead Helen into the pitfalls of the”The Dark Side of Positional Authority.” All of which will present her with anew set of challenges moving forward.  2.

      Whatsteps can Helen take to improve the situation with the team?Although Helen started off on the wrong foot, there areseveral avenues she could participate in to improve her situation.  Except for her formal MPA education, Helenhas no practical experience.  Therefore,she should consider reviewing leadership documentation such as the state andfederal standards.

  Also, she couldsearch for varies philosophies on how to lead her team.  For instance, the U.S.

Office of PersonnelManagement (as cited in McCorkle and Witt, 2014, p.9) which contains 28competencies that can assist in guiding her in the right direction.She should also devise strategies that will assist her toconvey a clear and concise message in an efficient manner to her staff.  Effective leaders require good communicationand interpersonal skills. O’Hara (2014) states, the first step a leader shouldaccomplish when taking over a team is getting to know your staff.  The case studies in the article alsomentioned communication is an essential skill to be an effective leader.”Leaders seek information before acting, listen, use consistent communicationto build trust, and include other in change processes when feasible.” McCorkleand Witt (p.

24). Trust is a collaborate effort and Helen should focus onbuilding a trusting relationship with her employees.  As stated in an article by Beslin, Reddin, etal. (2004), one of the most difficult battles a leader has is to gain andsustain an efficacious trusting relationship with their associates.  “Trust is a powerful force that buildsloyalty, increases credibility and supports effective communications.” Althoughcommunication does not make some trustworthy, it does assist in building thefoundation where trust can be developed. Therefore, it is vital for Helen and her colleagues to be onthe same page and create a unified front.

 Because if subordinates do not have trust in their leadership, they willgo elsewhere for guidance and assistance. McCorkle and Witt underline thispoint by stating that, “managers who focus on rule infractions, hound staff tostay on task or closet themselves in their offices may meet the technicalrequirements of a job, but rarely will be viewed as leaders” (p. 20). Helen should take the opportunity to connect with each of herstaff members in a team environment, as well as and on an individuallevel.  In doing so, she needs to listenand ask questions, this will permit her to develop a connection, create astronger and cohesive working relationship, increase morale, productivity, andloyalty.  Additionally, her colleagues wouldfeel more comfortable when they interact with her (Kennedy, 2013). This can beperformed bycreating team building exercises oractivities that could be completed on a semi-regular basis.  “The more youfacilitate team building activities with your employees and co-workers, themore comfortable you will become leading and organizing sessions for success” (Heathfield,2017).

 As reported by Schamore (2016),teambuilding allows employees to “build trust, mitigates conflict, encouragescommunication, and increases collaboration.” Furthermore, Helen would benefit from shadowing each member ofthe team to acquire a better understanding of her employee’s duties.  She would also be able to ascertain theprocesses, goals, objectives, and efficacies (Evans, 2014).  Althoughprior to executing any changes, Helen should permit her employees to have some input,and provide them with some time to reflect and comprehendany modification she plans to implement.  Although Helen should not make any changes untilshe has gained the trust and received the necessary tools and knowledge needed tobe a leader.  Any modification should be performedin small increments.

 

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