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Module 5: Discussion

Instructions:

In each module, you will have the opportunity to participate in an online discussion forum.

This week, there are five questions up for discussion.

It might be helpful to copy / paste the discussion prompts into an offline document (Word, for example), compose your responses offline, and then return to paste your responses here. (Please include each discussion prompt prior to your responses.)

With respect to your initial thread/ post responding to the prompts, similar to the Critical Thinking and Application Prompts, each discussion topic prompt is generally worthy of at least 250 words (2 - 3 well-written paragraphs) in response. Be sure to connect with (and informally cite in-text) any applicable readings / videos from the module's learning materials. Following this procedure in the discussion forum will help students who may be struggling with their graduate-level writing skills see the approaches that others are taking in response to these types of prompts.

With respect to your replies to others' posts (three per discussion topic), these can be more informal and are there just to help you all share important connections and build a sense of community.

Please post your initial response to the discussion topic question(s), and reply meaningfully to at least three of your fellow classmate's posts.

(You only need to create one thread for your initial post, responding to both prompts, in this case - you don't need a separate thread for each question.)

Discussion Prompt 1: For a day, make a self-conscious effort to create self-fulfilling prophecies in your encounters with others by treating them as if you believed they were friendly, compassionate, and competent. (For the sake of ethics, restrict yourself to positive behaviors!) Keep a record of how people responded to your behavior as well as your own reactions to their behavior. How often did they confirm your expectations, and how did you feel when they did? If and when they didn’t, how did that make you feel? In general, what was it like to conduct this experiment? Discuss the actual data you collected as well as your findings and observations.

Discussion Prompt 2: According to the leadership style self-assessment, what was your Hersey-Blanchard leadership style (Telling, Selling, Participating, Delegating)? Do you agree with this assessment? Why or why not?

Discussion Prompt 3: Review the information regarding Tuckman’s Stages of Team Development model. Contrast Hersey-Blanchard leadership style with the various stages of team development. Do you see a connection? Discuss team leadership behaviors that you think would be applicable to each of Tuckman’s stages of team development.

Discussion Prompt 4: Now that we have explored the idea of "style flexing" within the context of the Big 5 and the situational leadership model, what do you think about the idea of adapting your behavioral style based on the context (people, type of project, project phase, etc.)? How might you employ this technique in your own leadership practice?

Discussion Prompt 5: Thinking back on Module 5, with respect to building your leadership expertise, pick three concepts / theories / ideas from the module that you would consider the most powerful and useful, and (for each of the three) describe how the idea can be adapted into your evolving leadership practice.

BELOW ARE EXAMPLES OF OTHER STUDENTS POSTS

The self-fulfilling experiment provided an interesting insight into social interactions shaped by expectations. Most people reciprocated my positive treatment by being friendly, compassionate, and competent.

After greeting a coworker enthusiastically and expressing confidence in their abilities, they responded more openly and engaged more in conversation.

The second example was during a peer-on-peer meeting I was more animated and complimentary of a coworker’s attire. They responded much more happily and wanted to engage in longer-than-usual conversation.

Later in the day, I had a vendor meeting and was more enthusiastic than usual, but the rep seemed indifferent. It was frustrating because some were resistant to changing their behavior. The power of self-fulfilling prophecies is immense, but it does not always manifest itself immediately or universally.

Positive expectations have been shown to improve workplace relationships and foster collaboration in this experiment. Setting high but supportive expectations can lead to more engaged and productive teams by using self-fulfilling prophecies.

Due to my high tasks and high relationships, my leadership style is most closely aligned with the "Selling" style (S2) in Hersey-Blanchard's Situational Leadership Model. This type of leadership involves both strong direction and strong socio-emotional support, making it ideal for motivating team members while ensuring tasks are completed on time and in the most efficient way.

I agree with this assessment as I naturally tend to set clear expectations and structure to ensure productivity. Motivate and support team members through encouragement and relationship building. Keeping everything on track while fostering engagement requires frequent communication.

As stated in the article by Hersey and Blanchard, successful leaders are those who can adapt their behavior to meet the demands of their unique situation (1988, p. 9). When working with employees who have some competence, but still need guidance and motivation to gain full confidence in their roles, the Selling style is especially useful.

This style fits my leadership practice in that tasks are completed efficiently while maintaining morale. My goal is to persuade and inspire the team to commit to shared goals by encouraging buy-in. By adapting my leadership approach, I can help employees develop their skills and become more independent.

The high-task/high-relationship style allows me to effectively lead in the hospitality industry by providing both direction and encouragement, fostering a productive and motivated team.

The Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Model and Tuckman’s Stages of Team Development are both frameworks that emphasize adaptability in leadership. The Hershey-Blanchard model suggests that effective leaders adjust their leadership style based on team members’ competence and commitment while Tuckman’s model describes how teams evolve through stages (Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning). The connection between the two models is the fact that different leadership is needed at each stage of team development for growth and success.

Forming stage of team development would need “Telling” leadership (high-task, low relationship) as directive leadership would be needed to provide structure, set ground rules, clarify roles and goals and establish a shared vision.

The Storming stage would be “Selling” leadership (high-task, high-relationship) where the leader provides strong direction but foster collaboration. As conflicts arise the leader will balance authority with encouragement.

Norming stage would follow which would be “Participating” leadership ( low-task, high relationship) for team to develop cohesion and share responsibility this type pf leader suits the best. The leader can shift from directing to supporting allowing the team more ownership, Encouraging open communication, emppowring team members and fostering collaboration.

The Performing stage of team development would be “Delegating” leadership (low-task, low-relationship). The team is highly skilled and self-sufficient. Leaders adopt a hands-off approach, providing autonomy and support when needed.

Adjourning Stage is the transitional leadership stage. As the team disbands the leader should ensure a smooth transition by reflecting on successes and lessons learned. Leaders should celebrate accomplishments, provide feedback and help members transition to new roles.

The Hersey-Blanchard model aligns well with the Tuckman’s framework as both emphasize leadership and its need to adapt to the needs of the team, Leaders who recognize where their team is in development and adjust their leadership style accordingly can foster higher performance, engagement and long-term success.

Adapting your leadership style to the context, people, project type, and phase of a project is the key to effective leadership. In the Big 5 Personality Model and Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership model show that different situations and different individuals require different approaches to motivation, communication and direction.

The importance of flexibility in leadership lies in ensuring that team members receive the guidance and support they need at different stages of their development. Leaders need to change their behavior in dynamic environments to maximize the effectiveness of teams. Successful leaders are those who can adapt their behavior to meet the demands of the unique situation (Hersey & Blanchard, 1988, p. 1).

Applying flex styling to leadership would be to adapt to the individual personalities. Whenever I lead an independent, conscientious employee, I use a delegating style and give them autonomy and trust. To keep someone focused but not take away from their creativity, I would provide structured guidance with flexible guidelines.

In the early phases of a project, the forming stage of Tuckman's Forming stage, a directive approach is needed to establish expectations and clarity. It would be better to take a more supportive or coaching role during execution in order to encourage collaboration and decision-making. Later on, shifting to a delegation style so team members can take full responsibility.

In some teams, structure and defined roles work best while in others, less structured collaboration works better. Flexing leadership styles will depend on team dynamics. I can create a productive and motivating workplace by reading the team's needs and adapting accordingly.

A strong leader is able to adjust their leadership style according to the situation. By practicing style flexing I can ensure better communication, more team engagement, and team success.

One of the concepts in this module that is useful and can be adapted into leadership would be emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is an important component of effective leadership as it enables leaders to understand, manage and respond to emotions; both their own and those of others. In the video, Emotional Intelligence: The #1 ability for leaders, Goleman explains that emotional intelligence consists of four domains, self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management (2024, 3:31). Emotional intelligence enhances leadership, and leaders can build more engaged teams, make better decisions, and create positive workplace cultures.

A second concept that would be useful in building leadership expertise would be situational leadership. In the article by Hersey and Blanchard emphasize that there is no single best leadership style; leaders must adapt their approach based on the situation and the readiness of the followers (1988, p. 1). The four leadership styles, Telling (S1), Selling (S2), Participating (S3), and Delegating (S4) are defined and applied depending on the followers readiness level. Leaders should adjust their leadership style as their team members develop. Effective leadership evolves as the team members change and acquire knowledge the leadership changes. This helps managers and leaders create an environment where employees receive the right balance of direction and support to maximize productivity and engagement.

The third concept that is useful in building leadership expertise is bias and prejudice. Leaders should actively challenge biases through self-awareness, diverse perspectives and inclusive decision-making. In Chapter 7, Aronson highlights how deeply ingrained stereotypes can shape decision-making, perception and team dynmaics. Leaders, consciously or unconsciously, may favor individuals who fit their preconceived notions, leading to inequities in hiring, promotions, and assignments. Aronson emphasizes that prejudices are not just cold conclusions but are fueled by emotions, making them resistant to change (2018, p. 254).

Reference:

Aronson, E. (2021). The Social Animal (12th ed.). Worth Publishers.

Goleman, D. (2024). Emotional Intelligence: The #1 ability for leaders. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=-qmLoJ7-A80&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com%2F&embeds_referring_origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com&source_ve_path=Mjg2NjY

Hersey, P., & Blanchard, K. H. (2019). Situational leadership debrief [PDF]. Course materials.

Muller, R., & Turner, R. (2009). Leadership Competency profiles of successful project managers [PDF]. Course materials

This week, our water heater gave out and we needed a new one to be installed. My husband and I had purchased a water heater and attempted to take on the task, but soon met the plight of every homeowner: it was harder than it looked. We were able to remove the water heater, but needed different parts and tools than we were ready to use. I chose this day to conduct my experiment, as I knew I would be communicating with several people that I would struggle to agree with. I usually have an internal fight with Click-Whirr automaticity in acceptance of a sales pitch that requires work that I do not want to take on myself. “Much of the compliance process can be understood in terms of a human tendency for automatic, shortcut responding. Most individuals in our culture have developed a set of trigger features for compliance…Each of these trigger features for compliance can be used like a weapon (of influence) to stimulate people to agree to requests” (Cialdini, 2008, pg. 16). Instead of arguing with the salesman about what a job like this actually costs, I was going to assume the best, and trust they were giving me a good deal.

We called upon three different companies to receive a quote for installation. As each salesman came to the door and assessed what needed to be done, I treated them respectfully and they gave me a quote for the project. As they gave me numbers for the installation, I made sure my body language was friendly and asked questions so I came across as curious as not judging. Aronson stated that “The key to effective communication rests on our willingness to express feelings rather than judgments”, and that feelings expressed through our actions and emotions are more powerful than just stating what we are feeling. (Aronson, 2018). I was honest that I was worried about the prices they gave me, but trusted their work and thanked them for their time. Two out of three plumbers told me that they would make concessions to help the cost. A ten percent discount from one and an added warranty deal from the other. Both charged us way more than the third plumber who simply stated, “I will get it done today, and I’m not trying to screw you”.

In the end, after being friendly and showing my apprehension of the sale, the third plumber gave us a quick estimate that was reasonable, considering we had already removed the old heater, without negotiating on our end. It was difficult not to try to accuse the first two plumbers of over charging and arguing about the work that was going to be done. The first plumber wanted to charge us double what the third plumber did!

When on the receiving end of a sales pitch, we tend to show a bit of aggression and protection of our finances and egos, but want to maintain a friendly appearance toward the person who is giving the pitch. “Evolution has given us both a propensity to attack when we feel threatened or in competition for resources, and also strong inhibitory mechanisms that enable us to suppress aggression when it is in our best interests to do so” (Aronson, 2018, pg. 205). During this experiment, withholding this aggression was difficult, but assuming the best in all of the plumbers and understanding their need to complete a job helped me to soften my stance.

Discussion Prompt 2: According to the leadership style self-assessment, what was your Hersey-Blanchard leadership style (Telling, Selling, Participating, Delegating)? Do you agree with this assessment? Why or why not?

The Hersey-Blanchard assessment labeled me as low task, high relationship, which meant my style of leadership is Participating. I do agree that this is my leadership style, as I have always been confident that my team knows what they are doing. By leaning on them, I demonstrate that I trust them to do their jobs and will support them to do so. However, as members become more comfortable in the group I have seen myself style-flex into the selling quadrant to a fault then falling back into the participating style.

This means that my style of leadership does follow the bell-shaped curve demonstrated in the reading, “It means that the readiness level of one’s followers develops along the continuum to higher levels, the appropriate style of leadership moves accordingly along the curvilinear function” (Hersey & Blanchard, pg. 5) Once followers have built enough confidence, they can move to the next stage, where they need me less and can do more on their own. I compare it a bit to being a parent or a teacher. As both, it is my goal to get my children and the children of others to a point where they can function on their own without me. “Effective leaders must know their staff well enough to meet their ever-changing abilities and demands placed upon them.” (Hersey & Blanchard, pg. 9) Though we may not have as loving of a relationship with our followers as our own children, we can help guide them so they can be independent. Yet, for much of our life we do still need our parents and teachers, and some followers still need guidance even though they can perform the work on their own. I know I am a leader who still thrives off of mentorship and guidance, though I can be trusted to do the work on my own. As leaders, we fall within this bell curve as followers ourselves and also move gradually through the process. “This process by its very nature cannot be revolutionary but must be evolutionary; gradual development changes, a result of planned growth, and the creation of mutual trust and respect” (Hersey & Blanchard, pg. 9)

Tuckman’s Stages of Team Development and the Hersey-Blanchard leadership style are similar in that Tuckman’s stages define the group’s feelings and actions as a whole and Hersey-Blanchard’s leadership style demonstrates the leaders response at each stage.

Forming (Tuckman’s)-Telling (Hersey-Blanchard)

While a group is being formed, the members are working to define themselves and their place within the team. They are learning what the job entails, and are new to the process. Hersey-Blanchard would say these members are unable to complete the difficult task and are insecure about what they need to do. It is up to the leader to “provide specific instructions and closely supervise performance”. (Hersey-Blanchard, pg. 4). Members are busy building relationships among themselves before they connect with their boss. It is important for the leader to allow this to happen, so the members see the leader as a figure for guidance and not as a peer.

Storming (Tuckman’s) -Selling (Hersey-Blanchard)

Once followers have mastered the tasks necessary and understand the basics, it is up to the leader to “explain [their] decisions and provide opportunity for clarification” (Hersey-Blanchard, pg. 4) while the group is learning how to work together and is “expressing differences of ideas, feelings, and opinions” (Stein, pg. 1). This difficult part of the process will highlight the nuances of the job that are unclear and will rely on a leader that is willing to admit they see the struggles. A leader who is able to relate to the team but provide solutions will demonstrate their ability to guide as well as connect with group members.

Norming (Tuckman’s) -Participating (Hersey-Blanchard)

At this point, “members agree about roles and processes for problem solving” (Stein, pg.1), and the leader will “share ideas and facilitate in making decisions” (Hersey-Blanchard, pg. 4). Norms are created and the group is finding its place with a leader who is winning and losing alongside them. This is where the team is defined. A leader can look forward to the moment of discovery among the members and can feel good about how they had taught their team in the previous stage. The leader joins the group in finding solutions to problems with the team and may rely on the members to step up based on what they learned in previous stages.

Performing (Tuckman’s) -Delegating (Hersey-Blanchard)

This stage is the sweet spot of being in a team. Everyone is collaborating and has shared goals and ideas in mind. They understand one another and have learned enough about themselves and each other to handle conflicts and disagreements with grace and understanding. The leader is able to “turn over responsibility for decisions and implementation” (Hersey-Blanchard, pg. 4) while the team “members find solutions to problems using appropriate controls” and “achieve satisfying results” (Stein, pg. 1).

Style-flexing is necessary in order to move through the bell-curve in the Hersey-Blanchard model. We want our teams to learn from us, then become independent themselves. There are situations outside of our control that may affect our group and thus change the way we lead them. “When a follower begins to behave less ready, for whatever reason,...it becomes appropriate and necessary for the leader to adjust behavior backward through the bell-shaped curve to meet the present readiness level of the follower” (Hersey & Blanchard, pg. 8). We may have built a perfect team, but when that team is shattered we have to rebuild. Our style of leadership may be perfect in our minds for what we are walking into, but we may find that it does not work at all if we want to maintain relationships with our teams and complete tasks effectively.

When training teachers, I used to tell them to picture their perfect classroom. They would define it with students in attendance every day, no behavioral issues, everyone does their homework, parents are cooperative and every lesson has students on the edge of their seat wanting to learn more. I then would ask them to now mourn the loss of that perfect classroom. It does not, and cannot, exist. Once they had mourned the classroom of their dreams, we were able to face the reality of the challenges that were going to come their way and discuss how to handle them.

Similar to the story I would give teachers, the perfect team that matches our style of leadership does not, and cannot, exist. We must learn how to style-flex for the needs of our team members and will thrive when we are able to do so. “Traditionally project management is understood as using the right tools and techniques for being successful, regardless of a project manager’s match of personality with project type” (Miller & Turner, 2010).

Situational Leadership Model (Hersey-Blanchard)/Tuckman’s Team Development Model

I found the bell curve of the Hersey-Blanchard model paired with Tuckman’s development model to be incredibly helpful when remembering my goals in leadership. I have worked with several teams that have participated in different ‘team-building’ activities that define Emotional Intelligence as well as personality types. I had seen Tuckman’s model before, but pairing it with the Situational Leadership model defined more clearly a leader’s responsibility at each stage. These models helped me to see clearly which level my team members were on and what I needed to do to be more supportive at each stage. Additionally, I could tell where I stood amongst my team and now know what support I need from my leader to move to the next stage of the model.

Contingency Theory

“Contingency theory research suggests that the best leaders are those who know how to adopt different styles of leadership in different situations. These leaders know that just because one approach to leadership worked well in the past, it does not mean that it will work again when the situation or task is not the same” (Johnson, 2017).

I have worked with leaders who have a hard time adjusting when necessary. I myself have had a hard time adjusting when I do not find connection with a team member. One of my most difficult bosses refused to see any other way than her own, although the team members were very vocal about their concerns. It is so important for us as leaders to be able to style-flex when necessary and this theory helps to define that need. This is a good reminder that when we work with people, results will not always be the same and we need to be realistic about our expectations.

Mindfulness/Meditation

After seeing my score for emotional intelligence I knew that I needed to take more time for myself. I rated high, but I know that I struggle to take care of myself. I am often the leader who skips lunch and works late because I do not want anything to fall through the cracks. Taking a moment to be mindful, as discussed by Puddicombe can help me take care of myself and think clearly and deliberately about my actions. “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast” is a saying that I have been training myself on, and meditation and mindfulness can help me to slow down and be in the moment. “It taught me-it gave me a greater appreciation, an understanding for the present moment. By that I mean not being lost in thought, not being distracted, not being overwhelmed by difficult emotions, but instead learning how to be in the here and now, how to be mindful, how to be present.” (Puddicombe, 2013, 3:56)

On the day that I tried to create a positive self-fulfilling prophecy, I spent much of my day providing annual evaluations to my team members. I always make sure I approach my professional interactions with a positive attitude but made special care to express appreciation and gratitude to my team members for their efforts over the last year. Some team members had some areas for improvement, and I found that approaching the conversations with gratitude for their accomplishments first and suggestions for “ways they can be even more effective this year” second resulted in a better experience overall. Adjusting my words from “this needs improvement” to “here is how you can be more effective” had a noticeable change in reaction from past years. I tracked this change by noting the language and tone of voice my team members used when responding to the feedback. Their tone of voice was softer, not defensive, and they used phrases such as "I really appreciate…” and “that means a lot." Even as I document this, I notice that the language they used mirror much of the messaging I provided, which again was focused on gratitude. This experience was consistent across each team member I interacted with and really helped relieve the anxiety I faced with delivering performance reviews. While there were no instances of my team not confirming my expectations, the overall experience went better than it has in previous years with similar feedback. I think the key difference from past review periods was my intentional utilization of language to convey the message that each team member was seen and appreciated for their specific contribution. After this experiment, I see the strength of how setting a positive intent can create a self-fulfilling prophecy in how others respond to my positive interaction.

Discussion Prompt 2: According to the leadership style self-assessment, what was your Hersey-Blanchard leadership style (Telling, Selling, Participating, Delegating)? Do you agree with this assessment? Why or why not?

According to the leadership style self-assessment, I am located firmly in the Participating style with a Relationship-oriented score of 13 and a Task-oriented score of 5. I agree with this assessment as I like to set a foundation for my team of directing work and setting clear guidelines in place in terms of the expectations of the role. Once new team members are clear on their processes and have been monitored through their 90-day onboarding period, I trust that they know what needs to be done and take a more participatory approach to lead them. In my organization, the recommended approach to leadership is that of a coaching model, whereby I support my team in decisions they need to make by listening and asking questions. Most of the time, they know what needs to be done and talking it through while making next steps allows them to come to those decisions themselves without the need for me to tell them next steps. In the event I need to make decisions on behalf of the team, I discuss the decision with them when I can, but there is often a need to make the decision and communicate afterward. I encourage open communication and welcome the difficult conversations that sometimes arise after these decisions are made.

There have been occasions where I have had to adjust my leadership style, and I appreciate having a structure and language to refer to help define the adjustments. I previously had a low performing team member that required me to move from a Participating style to a Telling style as the individual required specific instructions and close supervision to get work done. This is my least favorite leadership style as I do not like to feel as though I am micromanaging my team. I have little issues with this style in the context of new hires as they need more support while they onboard but really struggle to lead this way when dealing with a low performing team member.

Contrasting the Hersey-Blanchard leadership style with Tuckman’s various stages of team development provide a great example of how flexing one’s leadership style can best support teams and team members through their development. A leader can look to Tuckman’s Stages of Team Development to better understand the needs of the team and what leadership style will provide the most value given the goals.

In the forming stage of team development, team members need clear direction and clear guidelines from their leader (Stein, p.2). According to Hersey-Blanchard, team members in the forming stage would be considered high task-low relationship and would do best with a tellingstyle of leadership where the leader provides specific instructions and monitors performance closely (Hersey & Blanchard, 1969).

As the team progresses to the storming stage of development, team members still need support from their leader and should “refocus on [their] goals” (Stein, p. 3). The team leader can also shift into a selling leadership style where they communicate decisions and direction and allow the team to ask for support and clarification when needed (Hersey & Blanchard, 1969).

The team will then move into the norming stage and become more comfortable sharing their opinions and work toward team harmony (Stein, p. 4). They are more comfortable with their goals and continue to build a strong relationship. This stage is primed for leaders to move into a participatory style where they facilitate decision making within the team and ideas are shared freely (Hersey & Blanchard, 1969).

Finally, as the team moves into their peak performing stage, they can problem-solve and easily can shift responsibilities to support different tasks at hand (Stein, p. 5). Leaders can begin to delegate tasks as team members are willing and able to take on work, as necessary. Their leader can easily turn over decision making to the team and provide support only when needed (Hersey & Blanchard, 1969).

I agree with Hersey and Blanchard’s statement that “successful leaders are those who can adapt their behavior to meet the demands of their unique situation” (Hersey, P. & Blanchard, K., n.d., p. 1). I have experienced success in flexing my behavioral style at work and think the ability to flex my leadership style is essential to being a successful leader.

The first step to employ flexing my leadership style is to understand where my team is in their development. Using Tuckman’s stages as a base, I can better understand how my team (or new team members) may be feeling and can use the Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership theory to know what kind of oversight is needed for decision making and support.

I appreciated reading Johnson’s (2017) Leadership Theories Primer as it provided insight on when different theories of leadership can be helpful depending on the broader context of my team members as well as the project and organizational culture, at large. I like the idea of being a Transformational Leader, but appreciated reading Johnson’s summary of how using Transactional Leadership can strengthen diversity and inclusion on a team by asking who is in the in-group or out-group and taking intentional steps to become more inclusive. Similarly, I have deployed the use of Servant Leadership in times where a team member particularly needs support. I make a point to be aware of their challenges and exhibit empathy when working with them to balance their work and home life.

Müller & Turner’s (2010) study of project manager leadership profiles compared to the project at hand offered even richer insight into how different projects have different needs when it comes to leadership style. Reading through the results of their study was interesting as I recently spent the last year working through some extensive organizational changes. Seeing the leadership competencies they discovered were key to a success organizational change project provides me deeper insight into some of the challenges and wins I experienced last year.

Discussion Prompt 5: Thinking back on Module 5, with respect to building your leadership expertise, pick three concepts / theories / ideas from the module that you would consider the most powerful and useful, and (for each of the three) describe how the idea can be adapted into your evolving leadership practice.

The three concepts from this module that I consider the most useful to my leadership practice are:

1. Becoming aware of my bias and prejudices (Aronson, 2018, chapter 7) is a key step to being a good leader. By being aware of my prejudices, I can take active steps to reduce any potential biases in my hiring practices, in how I manage the team, and how I interact with my colleagues. Additionally, building a diverse team of employees will create a stronger work culture of embracing our differences and helping to break down the implicit bias or prejudices of others in the process.

2. Developing stronger Emotional Intelligence – After taking the EQ assessment, I see that there are some areas where I can strengthen my EQ which will help me become a more successful leader. As an introvert, I struggle with building rapport with others but am motivated to practice behaviors that will strengthen that area. Given the fact that my team is virtual, learning to listen more actively will make me a stronger leader as I cannot always rely on body language to determine the emotional state of my colleagues.

3. Situational Leadership (Hersey, P. & Blanchard, H., n.d.) – After reading this article, I found that I have often flexed my leadership style in the past but have never had the official language or structure to discuss it. I think incorporating this knowledge into my leadership expertise will be helpful in finding the right balance to support future teams. While there are some styles, such as Telling, that I am not naturally inclined to demonstrate, I appreciate understanding the importance of when and where it is beneficial to deploy that type of leadership. This article also helped me move away from thinking one style type is better than another and focus on the when/where to deploy each type

Discussion Prompt 1: For a day, make a self-conscious effort to create self-fulfilling prophecies in your encounters with others by treating them as if you believed they were friendly, compassionate, and competent. (For the sake of ethics, restrict yourself to positive behaviors!) Keep a record of how people responded to your behavior as well as your own reactions to their behavior. How often did they confirm your expectations, and how did you feel when they did? If and when they didn’t, how did that make you feel? In general, what was it like to conduct this experiment? Discuss the actual data you collected as well as your findings and observations.

When we hold beliefs about others, the self-fulfilling prophecy ensures that we create a social reality in line with our expectations (Aronson, 2018, p. 435). It’s natural to feed off other people’s behaviors. We’ve talked about in other modules how contagious negativity is and can spread like wildfire, so my expectations were the same for the opposite end. If I created the positive environment and treated them as thought I felt, I expected to receive the same.

For this experiment, I performed these efforts in two different environments. I first started by performing these ideas throughout my 10 hours in the office at work with my coworkers and project team. My prediction was that if I started my day off by treating them in a positive manner and as though they were competent and as friendly as I was, this would be reciprocated. Throughout the day, I only had one scenario where this theory wasn’t reciprocated but the situation at hand was stressful and out of my hands.

The second environment was at Costco on my way home that evening. After a long day at work, it was harder to maintain this friendly and compassionate demeanor but to test this idea, I presented myself in this manner. While I work I was immediately receiving positive behaviors back, the grocery store at 6pm on a Monday evening was slightly different. This surprised me as I went into this environment with the prediction I’d receive the same positive outcomes as at work. Unfortunately, I did not. I believe this was because the grocery store is far less personable and my involvement in the workers day was only a mere fraction of the amount people who come through.

Discussion Prompt 2: According to the leadership style self-assessment, what was your Hersey-Blanchard leadership style (Telling, Selling, Participating, Delegating)? Do you agree with this assessment? Why or why not?

My Hersey-Blanchard leadership style was the selling style, which is high in the task behavior while also high in the relationship behavior. Hersey-Blanchard describes that situational leadership is based on an interplay among (1) the amount of direction (task behavior) a leader gives, (2) the amount of socioemotional support (relationship behavior) a leader provides, and (3) the “readiness” level that followers exhibit on a specific task, function, activity or objective that the leader is attempting to accomplish through the individual or group (followers).

I mostly agree with this leadership assessment but there are some disagreements I have about this assessment. I do believe myself to a be confident leader which describes part of the selling style but I believe I also I fall partly into the participating style as well. When participating in a group, I am typically someone who naturally falls into the leader roll. However, I do think participating and sharing ideas is crucial which is where I think part of my leadership style falls into the participating style. I am naturally confident in my decisions but do not believe my decision to be above more input, ideas, or information and this is hard to get if there’s no participating.

Discussion Prompt 3: Review the information regarding Tuckman’s Stages of Team Development model. Contrast Hersey-Blanchard leadership style with the various stages of team development. Do you see a connection? Discuss team leadership behaviors that you think would be applicable to each of Tuckman’s stages of team development.

Tuckman’s Stages of Team Development model include the following: Stage 1 – Forming, Stage 2 – Storming, Stage 3 – Norming, and Stage 4 – Performing while Hersey-Blanchard’s leadership style includes the following: Telling, Selling, Participating, and Delegating. The following development stages and styles correlate as below:

Forming Stage & Telling Style – Relations through lack of trust, less commitment, less confidence. Ideas are shared rather than owned in these areas and no one person makes the decisions. These ideas are groups that are less defined and have little structure.

Storming Stage & Selling Style – In these ideas, there is a hierarchy/power establishment (forced or naturally) that occurs. People who have the higher confidence take charge and establish decisions that can be explained but less sharing of decisions and ideas.

Norming Stage & Participating Style – These are connected through the idea that are members are participating and contributing to the project. There is little to no hierarchy and team achieves success and goals with confidence because all members are committed to the goal.

Performing Stage & Delegating Style – Connections in these two ideas are that the team can all be given instructions and successfully execute their personal sections to contribute to the overall goal of the project. The persona is everyone’s in it together rather than individuality in order to succeed.

Discussion Prompt 4: Now that we have explored the idea of "style flexing" within the context of the Big 5 and the situational leadership model, what do you think about the idea of adapting your behavioral style based on the context (people, type of project, project phase, etc.)? How might you employ this technique in your own leadership practice?

I believe adapting behavioral styles according to people, type of project, project phase, etc. is crucial to succeed as a leader. One size does not fit all when it comes to projects or leadership. The leadership style you may use in the company of a project customer will be different than the leadership style you use in the company of your project team members. The Big 5 personality test revealed that there are different personalities that excel and struggle in different areas. As a leader, you will have a variety that you are expected to manage effectively.

This week we talked a lot about emotional intelligence. I believe this goes hand in hand with effectively flexing your leadership style. In order to understand how to do this, you have to start by being able to even recognize when this is need in execution. It’s crucial to understand the dynamics of your project team to be able to adapt your leadership style. Within emotional intelligence, there’s the idea of situational awareness. This is the idea that you can adjust depending on the situation. This can be employed in my leadership technique by being mindful of my own actions, actively observing what’s going on around me, and pay close to attention to people’s emotions.

Prejudice – This is a hostile or negative attitude toward a distinguishable group, on the basis of generalizations derived from faulty or incomplete information; contains a cognitive, an emotional, and a behavioral component (Aronson. 2018, pg. 274). This is an extremely powerful concept in all aspects. In the workplace, prejudice and stereotypes can create dangerous situations. Stereotyping is to generalize characteristics, motives, or behavior to an entire group of people; the images in our head that shape our impressions of people or groups of people (Aronson, 2018, pg. 275). As a leader, it is absolutely crucial to remain as unbiased of stereotypes as possible and to not let these cloud what is more important.

Social Cognitive Learning Theory – The theory that people learn how to behave through their cognitive processes, such as their perceptions of events and through observation and imitations of others (Aronson, 2018, pg. 243). This theory stood out to me in this module because I believe it plays hand in hand with how influential people can be and the impact of choosing the right project team. The presence of negative attitudes, insubordination, etc. can spread like wildfire through a team and have an impact on the entire project. As a leader, it’s important to shut this down immediately because people learn from other people. Behaviors get picked up from peers whether they’re negative or positive.

Culture & Aggression - Most social psychologists believe that aggression is an optional strategy: We humans are born with the capacity for aggressive behavior, but how, whether, when, and where we express it is learned and depends on our circumstances and culture (Aronson, 2018, pg. 221). This theory is important in leadership because you have different team members from different backgrounds and different work experiences. They could have all been taught in different ways or have different behaviors depending on previous cultures. It’s also important to understand how the culture you create as a leader, can have an impact on the team.

Discussion Prompt 1: For a day, make a self-conscious effort to create self-fulfilling prophecies in your encounters with others by treating them as if you believed they were friendly, compassionate, and competent. (For the sake of ethics, restrict yourself to positive behaviors!) Keep a record of how people responded to your behavior as well as your own reactions to their behavior. How often did they confirm your expectations, and how did you feel when they did? If and when they didn’t, how did that make you feel? In general, what was it like to conduct this experiment? Discuss the actual data you collected as well as your findings and observations.

For a day, I made a conscious effort to create self-fulfilling prophecies by treating others as if I believed they were friendly, compassionate, and competent. I interacted with colleagues, family, and even strangers with a warm and positive attitude, making sure my words and body language reflected warmth and encouragement. I recorded the reactions I observed and my own responses to them.

Most people responded with the same positive energy. For example, a cashier at a grocery store, who initially seemed uninterested at first, became more engaged in conversation when I genuinely thanked them for their service. Likewise, a colleague who is usually reserved seemed more open and actively participated in the discussion. In these cases, my expectations were met, leaving me feeling confident and inspired. However, not everyone responded as expected. For example, an acquaintance remained distant despite my friendly efforts, which was a bit discouraging. But I reminded myself that people’s reactions can be influenced by their own circumstances. Overall, this experiment reinforced the power of social perception and behavioral reinforcement (Aronson, 2021, Ch. 7).

Discussion Prompt 2: According to the leadership style self-assessment, what was your Hersey-Blanchard leadership style (Telling, Selling, Participating, Delegating)? Do you agree with this assessment? Why or why not?

According to the Hersey-Blanchard leadership style self-assessment, my leadership style is Participating, meaning I focus on collaboration and team involvement in decision-making. I agree with this assessment because I believe in empowering others and creating an inclusive environment. My leadership philosophy aligns with participative leadership, as I actively seek feedback, encourage engagement, and build consensus before making decisions. However, I understand that different situations may require flexibility in my approach. In high-pressure scenarios, for example, I may need to adopt a more directive style to ensure clarity and efficiency (Aronson, 2021, Ch. 6).

Discussion Prompt 3: Review the information regarding Tuckman’s Stages of Team Development model. Contrast Hersey-Blanchard leadership style with the various stages of team development. Do you see a connection? Discuss team leadership behaviors that you think would be applicable to each of Tuckman’s stages of team development.

The Tuckman’s Stages of Team Development are Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning illustrate the evolving dynamics of teamwork (Tuckman & Jensen, 1977), while the Hersey-Blanchard leadership style complements these stages by emphasizing adaptability. In the Forming stage, a delegating or selling leadership style helps provide direction while fostering initial team cohesion. During Storming, a participating approach is beneficial, encouraging collaboration and conflict resolution. As the team moves into Norming, leaders can balance participating and delegating, allowing the team to develop autonomy while still offering guidance. In the Performing stage, delegating is most effective, as the team becomes self-sufficient. Finally, during Adjourning, leaders should focus on providing closure and celebrating achievements to reinforce team morale. This connection underscores the importance of flexible leadership in effectively guiding team development.

Discussion Prompt 4: Now that we have explored the idea of "style flexing" within the context of the Big 5 and the situational leadership model, what do you think about the idea of adapting your behavioral style based on the context (people, type of project, project phase, etc.)? How might you employ this technique in your own leadership practice?

Style flexing within the Big 5 personality traits and the situational leadership model suggests that adaptability is an important factor in effective leadership. I believe adjusting one’s behavioral style based on context is essential for success. For example, when leading a highly skilled team, a Delegating style is appropriate, while a selling approach might be better for a group needing guidance. In my leadership practice, I will apply this technique by assessing team dynamics, project stages, and individual capabilities before selecting the most suitable leadership style. This ensures that my approach aligns with team needs and overall efficiency.

Discussion Prompt 5: Thinking back on Module 5, with respect to building your leadership expertise, pick three concepts / theories / ideas from the module that you would consider the most powerful and useful, and (for each of the three) describe how the idea can be adapted into your evolving leadership practice.

The three important concepts from Module 5 that resonate with me are emotional intelligence, transformational leadership, and adaptive leadership. Emotional intelligence in leadership enhances decision-making and interpersonal relationships, which I will develop through active listening and empathy (Aronson, 2021, Ch. 6). Transformational leadership drives innovation and motivation, and I plan to apply it by setting a vision, encouraging creativity, and mentoring my team (Aronson, 2021, Ch. 7). Adaptive leadership shows the importance of flexibility in overcoming challenges, which I will apply by regularly evaluating the team needs and adjusting my leadership style accordingly (Aronson, 2021, Ch. 6). By incorporating these principles will strengthen my leadership effectiveness and build a supportive, dynamic supportive team environment.

Prompt 1 Answer:

Aronson describes an example of how a self-fulfilling prophecy may play out: “my behavior would not afford you the opportunity to show me how nice you really are” (Aronson, Chapter 7, p. 281). I found that when I treated others as friendly, compassionate, and competent, I gave them the opportunity to behave that way.

One result of an experiment conducted by Mark Snyder, Elizabeth Decker Tanke, and Ellen Berscheid showed that when a male student believed he was talking to an attractive woman, he interacted with her in a different way, allowing her the opportunity to showcase her best qualities. The interesting part is that those who heard the female, who the male had found attractive, considered them more beautiful based solely on the conversation. (Aronson, Chapter 8, pp. 313-314) This shows us the power of the self-fulfilling prophecy.

Here are some of my own experiences:

Tuesday, February 18, 2025: Reminding myself of this mindset in the morning, motivated me to get my day started. When I walked in thinking that everyone was friendly, compassionate, and competent, it actually made me feel more confident and optimistic. This affected my interactions with everyone – I made a cognizant effort to smile and talk to everyone.

Wednesday, February 19, 2025: Again, I was excited to try out this mindset, as it made me feel more confident and less anxious about any small missteps I may have made. My shoulders were away from my ears, and I had a new spring in my step. While vetting materials, I sometimes give suggestions that may or may not work. In the past, I have tried to tell the writers, “This is just a suggestion. What do you think?” My goal is to have a conversation about the suggestion because it is only based on one person, me, and my feedback. This Wednesday I encountered the same situation but handled it slightly differently, “This is just a suggestion. You are the content expert. What do you think?” That made a difference. The writer brough it up a few minutes later to say they weren’t sure they were a content expert; I assured them they were. In the past, they may have made the changes I suggested and moved on. Here they were willing to make the changes but the conversation around the changes was more collaborative.

My Findings: Going into work with the mindset that everyone was friendly, competent, and compassionate was a self-fulfilling prophecy most of the time. When I assumed people had these positive attributes, my behavior changed to reflect that. The way I treated people changed, as well as how most people responded. It didn’t work in every instance, but it is a strategy that I would like to continue to use and improve on.

Prompt 2 Answer:

According to the Hersey-Blanchard leadership style assessment, I scored as a Selling Style leader. However, upon reading the descriptions, I know I am better suited to the Participating Style. In fact, there was just one point difference between the two styles.

Hersey and Blanchard describe the Selling style of leadership as one in which leaders are sill providing direction as well as supporting team members “through two-way communication and socioemotional support” (p. 7). As such, this style of leadership is high-task, high-relationship.

While I realize that various situations and group dynamics will require a different leadership lens or style, I find myself relating more to the Participatory style of leadership. This style incorporates more trust in team members to accomplish the task, so the focus is on open, two-way communication and the leader as the facilitator (Hersey and Blanchard, Figure 2 and p. 7). When I am managing a project, I like to begin with an asset-based approach for my team; I trust them to do their part. I am their to support and facilitate, rather than delegating.

Prompt 3 Answer:

Tuckman’s Stages of Team Development reflect the lifecycle of a team and can be useful in conversations about team dynamics. When a team is forming, the members are excited and nervous about being part of the team. They may be at the beginning stage of developing “clear structure, goals, direction and roles” in order to begin building trust (Stein, p. 2).

As they experience friction, the team may move into the storming stage in which there is a shift from “the tasks at hand to feelings of frustration or anger with the team’s progress or process” (Stein, p. 3). At this point, leaders may use the selling stage because it will give them an opportunity to explain and provide clarification (Hersey and Blanchard, Figure 2, p. 2). This will support the team members who are divided and now unsure of their goals.

The team moves forward to norming, in which the team begins to coalesce. Here the team is achieving success and becoming more interdependent (Stein, p. 4). This correlates with Hersey-Blanchard situational leadership style which would be at the point in which team members are progressing in readiness and leaders should “ reduce task behavior and increaserelationship behavior,” essentially focusing on providing support (Hersey and Blanchard, p. 1, 3). This is where leaders will want to adopt a participating leadership in order to open dialogue and support with decision-making (Hersey and Blanchard, p. 2).

Finally, a team may shift into the performing stage in which the group is a united, high-achieving team. The team can “make significant progress towards its goals (Stein, p. 5). This stage of team development may benefit most from the delegating leadership because this style supports team members who are ready and able to take “responsibility for directing their own behavior” (Hersey and Blanchard, p. 7).

Discussion Prompt 4:

Although Muller and Turner initially state that managers are more likely to “perform better” if their traits match the requirements of the position, style flexing allows us to adapt our leadership style to fit different situations, as Hersey and Blanchard describe in their theory of situational leadership (Muller and Turner, p. 1).

My results for the leadership style test was eleven points for my relationship-oriented leadership score and eleven points for my task-oriented leadership score; my score indicated that I was in the selling style leadership role. However, I felt like the participating styles was more closely related to how I view myself. I find that this may mean that I am already able to use either style according to the members of the group and the group dynamic.

I will style flex to shift to the telling style. People may often associate telling as a negative style. Sometimes team members need to be given clear instructions for their task. If they are unsure of how to proceed, being told what to do and how to approach the task is the most direct way to support the team. Additionally, sometimes problems may reduce a team member’s performance and as a leader, we may have to shift to address this (Hersey and Blanchard, p. 9).

I will also consider the types and complexities of projects to style flex. For example, the success of a highly important project may rely on managers being strong critical thinkers who are able to manage resources, train, influence, and motivate (Muller and Turner, p. 445). Leaders and managers may have to consider various factors of the project before determining how to proceed.

Discussion Prompt 5:

Self-fulfilling prophecy: Aronson explains that “the self-fulfilling prophecy ensures that we create a social reality in line with our expectations” (Aronson, Chapter 7 – Prejudice, p. 282). In my experiences this week, assuming the best of everyone I met led to people responding in kind. This is a valuable reminder for leaders – treating people how you want them to act can influence their behavior. I also realized how much better I felt when I approached others positively, as if I, too, was benefiting from the qualities I attributed to them.

EQ and Feedback: I found that taking the emotional intelligence assessments and reflecting on my scores was beneficial. Subsequently, asking my colleagues for their feedback was powerful. I could relatively easily consider and justify my score. It is enlightening to receive feedback on how others view you and the impact you have. As a leader, I would use this tool and opportunity to grow. I would also encourage my team to effectively give and receive constructive feedback, and to view this exchange as an opportunity to reflect and grow.

Tuckman’s Stages of Team Development: Using this model is useful in conversations about team dynamics in considering why teams behave in certain ways rather than immediately diagnosing team issues. This can be a valuable tool as a leader to consider which situational leadership style to use based on the stage of team development. I also see think it’s important to consider that teams may fluctuate between the stages, and that they may need different supports for each stage.