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Group Discussion Board 2
Group Discussion Board 2
Group 3: Bryan Hodge, Charles King, Victoria Haugen
BMAL 501
Liberty University
4/1/20
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Group Discussion Board 2
Introduction
Through chapters 1-4 of Organizational Management & Leadership by Anita Satterlee,
many novel concepts are emphasized. Satterlee introduces her work by identifying the numerous
roles of managers and delineating the various definitions of leadership. She then goes on to
depict the history of all types of management, as she lists the most renowned and influential
theorists that pave the way through the evolution of management theories. Next, she defines
three of the four functions of management which involve planning, controlling and organizing.
Finally, she proceeds to define the nature and different styles of the fourth function of
management, leadership. Although various ideas and concepts discussed by Satterlee are of
utmost importance for organizations to consider, three emphatically stand out as the most
essential.
Hersey-Blanchard Model
The first concept that organizations should embrace is that there is no “one best” method
of leadership that is universally accepted, and that leadership styles are adaptable to benefit the
followers and collective organizations. Leadership does not have a uniformly accepted
definition. “Leadership—a complex and multifaceted concept that has a multitude of definitions
that attempt to define it and just as many theories that attempt to describe it or provide directions
on how to do it.” Dryer, C. (2018). Per The Hersey-Blanchard Model, “…a leader should have
the ability to adapt to different leadership styles in different situations.” Satterlee, A. (2009).
There are many different types of followers, and their maturity levels should be evaluated to
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determine the balance of task-behavior and relationship-behavior work. According to the
Hersey-Blanchard model, leaders can employ four different types of leadership ranging from
telling leadership, to selling leadership, to participating leadership, to the delegation style of
leadership. The more mature the employee, the less supervision required by the manager, which
allows managers to utilize leadership styles like participating leadership or delegation. If the
employee is highly immature, the manager must place greater supervision on him or her,
employing telling leadership or selling leadership styles. Although there are several different
types of leadership and followership styles coined by other theorists, the situational leadership
model of Hersey-Blanchard can be soundly used by organizations to effectively tailor leadership
styles to best fit the needs of employees and ultimately the business as a whole.
Span of Control
The second key topic that organizations should focus on is that the optimal Span of
Control has a great degree of variability from company to company. Although many pundits
claim that no Span of Control should exceed five employees to one manager’s supervision, there
are many arguments asserting that building flatter organizations with wider Spans of Control are
ideal. If too many management layers are added, the organization becomes too tall which creates
more room for human error and inefficiencies. Organizations should gauge the maturity and
skillset of their employees to reduce layers if feasible. Also, decentralization has many benefits
as the employees closest to the day-to-day operations are often able to make the most informed
decisions.
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Transformational Leadership
The final major concept discussed in the first four chapters is transformational leadership.
As technology continues to change and evolve rapidly, an organization must keep pace or face
extinction. To ensure an organization remains agile and capable of evolving, the leadership must
be ready to create positive change, provide a clear vision, align their people’s efforts with the
organization’s direction, and inspire them to action. Research shows the positive effect of
transformational leadership on their followers’ inventiveness and organizational innovation. A
transformational leader has an impact on innovation at the organizational level and creativity at
the individual level. (Al Harbi, 2019) For an organization to change, a transformational leader
excels at developing a collaborative culture where change is welcomed as an opportunity, not a
threat. (Satterlee, 2018) A transformational leader works to build up one-on-one relationships
with followers and focuses on inspiring creativity and innovation within their employees and
organizations. This type of leader best prepares their organization for rapid change, flexibility,
and perseverance. Transformational leaders possess characteristics that transcend transactional
leaders. Transformational leaders possess qualities that mirror leaders, while transactional
leaders possess qualities that are reflective of managers. “…leadership is not confined to the few
people in the most senior roles. Instead it is a concept based on social relationships rather than
organizational position. Leadership is situational and non-hierarchical.” Turner, P. (2019).
Organizations should seek good leaders as opposed to good managers, since leaders are
inherently more valuable to companies. Leaders challenge status quos, innovate, and possess
long-range perspectives. Managers administer, accept status quos, and possess short-range
perspectives. Followers will typically choose to follow a leader over a manager.
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Implementation
Organizations can implement the Hersey-Blanchard Model by evaluating employees to
gauge their maturity level. Managers should be educated on how to properly pivot their
leadership styles to align with the maturity level of the employee. Managers will be spared time
supervising after confirming which employees are mature enough to delegate to.
Companies should experiment with management layers to effectively determine the
optimal span of control that should be implemented within the organization. If the majority of
employees are mature, executives are able to construct a flatter business structure. If the
majority of employees are immature, management layers will need to be added to reduce the
span of control at each level. Since there is so much variability from organization to
organization as to what the proper level of span of control should be, companies will need to test
different structures to see what fits best.
Companies should seek transformational leaders when they are recruiting managers. It is
difficult to convert a transactional leader into a transformational leader since many of the traits
are inherent. So, organizations can best implement the use of transformational leaders by
allowing them to connect with employees to build the relationships that they naturally foster
through their positive leadership style.
Biblical Perspective
It is important to consider these concepts when walking in biblical truths because these
leadership values align with the type of leaders people should be morally. Leaders should not
exploit their followers for personal gain. Leaders should view the relationship between
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themselves and their followers as symbiotic and value the people they lead. Jesus exhibited all
of these characteristics as he put his people over himself.
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References
Al Harbi, J. A. (2019). Transformation leadership and creativity: Effects of employees
psychological empowerment and intrinsic motivation. Personnel Review, 48(5), 1082-
1099.
Andersen, J. A. (2018). Servant leadership and transformational leadership: From comparisons to
farewells. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 39(6), 762-774.
Dryer, C. (2018). Publishers Note. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 13(2)
Hicks, R. P. (2013). Seven habits of unproductive thinking. Physician Executive, 39(3), 79-80,
82.
Marker, D. (2010). Leadership or Management?
Satterlee, A. (2018). Organizational Management and Leadership: A Christian Perspective
Raleigh, NC: Synergistic International Inc.
Turner, P. (2019). Leadership in Healthcare
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