Running head: LEADERSHIP AND INDEPENDENT LIVING SKILLS

Teaching life skills to behavioral Kids and Adults and the problems that arise while doing
the job

J. Johnson

Winona State University

Running head: LEADERSHIP AND INDEPENDENT LIVING SKILLS 2

Throughout my entire life I have wanted to make an impact on the world, I know

that many of my classmates and others in the world want to make this impact. I have

realized something recently though, I maybe cant make an impact on the world, but I can

make an impact on certain people within a bigger spectrum. For the past year and a half I

have been working at a company called Legacies. I work with kids and adults with

behavioral disabilities. I help implement programming to advance the kids and adults

independent living skills. Our goal is to teach these independent living skills; some of

them are the basic skills that they may not get on a daily basis from other people within

their life or just enhance the already positive interactions they are receiving. This is

where I learned that my ability to make an impact on the world was rooted in the impact I

make on single individuals.

Next semester I have an amazing internship opportunity; I will be taking a co-

manager position to further my experience in the health care field. During this internship

I will be able to learn more about the paperwork behind each client and how to make

programming that will be the most beneficial for the client. After college I hope to work

for a company who strives to enhance the lives of their clients and to promote

independent living for people with mental illness and other disabilities. Throughout this

paper I will be addressing one of the problems within my career, and a practical solution

to the problem.

Problem

One major problem within this field of work and in health care jobs in general is

the increasing likelihood of burnout. Job burnout is problematic within all fields but

especially for jobs within the health care and human service fields. A study conduced in
Running head: LEADERSHIP AND INDEPENDENT LIVING SKILLS 3

2008, shoed that 300 to 400 physicians commit suicide each given year (du Pre, Athena).

Most of this is due to the fact that these physicians do not feel socially supported by their

company and co-workers, therefore experience burnout and depressed feelings. Many

scholars through out the year like (Wright, Kreps, Miller and Maslach) have done

research in this area and found that there is a high correlation between social support

from co-workers and management and reduced likelihood of burnout (Wright, Banas,

Bessarabova & Bernard, 2010). I believe that a lot of this burnout factor has to do with a

lack of support but also a lack of knowledge in how to truly lead the clients to success. I

throughout my years of working and especially with working within the human service

field I have seen a lack of leadership. I have seen leaders have one type of style and

approach to their business and this causes problems within the work place. Employees

butt heads with managers and you can tell there is a lack of communication forming. This

increases the likelihood of burnout and complications within the company. This is the

exact reason to why I believe that the situational approach will best help this problem.

Situational Approach

Hersey and Blanchard developed the situational approach, in 1969. It has been

revised and taught differently through out the years. The theory calls for leaders to

change their leadership style to fit the situation at hand. There are two types of leadership

techniques within this model. One is directive and the other supportive; scholars say that

one or the other has to be present at any given time in leadership. Directive behaviors

help the followers by giving them directions to accomplish their goals. The leader sets

timelines, defines roles and is more of a one-way communication pattern between leader

and follower. Supportive behaviors help the followers by helping them feel comfortable
Running head: LEADERSHIP AND INDEPENDENT LIVING SKILLS 4

about themselves, the work that they are doing and helping them with any problems that

they have. Supportive leadership relies two way communication, where the follower and

leader are both interacting, sharing ideas and sharing information about one self.

This leadership style is split into four categories. (S1) is high directive- low

supportive style. This is more of a directing style, which focuses on goal achievement.

(S2) focuses on communication that promotes achievement goals and the well-being of

the follower. It is seen as a coaching approach because it is high directive high support.

The leader gives encouragement to the followers and lets them drive themselves but does

in the end make the decisions. (S3) is high supportive- low directive. The leader supports

their followers; yet give them the responsibility to make their own choices of roles. (S4)

is low directive, low supportive. In this type of leadership the leader does not provide

expectations for the follower or provide any social support. The situational leadership

approach is a great style because it is very flexible, practical and a growing approach. An

effective leader will assess the followers and see what is best for them into account and

adjust their style based on what the followers need. The leader also needs to take into

account their own leadership style so they can best suit the follower.

How this approach helps

The reason why I believe this approach to leadership will help solve the problem

of burnout and lack of understanding is because the leader will be able to understand

there needs to be a change. Within the human service field, particularly working with

behavioral clients, an individual working with them has to be open minded. This is why

situational leadership is the best fit. When a client is having a hard time with completing

a task, the worker needs to evaluate the situation and find what will best help the client
Running head: LEADERSHIP AND INDEPENDENT LIVING SKILLS 5

with their struggles. Through my experience, not every client in every situation, needs the

same type of leader. At times, they need a leader who is going to create more of a

structure and someone who they can rely on. But other times, they just need someone

there to report to. They need that independence, yet they want you there to make sure

they did the task right. This leadership approach does not just apply to working one on

one, but it can work within management too. The way I will talk and lead certain staff

will be determined on how much experience they have, how comfortable they are within

the job and how I feel like I can support them best.

Conclusion

To conclude I would like to point out that leadership styles change and so do

people. I believe that good leaders take the time to get to know the people that they work

with; whether that be staff or clients. Like Simon Sinek states in his book, The reason

why leaders do so well in hard times is obvious. Their people willingly commit their

blood, sweat and tears to see the tribe, the company, advance and grow stronger (Sinek

2014). Committed leaders will want the best for their employees and clients and when

the clients and employees see that is what the leader truly wants, they in turn do a better/

more effective job.

Running head: LEADERSHIP AND INDEPENDENT LIVING SKILLS 6

References

Northouse, G. P. (2013). Leadership. Sage publication: Western Michigan University.

Pre, du,. (2013). Communication about heath: Current issues and perspective (4th ed.).

New York: Ocford University Press.

Sinek, S. (2014). Leaders Eat Last Deluxe: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others

Don't. Penguin.

Wright, K. B., Banas, J. A., Bessarabova, E., & Bernard, D. R. (2010). A Communication

competence approach to examining health care social support,sStress, and job

burnout. Health Communication, 25(4), 375-382.

doi:10.1080/10410231003775206