ESMT–419–0181–1

ES1811
October 2, 2018

ESMT Case Study

Recognizing leadership styles

Konstantin Korotov

Six employees describe their managers

Person 1
“My boss seems to know exactly how every step of her team’s work should look. She is really
an expert in everything we do. It feels a bit like in the military. My colleagues and I get a lot
of very specific instructions or, at times, orders. There are very clear expectations on what
needs to be done, how it needs to be done, and what the consequences of not doing it are.

I feel that I am not expected to react, beyond pure acknowledgment of my understanding of

the request. I also know that my work is going to be under close watch from my manager. She
really knows everything that is going on, and you can feel her control at all times.

If something is done differently than expected, she lets you know immediately. Mistakes
happen very rarely, because the algorithm is there, and all you have to do is follow it. If you
deviate, she notices and corrects you.

My boss spends a lot of time making clear what she wants done. She trains us in almost every
step of every process in which we are involved. She is good at instructing, and there is very
little chance of misunderstanding her. Your opinion, however, is never asked for.

When I joined the team fresh from my training program, I was very nervous that I wouldn’t
meet the expectations of the organization. It was very helpful to have clarity about my tasks
and feel that if I follow the instructions, I will do my job properly.

This case study was prepared by Konstantin Korotov of ESMT Berlin. Sole responsibility for the content rests with
the author(s). It is intended to be used as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or
ineffective handling of a management situation.
Copyright 2019 by ESMT European School of Management and Technology GmbH, Berlin, Germany, www.esmt.org.
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This document is authorized for use only in Prof. Anubha Dadhich and Prof. Damini Saini's Human Resource Management-I- 11.23.2020 at Indian Institute of Management - Raipur from Nov
2020 to May 2021.
 ESMT–419–0181–1 Recognizing leadership styles

Now, however, I feel that sometimes I have a different, and maybe better, idea of how to do
certain things. I am not sure, however, if my boss would welcome my opinion.”

Person 2
“When I think about the behaviors of my boss, the first thing that comes to my mind is that
she is spending a huge amount of time discussing with us where the company stands, what it
tries to do, and why it makes sense. She always starts with the bigger thing involving the whole
company, and only then does she take it to the level of the team.

Interestingly, she can take some nice sounding but somewhat abstract statements that you
would normally find on a corporate website, and make them relevant for our everyday job.
After a meeting with her, there is a feeling that what we do is clearly connected to the bigger
thing the company stands for. It is very motivating.

I think she spends a lot of energy trying to see if people get a sense of the direction and she
lets people ask a lot of questions, but then she makes sure we all stand behind a common
understanding of what we are trying to achieve. I think if she had a different career agenda
she would easily become a great sales person! She can be very persuasive!

I also feel that she stands behind her words. It’s not simply a pep-talk. She seems to be truly
convinced when she explains something to us.

While she gives us a lot of freedom in executing our parts of the job, she is pretty clear on
the direction. It helps that she also clearly indicates the boundaries within which I can make
my own decisions, and where I need her advice or approval.

I also find it very helpful that we periodically review where we are, and that we talk when
there is a change in the direction. She seems to know that we want to make sense of new
decisions and requirements imposed on our team.”

Person 3
“My manager sees her role as organizing us for a good conversation. She tries to orchestrate
a productive discussion among confident professionals. I think she is right to use this style, as
each of us is a narrow specialist with deep subject knowledge. Of course, we often need to
agree on a particular topic, despite the fact that each of us sees it from the perspective of
the discipline we are grounded in.

The manager’s approach is to help us listen carefully to each other’s thoughts and ideas. She
contributes when it’s her area of expertise, but she trusts us with the technical aspects she is
not deeply familiar with. In fact, at times, she delegates the decision making to the team and
only interferes if we can’t reach a consensus.

Her approach is to try to respect our individual specialized expertise but force us to think as
a team. Part of our bonus is actually related to team performance. We often spend time as a

This document is authorized for use only in Prof. Anubha Dadhich and Prof. Damini Saini's Human Resource Management-I- 11.23.2020 at Indian Institute of Management - Raipur from Nov
2020 to May 2021.
 Recognizing leadership styles ESMT–419–0181–1

team conducting post-mortem analysis of our projects. She tries to help us take learning
outcomes as a team.

When she just joined the company, she was asking for advice and she acknowledged the need
to learn from us.

What I like about her is that, when she makes a choice that differs from what the team has
offered, she always takes the time to explain why she took a different direction.

I don’t think her style would work as well if the people were not extremely well-qualified and,
at the same time, capable of working in a team.”

Person 4
“My manager really cares about my development. She often talks to me about my plans,
interests, and directions for the development of my career. She seems to take particular
interest in figuring out how to give me tasks that continuously stretch me and give me new
experiences and skills. I am learning a lot working for her.

She always starts by explaining what the project is, why it is important, and then checks with
me if I believe it is good for me to be engaged in it. She always underlines how this new
experience contributes to my strengths.

I get a lot of feedback from her. Sometimes it’s a question she asks that helps me see that I
may need to approach the task differently. At other times, it is a suggestion or a direct
recommendation from her. I know that I can always ask her a question or advice, although she
often responds by asking for my ideas first.

While she doesn’t concentrate on my weaknesses, she doesn’t shy away from indicating what
can be improved. I was initially hesitant about sharing my weaknesses with her. I can see that
she accepts them as a current fact and explores with me how I want to go about them. We do
sit down to analyze projects and tasks, and she always asks what I have learned.

I have heard a lot of her war stories. I find her sharing of her successful and unsuccessful
experiences very helpful. Without those, I may have been more hesitant about taking risky
projects. I am also quite sure that if I make an honest mistake, she will correct me, and, if
necessary, protect me from the anger of the others. I hope this will not be necessary, but I
am sure I can count on her protection with some of the things I am doing for the first time.

I guess her biggest disappointment is to see that people are comfortable where they are, and
that some employees are not interested in stretching themselves.”

Person 5
“My boss is an example of energy, perfection, and initiative. He is everywhere, and he knows
everything. He is a true professional, but he never stops developing himself. He is very

This document is authorized for use only in Prof. Anubha Dadhich and Prof. Damini Saini's Human Resource Management-I- 11.23.2020 at Indian Institute of Management - Raipur from Nov
2020 to May 2021.
 ESMT–419–0181–1 Recognizing leadership styles

demanding towards himself and applies his standards to others. I am not sure he ever sleeps.
I can certainly tell that he is the first to come to the office and probably the last one to leave.
I admire it, but I can’t live the same life. Actually, I don’t want to.

He probably expects others to run as fast as he does, although for some people, me for
example, this doesn’t work. He tolerates my preferences, but I can see that he loves it when
others try to match his style and approach to work.

He can be very irritated when people don’t deliver according to his expectations. He shows
very little empathy for poor performance. When people fail to deliver, he often takes over
and does the jobs of others himself.

Sometimes the quality of the work is not satisfactory because he hasn’t truly taken the time
to explain what he wants. I think he may find it painful to explain and prefers to save time by
doing what he knows how to do.

I would say he is a workaholic, and he works alone a lot. Exceptions are people similar to him.
They get the bulk of requests from him and he trusts them. Those who don’t meet his
expectations often get direct instructions from him on less exciting stuff.”

Person 6
“My manager would probably win the popularity contest in our organization! Many people
simply love him, particularly those who come from environments with a much less humanistic
approach towards people. I think he believes that his managerial mission is to get productivity
through happiness.

He pays a lot of attention to the moods and emotions of the people. His door is always open,
and he is ready to listen to virtually any type of a personal issue. He genuinely tries to help. I
think he believes that it is his job to create a spirit of collaboration and mutual support among
us. Of course, you can’t avoid conflicts, but his position is to make sure that nobody takes it
as a personal offense.

During performance reviews, he never hesitates to discuss the impact a team member makes
on the collective mood and relationships. He is very generous on positive feedback. You can
be sure that your great work will be recognized. Well, maybe good enough work will also look
great in the way he provides feedback.

What can be annoying at times, though, is that some people seem to be using that feature of
his. I think he doesn’t like to deliver bad news to people, so I wonder at times if this can be
counterproductive. I know that some of my colleagues think that at times he is too soft on
people who don’t pull their weight.

While I enjoy his friendliness, I think sometimes we need a bit of a push, and he would certainly
find it difficult to do so.”

This document is authorized for use only in Prof. Anubha Dadhich and Prof. Damini Saini's Human Resource Management-I- 11.23.2020 at Indian Institute of Management - Raipur from Nov
2020 to May 2021.