Karley Baranov

Dr. Testa

HTM 480

11 February 2020

Leadership Shadow

My Leader

For my leadership shadow, I chose to shadow Ashley Kirkwood. She is the Senior

Manager of Concessions and the Farmer’s Market for Aztec Shops. I shadowed her on February

8th from 10a.m. to 4p.m. for a SDSU women’s basketball game. I chose to shadow her because I

am a meetings and events student and I wanted to learn more about events, such as concerts, and

how they operate. Ashley has been with the company for 10 years and started as a freshman

working for the company. She worked there through her undergrad and when she graduated she

was promoted to the assistant manager position and then again to the manager position. Recently,

she was promoted to the senior manager position.

Create a Shared Vision

When it came to vision and expectation discussions, I did see this in action. The day that

I shadowed her, it was Girls and Women in Sports Day at the basketball game. This meant that a

lot of children would be there on field trips. She told the employees to be aware that this will be

a much busier women’s basketball game than normal because so many children would be there.

She did this to prepare the employees for what to expect. This showed me that in any company, it

is important that all employees know what to expect in their work day.

Dev. Service Climate and Expectations

 To reinforce service standards, she made sure the whole stand was aware of their alcohol

policy. She told them to make sure everyone who wants to get alcohol has a beer stamp on the

top of their right hand and that they can only purchase two drinks per person. She explained to

me that they could lose their alcohol license if they sell to someone without a stamp or with more

than two drinks. If the employees do not know what service standards are expected of them, then

nothing will go well or how it is expected to.

Develop Relationships

When it was halftime, she knew that the stands would be slammed with a bunch of

people trying to get food and drinks. She went into the stands during this time. She proceeded to

help with food orders to resolve the conflict of having long lines. Since she is the manager, she is

not required to do this, but she wanted to help the stand so that they would not be as stressed out

and to help things run more smoothly. This showed me that a good leader often takes actions that

are not required of them, but that will substantially help the employees out.

The day that I shadowed Ashley, there was only one older worker than her working that

event. The majority of employees are students since it is an on-campus job. The woman that was

working that was older than her had been working for the company for many years. It seemed

like everyone that was working saw this woman as a “mother” figure. When I saw Ashley

interact with her, I could tell that she held respect for this woman and she led her in a way that

showed she knew what to do for the event to succeed. This woman was the stand lead for the

concessions stand at the bottom of Viejas Arena, which means that she held a lot of

responsibility. No matter what age a subordinate is, it is important to treat them with respect and

gratitude.
 When it came to her communication style in general, it seemed to work for the most part.

She greeted mostly everyone by saying, “How are you?” This showed me that she is the kind of

leader that takes a genuine interest in her employees. Many of the employees are students and

she also asked a few of them how their classes were going. She communicated with them in a

style that was genuine, which I believe is important for a leader to have. If you show compassion

and a genuine interest in others, then they will respect you more as a leader.

Teach and Train for Service Quality

When it came to training, many of the employees already knew what to do when I

observed. Although, one newer employee asked Ashley how to ring up an employee meal on the

cash register. Her method was to walk her through what to do instead of doing it for her. I

believe she did this so that the employee would know what to do in the future when she has to

ring up another employee. An employee will learn and remember how to do something more if

they walk through what to do themselves.

Motivate and Inspire for Service Quality

To motivate and inspire her employees, Ashley began with a “pep talk.” She did this to

tell them what to expect, give them reminders, and to tell them that they have it all under control.

I think this was effective because all of the employees seemed like they wanted to be there and

they were motivated to get the job done. This showed me that it is important to motivate

employees because otherwise they will not care about what they are doing while they are at

work.

Assess Service Performance

At the end of the event, to evaluate the whole production, she conducted a “recap.” She

opened up an excel sheet on her computer in her office that had all of the products on the
spreadsheet. She then input the amount of each product that was sold and this all added up to

how much money the event should have made. She explained that this method is used to ensure

cash accuracy. I believe that this is effective because if someone’s register is off by a certain

amount, it will show from this method. They also use these spreadsheets in order to prepare for

events in the future to prepare with how much of the products they will need in order to comply

with the audience.

Provide Feedback

To give feedback to the employees, Ashley said things such as, “Good job today” or

“Thank you for your help today.” The employees seemed pleased by her saying this and smiled

and proceeded to thank her as well. This seems important to me because it shows that she

appreciates her employees and their help.

Employee Feedback on Leader

I asked a few of the employees if they liked working there and how they viewed Ashley

as a leader. One of them explained that they do like working there because it is fun and

everybody is friends with each other. When it came to Ashley as a leader, one explained that she

is a good leader because she has a positive attitude and she shows that she cares about them as

individuals.

My Leadership Philosophy

As a result of this project, I learned greater insight into who I want to be as a leader. I

think some people believe that they need to act all high and mighty to be a good leader, but I do

not believe this is the case at all. Your subordinates will have greater respect for you if you are

more friendly and helpful. While observing Ashley, it seemed like she had a personable persona

and all of the employees looked to her for guidance. Having good interpersonal communication
will only make your employees appreciate you more and feel like they can go to you for

anything.

As I take on more leadership roles throughout my life, I will keep learning more about

what kind of leader I want to be. Right now, in my life, I know that I do not want to be the type

of leader that others are scared off. I believe it is important to develop a trusting relationship with

your subordinates because as a result, the overall quality of the workplace, internally and

externally, will be better.