Mariah Chonis

Intro to Organizational Leadership

Jan 14 2018

Write-up 1

This paper has four parts and should be completed using this word document. After you have
completed your paper, please upload it to blackboard as a .doc or .docx file.

Your name:

Part 1: Case Study

Read case 1.1, King of the Hill, on p. 13 of your Northouse textbook and answer the following
questions:
1. What leadership traits account for Denny Hill’s success?
Your response: As the book states, Denny uses humor and is tough on his team but
knows they will succeed. Some of his traits would definitely be humor and dedication. He is also
motivating and inspiring with his Monday meetings, and being able to get everyone to share
leadership responsibility on the team.
2. How would you describe Denny Hill’s Leadership abilities?
Your response: Denny had to work for 40 years according to the book to get his team
to be as well organized as it is. That takes a lot of hard work and practice, which is the less
innate side of leadership as an ability. Denny also establishes fundamentals like the book’s
example of John Wooden. Denny expects everyone to carry the torch and to hold each other
accountable, but is always there to support them.
3. Leadership includes administrative skills, interpersonal skills, and conceptual skills. How
does Denny Hill stack up on these skills?
Your response: As the book noted, Denny focuses more on preparing to win than
actually winning. He uses his relationship with his team and his swimmers to make sure
everyone is comfortable as a group and as a team. It seems that he has a strong connection
with every aspect of his team (freshmen, sophomores, etc.). Denny uses these skills to make
sure everyone is present and prepared, and that everyone has a common goal in mind.
4. How does Denny Hill integrate task and relationship behaviors in his leadership?
Your response: As noted before, Denny uses humor to make brutal workouts more
enjoyable. He creates time for his team to bond and allows everyone to have a voice. It seems
that Denny has a good relationship with all of his coaches and swimmers, and that he is a
strong communicator to be able to make the team work. He created Hell Week and has a team
sleepover which definitely takes the edge off of the team, since it can be hard to get to know
your team or freshmen swimmers may be nervous as newcomers. Denny has a clear agenda
and a strict schedule, but is not just focused on making his schedule work, but making the
swimmers a part of the team.
5. From a relational perspective, how would you describe Denny Hill’s leadership?
Your response: The relational approach states that strong relations create stronger
leadership outcomes. Denny is a quality example of this because he relies on every member of
his team and has a functional relationship with everyone. This generates respect and motivation
on both ends, and therefore the entire team succeeds, not just Denny.
6. In what way does Denny Hill’s coaching exemplify leadership as an influence process?
Your response: Denny holds his swimmers to high expectations. The book mentioned
that when Denny started out people were quitting the team because he expected them to be
present for every workout and work together. However, over the years, Denny’s attitude and
model for success inspired his team and through his influence, the team was able to influence
everyone else. The book stated that every single grade had their own responsibility in coaching
the team and assuring that everyone was involved. There is a strong level of influence not just
by Denny, but by everyone.

Part 2: Personal Assessment

Complete the “Conceptualizing Leadership” Questionnaire on pp. 14 and 15. After completing
the questionnaire, answer the following questions:
*If you have the interactive eBook version of this text, log in to access the Leadership Profile
Tool. After completing this chapter’s questionnaire, you will receive individualized feedback and
practical suggestions for further strengthening your leadership based on your responses in this
questionnaire.
1. Report your scores
Your response: Trait = 14, Ability = 16, Skill = 16, Behavior = 12, Relationship =18,
Process = 18
2. What do the scores you received on the Conceptualizing Leadership Questionnaire
suggest about your perspective on leadership? Of the six dimensions on the
questionnaire (trait, ability, skill, behavior, relationship, and process), which one is the
most similar to your own perspective? Which one is least like your own perspective?
Your response: According to my scores I have a strong focus on the relationship and
process approaches of leaderships. It seems like behavior is my lowest which was kind of
surprising to me, because I thought it would be skill.
3. Each of us has our own unique way of thinking about leadership. What leaders or people
have influenced you in your thinking about leadership? Discuss what leadership means
to you and give your definition of leadership.
Your response: My dad is the strongest leader I know. He’s in sales compensation and
management and he always talks about how he goes into companies and transforms their
business models and the team interactions to create a successful work environment. Although
my dad can be kind of tough, he knows exactly what needs to be done and how to do it. He
always has a creative answer to a problem and he is a very transparent communicator. To me
those are all really strong skills of a leader. I also think a leader should have strong personal
relationships with everyone on their team, and should make an effort to talk to everyone and get
as much feedback and discussion started as possible so that true feedback can come through.
4. What do you think is the difference between leadership and management?
Your response: I think management is a position and leadership is what you do.
Management is where people should end up when they’ve been a strong leader. I think
leadership is about your actions and your conversations and what you do for your team, and I
think that management is a place you get to.
 5. Do you think leadership is something everyone can learn to do, or do you think it is a
natural ability reserved for a few? Explain your answer.
Your response: I think everyone can be a leader but not at the same things. The best
thing about people is that they’re so different and they all have special traits and skills. Although
you can teach everyone, I don’t think everyone could lead at the same things. I think every
single person has a set of things that they are best at, and that they would be the best for
leading, it’s just about exploring peoples skills and allowing them to develop with the right
knowledge.
6. Treating leadership as a relationship has ethical implications. How could adding the
relationship approach to your leadership make you a better leader? Discuss.
Your response: The leadership approach states that high quality relationships yield
greater leadership success. Even if you aren’t friends with every single person on your team
and even if you don’t know everyone well, having individual conversations and expressing
genuine interest in what other people have to say can make you a very strong leader. People
are more likely to trust you and are more able to follow the interest of the leader. It helps
everyone become a team when there are strong interpersonal relationships with open
communication.
7. Think about your own leadership. Identify one trait, ability, skill, or behavior that you
could develop more fully to become a better leader.
Your response: Although I feel that I am a strong leader and am task oriented, I feel
that I could be more effective in my communication. Everyone learns differently and I have a
habit of explaining things to people the way that I learned them or the way that made sense to
me, rather than listening to the parts that really confuse them and coming up with creative ways
to relay the information I know.

Part 3: Interview a Leader

Conduct a fifteen to thirty-minute interview with someone who you consider to be a leader and
then answer the following questions:
1. Who did you choose to interview and why?
Your response: I chose to interview my shift supervisor Ryon. Ryon cares about our
team and seems to have a personal connection with every single partner at the Starbucks I
work at. People trust him and look to him for guidance even when my manager (our boss) is
around.
2. Describe how they see and perceive leadership.
Your response: Ryon says that leadership is about motivating those around you.
Everyone has a common goal but rather than micromanaging and pushing agendas and
viewpoints, it is the leaders job to to inspire passion and inspire people to have the self-
motivation to get something done, and understand that they have it within them to do it.
3. What do they see as the difference between leadership and management?
Your response: He believes that leaders are more of motivators while managers are
more about accountability. For managers there are standards and abilities that everyone must
meet and that is your main focus. He says that leaders are more about holding back criticisms
and moving everyone towards their goal.
 4. Which of the six dimensions (trait, ability, skill, behavior, relationship, and process) do
you think was the most like their perspective on leadership?
Your response: Ryon is definitely the leader who focuses on the influence process. He
believes that everyone can share the same inspiration and that leaders can help everyone want
to reach the same end goal. When I asked Ryon if he had any advice, he said “Negative
emotions hold no productivity, and the way that you are affected affects your team and the
same goes for you.” It is clear that he believes that teams must work together and that everyone
energy is reciprocal.
5. How does their leadership perspective relate to your perspective?
Your response: We have similar viewpoints in that I hold a strong emphasis on
influence. I think that one person who is negatively affected can strongly influence the team
around them, and that negative attitudes hold no place in leadership. I think that it’s important to
find the best in every situation, and inspire your team to do the same.
6. Based on the interview you conducted, how could you incorporate their ideas about
leadership into your own leadership?
Your response: The one thing that Ryon mentioned to me was that a characteristic of
an effective leader is to have no pride. I am someone who is very proud and doesn’t want to
have to ask for help, but even when he and I work together I realize that he confronts his
missteps and failures head on and learns from them rather than hiding them or feelings
embarrassed about them. He is very clear and decisive which is something I want to improve on
for the future.

Part 4: Simulation
Complete the simulation pre-test and report your score:
Your response: 23/25