Pairing a colorful plate of unique flavor with a complimenting wine takes skill, creativity, and risk. No two wines are exactly the same, varying in aromas, textures, and complexity. Although sommeliers are highly educated in wine pairing, each plate is too unique for sommeliers to consistently use the same wine to enhance the meals flavor.
Just like a gourmet five-course meal, individual behavior varies as a result of cultural, environmental, and personal factors. Just as a sommelier will assess a meal’s unique characteristics when pairing the perfect wine, a leader needs to assess the situational characteristics and the individual employee when applying a leadership strategy.
In previous posts I have explored a variety of theories which consistently are flawed in situational characteristics. Leadership is entirely dependent on followers in varying situations. According to Seyranian’s publication on Contingency Theory of Leadership, the simple goal of a leader is to help elucidate the path of followers to achieve. The contingency theory is unique to others because it finally puts the leadership situation into account and acknowledges that the paths of followers are never identical.
Throughout the many jobs I have been trained for, I can see that some training programs instilled the skills I needed to perform effectively and efficiently, while others hindered my overall job performance. As the new marketing coordinator for a luxury travel company, I was expected to bring my young creativity and computer design skills to the table. The office was excited to have a Millennial who they believed would understand complex computer software effortlessly. Although familiar with many systems, I still needed to be trained properly to ensure I met the high standard of work the company expected. My manager delegated daily tasks which included brief instructions of what she needed to be done. Although I could ask questions when needed, which showed a supportive environment, her support didn’t prove to be sufficient because I didn’t have a enough basic knowledge to perform the complex tasks at hand.
Instead of the low directive and high supportive style of my manager, I would have greatly benefited from a high directive and high supportive behavior environment. I needed to clearly understand the step by step process in addition to motivational behavior supporting my learning process. In my experience, I didn’t feel that I was seen as an asset worth investing in, which resulted in an overall negative experience. Because I am an individual with a unique learning process, I didn’t need to be simply supported through the internship’s tasks, I needed to be coached.
the leadership appeal 