Chapter 13
Leading Effective Teams
Contempo is opening up a new store location in sixty days. As Executive Director, you
are in charge of expansion and have to put together a strong team quickly.
You hired Anderson Van Wyck to be the Store Manager based on his previous
Julie MaRafalow has been one of your top production specialists for two years. You
assigned her to Anderson and the new store without hesitation. Her proven track record
and existing knowledge of the product line would be actively used to get this new store
performing within weeks.
You have also taken great steps to recruit other internal employees who have strong
performance records. Two or three are new to the company and not so experienced, but
their eager attitude and desire to learn and get better will serve them well in this new
location.
It has been three weeks since the new store opened and early performance statistics are
meeting expectations. It looks like the team is working together well. However, you have
You are sitting at lunch with your boss, Elizabeth Malone. She has just asked you
casually, “How is the new location doing?” You are struggling with how you are going to
approach Anderson and confront him on his performance so far. You are concerned about
What do you say?
Elizabeth has years of experience and has offered objective perspectives in the past, and
she supports employee development while maintaining good performance on the job.
You decide to share your concern about Anderson’s early leadership style with her. What
do you say?
Share the comments you have received about Anderson’s yelling or demeaning style with
What are you going to track closely with the new team?
You will track key performance metrics: sales of merchandise, inventory levels,
How might you approach Anderson about the team’s performance?
Applying Situational Leadership®, you will begin with an S3 style, high relationship and
What might you say to Julie? To the new employees?
To Julie: You need to acknowledge her statements and discuss the communication
