Instructor Resource
Rowe, Cases in Leadership 5e
4. Identify Coglin’s options for addressing this issue. Analyze the benefits and risks of each
option. Be sure to consider how each option affects Simpson, Boyd, and Coglin
(individually and their relationships), as well as how the other employees at the store may
react. What would you advise Coglin to do and how should he go about doing it? Please be
specific.
Coglin needs to decide what kind of person he needs managing the yard going forward and who
has the skills to do it. He needs to consider whether he can coach Simpson to be the kind of yard
manager required or whether he needs to put someone else in that role. The case suggests that
Coglin has tried to coach Simpson before but that Simpson continues to prefer his management
Instructor Resource
Rowe, Cases in Leadership 5e
SAGE Publications, Inc., 2019
Instructor Resource
Rowe, Cases in Leadership 5e
SAGE Publications, Inc., 2019
Coglin’s Options
While there may be quite a few options for Coglin to consider, we will focus on the three most
evident ones: do nothing, continue trying to coach Simpson to improve and find another role for
Boyd, make Boyd the new yard manager and find another role for Simpson or let Simpson go.
Instructor Resource
Rowe, Cases in Leadership 5e
SAGE Publications, Inc., 2019
Instructor Resource
Rowe, Cases in Leadership 5e
SAGE Publications, Inc., 2019
Teaching Plan
Introduction (5 minutes)
Introduce the case by asking students whether they think leadership is a key success factor for a
business. Why or why not? Is leadership important for all businesses or just some? If leaders are
Diagnosing the Situation (35 minutes)
Business and HR Strategy
What do customers who shop at House, Hearth and Home want? How does the store
differentiate itself from the competition?
• Customers want accurate and timely deliveries; a pleasant shopping experience;
What are the key success factors for House, Hearth and Home? Why?
• Superior customer service because of its competitive strategy.
What are the implications of this competitive position for House, Hearth and Home’s HR needs?
• Select employees who are a good fit and train them thoroughly. Ensure they are
Instructor Resource
Rowe, Cases in Leadership 5e
SAGE Publications, Inc., 2019
Conflict Management and Leadership Styles
Boyd and Simpson handle employee performance management very differently. How does each
one handle it and which do you think is more effective?
Have students describe how Boyd and Simpson each handle conflict.
• Simpson: Avoids conflict when possible or accommodates people; he only confronts
people when instructed by Coglin.
Do you think there is a difference between being a manager and being a leader? Why or why
not? If so, how are they different?
Some theorists argue these are two separate functions. Elicit student ideas and develop Kotter’s
distinction if they have read in advance.
Instructor Resource
Rowe, Cases in Leadership 5e
SAGE Publications, Inc., 2019
Promote stability
Promote change
Cope with complexity
Cope with change
Make plans and budgets
Set a vision and align people to it
Staff and organize people
Motivate and inspire people
Ask students to contrast the two candidates for the job in terms of these dimensions. Who is a
leader and who is a manager in the case?
(Optional)
Heifetz and Laurie’s view33
Managers
Leaders
Provide comfort and solutions
Shake things up, ask hard questions
Role is to monitor and control others
Role is to develop others and push people out
of their comfort zones. Need to manage
emotional response too.
About adaptation, change and learning
The alternate view is that management and leadership are simply different levels of the
leadership continuum. Rooke and Torbert argue there are seven distinct levels of leadership.34 As
Lowest level Highest level
Opportunist
Diplomat
Expert
Achiever
Strategist
Alchemist
(See descriptions of these levels above in the answer to Question 2b.)
Where do you see Simpson and Boyd on this continuum?
Instructor Resource
Rowe, Cases in Leadership 5e
SAGE Publications, Inc., 2019
How has Boyd been able to accomplish so much in such a little time? Why has Simpson not been
able to?
• Boyd: shows concern for employees, coaches employees to improve, models the desired
behaviors, sets high standards and a clear vision (superior customer service) and
encourages employees to think differently and to be proactive.
Looking at these leadership styles, what leadership style do you think House, Hearth and Home
needs right now?
Proposing and Analyzing Action Plans (25 minutes)
Identify Coglin’s options for addressing this issue. Analyze the benefits and risks of each option.
Be sure to consider how each option affects Simpson, Boyd, and Coglin (individually and their
relationships), as well as how the other employees at the store may react. What would you advise
Coglin to do and how should be go about doing it? Please be specific.
Have students work in teams of three or four to conduct their analysis. Potential answers are
listed below. Give students 10 minutes to decide on their recommendation. Since they prepared
the assignment question in advance, this should be enough time.
Instructor Resource
Rowe, Cases in Leadership 5e
SAGE Publications, Inc., 2019
Instructor Resource
Rowe, Cases in Leadership 5e
SAGE Publications, Inc., 2019
Wrap-Up (10 minutes)
At the beginning of class, we talked about whether leadership is important to a business’s
success. In the case we saw different leadership styles. What kind of leader do you want to be?
What do you think will be the most challenging aspect of being that kind of leader?
What happened
As a long-term valued employee, Simpson had a relationship with Coglin that allowed candid
feedback and an open discussion of issues. During a conversation about some improvements that
had been happening in the yard, Simpson admitted to Coglin that Boyd was leading the change.
Instructor Resource
Rowe, Cases in Leadership 5e
SAGE Publications, Inc., 2019
Exhibit TN-1
Board Plan
Front:
Strategy
Competitive Strategy
Key Success Factors
HR Strategy Implications
Middle:
Leadership
Conflict Management
Styles
Manager vs. Leader
Leadership Styles
Store’s Current
Needs
Back:
Recommendations
Options
Benefits
Risks
Recommendation and
Implementation
Considerations