Respond to two student discussion, do not critique or grade students, only add to the discussion.

First response to Miya

Miya Bradley Week 2: Initial Post- Topic 3

While it is absolutely and undeniably true that Maj Winters displayed the five key elements of leadership, he also displayed all 5 components of emotional intelligence (EQ).  Emotional intelligence is comprised of: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills (Jones, 2017). Daniel Goleman also discovered that EQ was more important than IQ and technical abilities (Jones, 2017). This can easily be proved by the story of Maj Winters.

“Hang Tough!”. Two words uttered by Maj Winters in order to motivate his men through tough times in World War 2. these two words weren’t the only thing that displayed emotional intelligence when it came to Maj Winters. During the interview, Al Mampre stated that Maj Winters displayed compassion for his people while also always being aware of present situations and what they required in order to handle them (2017). This not only showed empathy but it also showed self-awareness and regulation because in order for someone, especially a soldier, to be aware of all situations they must know what’s going on with themselves and to be able to regulate that before handling it. Furthermore, the compassion and empathy that was talked about was apparent when Maj Winters was there for Michelle, the son of a fallen soldier whom Winters worked with, after Michelle’s father died. It was also clear that everyone, those below or above Maj Winters in the rank structure, respected and were loyal to him which not only tests to his leadership skills but his social skills. These people even described him as “well trained, in control, and fearless”. He is the perfect example on someone displaying all of the components of EQ and leadership.

References:

Jones, M. (2017). Leadership in Action: Dick Winters. Lecture. Retrieved January 15, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E2C4SwnMIY&feature=youtu.be

Jones, M. (2017). Lecture Supplement: Emotional Intelligence. Lecture. Retrieved January 15, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUPCXzysDk0&feature=youtu.be (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Second response to Katrina

The case study shows that group discussions are important for the manager or leader, suggesting the company puts a lot of emphasis on employee satisfaction and respects their input. This demonstrates that the organization is willing to allow a follower to become a leader and, hence, encourage that individual to become more committed to the organization. Each employee has a chance to speak their mind and having this type of conversation with employees over food makes the process more relaxed. The hope of this exercise is to make the employees more relaxed around their leaders and more likely to being cheerful and upbeat throughout their shift: “we want to encourage staff to have a positive attitude going in” (Jones, 2017).

In the case study, Mark brings up the point that many servers believe that they will be motivated when they reach their ‘real career’ (Jones, 2017). This is one of the most important reasons why service industry companies must motivate employees to have pride in their work. It is clear that one of the best ways to get organizational commitment from employees is to understand and listen to why they are working there. A company cannot expect every employee to stay with them and serve tables for the rest of their lives and it is important that employees know that their leadership figures understand that. It will make them respect their leader more and provide more meaningful service.

I do believe that other organizations could replicate this process. Organizational commitment is rooted in having pride in one’s own work and respecting the people you work with and for. This mindset should be implemented in all organizations.

References

Lussier, R. N., & Achua, C. F. (2016). Leadership: Theory, application & skill development. Australia: Cengage Learning

Jones, M. (2017). Chapter 2 Case Study: PF Chang’s Serves Its Workers Well https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=6S83iDI-gq8&feature=youtu.be (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.