Background
I interviewed Mr. James Cole, a marketing manager at a U.S-based company, to understand the factors that influence his professional life. He has been working within the marketing department as its head for the past ten years. He was also my finance tutor for about three years. The interview was informative and insightful as I learned a lot about the duties executed by the individuals in this position. The paper contains an in-depth description of the interview, a presentation of the knowledge gained through this particular exercise, and the correlation between the experiences and proficiencies attained during this practice and the class’s conceptualizations.
The Interview
The interview incorporated several questions, which helped develop a vivid picture of various management principles’ importance in enhancing one’s capacity to lead an organization’s workforce effectively. I first inquired about Mr. Cole’s management style and its subsequent impacts on exerting influence. He identifies with the transformational leadership style, a management approach in which supervisors encourage, motivate, and inspire workers to innovate and develop change, which is crucial in facilitating an organization’s growth and overall success (Amanchukwu et al., 2015). Some of the effects of this leadership strategy as reported by the respondent include fostering his capacity to motivate employees, modeling ethical conduct among subordinates, soliciting ideas and input from team members, taking risks, and enhancing the ability to listen and address the needs of the firm’s workforce.
Mr. Cole also listed the essential traits of a transformational leader. Some of the reported characteristics include being proactive, innovative, creative and adaptable, as well as self-awareness, open-mindedness, leading with a vision, inspiration, and the capacity to challenge norms. When asked about whether his management approach has evolved over the years, Mr. Cole responded positively since he initially identified with the authoritative style of leadership. Although this administrative strategy helped him achieve certain outcomes such as minimizing workplace errors, creating clarity within the command chain, and enhancing consistency in work-related outcomes, he distinguished it as a methodology with significant drawbacks. Some of the shortcomings include reducing the level of team input, the possibility of causing workers to rebel, decreased employee morale and innovation, increased turnover rates, and leadership-related insecurities.
When asked about the reasons why managers fail, Mr. Cole reported poor leadership as the primary factor. According to him, prejudice and the lack of communication, vision, clear expectations from workers, team spirit, and employee motivation are among the aspects associated with unsuccessful managers. During the interview, I also inquired about the rate at which the respondent encounters underperforming workers and how he deals with this issue. The interviewee reported his frequent interaction with poor-performing employees, especially in his work line. To handle this problem, he often attempts to understand the factors which underlie this outcome and those which inspire them, clarifies his expectations, and offers training when necessary. Moreover, he develops a roadmap for improvement, including performance goals together with the involved team members, and provides continuous constructive feedback.
I later asked the interviewee on the strategies he uses to solve the issues within the workplace. In response to this question, Mr. Cole first acknowledged the inevitable nature of work-related problems in any organization. He then outlined the steps he employs to resolve them. They include elucidating the issue, distinguishing alternative solutions, evaluating the proposed resolution’s efficacy, selecting and implementing the appropriate approach, monitoring progress, and making adjustments. The last interview query was about the skills the respondent seeks in new hires. Some of the proficiencies reported by Mr. Cole included creative thinking, problem-solving, communication, analytics, technical expertise, interpersonal adroitness, being an excellent team player, as well as negotiation skills.
Concepts Learned from the Interview
The interview was an important practice, which helped me understand the various managerial aspects deemed essential in the real world. For instance, through this practice, I learned that although every leadership style has its crucial advantages, one ought to assess whether these benefits outweigh their drawbacks and the impacts of these shortcomings on a company’s overall performance. Despite the merits of the authoritative management style, Mr. Cole identified this approach as ineffective due to its downside and its consequent impact on his employees’ productivity and performance. This learning session helped me to familiarize myself with the workplace environment.
From this interview process, it was evident that one has to exhibit the traits linked to a specific administrative style to adopt it effectively. Another conceptualization grasped during this exercise is the significant impact of leadership on both the manager and the organization as a whole. Ineffective management triggers poor outcomes and vice versa. Furthermore, I mastered the importance of motivation, continuous feedback, productivity goals, and training in addressing an employee’s underperformance. Lastly, I familiarized myself with the steps deemed crucial in resolving workplace issues and the essential skills required in the job market.
Relationship between the Conceptualization and Experience Learned during the Interview and Class Concepts
The interview with Mr. Cole helped me understand the practicability of the conceptions learned in class in the real world. For instance, it gave me a vivid picture of the effects of authoritative leadership and its role in improving particular aspects such as efficiency while reducing creativity, innovation, and teamwork. It further enhanced my understanding of the term underperformance and the efficacy of learned concepts such as continuous feedback, employee morale, and training in improving this particular aspect. Furthermore, the dialogue with Mr. Cole uncovered the effects of poor leadership, a conceptualization learned in class, in influencing the unsuccessful nature of a manager’s practices. It was also instrumental in improving my comprehension of the practical application of elements such as the steps involved in the problem-solving procedure and the competencies essential in the job market.
Reference
Amanchukwu, R. N., Stanley, G. J., & Ololube, N. P. (2015). A review of leadership theories, principles and styles and their relevance to educational management. Journal of Academic and Scientific Publishing, 5(1), 6–14. Web.