Think back to a job (or course) situation in which your manager (or instructor)

Question

Think back to a job (or course) situation in which your manager (or instructor) took action to reprimand, redirect, or reinforce your performance.

What did you do and how was that behavior perceived by your manager (or course instructor)? Was the behavior acceptable, unacceptable, or exceptional, based on your manager’s (or instructor's) or your company’s (university's) standards?

As a result of your manager’s (or course instructor's action), did you change your behavior—and in what way?

Now put yourself in your manager’s (course instructor's) shoes. Which managerial (or instructor's) behaviors do you think would have been most effective in shaping the subordinate’s behavior in this situation? Why?

Explanation / Answer

There was a situation when I was experiencing problems related to a task which required communication with the customer directly. The task demanded me to engage multiple parties and then collate all inputs and then meet the customer with the final output. However, I was being very casual with the customer and a few of my outputs didn't meet the deadline.

I was called in by my manager as there was an escalation from one of the stakeholder. He was very calm and explained to me very clearly in a democratic manner. He wanted me to have the independence but guided me as to what the expectations were. He asked me how I plan to go ahead with the task and wished me all the best. He assigned me a senior from the team if need be for any guidance but encouraged me to take the driving seat.

The behavior was very much accepted as per the company standard. The faith of my manager on me helped me finish the rest of the work much earlier than the deadline.

I think the way my manager motivated me in a democratic manner- two-way communication with clear understanding was effective and a preferred behavior in that kind of situation. Given a choice between Transactional and Transformational leadership, I would choose the latter because this is more sustainable.

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