All the World's a (Leadership) Stage

Prompt #1: Of the following four, which goal orientation characteristic best describes you: (1) High
Mastery/Low Performance; (2) High Mastery/High Performance; (3) Low Mastery/High Performance;
or (4) Low Mastery/Low Performance? Did the goal orientation surveys (and associated tables)
accurately describe your own motivation-related perceptions of yourself?

I scored high (outside of the mid-range) on both the Mastery and Performance scales. After
some reflection on these scores I realized that I have not quite let go of my “perfectionist” personality as
much as I think I have. I believe my scores on these surveys are accurate for the most part. While I am
intrinsically motivated, or look to gain an “inner sense of fulfillment (Hamilton, 2013, p. 412), and seek
to find joy in mastery and performance within myself, I have to be honest with myself and realize that I
am also extrinsically motivated, or driven by external rewards (Hamilton, 2013, p. 412). I used to be very
competitive in the workplace and strived to be the best. I looked for the extrinsic reward of praise and
admiration. A few years ago, though, I had a director that helped me realize it’s ok to not be the best
and to share in the successes of others (it’s also exhausting to try to be the best all the time). She also
helped me realize that not everything I do has to be perfect. In recent years I have learned to appreciate
and value others strengths that may supersede my own, and have worked to become less of a
perfectionist. I believe this is why my scores are so high on these surveys.

Prompt #2: Make some connections between the concept of goal orientation and some of the other
concepts discussed in Chapter 12 of your textbook (as well as any of the other applicable
readings/presentations in the module). As a leader, do you believe it’s important to foster a mastery
goal-oriented perspective among employees (yes/no/it depends)? Why? From your perspective, what
would be your goals for creating a positive motivational climate in the workplace, and how might you
go about accomplishing that objective? Be specific.

I’m constantly working to know how to motivate my baristas. I just had a conversation with my
manager this week about implementing an employee survey tool to gather information about what
motivates people in our workplace. I believe it is important to foster a mastery goal-oriented
environment, especially at Starbucks. While our primary goal is to connect with our customers, we also
have sales goals that must be met. For this reason it is imperative to create a goal-oriented
environment. Because every person is different, motivation to meet goals will come from different
approaches. Hamilton mentions that a transformational leader will communicate a vision clearly to its
followers through a shared set of values (2013, p. 405). It is discovering which sets of values are held by
each barista in order to connect with what motivates them. Hamilton also mentions that through
transformational leadership, followers will become inspired, join the collective pursuit, and ultimately
transform their values to mirror that of the leaders (2013, p. 406). My goal is to learn how to become
this kind of leader.

Hamilton also mentions that some people are intrinsically motivated while others are motivated
by extrinsic factors (2013, p. 410). It imperative to discover which of these factors motivates people
individually in order to appeal to them to meet goals. I feel it is important to note how vital work
centrality, or the significance of work in a person’s life, is to each employee (Hamilton, 2013, p. 423). I
often wonder how important my employees feel their work at Starbucks is. If an employee does not feel
connected to their work, inspired by their work, or that their work is important, how do you motivate
them? Hamilton mentions that high work centrality is most common when there is high value on
mastery, or the belief that humans should control the environment (2013, p. 423). Unfortunately, the
Starbucks work environment is relatively unpredictable in terms of how the workflow will be each day:
did everybody show up today?, is everyone is the optimal position for themselves?, is everyone in a
good mood?, will we have an unpredictable rush of customers? Ultimately, Starbucks is not a work
environment that includes much mastery of the environment. This causes me to search for other
motivations my employees connect with.

My hope is to become a transformational leader in order to inspire and connect with my

employees in order to work towards the collective goal with a happy and driven heart.

Prompts #3, #4, & #5 Set up: Review Discussion Topic #6 Set Up, Leadership Style Survey, and
associated content.

Prompt #3: Review the Hersey--Blanchard Model of leadership (in your textbook), which suggests that
optimal leadership behavior varies based on follower readiness. Consider the work group you had in
mind when you completed the questionnaire. Was the group in Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, or Stage 4 in
terms of readiness? Explain your answer.

The group I answered the questionnaire for is my work group at Starbucks. While our store saw
a lot of turnover November-January, our team has finally settled and our newer employees are finding
their place in the store. At the beginning of the year our team was very much in stage one and two
where the new employees started out knowing very little, but slowly gained confidence to jump in and
give tasks a try (Hamilton, 2013, p. 402). I’d say our store toggles back and forth between stages 3 and 4
now. Some of the newer employees have balanced their expertise and confidence with their attitude to
accept direction, some still struggle in stage 3 to accept direction from older baristas or leaders. For the
most part, our team is willing to ask questions and accept direction from leaders. This indicates that our
store hangs out mostly in stage 4 (Hamilton, 2013, p. 402).
Prompt #4: Based on your score, is your leadership style telling, selling, participating, or delegating?
To what extent do you agree with this assessment? Provide examples from your own life where you
experienced each of the leadership style related behaviors (telling, selling, participating, and
delegating).

Based on the diagram 12.2 in our book, I have a participating style of leadership (Hamilton,
2013, p. 403). Hamilton mentions that this style of leadership is strongest in a stage 3 group where “an
employee makes a mistake or runs into a problem, his leader is there to mentor” (2013, p. 402). I
believe this is a fairly accurate representation of my leadership style. While I do adjust my leadership
style according to the stage the employee is in, as Hamilton suggests (2013, p. 402), this is my main style
of leadership. After an employee passes through the beginning stages 1 and 2, I trust the employee will
ask for guidance when needed. I like to allow my employees to function on their own confidence
without too much of me peering over their shoulder. I will offer guidance as necessary, but for the most
part I am hands off.

Prompt #5: Review the information regarding Tuckman’s Stages of Team Development model (in the
Module 6 Readings). Contrast leadership style with the various stages of team development. Do you
see a connection? Discuss team leadership behaviors (and motivational approaches) that you think
would be applicable to each of Tuckman’s stages of team development.

Tuckman’s Stages and the Hershey-Blanchard style of leadership bare many similarities.
Forming and Stage 1 are similar in that they are both foundation stages. In the Hershey-Blanchard model
it’s noted that stage one is characterized by the need for clear direction because of lack of skills and
uncertainty, whereas in the Forming stage of the Tuckman model also works on “Forming” a foundation
by establishing foundations and making connections. In stage 2 of Hershey-Blanchard the employee
experiences equal task and relation oriented direction (Hamilton, 2013, p. 403). In the Tuckman’s model
“Storming” is described as a reaction stage where the employees respond to leadership, ideas of others
and build on communication skills (Module 6 handout). These stages are similar in that problem solving
is involved in one's struggle to find their place in the organization. In stage 3 of the Hershey-Blanchard
model the employee becomes overconfident, thinking he no longer needs help, yet the leader is still
there to guide as necessary (Hamilton, 2013, p. 403). In Tuckman’s model members begin to work
together to solve problems (Module 6 handout). These two stages vary as in Hershey-Blanchards model
the employee becomes independent while in Tuckman’s model the employees become interdependent.
Finally, in stage 4 or the Hershey-Blanchard model the employee finds a balance between confidence
and guidance from the leader (Hamilton, 2013, p. 403), while in Tuckman’s model, “Performing”, the
members of a team work collaboratively, make connections with each other, and establish an identity as
a group. These two stages in the leadership style and the team development stages vary as stage 4
represent a balance in a single employee and in “Performing” a group of people come together as a
team which results in close connections. Overall, while Tuckman’s seems to focus on a more
interpersonal approach and Hershey-Blanchard a more leader/follower relationship, the two resemble
each other in their description of an employee or group of employees advancing through an event.

Both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations could apply to the Tuckman model. A person could be
motivated externally to get along with the others because it’s a group setting and harmony creates a
more relaxed environment. At the same time intrinsic motivation seems to play a part as the group
members work together more cohesively as the model developed. Intrinsic motivation could come from
the joy of working as a team, creating successful solutions together and overcoming difficult stages.

Prompts #6, #7 & #8 Set up: Review Discussion Topic #6 Set Up, Work Values Survey, and associated
content.

Prompt #6: List your scores from the Work Values Survey

My Social Values score is: 3.6

My Extrinsic Values score is: 3.5

My Power Values score is: 2

My Intrinsic Values score is: 3

Prompt #7: Comment on your highest score(s). To what extend do you believe the Leadership Style
Survey captured applicable aspects of your own leadership style? Does your highest score(s) fit with
researchers’ predictions about the connection between culture and individual motivations to work?
Explain. Would you say that your high score on this scale accurately represents your overall values in
life? Why or why not?

These scores tend to capture my values accurately. My highest score was my social values while
my lowest score was my power values. Hamilton describes power values as “social status and prestige”
and “control or dominance over people” (Hamilton, 2013, p. 421). I have little desire for social status
and while I do enjoy leadership positions, it’s not for desire of control over people or resources. Rather
it’s for the social connections and the chance to motivate/inspire a team to work together. This low
score actually highlights my highest score in the social values category-- I care about people
tremendously. This also builds on why my second highest score is my extrinsic values: I care what people
think about me. This score is only half a point higher than my intrinsic value score, which makes sense to
me. In reality, my extrinsic values are slightly higher than my intrinsic, and I am conscious of it. I value
external input, such a praise and compliments, but I also highly value self-love, and feeling confident
both in motivation for things that I do, and for my successes.

Prompt #8: Overall, how well is your current value system toward work functioning in your life? Is it
creating a high degree of satisfaction with your work, or inhibiting your satisfaction with your work?
How is this affecting your behaviors? Explain. Be specific and illustrate some specific work-related
behaviors to illustrate your points.

Overall my current value system seems to be working fine for me. Objectively, I have no idea. I
know that I am content with how my values affect my work and home life. I value people above all else
and that’s important to me. Over time I have learned to engage in active listening and active
conversation with people; I’ve learned to be engaged, ask questions, and show interest. I’ve also learned
to build trust and value other people’s strengths. In my goals that I have for my life, these values have
served me well. At work I gain respect through my co-workers by engaging with them and trusting them
to complete their work the way they are supposed to. Recently when I walked into work one day, a
barista that I work with only a couple times a week told me, “Lindsay, you’re my favorite shift”. Another
barista chimed in and said, “Yeah mine, too!” Not only did this make me feel good about the work I do,
but it was reassuring that I was having the affect on my workplace that I was aiming for: not to be the
best, but to create a work environment in which my baristas feel happy and comfortable.

References:

Hamilton, V.A. (2007) Human Relations: The art and science of building effective relationships (1st ed.).
New Jersey: Pearson.

Module 6 handout (n.d.) Tuckman’s team development model.

Stein, Judith. (n.d.) Using the stages of team development.