Question

You are a new Athletic Director at a small Division II university. The athletic program that you are taking over has been in a shambles (i.e. losing records, ineffective leadership, conflict among the different departments) for the last several years. The president of the university is bringing you in to clean up the program and change its direction. In addition, as mentioned there are conflicts between departments with the worst being between the head baseball and football coaches. Football has received according to the baseball coach all the resources while only producing mediocre results on and off the field. The baseball team has been more successful but has received very few resources. The baseball coach feels like he is under-resourced in scholarships, staffing, and budget for several years compared to football. The baseball stadium is run down, with very little seating, but football just had a new stadium built which is still only half full for games. The football coach continues to want more and often enjoys receiving resources at the expense of baseball. (Both of the coaches are currently under long term contracts so firing is not an option.)

1. Explain what 4 different leadership styles that could be used in this situation and why. What leadership approach do you think is best?

2. Using strategic management outline how you would attempt to accomplish this task?

Answer 1

1. The most appropriate leadership styles in this case would be :

- Democratic : In this style, inputs are taken from all relevant stakeholders before making an informed decision. As the new director it would be a good way to ensure everyone in the university gets a fair chance at putting forward their issues and concerns and then choosing the best alternative without any bias. Both coaches can let make their case about why their departments deserve more budget/focus and any issues they are currently facing, and then the director can decide what changes are needed in each department. This style is also popular among the subordinate members as each feels like their inputs are being considered in the decision-making process. In this case, the issues plaguing the Baseball department would be highlighted as requiring attention and so this team will likely get more resources to help bring it up to the same level as the Football department.

- Strategic : This style of leadership ensures that the company's strategy is the primary point of focus. In this case, cleaning up the Athletic department and changing its direction in a positive way. As that is main directive for the new director, it should be the focal point of all decision-making. The director can take in all inputs from the coaches but in the end go ahead with the decision that he/she thinks is the most suitable to achieve the strategy goal. The department that deserves more resources might not necessarily get the budget it asks for if it means that the goal of reviving the athletic department is not met. As the Baseball outcome is more successful than the Football outcome, it can be prioritised to ensure that any untapped or overlooked potential is grasped - more scholarships, upgrades to the stadium etc.   

- Transformational : This style looks to improve upon the goals set by the company, and try to achieve more than is asked of the role. The director, after talking to the coaches and doing his/her own research as to what is the best use of the available resources, can decide to go in a completely new direction such as start a soccer department that can also use the football stadium (more effective use of the same resources) and in doing so get more/different scholarship students and viewers to the university. This can make sure the previously higher amount of resources spent on the football department are now split between two teams so that no one sport controls a major portion of the athletic department's resources ensuring a more effective usage of the existing resources and evening the plane between the three departments thus reducing conflict.  

- Coaching : This style looks to identify and strengthen all the teams within. The director can seek out ways in which the better performance of the Baseball department can be enhanced by creating more scholarship opportunities and upgrading any resources that need it. He/she can also look to see how the Football department can be improved by improving the team perhaps, or by attracting more people to the games. Each department would be treated differently based on its needs and requirements ensuring that neither gets an undue advantage at the expense of the other.

In this case, as the director was hired for a specific purpose/set of goals, he/she should pursue the Strategic leadership style to ensure the company's main objective in hiring him/her is met. As the department has a lot of issues at the moment, it would be best to first attempt to resolve the identified and unidentified challenges within the department.

2. There are several known issues with the Athletic department :

- losing records : Review the records system and revise it to ensure all records from now on are captured digitally using current/new technology, and stored in a database/cloud so that they can be retained and used to help assess progress and to make key decisions. The university's IT department can suggest a good information system that can be easily deployed. Once deployed, all users should be trained to ensure the new policy is effectively followed. This system can keep track of the distribution of resources between the teams and ensure that all relevant statistics as to usages, return on investment, scholarships claimed, team size and staff etc. are captured and reviewed to help with decision-making.   

- ineffective leadership : The Baseball coach seems to feel like the university is biased towards the Football team in allocating resources. Review the past key decisions to see why it appears that way and if there is any veracity in that claim. Change the decision-making process to include more participation from all teams in joint meetings so that each team can understand what the other teams need as well. Clearly explain all decisions that are being taken by justifying business cases for all, this will ensure the coaches understand why some of their requests are being approved and why some are being denied.

- conflict among the departments : The coaches seem to consider themselves rivals but this can come at a cost to the university. All the coaches in the Athletic department have a common goal to provide the best service to the students and the university. This should be emphasised so that the teams learn to work together towards a single objective knowing that success or failure for one team will affect all others. Working as a team by sharing resources or staff can bring a lot benefits to the university in the long run.

- in need of a change of direction : The director needs to look at the Athletic department as a whole and find ways to maximise the value it brings to the university. If sports is a major part of the university's culture and heritage, then it is even more imperative that all the sports teams together work to provide a good option for scholarship students. This could mean adding more sports as they gain popularity in the real world, removing some sports lines if they do not have enough takers and cost too much to maintain (not enough return on investment) and of advertising the sports teams more in the university's marketing campaigns.