Question

Learning objective: Improve understanding of behavioral leadership theory

Process:

      Read the following excerpt about a Facebook manager and respond to the discussion question.

Facebook (HBR, 2018). At Facebook, our best managers work with people to minimize these trade-offs by creating career opportunities that mesh with personal priorities. Here’s an example.

Shona, an agency lead, was coming back from maternity leave to a global role where time zones directly conflicted with her parenting. With her manager, Shona developed a prioritization plan for travel. For anything that was important but not essential, she worked with regional colleagues to set up meeting coverage. Shona’s manager also connected her with a mentor in a global role who guided her through her transition. In Shona’s words, “This deep level of support gave me the confidence to return to work fully present and also be there for my daughter.” Managers who give this kind of support find that their people not only deliver but also stay longer — they’re proud of where they work.

Discussion question: Drawing on behavioral theory of leadership, identify and explain leadership behavior of Shona’s manager. A strong answer will justify your answer.

Answer 1

If we look at the behavioral theory of the leadership, it indicates that the behavior or the conduct of the leader differentiate the person from the non-leader. If we analyze the behavior of Shona’s manager, it is quite evident that he is the person who takes care of his followers or subordinates and understands the limitations and the conditions under which the subordinates or any employee has to go through while performing the work or job. As in the case of Shona, she just rejoined the office from maternity leave so she needed comfortable positioning in her job and to maintain the work-family balance. This is really provided by the conduct of her manager as he helped her in various ways.

This shows the manager must understand the constraints of the followers and facilitate the different types of options so that the job can be done efficiently with the given conditions. The behavior of the manager is a direct indication of him being a sensitive and proactive manager as he understands the limitations and conditions of the subordinates.