Leadership Development  Case Study 1: Becoming an Organizational Leader

by Lorraine Bastian-Jones

In 2010, following 4 years as a senior accounts clerk in the private sector, James Gasinski attained a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and Finance.  Within six months of achieving the BA in Accounting, he received the credential of Certified Public Accountant.  In search of better job security, as well as a new career challenge, James interviewed for a position in the public service as certified public accountant.  With these qualifications, James was satisfied that he was fully qualified to assume an executive role in any reputable company.

In 2011, a government corporation (Corporation A) appointed James to head its entire business operations network.  James reports to the Executive Vice President, and will carry out the role of Vice President of Administration.  Under his leadership were more than twenty professionals.  The other Vice Presidents questioned whether the brilliant CPA, who has never functioned in a leadership position, and much more, make the transition to effectively lead and drive the business operations of Corporation A.

Exactly one month after his appointment to the post of VP Administration, James realized that the job complexity exceeded his expectations and core abilities. Responding to new administrative issues, stakeholders’ finance related issues, and the prevailing leadership style together, consumed huge amounts of production time, and thereby compromising work quality and employee morale.  About six months after James took office as VP Administration, there were performance execution issues that impacted the corporation’s ability to function effectively.  The Executive VP observed all that was going on, but was resolute about giving James the space and time she felt necessary for him to develop and roll out the strategies to ‘find his way’.

It was clear to James’ staff and peers, as well as the other Vice Presidents that James did not possess the requisite training acclimated to his new role.  During a series of ongoing casual conversations, James’ peers questioned the organization’s decision to appoint him to lead such major area of the organization.  Corporation A has since secured the services of a full time Director of Administration to provide leadership and guidance to James, thereby ensuring overall improvement of the department.

In preparation for the focus group discussion, please chat informally, but candidly with your colleagues on the following foundational questions:

1. What is your personal definition of executive leadership?
2. What is your organization’s budget for executive leadership development?
3. What is your organization’s executive development strategy?
4. Is executive development activities linked to your organizational strategy? Explain.
5. What are the ongoing challenges with executive development initiatives, and how does your organization respond to such challenges?
6. What is the perceived stimuli/stimulus that inspires your desire for leadership development?
7. What is the perceived stimuli/stimulus that discourages your desire for leadership development?

Focus Group Questions

1. Analyze the method used to fill the post. Identify the leadership style that prevails.  According to theory, which leadership style would you select?
2. Discuss a plan that can be devised to link executive development with job promotion, corporate strategy, and critical success factors.
3. Do you feel James should be removed from the position of VP Administration, or should Corporation A invest in an executive development programme for James? Explain a reasonable rationale for both options.
4. In previous discussions, it was determined that Corporation A needs to establish an executive leadership development programme. What knowledge, skills and attitude do you believe to be essential for James to function beyond expectations in his capacity as VP Administration?
5. Should Corporation A develop a leadership development competency model? To provide a theoretic foundation for your response by analyzing the leadership development models discussed in the preliminary session. Recommend which model might be most suitable for implementation at Corporation A. Provide a rationale for your recommendation.
6. What procedures or strategies should the government employ to imbed executive leadership development within the operational framework of the public sector?
7. Upon reading the case, do you have circumstantial evidence that there was external intervention in the appointment of James to the executive office? Explain.

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