Leadership is the art of directing others to the achievement of a particular goal or goals. The style of leadership that a leader adopts has a profound influence on the outlook of the followers of the leader. For instance, if the followers or subordinates have been used to a top-down leader-follower (autocratic) approach to leadership they may not function under a transformational leader (Choi et al., 2019). Analysis of the Turn the Ship Around Case Study.This is because a transformational leader will give them space and empower them to take their own decisions according to the situation at hand. The Turn the Ship Around case study is very intriguing. It introduces the concepts of path-goal theory to leadership and situational approach to leadership. This paper analyzes the Turn the Ship Around case study and focuses especially on the application of the goal-path model and situational approach to leadership.Analysis of the Turn the Ship Around Case Study.
How the Leaders Demonstrate Flexibility and Adaptability and Apply Aspects of the Path-Goal Theory
In this case study, the leader who demonstrates the most flexibility and adaptability is Louis David. This is the engineer officer on the USS Will Rogers. After experiencing the leader-follower top-down leadership style of his first commanding officer (CO) on the USS Sunfish, engineer officer Louis David was inducted into the path-goal model of leadership (Phillips & Phillips, 2016).Analysis of the Turn the Ship Around Case Study. It is a position he finds himself in again on the USS Will Rogers because its CO and XO (executive officer second in command) are also top-down in approach. This is the situation in which the leader has to show the followers what they need to do in order to reach a particular goal. In essence, the leader has to point the followers to the correct path that will lead them to achieving the objectives at hand. In this model, it is clear that without the direction of the leader the followers will be lost. In this case study, Louis David was to learn this fact the hard way. This first CO under whom David served on the USS Sunfish gave orders that he expected to be followed without being questioned. Analysis of the Turn the Ship Around Case Study.The subordinates also got used to being given instructions and following them as they were without taking their own initiative. This was to change when another CO replaced the first one on the USS Sunfish. This was Commander Pelaez. Unlike the first CO, Pelaez inspired and empowered his subordinates to take initiative and make decisions independently depending on the situation. For example, David was able to make the decision of using a sonar ping on a merchant ship independently for the first time after empowerment from Commander Pelaez.Analysis of the Turn the Ship Around Case Study. It can be said that Pelaez was not only a transformational leader, but also skilled in applying the situational approach to leadership (Northouse, 2019). Commander Pelaez was therefore flexible and adaptable to leadership situations and did not subscribe to the rigidity of authoritarianism such as his predecessor.Analysis of the Turn the Ship Around Case Study.
From the above background, Louis David learnt important leadership lessons. He had already resolved to adopt the style practiced by Pelaez. This was not the path-goal model (which does not allow subordinates to think and make their own decisions), but a transformational leadership model premised on the situational approach to leadership. When David became responsible for 60 men out of the 140 men on the USS Will Rogers, he chose to empower and inspire his subordinates. He became flexible and adaptable. Analysis of the Turn the Ship Around Case Study.He was transformational and left the subordinates to make decisions and take the initiative. However, things did not go as he planned or thought. These subordinates were already accustomed to being given orders (top-down) that they then followed to the letter. It therefore appeared as a shock to them that they were now expected to find the path to the goal themselves so to speak. In any case, they were used to the path-goal model. Analysis of the Turn the Ship Around Case Study.On realizing what was happening, Louis David had to exercise extreme flexibility and adaptability to remedy the situation. He had to therefore issue orders here and there (the path-goal model), but also still remain true to his commitment for transformational leadership. In essence, he resorted to the situational approach to leadership when that was required by the situation. He
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