Leadership Memo Essay

I would like to thank you for the opportunity to lead the new team in the department. I feel that it will be a great journey and have developed a plan to successfully lead the team. Included in this memo, are details about the individuals that will be a part of the team as well as insight provided on the leadership approach that I will be taking. Because the members of this team have been with the company for quite some time and are proficient in their individual roles, there should not be much time focused on training or teaching the culture of the company. Sandy Paul has great organization skills and is very trustworthy. I will give her the tasks of managing the finances, budgets for the department, including keeping inventory and ordering supplies as needed. Brian Brown is highly conceptual. I feel that he will do well with any research that may be necessary and also have him be heavily involved in quality control, should any problems or customer complaints come about. Liam Walker has been noted to be very creative and people oriented. He will be best suited for assisting Brian with any necessary research that will be needed on the team. He also provides a high sense of optimism and motivation. I have no doubt that he will be able to help keep the team morale high, even during stressful tasks. Lastly, Courtney Gatier has a drive and natural desire to lead. She will stand as my assistant and run the office in my absence. She is a visionary, and looks for ways to improve her department. She has a low tolerance for incompetency and I feel that she is confident enough to take on this role. Robbins and Coulter (2012) states that there are seven traits associated with  leadership – drive, desire to lead, honesty and integrity, self-confidence, intelligence, job-relevant knowledge and extraversion. In order to effectively lead, I agree and feel that having these traits will make for a well balanced team. With that being said, I will be taking on the democratic style. Robbins and Coulter notes a study performed in 1951 at the University of Iowa. This study showed that the â€Å"democratic style of leadership was most effective and encouraged participation (2012).† It is important to involve the team in decision making so that everyone not only feels that they are valued, but also understand the goals that the team will be working towards. This style of leadership also allows me the ability to utilize feedback with the employees as a means for coaching as necessary. This leadership approach works well with the Fiedler contingency model. According to Robbins and Coulter, this theory suggests effective group performance depends upon the proper match between a leader’s style and the degree to which the situation allow the leader to control and influence (2012). This theory also points out three dimensions that attribute to the leader’s success and effectiveness – leader member relations, task structure and position power. Sir, I would like to thank you again for the opportunity to head this team. I feel that with the plan I have developed and wit the staff I have on board, this team will be able to successfully execute the company’s strategic plan to enter the market segment. Reference Robbins, S. P., & Coulter, M. (2012). Management (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.