Real Business

It can be difficult for a business to improve how it operates from inside the organization. Sometimes, an outside perspective is needed. The large discount retail store you work for wants to improve its in-store restaurant management team.

Your Role

Companies like Target and Walmart often work with outside consultants—people who are not employees of the company but who are hired on a contract basis to help with a specific project. As a Leadership Consultant, you’ve been hired by a large discount retail company to help the company improve its leadership structure and approach to management.

WHAT IS A LEADERSHIP CONSULTANT

A leadership consultant is a person called in to a company, be it a large corporation or a small business, to evaluate how it operates and make recommendations for improvement. Leadership consultants are typically hired when a business is struggling and needs to make changes in order to remain profitable. Such consultants are often highly educated in the field of business and have experience in managerial roles.

Step1 Organizational Structure

Take a look at the Organization Chart provided by the company.

• Based on your knowledge of hierarchies, would you say that this team has tall structure or flat structure? Explain your answer.

Step 2: Human Resources

The company would like to improve the culture of its team and the quality of its work. Its leadership has provided you with a Process Chart detailing how it currently applies Human Resources best practices.

• What step of the Human Resources Cycle is missing? Explain why it is important to include this part of the process.

STEP 3: Leadership Style

You have been asked to help improve the leadership style of the team leader in order to meet the team’s performance goals. The team leader has given you a description of what is most comfortable in terms of leading others (this is included in the attached assignment resources).

• Identify this leader’s style of leadership, and list two benefits and two drawbacks to that style as it relates to the performance of the team.

Step 4: Real-World Application

Apply the thinking in Steps 1-3 as if you were a Leadership Consultant hired by the company where you work or for a previous employer.

• Review the organization chart for your company. Based on your knowledge of hierarchies, would you say that your company’s team has a tall structure or flat structure? How does this affect the way your team works? Explain your answer.
• Consider the work conducted by the Human Resources team at your company. What steps of the Human Resources Cycle do they implement well? What steps of the Human Resources Cycle might be missing from your company or are not implemented as well as they could be? What is the effect of this on you and your team? Explain your answer.
• Lastly, reflect on the leadership style of either yourself or your supervisor. What leadership style do you have, or what leadership style does your supervisor have? What are the benefits and drawbacks of this style for your team? What might you or your supervisor do to improve leadership? Explain your answer.