End Term Assessment

Leadership and Challenges

Batch 2020-2022
School of Business, Public Policy and Social Entrepreneurship
Ambedkar University Delhi

Submitted by: Submitted to:

Chetna Yaduvendu (S203F0010) Prof. Richa Awasthy

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Q1. In order to effectively manage up, do you think Grace should do her SWOT
analysis? YES OR NO. Give reasons for your choice. What things Grace should
understand about herself?
Ans. SWOT is the acronym for strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats. SWOT
analysis is a good approach for evaluating these four critical qualities of an individual or a
company. Every working professional, in my opinion, should do a SWOT analysis in order to
better understand oneself. In Grace's instance, I strongly advise her to do a SWOT analysis.
She is a young professional with a desire to make a difference, but she is zealous and
unaware of how to channel that passion. It's possible that she won't be able to succeed.
I would support my answer with the following reasons
 She will learn about both internal and external variables that influence her behaviour
and decision making.
 If she identifies her strength, she will be able to leverage her strengths to her
advantage and differentiate herself from her peers in the organisation. She could
configure her uniqueness and dwell on it.
 Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors that is they are not caused by foreign
forces, and identifying them can lead to better improvements.
 If grace identifies her weakness, we might be able to rectify them with help of suitable
techniques.
 Opportunities are the outside fruits and you should have the abilities to assess possible
opportunities and the ability to seize them. Grace recognised a chance to enhance her
racing position here, but she didn't know how or when to go about it. Or even if it was
the proper time for her to do it.
 Threats are out of an individual’s controls, and they can be anything, unsupportive
boss, envious colleagues, changing work ethics, etc. Grace should be able to
understand that she might not get what wants, and perhaps have the capability to fight
through them.
Grace is a talented individual and appears to have successful future ahead. However, she is
not perfect and that is okay, she can make certain changes in herself to succeed. Grace needs
to need a couple of things about herself. Firstly, she needs to develop a skillset like inter
personal conflict management, problem solving, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence
as well. She also needs to understand that there is a working hierarchy in any corporate
organization, and defying it will reflect negatively on her and her seniors as well. She was
also quick to make a decision about the problem of the software program. She completed
overlooked the alternate solutions, did not even think of them. Sending the email to Landon’s
boss was not a smart move, she let her emotion rule her, instead of strategic planning, she
went with the flow. This was quite disgraceful towards Landon as well, and as it appears,
prior to that Landon had been a wonderful boss to her.
It's also vital to keep strong communication skills and pleasant working relationships; she
showed full contempt for Landon's choice to leave the subject alone, and worked on the spur
of the moment, striking "while the iron is still hot," as the case study shows. She must
recognise her own potential and work to gain the skills necessary to maximise that potential.
This will only occur if she does a SWOT analysis.

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2. Do you think Grace is a potential leader? YES OR NO: give reasons for your choice.
Ans. Yes, I think Grace is a potential leader. She is impulsive and low in EQ however; she is
just 26 years old; she has lifetime ahead to learn and become better. Even among her flaws,
there is no denying that she can one day become a great leader, especially under the guidance
of Landon.
Grace displays some of the leadership’s skills such as determination, strong will, valour,
people influencing skills, integrity and unapologetically honest. She is determined to become
a successful professional. She even identified problems organisation and was determined to
follow on her idea to replace the software program when Landon asked to hold back. If she so
determined to achieve her goal at such a young stage in her career, I believe she will become
more determined with new challenges and opportunities.
She is courageous, she knows that she should not speak with the divisional vice -resident and
this might make her boss angry, but because she believes in her idea, she moves ahead it with
ahead. She never had one to one conversation with him and yet she did not falter in steps, she
demonstrated immense trust in herself and presented her ideas.
While Landon put off her plan, she sought to sow the seeds of its replacement by chatting to
co-workers, and she was able to persuade them without coercing them. She informed them of
the facts, since some of the employees were unaware that there were alternative software
options available as a substitute for their existing one. These employees then informed their
superiors. At the very least, she was able to create waves of change throughout the firm..
Grace completely thought that she deserved better and that she was ready for new challenges
(she wasn't), but the important thing to notice is that she did not hold back in telling Landon
that she deserved more during a heated confrontation on the Monday after the email spam.
She is not scared to ask for what she desires, and she is forthright about her requirements.
Only by being conscious of their own requirements would a great leader be able to prioritise
the demands of the hour.
3. If you have to advice Grace, what would you advise her?
Ans. After reviewing Grace's behaviour throughout the case study, particularly her many
contacts with Landon, it appears that she takes a number of impulsive judgments and says
things without considering the potential consequences.
If I have advised Grace, I would strongly advise her to improve her interpersonal skills
because she appears to rush into situations and make impulsive judgments. For example, in
the case study, Landon suggests that she wait for the circumstances to fall into place and for
him to consider what she has provided when the time comes, rather than making a hasty
choice and contacting Bill, the vice-president.
Grace, in my perspective, is also conceptually challenged. She should take her time getting
responses rather than pressuring Bill and Landon for answers to her proposal, since this will
just put it farther back in their minds. Grace's conceptual abilities can certainly be improved,
but she will need to concentrate on them if she is to make significant progress. She has to
start acting calmly and collectedly, rather than rashly.

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I would also recommend a plan of action for grace; she must first put herself in Landon's
position as a supervisor and consider her behaviours toward him. Grace will be able to go on
with more clarity and maturely react to many events as a result of this, I believe. She should
then go deeper into her basic principles. Grace might consider devoting some time to finding
her voice and figuring out her role in the workforce. This will enable her to respond to
circumstances and interactions with co-workers, particularly Landon, in a more mature
manner. Last but not least, Grace should examine her current behaviour. She has to do this
because I don't believe she realises the consequences of her actions, such as the way she
communicates her feelings to Landon at work. Reacting in this manner will risk her job and
have a negative impact on her future with the firm.
There is another think that I do not appreciate about Grace is that in the last part of case
study, she says she would seek for a department change in the worst-case scenario, which I
believe suggests that she is avoiding her problems and, more importantly, the repercussions
of her actions. If she isn't scared to speak out about her wants, she must also be willing to
accept the repercussions of her actions. If she wants to have a long and prosperous career, she
must learn to accept responsibility for her actions.
I shall also advise her to analyse her position. Grace doesn't realise that she was hired for
junior position and she needs to stick with the guidelines for the same, whether it's too much
or too little, it doesn't matter since that's what she was hired to do a particular job and not
make monumental changes in a short period of time.
I strongly believe that Grace will benefit from the actin plan I have suggested for her not just
in terms of better managing her different relationships, but it will also drive her to improve on
her interpersonal skills so that she can continue to function in a professional manner at her
workplace.

4. What type of leader do you think Landon is?

Ans. After reading the case study, I have realised the Landon demonstrated “delegative”
leadership style. A delegative leader appreciates each direct employee's skill set. When their
team is self-motivated, capable of autonomous work, and highly competent, this leader is able
to produce greater outcomes by allowing each individual to take charge of their own
component of a project.
Landon was appreciative of Grace and always encouraged her. When Grace started her work,
her supervisor, Landon, demonstrated intelligence by showing her around the company and
giving her advice on how to thrive in the business. He has advice on these topics because he
has worked there for over 14 years and has accumulated all relevant information via his
expertise.
He also demonstrated his characteristic friendliness by visiting Grace's workplace on a daily
basis and leaving supportive remarks. He was also attentive to her requirements as a
newcomer to 8SK consulting, knowing that she would prosper if she felt at ease with her
boss. He also displays his confidence by his firm choice not to allow Grace to proceed with
pushing her thoughts regarding the software and going to the head boss. He is certain that

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Grace's time will come to flourish in the company, but he probably feels she isn't ready, or he
has a plan for her that she isn't following right now.
A delegative leader knows when to back down, and Landon did the same when he couldn't
figure out how to deal with Grace during a heated dispute at her cabin. After learning how
Grace felt about her degree of job responsibility, he was compassionate and asked her to
leave until he understood what needed to be done and how he should handle the problem.
A delegative leader can sometimes be exploited. I believe something similar happened with
Landon, when Grace went behind his back and spoke to the Vice President against his
refusal. This would have shown that Landon was not performing his job properly, and I feel
he was trying his best as a supportive leader.

5. Should Grace send that email to Bill? What would be likely impact on Landon? On
Grace?
Ans. No. Grace should not send that email to Bill since her approach to the problem is very
disrespectful to her boss Landon, and it would also embarrass Landon in front of his boss,
Bill. This would be the most idiotic and rash thing she could do, and this one act would
define her profession for the rest of her life. Grace used the email as a coping strategy. She
was furious and wanted to break everything. She was not in good spirits or at ease when she
wrote the email.
This email will have huge negative repercussions on both Landon and Grace. Grace is being
very immature with this situation. If she follows with his idea of sending the E-mail, Landon
will be in a negative light and it will put a question mark on his leadership skills. I will appear
as if Landon is not a good boss and he is incapable of maintain good communication in work.
Grace's email is hazardous since she has no idea how Bill or Landon would react. Grace
might be promoted or fired at any time. Grace should pick up where she and Landon left off
and return to him in a couple days when she is less furious and more cooperative, like he
promised. Because she is in this frame of mind, her email may contain statements she would
never make to her superiors if she gave it a second consideration. In severe circumstances,
she might call Bill.