Jake's Pet Land Case Study

Though it is often forgotten, the concept of followership plays a very important role in the success of any group setting. For example, Steve Jobs may have founded and led Apple, but could not have achieved such success without the followers that worked under him. Our government, the education system and health services would not function properly without the support of the majority of their staff who are not in leadership positions. The job of followers is to make it possible for someone to lead.

The Jake’s Pet Land case study is an example of leadership and follower situations, highlighting the key points of each role within an organization. This case is a study on how the leader-member exchange (LMX) impacts the outcomes of workplaces. According to Daft, LMX is individualized leader model that explores how the relationship between leader and follower develops over time and how the quality of the exchange relationship affects outcomes (Daft, 2015, p. 54). The LMX in many cases is the foundation an organization is built upon, because of this comes a great understanding between management and subordinates. There is a massive difference between being a manager and an effective leader, and throughout Jake’s Pet Land case study this notion is very evident.

The leader-member exchange theory often referred to as LMX, is a management theory which analyzes the relationship maintained between the manager or the leader and the members or subordinates within a group and organization. It further explains how this relation can either help the firm in growing or hold it back to its current position.

Leaders are the central figures in a team, and they are attributed to the largest share of blame or praise depending on the performance. New leaders in an organization are faced with many challenges on how to start making an impact and successfully lead the subordinates on the set mission. According to Kangas (2013), the key element for a new leader is to establish interpersonal links and relationships that are necessary for learning about the organization. The success of the leader and the organization as a team depends on the quality of interpersonal relationships that develop to help the leader in implementing their mission. Additionally, the influence of leaders over their followers is largely founded on the interpersonal relationship as members of a team (Kangas, 2013). Another major source of challenge for leaders in organizations is the implementation of changes that affect the existing relationships and roles in major operations. BBBSA demonstrates the challenges that can arise for new leaders in organizations in implementing changes and the effectiveness of the Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory in addressing leadership issues.

The Reciprocal Approach to leadership can be described as a relational, shared process with an emphasis on follower participation in the leadership. (Komives,

Relationships depend on developing mutual trust; the future depends today’s preparation for a vision and leading by example depends on consistent, desirable behavior.

Bjugstad, K., Thach, E. C., Thompson, K. J., & Morris, A. (2006). A fresh look at followership: A model for matching followership and leadership styles. Journal of Behavioral & Applied Management, 7(3), 304–319 .

Sleepy Hollow Pet Ranch is a pet boarding facility that is located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Sleepy Hollow Pet Ranch was established in 1986. Their services include boarding kennel, general pet grooming, and dog daycare. Their pet care experts provide food, companionship, exercise, and comfort. Sleepy Hollow Pet Ranch is a proud member of the National Cat Groomers Institute of America.

My leadership philosophy for this organization is: “Enabling customer success through world-class service. I came to that by reflecting on the diverse missions of our organization. We are Subject Matter Experts who support our customers through quality control, strategic sourcing strategies, and critical analysis. We serve a variety of partner organizations including Supply Chain Management, Contracting, and Financial Management. We are expected to have the answers and serve our customers in the best way possible. Our

Relationship leadership “behaviours help subordinates feel comfortable with themselves, with each other, and with the situation in which they find themselves” (Northouse, 2015, p. 174). When a leader of an organization is able to make their followers feel cared for and comfortable, they may be demonstrating relationship leadership. One of the main cornerstones of this leadership style is building trust between leaders and followers.

With a professional goal to be exceptionally good at anything he puts his mind to, George is the perfect example of one who motivates others through example, hard work, and understanding the needs of those he works with. He also makes effective use of such actions as communication, constant feedback, and honest performance management; actions Baldwin & Bommer consider key components of successful leadership. George considers constant coaching, feedback, and discipline through love and support the only way to “encourage good behavior and stop the bad.” And as someone who believes an email is just as good as a gift card in providing motivation, George firmly believes his employees work more efficiently when he takes the time to invest in their development; no matter the form of praise taken. Whatever walls are often built between employees and executives are nonexistent among George teams, who are always allowed opportunities to make decisions and contribute to the group effort. Although high level decisions are made by the executive team, George makes it a priority to formulate strategic, day-to-day operations with his team’s involvement. When faced with conflict, he is quick to find the root of the problem; ignoring the inclination to judge in order to give everyone the benefit of the doubt in being

The role of the follower and the quality of the relationship itself are informally negotiated between followers and their leaders over time (Gils, Quaquebeke, & Knippenberg, 2009). Based on the LMX theory, leaders build a special relationship with an inner circle, or “in-group”, of followers, who often get high levels of responsibility and access to resources. The in-group members work harder and are more committed to task objectives. They are also expected to be totally committed and loyal to their leader. Conversely, other followers fall in the “out-group" and are given low levels of choice or influence. Aggression, sarcasm and a self-centered view are qualities seen in the out-group. The quality of the LMX relationship varies and is better when the challenge of the job is extremely high or extremely low (Graen et al., 1982).

According to the leader-member exchange theory the relationship between leader and the member develops over a period of time.

Alignment, relationship and personal qualities – By taking a risk against his supervisor’s authorization, there was a need to lead people smoothly and inspire

As most great companies know, Progressive understands they are successful because of their people. They adhere to the vision, mission statement, and core values building trust with associates. These business philosophies provide focus to associates about what is important. With few top leadership changes, Progressive has been able to send a clear and consistent message to its associates letting them know they are valued.