theories in action 2- Evyn Magenbauer

Last fall I learned about Blake and Morton’s Leadership Grid Components in Dr. Harwell’s Theories and Models course. Blake and Morton’s grid is based on two behavioral approaches to leadership: concern for production (task-related) and concern for people (relationship oriented). The model reads in 4 different categories which includes “Impoverished Management”, “Produce or Perish Management”, “Country Club Management”, “Team Management”. “Impoverished Management” includes a low concern for people and low concern for production. “Produce or Perish Management” includes low concern for people and high concern for production. “Country Club Management” includes high concern for people and low concern for production. “Team Management” includes high concern for people and high concern for production. Although Dr. Harwell drew this scale up easily for her students to understand, I feel like seeing this scale in the workforce made me understand it more. As a leader, Tim Rose illustrates himself as someone who falls in the “Team Management scale”. He cares about people and production immensely at the same time. Tim’s love and trust for his employees and the way he treats them makes them want to work harder for him. He has a way of making each one feel important and accepting of their strengths. Just talking to him, he is aware of what each person is good and bad at. For instance, there is one team member who is not so good at the paper work/insurance part of the job but is very good at sales and cold calling. Tim recognized that, so he helps out more with that person’s paperwork and even hired another individual with that strength to help out as well. Tim also emphasizes unity and camaraderie amongst the team so when he hires, he hires people who are very team-oriented and not egoistic. I couldn’t help but notice that every member of the team has either been a collegiate/professional athlete (Tim being a pro baseball player himself), athletic trainer, or a coach. These backgrounds definitely influenced the high level of trust and unity that is the standard at Ashlawn Medical. Not only have I witnessed the way Tim treats his employees, but he also has made me feel as equally important as a team member. He always includes me in meetings (even if they don’t apply to me), lunches with employees, and even invitations to company parties and award dinners. He also knows so many people in Richmond and even offered to help me out (write any recommendations, help me look for jobs, etc.) during the job hunt post graduation. Tim Rose was a great person to work for this summer and it was a blessing to see how he perfectly executed the “Team Management” leadership style.