Week 8 at Cvent: Theories in Action

Over this last week at Cvent I have been really trying to analyze the leadership style of my manager. I was specifically trying to identify where she fell on Blake and Mounton’s leadership grid which was harder than I expected. In class when we learned about this the examples were more clear whereas in the business world there is much more grey. 

Though I would say that she is more task-oriented than relationship-oriented, it is clear that she values the individuals around her. Given that it is a corporate setting and she has certain expectations of my performance our relationship is mainly task-oriented. Though it is somewhat hard to tell if most of it is just because of the remote structure, I think it would still be more task-oriented even if we were in the office together.

Though produce or perish seems very harsh, it seems to be the way that corporate America functions. Cvent is a fast-growing company that places a lot of emphasis on maintaining that growth, this creates a more intense environment than other companies. The produce or perish, though harsh, is probably the most accurate section for what my manager’s style is. She is not a 9,1 though, I would rate her more in the 7,2 range. Even though she demonstrates her care for her co-workers, I think her bottom line is getting all the work done and doing it well.

For example, most of our meetings start off with the usual pleasantries and small talk but we usually get right to the reason why we are in the meeting. I noticed this when we have meetings with the larger group as well, she always steers the conversation back to the topic. There is nothing wrong with this and our meetings are always quick and efficient, but this style definitely would not work for some people. I would be curious to see if she is more relationship-oriented when everyone is in the office together and it is not as easy to steer the conversation.

In contrast, one of the other women that I am working closely with is much more relationship-oriented. At the beginning of our meetings we talk for a couple minutes, but it gets deeper than the usual “how are you” “I’m well how are you” conversation. This is the management style that I prefer personally. I like when I can get a chance to feel comfortable in the meeting and have a little bit to catch up which I feel I am missing with my manager. Though both are fine, I prefer a manager who is more middle of the road, maybe even in the team management quadrant.