Case Scenario: An unforeseen decrease in sales numbers at Grotto Inc. has led the executive management to change sales projections. As a consequence, reorganization has been planned for your department - the innovation and product development team - that will see your team merged with the sales and marketing division. You have been asked to draft a strategic plan for the merger. The plan should include a vision for the new department embracing values of the existing departments. As one of two people in the new management team, you have volunteered to address the staff at the upcoming annual retreat. You believe that the retreat offers a great opportunity to communicate the new vision, clarify its meaning and significance, and connect it to the core job tasks completed by staff on an everyday basis.
Q1. Define the concept of charisma. Is charisma learnable or an innate characteristic of a few select people? Provide an argument for your position.
Q2. Describe the two elements of an effective vision statement.
Q3. Outline a vision for the new department consisting of both product developers, marketing personnel, and sales representatives. Explain why you believe your vision will be effective at appealing to and motivating staff.
Q4. Discuss why it might prove difficult for you to motivate all the different groups of staff through a single coherent vision for the new department (hint: consider potential differences in what motivates the different groups of staff). Will you have to complement a transformational leadership strategy with other types of leadership behaviors? If so, what other leadership behaviors might prove useful? If not, why is transformational leadership sufficient in this context?