Your six-month military deployment ended Monday and this is your first day back. You are looking forward to returning to your job as Battalion Chief in charge of Firehouse #2 of the Bay City Fire Department. The early retirement buyout program claimed a number of Lieutenants from your company. Your numbers weren’t down, just a lot of new supervisors and faces. Only three of your original five Lieutenants remain. You consider all three to be very capable supervisors. John Stone and Susan Rogers are trusted allies. You’re going to need their help to get back on top of things. Mike Kelly’s okay, but he has this knack of getting "underneath your skin". You reach out to Stone and Rogers and ask them to meet you at the local diner after work. During dinner the three of you discussed the events that have taken place during your absence. You ask about the two new supervisors. Both Stone and Rogers inform you that there’s some concern over the lack of experience with Hamilton and Maxwell. With some training, experience and direction they’ll develop into good supervisors. Stone tells you that one thing they’re not lacking is motivation. During the course of the evening Rogers asks you for the 4th of July weekend off. You grant her request not realizing that the Division Chief has issued an order denying any time off during this weekend. You also tell Stone that his shift can represent Firehouse #2 in the upcoming all city-wide fireman’s competition. As the three of you are leaving, you thank them for the info and tell them you’re going to have a staff meeting tomorrow at three. The next day you’re in the training room for your meeting at ten of three. As each of your supervisors enters, you greet them and ask them to have a seat. Kelly is the last to arrive, and remains standing for a moment, looking all around the room. You ask him what he’s looking for, and he replies “Chow – somebody said they serve food at these things”. That’s his way of letting you know he’s aware of your informal meeting last night at the local diner. You tell him that he’s misinformed, and begin the meeting. You tell your supervisors that you’ve been reviewing the training records over the past six months and you’re not happy with the overall performance of the division. Based on your observations you tell them that things need to improve. At this point you begin to assign tasks to your supervisors. You inform Hamilton that his shift will be responsible for the upcoming demo of new fire equipment for the mayor and council. He looks a bit surprised, and says “Well, at least on Wednesday there’s a double shift”, referring to the fact that his shift and Stone’s shift work overlapping day shifts on Wednesday. You tell him that Stone’s shift will be on a special assignment on Wednesday and that he (Hamilton) and his shift are it for the demonstration. Kelly pipes up with “That special assignment Stone‘s shift has wouldn’t be that prestigious competition, would it boss?” You merely nod in response, as you feel your jaw tighten and blood pressure start going through the roof. Kelly then says “Hamilton has had no training on, or experience with the demonstrating the fire new equipment and Stone and his people have extensive training, and have been preparing for months. With a double shift, Hamilton and his shift could observe and assist Stone’s shift, and maybe even learn a few things in the process. My shift is off, and we’ll gladly compete at the city-wide competition on our time, at no cost to the agency. After all, we have placed fairly high in previous competitions”. You tell him (with a flushed face) that Hamilton’s shift will do the demonstration, and Stone’s shift will compete in the competition, as per your orders. Kelly responds back, “Sir, what am I missing here. Why is it that Stone’s people receive all the premier training? They were also the first to receive the new portable radios and now they are going to represent our Company at the competition!” You tell him, with a flushed face, that Hamilton’s shift will be responsible for the demonstration, and Stone’s shift will compete in the competition, as per your orders, and abruptly conclude the meeting. As everyone else files out, Hamilton approaches you and asks you what his shift needs to do on Wednesday. You look at him and say “what you’ve been trained to do.” Hamilton says “But sir, I’ve never dealt with any demonstrations of this type before.” You reply, “I have complete confidence in your ability to do a good job on this” and leave the room. You catch up with Stone and Rogers and angrily demand to know which one of them gave Kelly the info from your meeting last night. Rogers says “Hey boss, don’t look at us”. On Thursday morning you arrive to find a message taped to your door to call the Fire Commissioner as soon as you get in. It seems that Hamilton’s shift ran into some problems on Wednesday. Apparently there was a mishap with the equipment and the Mayor and Council were drenched head to foot by a misfiring fire hose. Additionally, Hamilton’s shift damaged valuable new equipment during the demo. A note on your desk from Stone reads “Sorry boss, no trophy this year.” You look down at the Operations Report and see that Kelly’s shift hasn’t been conducting any training since their day shift on Monday. Kelly has also been out sick since your staff meeting. Up to now Kelly’s shift had always been tops when it came to training. The other thing on your desk that catches your attention is a grievance from Maxwell. Two weeks ago his written request to have off for the July 4th weekend had been denied, with the notation from the Fire Commissioner that no one would be given off that weekend. You’ve also heard that Maxwell is looking to going to another agency where rules are rules, and he’ll be appreciated.
Review the case study in terms of Leader Member Exchange Theory, Situational Leadership, and the Transformational Leadership Theory. Answer the following questions:
1. In terms of the LMX theory who are: a. The In-Group Members (What is the evidence to support this?) b. The Out-Group Members (What is the evidence to support this?)
2. In terms of the Situational Leadership Theory who is directly affected?
3. What is the current development level of that individual?
4. What is your current level of leadership in this situation?
Based on the information in this case study and answering the above questions, how would you fix the problem? Remember, you are the leader ultimately responsible in this situation. (Be sure to incorporate your answer to the above questions into your plan)