Path-Goal Theory A Favorite

One of my favorite leadership theories that I've learned about is the path-goal theory. I came across this leadership model in the text Leadership Theory And Practice by Peter G. Northouse. I prefer this model because this is designed for leaders to define goals, clarify a path, remove obstacles, and provide support (Northouse, 2007, p.128). Looking at this model I see a few things that I believe management should stand for.

The first is to define goals. Too many times do team members lose focus of why they are completing tasks. People want to know what the departmental and organizational goals are at all times. This first step takes discipline by leaders to maintain consistency because whether it is admitted or not leaders at times can lose focus as well, or they can become too results oriented forgetting the importance of the path of a task in getting to the end.

The last three components of this model, clarifying a path, removing obstacles, and providing support all define a leader that thrives in the area of development. The act of blaming others for errors is thrown out and replaced with themes of motivation and coaching. Developing talent, motivating people to strive for their best, and allowing for others to complete tasks defines the path-goal theory and one of the reasons to become involved with leadership.

Motivate Team Members Differently

My first supervision job taught me a valuable lesson as a leader and that is to motivate each person on your team differently. I remember that one of the people reporting to me reached a production milestone in the department. I alerted my manager and the response was "fantastic go reward the behavior!" So I told her I would make an announcement in our team meeting, set up a luncheon, and present an award to the employee. I was met with a luke warm response. My manager proceeded to ask me if I ever asked that person how they would like to be recognized. When I told her I didn't she mentioned that if I continue with these plans only to find out all of this recognition embarrassed the employee my actions would have a negative impact on the individual.

So I spoke with the employee, gave that person a congratulatory card, and asked how she would like to be recognized the response I got was that the card and time I gave to her was sufficient. That individual liked a quiet, private acknowledgement of her accomplishments. Another employee may have enjoyed lunch, awards, and recognition of accomplishments at a team or company event.

As leaders we need to recognize that each person on a team has different personalities and likes to be recognized and rewarded for a job well done in differently. Leaders need to find that information out and creatively carry out the things each employee communicates.