Styles of Management and Leadership Game

Jess is 19 and has started a trainee management scheme in a nationwide supermarket. She feared she would not be respected, so she became extremely stern, micro-managed everyone, kept full control, and tried to discipline anyone who stepped out of line. The approach has not gone down well because many staff are competent and have worked there for over 10 years. Senior leaders are questioning her suitability because of complaints. She is upset and wants to improve.

James is 43 and has worked in a marketing business since university. He has been a manager for 15 years. He has always had a relaxed approach, giving staff lots of autonomy and allowing them to make decisions. This worked when his team was experienced. But after changes, budget cuts, redundancies, and replacement of experienced staff with apprentices, team performance has become much worse. He is now being challenged by the CEO and does not understand why his approach no longer works.