A511.2.3.RB - Supportive Behavior

            In my position at work, I am not a supervisor, nor am I in a position of authority, however; I do have a boss who demonstrates supportive leadership to those who work for him. Working for someone who has regard for their employees makes a difference in the work environment. By maintaining a positive attitude and spending time getting to know each of us makes a difference during the work day (Yukl, 2013, p. 66), although there are many stressors that are beyond our control, he does not take his anger and frustrations out on the employees. Recently, I asked my boss for assistance with a personal situation involving school, instead of ignoring the request for help, he took the necessary time to walk me through the steps to correct the situation. By taking the time to guide me in the direction to improve the situation he reinforced supportive leadership in the workforce (Yukl, 2013).

            During my work day, I have a few opportunities to train and assist others, when necessary, for additional assistance to complete my assigned work. While I am training others, I practice a few guidelines for developing subordinate skills (Yukl, 2013, p. 68-69). I work with my peers to help them improve their performance as well as providing opportunities to learn from experience. Although I have limited time to work with others because my job requires independent work, I have a few skills I need to work on to improve leadership skills. I need to encourage those who I am working with to ask specific questions and also remind others to inform me of mistakes in order to work through them and learn from the errors (Yukl, 2013).

            Recently, I have been tasked with an assignment at work that my boss would usually handle, however; due to prior engagements and timing he will not be available for the meeting. I was tasked with handling a situation and resolving any issues that may arise during the meeting.  By providing proper training, instructions, and encouragement (Yukl, 2013) from my boss, from previous situations, he demonstrates supportive leadership skills, by having confidence in the training he has provided (Yukl, 2013). As a leader, it is difficult to let go and allow those who have been trained to take on further responsibility, but it is necessary to encourage employees to grow and learn from experience to gain confidence as an employee.

           

               Yukl, G. (2013). Leadership in Organizations (Eighth ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.