When DGL International, a manufacturer of refinery equipment, brought in John Terrill to manage its Sales Engineering division, company executives informed him of the urgent situation. Sales Engineered had the highest-paid, best-educated, and least-productive division in the company. Terrill was to turn it around! Terrill showed concern for the personal welfare of the engineers. Terrill envisioned a future in which engineers were free to work with customers and join self-directed teams for product improvement. Terrill collected the engineers reports and showed the stacks of paper to the president. He explained that the lack of productivity was a result of excessive paperwork and reporting.
Questions:
1. What leadership style did John Terrill use? What do you think was his primary source of power?
2. Based on the Hersey-Blanchard theory, should Terrill have been less participative? Should he have initiated more task structure for the engineers? Explain.
3. What leadership approach would you have taken in this situation?