Interview of a Recognized Leader Ashley V. Twyman
Organizational Behavior & Human Resource Management 8/18/2008 – 9/28/2008 Dr. Susan Sasiadek
Interview of a Recognized Leader 1 For my interview of a recognized leader, I chose to interview Dusty Pfaff. I have briefly discussed Dusty’s experience at Kanza Bank before in papers but in this paper I will give more detail about Dusty’s different leadership positions and discuss how her experiences parallel James Owens’ leadership views. Finally, I will discuss my take on her leadership outlook. Dusty Pfaff currently works for Kanza Bank serving as the Director of Human Resources. This job consists of many different responsibilities. She leads, directs, and manages the bank’s “people portfolio” as she calls it. This consists of tracking every employee at the bank, their benefits, their insurance needs; she basically has the skinny on every employee that works for the bank. Dusty works closely with the CEO to foster and promote “desired bank culture”. She is in charge of developing bank wide human resource policies and programs, including organizational planning and development, monitoring employee relations, evaluating and changing compensations and benefits. She also works with the recruitment and training of new individuals to the bank. Dusty started as a bank teller and was promoted to the role of CSR (Customer Service Representative), shortly after starting work at Kanza. She was promoted to Retail Manager of the Anthony branch location and then promoted again to Director of Human Relations. As a retail manager Dusty was in charge of developing, managing, and overseeing all operational and sales
activities for her branch. She was in charge of managing and leading branch personnel and supervising direct reports concerning fund acquisition and Interview of a Recognized Leader 2 supporting sales goals. She was also expected to be actively involved in the selling and delivering of all financial services the bank has to offer its customers. Dusty expressed and emphasized that one of the biggest jobs she had under this title was coaching and motivating her staff members. Prior to working for Kanza Bank Dusty served as a foster care worker for Youthville for five years, was a bank teller for two years, and was a child abuse prevention counselor for one year. She currently holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in psychology with a minor in sociology. I noticed that Dusty’s degree directly correlates with some of her previous employments and asked her if she felt if her degree helps her in her current role of leadership at the bank. She stated, “My degree has provided me with the knowledge and skills to work with a variety of people. It helped prepare me for the times when I would be in difficult situations or when having difficult conversations, (and) helped prepare me to effectively deal with conflicts. It also instilled the importance of professionalism (in me).” Dusty obviously feels comfortable with being in a leadership and management position, so I discussed with her experiences that may have made her feel more comfortable filling this role. She feels the fact that she was promoted to a senior management position within the company “tells me my efforts and actions are those of a leader.” She also mentioned that when she
receives feedback from employees that she, at one time, has supervised, coached and trained, gives her the greatest sense of accomplishment. She puts Interview of a Recognized Leader 3 emphasis on developing a good report with her co-workers as one of the key elements to her success. When Dusty and I began discussing James Owens’ view on leadership we had to stop so I could get her a copy of the material. She had to read them herself to remember what he was saying. I asked her if she thought her particular leadership style compares or contrasts with Owens’ view. She felt as if she identified with what Owens’ was saying. “One must consider the nature of the situation, personalities, time factors, etcetera. You MUST be able to flex to many different personalities and levels. What is effective to one will not always work for another. Lead by example.” Dusty acknowledged there are many different leadership styles and theories out there. She believes that managers, in order to be effective at leading people, must be able to pick an appropriate style in different situations. “Identify and apply the most appropriate style for the particular situation,” she emphasized. “I don’t think it’s a one size fits all.” She also included that it is necessary for managers to change their leadership style based on whatever situation is at hand. “I think managers should change their leadership style when necessary.” Dusty gave me an example of an experience that may parallel Owens’ thought on leadership. “I may be coaching two people on the same topic. One
person is a dominant personality. I will be firm, to the point, with very little small talk, since this is typically the preferred method of approach for a dominant Interview of a Recognized Leader 4
personality. The second person tends to be very social and outgoing. I will still be firm, expressing my point, and follow up with explaining. This person generally needs more time to process, ask questions, etcetera.” Dusty made it clear that she believes her method of leadership has been effective for her so far and that, for her, it has proven to be the best style of leadership she could use. “I think leading by example is the best method for leadership! Be fair, consistent, open, and honest!” I tend to agree with Dusty. I don’t think that there is a best style of leadership that blankets all of society. The best style of leadership may be different for each leader, each follower, each day, and in each situation. It’s impossible to say that one and only one method of leading is applicable all of the time. I enjoyed Dusty’s theory of leading by example. You must practice what you preach! If you tell your employees to be at work on time and then are consistently late yourself, you can never expect them to take you seriously in any situation. You can’t effectively follow a follower. You can effectively follow a good leader.
References Hersey, P., Blanchard, K.H., Johnson, D.E. 2001. Management of Organizational Behavior Leading Human Resources, 9th edition