Leadership Transition: The Bow-strings Music School Case

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Many organizations began as a singular vision of an individual. Someone identifies a market deficiency, impassioned purpose, or perhaps a new technology. Whatever that catalyst has been, these individuals decide to devote their efforts to the idea and create a company or organization that seeks to work towards this vision. However, what occurs when the founding individual steps away and the organization remains? This is the question explored in a case study created by Terri Patkin entitled, “Discord at the Music School” (Patkin, 2007). In this study, the protagonist, Carole, becomes the new director of the Bow-strings Music School, replacing the revered founder, Wendy. This story chronicles Carole’s experiences of frustration and ineffectiveness …show more content…

Therefore, this article suggests a communicative solution based upon impression management. According to Abz Sharma and David Grant, impression management involves four phases; framing, scripting, staging, and performing (Sharma & Grant, 2011). Implicit within this framework is the view of management as a communicative relationship between people within the organization. Leaders are actors who perform in front of their employees (audience). What follows is an explication of the four phases of impression management and their application to Carole’s circumstance. To begin Katherine Miller defines framing as, “ a way of managing meaning in which one or more aspects of the subject at hand are selected or highlighted over other aspects” (Miller, 2015). The leader is dictating how the organization views events that occur within the organization. Carole must do this in the situation she finds herself. Carol’s next step should be to contact all those involved within the previous meeting and attempt to setup a “town-hall”. Rather than viewing the “state of the school” incident as contentious, she can frame it as an opportunity to create meaningful dialogue. This is an appropriate next step because, currently, the staff may view the event as a last straw; an occurrence that completely undermined Carol’s authority. However, if Carole frames it correctly, it becomes an opportunity to regain control. Following framing is the act of scripting. Scripting, as told by Sharma and Grant, “identifies the actors, the use of rhetorical devices (dialogue), as well as the physical and emotional cues that supply meaning to the communication event” (Sharma & Grant, 2011). Scripting concerns itself with what is being said as well as how it makes the audience feel. During this town-hall meeting, Carol must engage in aspirational dialogue. She must talk about how they are shaping the future of the

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