Leadership Analysis: A Three-Skill Approach

Andy Garafallo has owned and operated a successful Italian restaurant for 25 years. It is located near a large mid-western city. Andy sees his key to success as his great food and good relationships with his customers. He sees himself as a mentor to his employees, helping them develop their skills. This paper will analyze Andy’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as those of his three managers, using the three-skill approach.

Andy’s Skills for Restaurant Success

Andy believes that great food and great relationships are what keep customers coming back. It seems he has found a successful combination of traits. Many restaurants have closed in the 25 years he has been operating, and many of the ones that have remained in business make a 5 – 7 % profit margin. Andy consistently earns a 30% profit.

The three skill approach states there are three components to leadership: technical, human, and conceptual (Northouse, 2013). Andy’s outstanding human skill keeps his employees engaged and anxious to please him as well as ensures customer loyalty. His willingness to allow customers to bring in their own cake for a celebration led to new, happy, repeat customers. He goes out of his way to make sure everyone has a great experience.

He also has strong technical skills in the food preparation arena. People know they will get great food every time they come in.

Andy’s Managers

Andy currently employs three managers: Kelly, Danielle, and Patrick. They each bring a unique set of strengths and weaknesses to the restaurant.

Kelly is the kitchen manager. She enjoys her work and is very efficient with ordering supplies and food preparation. However, she has difficulty getting along with others. Kel...

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...is weaknesses. How much more successful could he be if he worked to improve those areas?

Kaplan-Leiserson (2005) introduced a new leadership model called the Wilson Learning’s Integrated Leadership Model. This model shows four levels of leadership and their key competencies. The four levels of leadership are contributor, facilitator, tactician and visionary. Applying this model, Andy is a strong contributor and facilitator, but a weak tactician and visionary. Andy could significantly improve his restaurant success and the development of his managers if he worked on these areas of weakness.

References

Kaplan-Leiserson, E. (2005). Integrated leadership. T+D, 59(7), 12-13.

Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.

Rockett, D. (2010). Leadership excellence. Leadership Excellence, 27(3), 20.