Altan's Leadership Style

One of the leaders in my life who has had a great influence on me is Baran Altan. He was a general manager at S.O.S (Save Our Stomachs), where I worked as a waiter. Baran Altan is the owner of the restaurant and also was responsible for running of the restaurant. I talk with him and analyze his leadership style.
Altan’s leadership style was based on coaching and directing. He was knowledgeable and experienced in all positions he managed at the restaurant. This allowed him to effectively coach people in whatever position they happened to be working. Altan’s coaching was done with respect and humility. As an example, one day someone was cutting dough for pizza crust and did not comply with company safety standards. Most of the managers would …show more content…
In my current position, I am in charge of a small crew of workers and use some of the same leadership characteristics Altan used. I also use part of Altan’s leadership style, primarily the coaching portion. When someone is not performing to the standards to completing the tasks in a way I see as appropriate, I take some time to empathize with them, asking questions, watching, and figuring out why they may not be performing to the standard. When the opportunity arises, I then explain and show them how I do it. As we worked together, I would point out the parts that were unsatisfactory and ask how we could solve the problem. By giving this employee some respect and working with him, by empowering him to find solution to the problem instead of telling him what to do, and by communicating the expectations, there was never a problem again with the grounds meeting company expectations. This coaching style of leadership, helping people find their own solutions or leading them to a good solution instead of mandating a solution, is my primary style of …show more content…
Social norms and politics can put a leader in the position of needing to direct people instead of coaching them. One of these situations could be when a new food handling policy is passed. People need to comply with this policy immediately; there is no time to coach and allow an employee to discover a solution to comply with this policy. There are also times when public opinion may require different leadership styles. Recently, the public has championed the equal treatment of transgender individuals. While coaching someone to understand why treating everyone equally would be desirable, this is not an option. People must be directed to give equal treatment to transgender individuals or the company risks losing profits because of a poor customer view of the company and falling sales. While someone may have a primary style of leadership, it is important to be able to use other styles as situations arise which necessitate