Continuing In Your Role As Assistant To The City Manager

Continuing In Your Role As Assistant To The City Manager You Have Bee

Continuing in your role as assistant to the city manager, you have been tasked to lead a team that will create a social media strategy for the library system. On the team, you have five baby boomers and three millennials. You are the team leader, Hispanic and a millennial. The baby boomers are all white; two are men and one is a woman. The team has been experiencing conflict and not making progress on the project.

Baby boomers disagree with millennials that social media such as Twitter, Youtube, and Instagram need to be primary components of the social media strategy for the library system. The baby boomers think the City of Phoenix website meets the social media needs of the city. The conflict between the boomers and millennials has become more hostile and team meetings unproductive. In 750–1,000 words, describe the following: As the leader of this team, explain how you will employ leadership skills, styles, and approaches to accomplish this project. Propose strategies you would use to create a more collaborative work environment for this diverse team so this task can be accomplished. How would you manage the conflict between the team members to formulate the social media strategy. Use three to five scholarly resources to support your explanations. Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide.

Paper For Above instruction

Effective leadership is crucial in navigating team conflicts and fostering collaboration, especially in diverse groups with contrasting perspectives. In leading a team tasked with creating a social media strategy for the library system, employing appropriate leadership skills, styles, and approaches is essential to guide the team toward a productive outcome despite underlying conflicts. This paper discusses strategies to implement as a team leader, focusing on conflict management, fostering collaboration, and utilizing leadership frameworks grounded in scholarly research.

The situation demonstrates a classic intergenerational and ideological conflict whereby baby boomers favor traditional communication channels, such as the city website, whereas millennials advocate for dynamic social media platforms like Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. As a leader, employing a transformational leadership style can be highly effective in inspiring the team to see value in embracing innovative digital platforms while respecting traditional methods. Transformational leadership emphasizes motivation, inspiration, and intellectual stimulation, which foster shared vision and team commitment (Bass & Avolio, 1994). This approach encourages team members to transcend their individual preferences and work towards a common goal aligned with the library system’s strategic objectives.

Furthermore, practicing emotional intelligence is vital in managing conflicts and understanding individual team members’ perspectives (Goleman, 1995). Recognizing emotional cues, demonstrating empathy, and maintaining self-awareness allow a leader to diffuse hostility and promote mutual respect. In this context, acknowledging the concerns of the baby boomers about the effectiveness of traditional channels while validating millennials’ enthusiasm for social media channels allows for a balanced dialogue and gradual integration of divergent viewpoints.

Creating a more collaborative environment involves implementing specific strategies such as structured team discussions, conflict resolution sessions, and participative decision-making. Starting with a facilitated team meeting where each member articulates their rationale fosters understanding and reduces hostility (Johnson & Johnson, 2014). Setting clear ground rules for respectful communication can prevent hostility from escalating, while using collaborative problem-solving techniques encourages team members to co-create solutions, such as integrating multiple communication channels into the library’s outreach efforts.

To address conflicts directly, employing interest-based negotiation techniques, rooted in the principled negotiation model by Fisher and Ury (1981), ensures conflicts are resolved constructively. This involves identifying underlying interests rather than positions, enabling the team to find common ground. For example, the baby boomers’ desire for a reliable internet presence and millennials’ push for social engagement are both valid; weaving these into an integrated communication strategy can satisfy both parties.

In addition, promoting shared goals and emphasizing the mission of the library system as a community resource can align team members’ efforts. For instance, framing the social media strategy around increasing community engagement and access to information can unify differing opinions under a common purpose. Recognition of individual contributions and fostering a culture of respect further strengthen team cohesion (Katzenbach & Smith, 1993).

Finally, ongoing coaching and feedback are essential in sustaining collaboration and resolving emerging conflicts promptly. Regular check-ins, constructive feedback, and possibility for team members to suggest improvements demonstrate a commitment to an inclusive process (Northouse, 2018). As a Hispanic millennial leader, embracing cultural empathy and inclusive leadership practices ensures diverse voices are valued and integrated into the team dynamic.

In conclusion, employing a transformational leadership approach complemented by emotional intelligence, structured collaborative strategies, interest-based negotiation, and a focus on shared goals are fundamental in managing conflicts and fostering collaboration in a diverse team. These strategies will facilitate the development of a comprehensive social media strategy that aligns with the library system’s mission and technological evolution while respecting the perspectives of all team members.

References

• Bass, B. M., & Avolio, B. J. (1994). Improving organizational effectiveness through transformational leadership. Sage Publications.
• Fisher, R., & Ury, W. (1981). Getting to yes: Negotiating agreement without giving in. Penguin.
• Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence. Bantam Books.
• Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (2014). Joining together: Group theory and group skills. Pearson.
• Katzenbach, J. R., & Smith, D. K. (1993). The wisdom of teams: Creating the high-performance organization. Harvard Business School Press.
• Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and practice (8th ed.). Sage Publications.
• George, B. (2003). Authentic leadership: Rediscovering the secrets to creating lasting value. Jossey-Bass.
• Yukl, G. (2013). Leadership in organizations (8th ed.). Pearson.
• Cameron, K. S., & Green, M. (2015). Making sense of change management: A complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page.
• Hersey, P., & Blanchard, K. H. (1988). Management of organizational behavior: Utilizing human resources. Prentice-Hall.