This weekend, I had a chance to visit a couple. Let’s give them a name Mr & Mrs Andrew (not their real name). They had a daughter called Rachel who is a class 7 pupil. For the last two weeks, Rachel has been sick, complaining of stomach ache. Her parents had to take her away from boarding school for a weekend to seek treatment at Gertrude’s Children hospital. The doctor diagnosed her with a disease referred to as H-Pylori.
Rachel was given drugs to take for a week. When she reached home Rachel was instructed by her parents to take the drugs as prescribed by the doctor. Every day she was expected to take 3 tablets, twice a day.
Upon unwrapping the drugs, Rachel discovered that the tablets were big in size, she thought her throat was too narrow to accommodate it. She cried to her parents, “these tablets are too big, I cannot swallow them”. Her parents looked at each other, and her father was visibly irritated. He yelled at Rachel, “We took you from school because you were in a lot of pain. Are you still keen on getting healed and going back to school? Rachel humbly replied, “no daddy, the tablets are very big”.
Rachel’s mother interjected, ” my daughter, don’t worry, if the tablet is such big, try crushing it into small pieces and swallow them. Just try it and you will be well mum”. Rachel tried her mother’s suggestion and she was able to swallow the drugs. She was happy to have been able to take the drugs.
Jog your mind
What can you say about the leadership styles of Mr and Mrs Andrew?
If this case is considered from a formal corporate perspective, what could you consider as an ideal leadership behavior?