LDR 3050 Module 11 Reflection Paper: Clearing the Path for New Hires Example

Reviewed by Edgar Pennington, MBA Thomas Edison State University Updated October 2026

This LDR 3050 Module 11 example is the reflection assignment on overcoming obstacles in Foundations of Leadership, which TESU's professional studies and organizational leadership students both take. LDR-3050 asks in this module how leaders help followers overcome the obstacles that stand between them and their goals, using path-goal theory to match the leader's behavior to what followers need. Going through a year of hiring records, the Cranbury supervisor finds that half of his new selectors quit within six weeks. He identifies the obstacles they face, from unclear rate goals to missing equipment training and isolation, matches directive, supportive and participative behaviors to each and plans a six-week ramp-up.

CourseLDR-3050 Foundations of Leadership
ModuleModule 11
Paper typeModule 11 reflection assignment: overcoming obstacles
LengthAbout 526 words, 4 pages
FormatAPA 7 student paper
SchoolThomas Edison State University
ProgramBachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for LDR 3050 Module 11

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Half Gone in Six Weeks: Using Path-Goal Theory to Clear Obstacles for New Selectors

Student Name

Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership, Thomas Edison State University

LDR-3050: Foundations of Leadership

Mentor Name

Month Day, Year

What this page is doingThe title states the problem the reflection examines and the theory it uses to address it.
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Half Gone in Six Weeks: Using Path-Goal Theory to Clear Obstacles for New Selectors

The Problem

Over the past year, I hired 22 new selectors. Eleven left within six weeks. Exit conversations, when I had them, gave the same few reasons: "I didn't know what rate I needed," "I was afraid of the pallet jack," "nobody talked to me." Northouse (2020) presents path-goal theory as a way to think about this: the leader clears the path so followers can reach their goals by clearing obstacles from the path and providing what is missing.

The Obstacles

Using the chapter's list, I sorted what new hires told me into obstacles. Unclear goals: new selectors heard they had to "make rate," but no one told them that the rate ramps up over six weeks, so they thought they were failing from day one. Unclear directions: equipment training was a 20-minute video and one supervised trip. Low challenge was not the problem; too much was. And a lack of support: veterans were too busy making their own rates to help, and new hires ate alone.

Matching Behavior to Obstacles

House (1996) reformulated path-goal theory to emphasize that effective leaders adapt their behavior to the follower and the task, supplying what the environment and the follower lack. For new selectors, that means directive behavior where tasks are unclear, supportive behavior where the work is stressful and isolating, and participative behavior once people have learned the basics. My mistake was treating new hires like veterans, giving them little direction because the job seemed simple to me.

What this page is doingSorting new hires' own words into the chapter's categories of obstacles grounds the theory in evidence from the writer's own shift.
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The Six-Week Ramp

Weeks one and two will be directive. Each new selector gets a written rate schedule that starts at 60 percent of the standard and rises each week, so they know what success looks like. Equipment training becomes a two-hour hands-on session with Marcus, our safety lead, and the new hire does not run a pallet jack alone until he signs off.

Weeks three and four will be supportive. Each new hire works beside Tanya, our trainer, for part of every shift, eats breaks with a veteran partner and has a ten-minute check-in with me at the end of week three.

Weeks five and six will be participative. I will ask new selectors what slowed them down and what they would change in the training, and I will use their answers to improve it for the next group. Locke and Latham (2002) showed that specific goals raise performance most when people also hear how they are doing, which is why the weekly rate schedule comes with a brief review of each new selector's numbers.

Measuring It

I will track how many new hires are still with us at six weeks and at three months, and their rate at the end of week six. If retention at six weeks rises from 50 percent toward 80 percent, the ramp is working.

Conclusion

I had been blaming the people who quit. Path-goal theory showed me that the obstacles were in the path I had laid out for them. My job is to clear that path, and to change my behavior as each new hire moves along it.

References

House, R. J. (1996). Path-goal theory of leadership: Lessons, legacy, and a reformulated theory. Leadership Quarterly, 7(3), 323-352. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1048-9843(96)90024-7

Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American Psychologist, 57(9), 705-717. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.57.9.705

Northouse, P. G. (2020). Introduction to leadership: Concepts and practice (5th ed.). Sage.

Reading the LDR 3050 Module 11 assignment instructions

The Module 11 reflection asks how leaders help followers overcome obstacles, drawing on path-goal theory. Expect to identify obstacles that keep people you lead or work with from reaching their goals, sort them into the chapter's categories and explain which leader behaviors would help with each. Use evidence, such as what people have told you, rather than guesses. Support your plan with research on path-goal theory or goal setting, and describe how your behavior would change as followers gain experience. Talk with the people affected, if you can, before deciding what the obstacles are, and quote what they told you. Name the theory's leader behaviors and say which one each obstacle calls for.

How this LDR 3050 Module 11 example is built

The reflection opens with a retention problem and the reasons new hires gave. A section sorts those reasons into the chapter's categories of obstacles. A section uses the reformulated path-goal theory to match leader behaviors to each obstacle and admits the writer's mistake. The ramp-up plan moves from directive to supportive to participative behavior over six weeks, using people introduced in earlier reflections. A section sets measures, and the conclusion shifts responsibility from the people who quit to the path they were given. The plan builds on people and practices from earlier reflections, which shows the course's ideas working together. Each stage of the ramp has a named person responsible, which makes the plan workable on a real night shift.

Reading the LDR 3050 Module 11 grading rubric

This reflection is graded on path-goal theory and its obstacle categories applied correctly, evidence from real followers, research support and a plan that adapts leader behavior. Reflections that change behavior as followers develop show understanding of the theory's core idea. Using followers' own words as evidence demonstrates careful analysis. Measures that would show whether the plan works complete the reflection and show the writer intends to test it. Reflections that show leader behavior changing over time, from directive to supportive to participative, demonstrate a clear grasp of the theory's central idea. Using followers' own words as evidence strengthens the analysis. Measures tied to retention complete the plan.

Common LDR 3050 Module 11 mistakes, and how to avoid them

Students lose points by listing obstacles without evidence, by choosing one leader behavior for every situation or by describing path-goal theory without applying it. Others blame followers for failing to overcome obstacles. Gather evidence of what gets in people's way. Match each obstacle to a behavior. Show how your approach changes over time. Set a measure you can track, such as retention or time to proficiency. Be specific about who does what in each stage of your plan. Include a measure, such as six-week retention or time to full rate, so you can tell whether the plan works. A free first sample on your own LDR-3050 Module 11 reflection is available on request.

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LDR 3050 Module 11 questions, answered

Where can I find a free LDR 3050 Module 11 sample paper?

New selectors quitting within six weeks, and a path-goal ramp to keep them, are analyzed above.

What is path-goal theory?

A theory that leaders motivate followers by clearing obstacles from their path to goals and supplying what the situation lacks.

What are the main path-goal leader behaviors?

Directive, supportive, participative and achievement-oriented behaviors.

What kinds of obstacles do followers face?

Unclear goals or directions, low motivation, complex or simple tasks, low involvement, lack of challenge and lack of support.

Should leader behavior change as followers gain experience?

Yes. Path-goal theory holds that leaders should adapt behavior to followers' needs and the task.