[College]
Abstract.
The key to Richard Branson's leadership style was his ability to overcome difficulties. He was Dyslexic as the other prominent business leaders “Henry Ford , F.W. Woolworth, William Hewlett of Hewlett-Packard, John Chambers of Cisco, Charles Schwab , O.D. McKee of McKee Foods, Paul J. Orfalea of Kinko’s and Ted Turner” (Richard Branson, 2009). R. Branson adapted to his inability to read fluently by relying on the skills of people around him, on his management team. Finally he found the simpler approaches to management through his delegating leadership style without delving into the details. He turned into the ‘managing servant’ to orchestrate the learning culture of the multifaceted company Virgin.
Richard Branson: Activities and Skills Associated with the Leadership Function of Management.
Richard Branson the founder of the multifaceted organization Virgin with more than 350 different businesses is a controversial leader. A book 1000 CEOs (2010) described him as a leader “Open and informal. Famous for his lavish staff parties and generous rewards for high achievers, he also drives the team extremely hard. Virgin staff have to give unstinting effort and keep on the top of their game.” The website virgin.com uncovers his unique leadership approach though globalization and diversity management, brand leadership and hard drive. He created the learning organization can sustain challenges of globalization, competition of the industry leaders such as British Air, surrounded himself with the determined people.
Learning organization is impossible without leadership, also related to various management skills R. Branson possesses. All the organizations must learn to face the imperatives to better satisfy the needs of consumers, stakeholders and finally to improve. A writer Peter F. Drucker influenced many leaders, and in 1950 he coined the new term "knowledge worker", is about the organizations learning through their people. As opposed to passive learning, the active learning encompasses learning according to the well-established organizational principles, its mission, vision and goals. By constantly developing and managing the organizational principles, the leaders can share and ask the stakeholder’s opinion which is critical for the organizational success. Peter Drucker said “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” These words give a cue to the skills of a good leader; good leader, first of all, must be a good teacher, which is also true for the well-recognized organization Virgin.
According to Orin Gutlerner (2013) the Classroom Learning Formula is:
Classroom Learning = Lesson Quality * ∑ Individual Student Effort * (1-Misbehavior Tax). Nevertheless, this formula is still meaningful for the leadership with the following make up:
Organization Learning = Leadership Quality *∑ Staff Members’ Determination * (1-Globalization Tax).
This formula first of all has the practical implication, can explain the leadership role of R. Branson, and uncover his work about the Virgin Company through managing the active learning to employ the determined and “knowledge worker”.
Richard Branson: Issues in Modern Management
The collective ∑ members’ staff determination relates to organization learning referred to as the modern management issue. According to Katz (1974) there are three qualities essential for a manager: technical competence, human and social skills and conceptual ability.
Technical competence:
This skill is most essential at the beginning of the entrepreneurial career. Charlie Foster (2013) interviewed R. Branson about the beginning entrepreneurs, and advised them
first and foremost get to know its market as well as possible and work on how its product or service will be different, stand out and improve people’s lives. Be visible with your product and get as much feedback as possible from your customers.
Human and social skills:
This is a necessary skill bonding different stakeholders, and making them loyal to brand Virgin. In 2009 Virgin Unite supported R. Branson with his Carbon War Room (2013) initiative to “bringing together a group of the world’s top entrepreneurs” to decide the most salient carbon environmental issue.
Conceptual Ability:
Strategic planning is necessary to organize the employees towards the company goals; instead of make them to think what they want do R. Branson has created the The B Team (2013) with the transformational task of “delivering a “Plan B” that champions concrete solutions to help make capitalism a driving force for social, environmental and economic benefit.”
Collectively these skills will help to maintain thigh ROI according to the formula:
ROI = Operating Profit Margin x Asset Turnover
High ROI can be achieved in two main ways, first of all by outsourcing and reaching the cheap human and natural resources (Operating Profit Margin). Secondly by increasing productivity and training the personnel to decrease the waste level and reach new efficiencies (Asset Turnover). All of these approaches require the technically competent managers able to bond the stakeholders inside and outside the company within the long time perspective. Virgin succeeded in this task only because of the Company’s learning culture.
Key Elements of Richard Branson’s Leadership Style: The Impact that those Elements have had on his Business Success.
The leadership quality of R. Branson can be described through the Virgin (2013) brand leadership, the company disclosed the branded revenues £15bn ($24bn) in 2012. James Tipple (2013) brand director for Europe, at Virgin in his video interview said that they are defining, developing, and protecting the Virgin brand to help the business by supplying more value as well as looking where they are running in the future. John T. said that they are fulfilling the same goals that Richard B. has set at the beginning, "which was to make a difference in the world and to make people's lives better."
Richard Branson’s Leadership Style: The Successfully Mesh within Multifaceted Organization as the Virgin Group.
The leadership style of the multifaceted organization is different from the single line business, with the goal to meet the customer’s demands with a quality and to grow organization in different direction. The company future success can be explained as follows:
The other quality of R. Branson is his servant leadership, according to the formula
Organization Learning = Leadership Quality *∑ Staff Members’ Determination * (1-Globalization Tax).
we can see that the key knowledge transfers indirectly through the leader, and depends on his leadership qualities and the stewardship leadership style as the central theme is not the charisma, still the organization learning.
Two Key Ways in Which Richard Branson is Likely to motivate Employees in Order to Achieve his Goals for the Virginia Group.
The first motivator is the higher productivity can be achieved not for money, however through the staff determination, involvement, interest and desire of the employees. Such involvement can be achieved only through the specific inspirational environment. The diverse team adds extra capability to innovation by enriching experience, filtering it through different cultures and mindsets. The "knowledge worker" can give the high results only through and with the help of the updated and motivated team.
The second motivator is the Leader himself, a person, who trusts in his employees and delegates the work, not afraid to looks into their eyes and gives them the new quality of an opportunity, inspires them. Richard B. addressed motivation as the transferable from the leader to the employees energy through delegation to “structure your job perhaps by delegating some work so that you can spend as much time as possible turning this energy to your company's advantage.” (Preston, 2013).
Why Richard Branson’s Approach: Open to Different Organizational Setting.
The different world cultures and organizational settings are the synonym of the word diversity. Really globalization tax can crash a business. At the same time the global market with its diverse cultures and environment settings are the new perspective fields for those who are willing recognize them. Virgin has clearly stated its course on the openness to the different cultures through its company’s diversity statement.
Richard Branson’s ability to articulate and communicate his vision for his company to employees and other stakeholders: The Effectiveness of the Leadership Style.
According to video-interview of James Tipple (2013) the Europe department director, at Virgin
Brand is about, like I said, really understanding why you exist, what you're here for. What do you come to work to do every day? And that impacts, like I said, culture. It impacts your business strategy. It impacts what your office environment might look. It impacts how you communicate. It impacts your marketing communications.
Really which tool can be better devised to articulate a vision to the company if not a brand, the quote above demonstrates, how important brand is inside of the company, and how much R. Branson cares about his brand. Moreover the Virgin’s branding Director developing the company vision and strategy has the long-standing plans as “to understand what their purpose looks like in 3, 5, 10 years' time.” (James Tipple, 2013).
According to Douglas McGregor (1960) there are two theories describing the leadership style 'Theory Y' and 'Theory X'. In 'Theory X' leader assumes the employees are lazy and shiftless, is not effective for dynamical learning environment. In 'Theory Y' leader "see their [employees] role as creating the conditions under which these goals [the goals of the individual and the goals of the organization] can be integrated." (McGregor, 1960). R. Branson is the 'Theory Y' effective managing leader has successfully harnessed the diversity potential and motivated the team.
Work at Virgin Group as a Manager: Assumption of Conclusion I may Draw about Working under this Type of Leader.
As for me, working under the servant type of leader means to be open to face the collaboration and be ready to sharing the ideas. Teamwork is a wonderful environment without discrimination, developing learning culture and keeping in strict discipline where everybody has the best, equal opportunities. By noticing my peers are working with determination, I would also switch on into my best as soon as possible, by developing my creative approach to fulfill my team goals as of my own.
Richard Branson: The Global Leader.
Instead of outsourcing his businesses overseas to exploit the cheaper human and natural resources Richard Branson just placed different businesses around the globe. He organized his business in a sustainable way by improving the Operating Profit Margin (Operating Income/sales) through better transfer of experience and scaling his businesses into 350 different fields.
At the same time Branson focused on some aspects as critical for developing brand and increasing the intangible value of the company and the market worth. These fields and activates are – the fastest crossing of Atlantic in a boat, circumnavigating the hot air balloon around the globe, or hiring the spaceship company and others.
R. Branson is also developing the social responsibility of Verging by ‘declaring war’ against the emissions of greenhouse gaze.
Richard Branson: Predicted Success as a Leader over the Next Five Years.
First of all the company Virgin proved its capability to look into the long term perspectives with the confidence maintaining the high ROI and looking up as the open, environmentally friendly company offering social, environmental and economic benefit because of:
- Learning culture of the company and servant leadership style of R. Branson;
- Leadership quality of R. Branson, and creation of the well established brand, skill to delegate, and involve into an organization the talented people;
- Managing diversity, long term planning, bonding the stakeholders, motiving the determined employees;
- Creating the sustainable, social responsible business including the widest variety of the stakeholders.
References
Carbon War Room. (2013, Sept. 9). Harnessing the power of entrepreneurs to unlock market-driven solutions to climate change. Retrieved 09.12.2013 from http://www.virgin.com/unite/leadership-and-advocacy/b-team
Foster, C.(2013, Dec. 6). Know your market – the key to a successful start-up. Retrieved 09.12.2013 from http://www.virgin.com/entrepreneur/know-your-market-%E2%80%93-the-key-to-a-successful-start-up
Gutlerner, O. (2013, Dec. 9).In Surviving Your Rookie Year of Teaching: 3 Key Ideas & High Leverage Techniques. (Coursera, Unit 1). Retrieved 09.12.2013 from https://class.coursera.org
Katz, R. (1974) Skills of an effective administrator. Harvard Business Review, Sept-Oct, pp. 90-102.
McCrory, K. (2013, Sept. 9). The man in the mirror. Retrieved 09.12.2013 from http://www.virgin.com/unite/business-innovation/the-man-in-the-mirror
Peter Ferdinand Drucker (1909--2005). (2013). In The Hutchinson unabridged encyclopedia with atlas and weather guide. Retrieved from http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/heliconhe/peter_ferdinand_drucker_1909_2005/0
Preston, J & Pressed, J.On (2013, Feb. 12). Richard Branson: the importance of determination.Retrieved 09.12.2013 from http://www.virgin.com/entrepreneur/richard-branson-importance-determination
Richard Branson. (2009). In 1000 CEOs. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/dkceos/richard_branson
The Drucker Institute. (1950).Peter Drucker’s Life and Legacy. Retrieved 09.12.2013 from http://www.druckerinstitute.com/link/about-peter-drucker/
The B Team. (2013, Sept.9). Delivering a Plan B for business that puts people and planet alongside profit. Retrieved 09.12.2013 from http://www.virgin.com/unite/leadership-and-advocacy/b-team
Tripple, J. (2013, Nov.). The secret power of brands. The role of a brand director. (FutureLearn, Unit 3.5) Retrieved 09.12.2013 from https://www.futurelearn.com
Virgin. (2013). About us. Retrieved 09.12.2013 from http://www.virgin.com/about-us
