Management
Introduction
Leadership does not have a universal definition because of its complex nature. Leadership is considered to be a holistic spectrum which can arise from several different factors. For many individuals, when thinking about the best way to lead a team, there are also several different factors which need to be considered. When the wrong approach is selected, the morale, effectiveness and the productivity of the group can suffer. One of the theories that are commonly used is the Path-Goal theory which helps one identifies which effective approach to leadership should be used based on the people and the current situation (Northouse, 2013). The purpose of this paper is to look into the leadership background of the chairman and CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz and identify how his leadership skills are aligned to the different leadership theories.
Summary of Leader’s Early Life and Education Howard Schultz came from a poor family. He was born in Brooklyn, New York where he experienced poverty at an early age. When he was 7 years old, his father who was the breadwinner got into an accident while working as a truck driver and broke his ankle. Since his father had no health insurance or worker’s compensation, the family was left with no income. When he was in high school, he played football which earned him an athletic scholarship to Northern Michigan University where he became a communications major. However, he decided that he did not want to play football so he tried to pay off student loans by entering different jobs like bartending and even resorted to selling his blood. He graduated in 1975 and spent a year working at a ski lodge in Michigan while waiting for bigger opportunities. He finally landed a job at Xerox where he gained more experience but decided to leave after three years to accept a job at Hammarplast which is owned by a Swedish company named Perstorp. There, Schultz ascended the ranks and eventually became vice president and general manager of a team of sales people in the company’s New York office. This was the time he first encountered Starbucks which is a coffee shop which had a few stores in Seattle. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in the show Super Soul Sunday, Schultz said his father never find fulfillment in his jobs and his accident which caused severe poverty for the family left an impression on him the most. When he discovered Starbucks, he revealed that he found it as the opportunity for him to build a company that his father was never able to work for. With that, he tried to create a company with a set of values, guidelines and culture (Schultz, 2013).
Qualities of Leadership
In the many years Schultz spent at Starbucks, he has always made sure that he prioritizes his employees who he calls partners. Because of his father’s situation, he made sure that all employees including part time workers are complete with health insurance and stock options. Schultz is a transformational leader who inspires the team and encourages the employees to develop as individuals to encourage them to be part of the collective team with the same goals. Schultz is the type of leader who wants to inspire his people. In 2013, he called 10,000 Starbucks managers to a four-day conference where he wanted to inspire them and challenge the employees to be personally accountable for everything in their stores (Gallo, 2013). He is the kind of leader who believes in the right people for the company to succeed.
Starbucks: The Reasons for Its Success
Starbucks’ mission is to inspire and nurture the human spirit through their coffees. In order to accomplish this mission, the company is set to follow principles which are used as guide by their employees as they go through their daily business. The company focuses on the importance of providing quality products to their customers and making their stores comfortable. It is also important that all employees treat each other with respect and dignity. This is one of the reasons why Starbucks is a very successful company because employees live to their mission and makes sure that from the CEO to the part-time employees, there is respect which can be channeled to their products. With that, the company was able to provide quality products and services to their customers.
Running a company as big as Starbucks also came with set-backs like in 2008 when Schultz was forced to temporarily close over 7,000 stores in order to retain employees who know how to make the perfect espresso. This was a time when several stores would not provide the quality product the customers are expecting. With that, Schultz made a tough decision to make sure that baristas who are passionate about making good coffee will remain in the company and those who are not up to the task cannot destroy the name of the brand. Schultz wanted to ensure the welfare of his customers and also encourage the employees to work better.
Leader’s Qualities Compared to Path-Goal Theory
The path-goal model specifies a leader’s style or behavior which benefits the employee and the work environment in order to achieve the team’s goal. The goal is to increase motivation and empower the employee so that they would become more productive members of the company. There are four path-goal types of leader behaviors and they are: directive, supportive, participative and achievement. In the case of Schultz, his leadership style fits the behaviors directive, supportive and achievement. He is known for considering the employees as his partners in his business. In the company mission statement, all employees know what is expected of them and the management expects them to perform the task to provide quality service and products to their customers. Schultz also showed concern for his employees by providing health care and stock options for them. With that, he expects that all employees should have the highest confidence in their ability to help the company to grow further.
Leader’s Qualities Compared to Authentic Leader Theory
The authentic leadership theory involves four concepts: self-awareness, balanced processing, internalized morel perspective and relational transparency. It is an approach that emphasizes on building the leader’s authenticity by creating honest relationship with his employees. Schultz builds the support from his employees by taking care of them and wanting them to improve on their performance for the company. Schultz is a kind of leader who does not really emphasize on the profit but give more importance to people involved in his company and the values and ethics that he likes everyone to follow. An authentic leader is more interested in empowering his people more than personal power. Schultz believes that his employees are the reason for the success of his company and by building strong partnership, he can make sure to be a strong contender in the industry.
Conclusion
References
Gallo, C. (2013, December 19). What Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz Taught Me About Communication And Success. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2013/12/19/what-starbucks-ceo-howard-schultz-taught-me-about-communication-and-success/#33547c97d2da
Loudenback, T. (2015, October 21). The rags-to-riches story of Starbucks billionaire Howard Schultz - Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/howard-schultz-profile-2015-10
Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Schultz, H. (2013, December 8). Oprah and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz: Building a Business with Soul [Television series episode]. Interview by O. Winfrey. In Super Soul Sunday. Los Angeles, CA: OWN.
