Leadership Traits and Characteristics - Research Paper Example

Running Head: management Lee Iacocca of the of the of the It is often believed that leadership defines the approach of an organization and a leader’s attributes have great impact and influence on the operations of an organization. Over the years, a number of leaders have revamped the whole idea of leadership in a positive and negative manner with some creating an exemplary statement. The ever-cherished leadership traits of these leaders are admired and followed by millions across the world. One of the highly influential leaders of yesteryears is Lido Anthony “Lee” Iacocca, who is known for engineering the Mustang, the famous and unsuccessful Ford Pinto. He was also fired from Ford Motor Company but revamped the image of Chrysler Corporation. He is considered as a man of vision possessing great leadership skills often appreciated and criticized by many in the business world. The assignment aims at highlighting the leadership traits, approaches and insights of Lee Iacocca that fetched him a stupendous achievement of being ranked 18th in the list of highly influential American CEOs by Portfolio. His ideas and philosophies are well appreciated making him one of the highly respected business personalities across the world. It might amaze many but Lee Iacocca did not start his career as a top leader rather he earned this reputation through some extraordinary leadership skills and clear vision. While working with Ford Motor Corporation, he introduced one of the most interesting sales and marketing campaigns; 56 for 56 that aimed at offering loans on 1956 model cars by paying 20% as down payment and $56 per month. This campaign earned him great recognition in the organization making early inroads for future endeavors. The understanding over his wonderful leadership traits would be highlighted by analyzing his leadership style and communication in a critical manner. Keywords: Leadership styles, leadership traits Leadership Traits and Characteristics His leadership traits include effective communication, high level of motivation, encouragement, charisma, competence and courage. His positive attitude and zeal to succeed in the short as well as in the long run acted as a positive catalyst for the organization that further offered wide arrays of benefits and advantages. Lee Iacocca always supported changes along with promoting other’s ideas. He believed in empowerment and leading by examples that helped in winning the trust and loyalty of his followers. His profound insights and charismatic personality impacted his followers in a positive manner compelling them to think different and positively in worst of situations. Some of the highly admired and appreciated leadership traits and characteristics of Lee Iacocca include: Seeking and accepting responsibilities Leading by examples Sound and timely decision making ability Lucid communication with stakeholders Empowering ideas and individuals Training individuals along with extracting the best out of them Highly motivated along with motivating others in a responsible manner Great understanding, knowledge and judgment Selflessness Positive attitude Charismatic personality and outlook Innovative and proactive Leadership Ethics Ethics are a set of moral rules and regulations perceived differently in the business world. It is often believed that the business of the business is to do business that includes revenue generation, wealth maximization and social responsibilities. There is very little doubt over the leadership approach of Lee Iacocca but his leadership ethics have been questioned in the past. It becomes important to understand that business and ethics share a close relationship in the complex business environment and unethical leadership approach may lead to serious criticism from a particular section of the society (Odom, Green, 2003) Lee Iacocca’s association with the famous Ford Pinto controversy grabbed many eyeballs leading to severe criticisms. It was believed that the fuel tank of the car was not designed appropriately leading to fire and accidents. However, Lee Iacocca was firm on his stand stating that “Safety does not sell” that invited all sorts of criticisms along with raising questions over his ethical stand. Later, recalls were made that affected the profits of the organization causing serious fall in the share prices. It needs to be understood that Lee Iacocca was the man behind the Ford Pinto and was answerable but he chose to highlight a different point of his leadership traits that believed in utilizing sources and resources to create economic appraisal. When Chrysler was going through a rough phase, Lee Iacocca convinced the Congress to act as a loan guarantor in order to bail out the organization. His convincing power and vision statement were good enough to convince Congress. Many believed that Congress lend the money to Chrysler raising questions over the whole bail out act. However, there is no denying that for a man of substance and strong will, business and leadership ethics were always high on the agenda winning him enormous amount of trust and loyalty. The next part would highlight the leadership approach and style of Lee Iacocca in a critical manner. Leadership Approach and Style Cox (2001) defined two basic categories of leadership; transactional and transformational. Transactional leaders have an orthodox approach based on rewarding individuals and earning their loyalty while transformational leaders engage themselves with followers along with raising consciousness about specific outcomes and finding new ways to achieve desired business objectives in the present as well as in the future. Transformational leadership fosters capacity development along with challenging personal and professional commitments in a positive manner. Lee Iacocca falls in the category of transformational leaders, who transformed the image and reputation of Chrysler by bringing it back on the success path from the brink of bankruptcy. He reshaped the organization’s culture by injecting faith and confidence in others and soon Chrysler turned into a profitable organization. This also encouraged a number of leaders and the organization was filled with effective leaders. There is no denying that Lee Iacocca believed in his people and changed their mindset through effective communication and motivation. Lee Iacocca believed in his ideas and philosophies and never doubted his business acumen and instincts. He always believed in offering confidence and guiding individuals using his rich and proven experience. His leadership approach was based on understanding the functional, quality and situational needs that reaped great benefits for a number of operations, processes and individuals in the short as well as in the long run. Moreover, he was driven by Esprit de corps that means pride and honor shared by the members of a particular group or an organization. He offered respect, trust and loyalty and in return got the same that made him a stupendous leader. There is very little doubt over his leadership approach and style and is often appreciated by a number of critics in the competitive business environment. Creating Team Spirit It is often believed that an organization’s growth and development is purely dependent on the team work. While working with Ford Motor Corporation and Chrysler, Lee Iacocca injected the team spirit where individuals cherished each other’s success and achievements. The basic idea behind this was to introduce a culture based on mutual support and cooperation rather than individual efforts leading to success taking good amount of time. The communication process was smooth and streamlined that helped in communicating roles and responsibilities along with expectations. Moreover, Lee Iacocca was a role model for them guiding them in every process and activity in a stupendous manner. Lee Iacocca shared a vision with his team and made them think for a better future through innovative thinking. He also involved individuals in shaping and reshaping the culture and processes that later offered great benefits and results. He initiated changes and made sure that all of them are well accepted and implemented within the stipulated time. The freedom of speech and expression created magic as most employees were comfortable in sharing their ideas and thoughts with each other including the management. The act of empowerment further strengthened the cause by offering great value to the organization (Feinberg, Burke, (2005). Lee Iacocca motivated his followers by emoting strong and positive emotions that created long term success for Ford Motor Corporations and Chrysler. There is no denying that Lee Iacocca’s teams were highly motivated and efficient to tackle wide arrays of situations because of the high confidence and positive spirit injected by the leader. His communication process was very lucid and transparent that conveyed the message directly to the employees and other stakeholders. Overall, his communication approach and emphasis on building positive team spirit resulted in wonderful results earning him a coveted place in millions of hearts. Succession Plan for the Future Leaders Considering Lee Iacocca as an exception leader possessing great ideas, it would be nice to highlight his ideology on selecting future leaders. He stated that selecting a leader for any kind of job requires some sort of assessment based on 9 key criteria. Lee Iacocca’s 9 C’s are often considered as an ideal tool to assess the credentials of present and future leaders. It includes curiosity, character, charisma, creativity, courage, competence, communication, conviction and common sense. Leaders in the making should be assessed on these parameters by judging them on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 stands for poor and 5 for excellent and in between, average, good and very good. Individuals getting highest marks are often considered as a good leader and thus should be look after and nurtured well in the present as well as in the future by the current leaders. Chrysler may not be the same company after the retirement of Lee Iacocca that caused bankruptcy after few years but a true successor of Lee Iacocca should earn good marks in order to emulate and perform like the great man, Lee Iacocca. Conclusion The understanding over leadership approaches and styles has been showcased in a critical and analytical manner. The discussion was based on the leadership traits of Lee Iacocca and his exemplary vision that transformed the image and reputation of two of the highly notable organizations across the world. It is often believed that leaders are born but with people like Lee Iacocca, Terry Leahy and Steve Jobs; it can be assumed that leaders are self made who often help in creating leaders of the highest quality through their experience and expertise. The discussion fulfills the guidelines mentioned and expected in an ethical and professional manner and can be considered as a wonderful piece of work defining leadership through the life and experience of one of the highly respected leaders of all time, Lee Iacocca. References Cox, P.L. (2001). Transformational leadership: a success story at Cornell University. Proceedings of the ATEM/aappa 2001 conference. Retrieved from http://www.anu.edu.au/facilities/atem-aappaa/full_papers/Coxkeynote.html Feinberg B.J, Burke, W.W. (2005). The role of within-group agreement in understanding transformational leadership. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 78, 471-488. Odom, L. & Green, M.T. (2003). Law and the ethics of transformational leadership. Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 24(1/2), pp. 62-69. Read More