Leadership Theory and Leadership Styles - Essay Example

Leadership, as defined by Armandi, Oppedisano, and Sherman (2003), is basically about influencing and motivating a particular group towards achieving a common goal. It is centered on the kind of relationship between the leader and the members of the organization that can motivate people to work hard and strengthen the bonds existing within the organization. A good leader is inspirational and good with people. Leadership is about making the people feel motivated, devoted, and even inspired through persuasion and certainly not coercion.

To get the real outcomes necessary in a highly competitive time, individuals need to desire to give their best, not just be required to do so, and this is exactly what Ford’s new CEO Alan Mulally has demonstrated since he started working for Ford Company. Despite of his limitations and the company’s difficult circumstances, Mulally has shown his desire, enthusiasm, and determination to help the company survive the recession back in 2000 and eventually realize its potential towards success.

He leads the entire team of Ford with a vision, passion, and heart that encourages and inspires his people to participate in the company’s business endeavors. Mulally, an American engineer and former aerospace guy at Boeing, has evidently changed the course of business for Ford. With his novel perspectives on leadership and management, he was able to help Ford picked up from its billions of losses specifically during the recession period. The most important feature of his leadership, which perhaps has greatly helped Ford survive, is the way he focuses on the most important and innovative idea that he thinks would best work for the company and for the people.

He believes that focus is a vital component of a successful leadership because it takes a lot of thinking and rationalizing to get the right decision among the many opportunities available. When Mulally arrived at Ford in 2006, there were various uncertainties about his appointment as the organization’s new leader. The very fact that he was an outsider and knew nothing about the car industry created a lot of suspicions from the other members of the organization (Kiley, 2009). Yet, Mulally remained focus on thinking about ways to improve the organization from within to its overall performance in the market (Taylor III, 2009).

As a leader, Mulally adopts the democratic or participative leadership style. A democratic or participative administrator’s style basically encourages the participation of each member of the organization in decision-making (Armandi, Oppedisano & Sherman, 2003). The leader or management team consults the entire group before it concludes any matter in the organization. In this kind of administration, it is highly essential to win the cooperation of the team or organization members because this will motivate them effectively and optimistically.

Mulally changed the bureaucratic system of the company and increased participation from employees of different departments and levels: When I arrived there were six or seven people reporting to Bill Ford, and the IT person wasn't there, the human resources person wasn't there… So I moved up and included every functional discipline on my team because everybody in this place had to be involved and had to know everything. (Taylor III, 2009, para. 26) Mulally’s participative leadership style is even more reflected through how he promotes open and effective communication