Business Entrepreneur: Anita Roddick, the Founder of the Body Shop - Research Paper Example

Introduction In various business literature, it has been argued that leadership is one of the factors that determines the success of an entrepreneur. Apart from other obvious revered traits such as motivation and innovation, leadership is most crucial for starting business. Thus, leadership is an important concept behind entrepreneurship. Leadership is one of the most revered traits that are found in most entrepreneurs that have reached success when they are able to make their business survive and grow into a large company. For this reason, leadership has become a focus of many business and social science academicians over the years. Many theories have been formulated in order to cover leadership as a major subject of study. The purpose of this paper is to analyse a famous entrepreneur, look at her success, her leadership practices and the link between these two. By looking at the traits that are considered important in order for a leader to be effective, the link between the existing traits of the successful entrepreneur and how she has lead her company, her industry, or the whole business world can be determined. In this paper, the successful entrepreneur from which the analysis is based upon is Anita Roddick, the founder of the Body Shop. Roddick's leadership is analysed by the theories that are presented. Roddick's various activities that are quoted from articles, as well as interviews are utilized as materials to get a picture of how she is as a leader. Traits that are considered in the theories as key to leading effectively are looked for in Roddick as a leader. By determining what it takes for Roddick as a leader that is linked with her success as an entrepreneur, the theories are merged with practice, and seen from a real-life point of view. I. Literature review In various business literature, it has been argued that leadership is one of the factors that determines the success of an entrepreneur. Apart from other obvious revered traits such as motivation and innovation, leadership is most crucial for starting business. Thus, leadership is an important concept behind entrepreneurship. Leadership is one of the most revered traits that are found in most entrepreneurs that have reached success when they are able to make their business survive and grow into a large company. For this reason, leadership has become a focus of many business and social science academicians over the years. Many theories have been formulated in order to cover leadership as a major subject of study. One of these theories include the trait theory of leadership. According to the proponents of these theory, Kirkpatrick and Locke, there are certain traits that a leader should possess in order to make her enterprise successful. These traits include ambition and energy, desire to lead, honesty and integrity, self-confidence, and job-relevance knowledge (Kirkpatrick and Locke 1991). According to Kirkpatrick and Locke, a certain amount of ambition is necessary for leaders to succeed (1991). This is one of the factors that constitute the trait 'drive' which is important for a leader to succeed. Some of these other factors include: 'achievement, energy, tenacity, and initiative (Kirkpatrick and Locke 1991, 49).' Leadership motivation, or the desire to lead is also an important trait. As trust has been the foundation of leadership, honesty and integrity is a necessary trait in a leader in order to maintain its relationships with its followers. According to them, self-confidence which includes emotional stability is also one of the traits that is required in order for a leader to be effective (1991, 41). As much as knowledge in business is important, the leader's cognitive ability is necessary (1991, 41). Apart from these traits, there are other traits that provide weaker support in order for a leader to succeed. These traits include 'charisma, creativity or originality, and flexibility (Kirkpatrick and Locke 1991, 41). According to Kirkpatrick and Locke, these traits are necessary for a leader to succeed in her endeavour. However, Dobbins, et al in their article in Journal of Management in 1990 has added another trait in order for a leader to be successful: ability to monitor one's self in any given situation. This concept has been reinforced by Zaccharo in his article in Journal of Applied Psychology in 1991. According to Dobbins, et al and Zaccharo, a leader needs to be high self-monitor, or highly flexible in most situations in order to become effective and successful in their enterprise (Dobbins, et al 1990; Zaccharo 1991). The proponents of this additional trait for a leader to possess in order to lead effectively argue that since a leader has to deal with change, and the uncertainty that these changes bring with them, self-monitoring is crucial to adapting to changing circumstances. Self-monitoring, according to Snyder as mentioned by Dobbins et al, is the ability to 'read verbal and non-verbal social cues and alter one's behaviour accordingly (1990, 610).' According to them, leaders must have the ability to be flexible in the way they carry themselves in various circumstances, depending on the context of the social situation. Charismatic leadership is another theory in the field. A charismatic leader, according to Awamleh and Gardner, 'must have a vision, is willing to take risks in order to fulfil that vision, is sensitive to both environmental constraints and follower needs, yet exhibits behaviours out of the ordinary (1999). The so-called charisma springs from the leader's ability to create a different aura that makes her stand out from the ordinary. The power of the charismatic leader lies in her ability to lead by example especially in taking risks in order to fulfil the vision, thus making her subordinates follow her actions. Transformational leadership differs with charismatic leadership in that 'transformational leaders attempt to instil in followers the ability to question not only established views but eventually those established by the leader (Seltzer & Bass 1990).' Transformational leaders go extra lengths in correcting their mistakes and encouraging participation of their followers. While charismatic leadership requires a leader to have a vision and inspire her followers to fulfil those vision with the help of her certain traits, there is another theory of leadership where the leader's ability to succeed lies on her ability to create a powerful vision of the future of the company, and communicate such vision to her followers. The powerful imagery of the vision inspires the followers to act and help fulfil the vision. According to Snyder, these people are called visionary leaders (1994). They have the ability to create a vision so attractive and powerful on its own, that its attractiveness serve as the impetus 'to call on the skills, talents and resources that are much needed to make the vision happen (Snyder 1994).' These are some of the theories as regards leadership. While none of the theories can provide a universal requirement for a leader to become successful, these theories provide insights as regards the attributes that a leader should have, and what traits an individual should develop in order to successfully leads an enterprise. II. A review of leadership as applied to the selected entrepreneur. Anita Roddick is one of the most influential and famous business persons in the UK. She has founded The Body Shop in 1975 when her husband was busy trekking in the Americas (McKeown 2003). She has thought of the idea of opening a store in order to make a living while getting some time to spend to her two children. The Body Shop is now a global company catering to some 55 markets with 2100 stores across the world (Costello 2007). Roddick has emerged as the leader of the enterprise as she had been the founder of the company. Her leadership is deeply rooted in her personal ideals and philosophy which she has incorporated in her business acumen that has made The Body shop successful. Being a strong advocate of humanitarian rights and desire to protect the environment, her leadership has changed some of the processes and beliefs on how businesses should be run and managed. Perhaps the driving force behind her leadership and her way of doing things is mainly her principles. When she has founded The Body Shop, according to her, it 'was also a response to the extravagance and waste of the cosmetics industry (McKeown 2003).' Out of her principles and desire to counter this ideology, her stores have thrived and grew based on her ideology. The thing about Anita Roddick's being a leader, is that as a leader she is prepared to take risks by personally marketing her advocacies in support for the philosophy of the company in order to strengthen what the company stands for. As a leader, she does not fear being targeted by the media and other more conventional business persons which have been impacted by her efforts to turn the industry upside down. Roddick has been very vocal about her views, which represents the philosophy behind Body Shop. This trait of hers has made her many enemies as she has continued to target many companies that 'only aim for profits' at the expense of the environment and cost to human lives. Her courage as a leader to stand for what she believes in, as apparent in her actions as well as her words have instil a sense of admiration among her followers. As a leader, Roddick has a very strong personality and sense of uniqueness. She stands out as a leader as she strives to communicate her advocacies to the world while showing who she really is. By being radical and different from most business leaders, Roddick has challenged most of the conventions in doing business. According to her, as an entrepreneur she has to keep up the spirit by always trying to do something different (Costello 2007). Also, she said that the older she gets the more radical she becomes. And this one trait of hers that distinguishes her from other business persons, and has affected how she is viewed by other people within, as well as those outside her company. This is apparent in her joining the anti-globalization protest in Seattle in 1999 (McKeown 2003). As a leader she knows that it is her job to communicate to her employees the sense of awareness that is the very foundation of her company's ethos. According to her, she knows that 90% of her employees work for her company because they need to earn for a living (McKeown 2003). She knows that no matter how great her advocacies are, these ideals are not necessarily the same with most of her employees. As a leader she knew that it was her task to communicate to her employees that what they do in Body Shop is more than selling cosmetic products. As a leader, she has to arouse that 'bigger thing' or 'bigger idea' in what they do, and educate her employees. Because her views are unconventional on their own, making her views being bought and accepted by the other stakeholders of the company in order to support it is her task as a leader. In order to do it, as a leader she has encouraged her followers to keep on questioning conventional wisdom and integrate that kind of thinking while working for the company. As according to her, if cannot convince her employees to pursue a higher purpose that the company's commercial purpose which is to sell cosmetics, there is no leadership. Thus, with her company, her leadership extends beyond leading her company, but leading the whole industry and moving it into the values that she as an individual personally reveres and believes firmly. Beyond her employees and the public as a whole, she has convinced her franchisees as well as other stakeholders of Body Shop to join her in her campaigns for social causes. The way she walks her talk by actively participating and engaging in socially relevant causes such as “the rain forest, debt relief for developing countries, indigenous farmers in impoverished nations, whales, voting rights, anti-sexism and anti-ageism (Lyall 2007),” has shown her integrity as a person and as a leader. Anita Roddick's legacy can be mainly traced in what she has done in doing business in general and incorporate corporate social responsibility in whole process. Her principles backed by her strong personality and drive to bring her ideals into fruition has inspired many people across the globe. How she has lead the company and her strength as a leader has made the company successful not only in terms of profits, but by being a major force in the business world associated with the strong brand that her principles have represented. III. Analysis Anita Roddick's leadership can be analysed by the theories that are presented earlier. By looking at the theories of leadership and looking for the traits that are linked to her success as an entrepreneur. Her success as an entrepreneur can be traced from her success being a leader. Anita Roddick has the 'drive' that Kirkpatrick and Locke has described (1991). This drive has enabled Roddick to take risks, pursue her advocacies and continually look for ways to do things differently (McKeown 2003). However, while there is drive and energy, her drive is rooted from her deeply ingrained principles reinforced by the strength of her personality. Her beliefs in just causes such as environmental protection, humanitarian rights have served as impetus behind her success as a leader. Nonetheless, she has that drive, to make her business successful. Roddick also has the desire to lead others. As explained previously, this is deeply ingrained in her desire to make the necessary social awakening among people—her consumers, her employees, other Body Shop stakeholders and the public as a whole (Costello 2007). Her view that people should be more socially responsible, and start caring for the environment and other people has fueled a strong desire for her to lead. As Roddick has once said, she has started Body Shop as a 'response to the extravagance and waste of the cosmetic industry,' and this desire to counter the ideals that the society and the beauty industry has made has enabled her to push her philosophy through opening new stores and making other people involved to join in (Lyall 2007). Roddick also exhibits self-confidence as apparent in her ability to articulate her principles. She poses as a woman of integrity as she walks her talk and her causes are being read through her various actions. These are important traits for a leader to gain the trust and respect of her followers in order to effectively lead them. Apart from it, she has that creativity and originality in terms of doing things that makes her stand out as a leader. As for cognitive ability, Roddick definitely has much sense that enables her to make her business prosper despite the setbacks that it has encountered. However, as the trait theory suggests that one should have a certain knowledge of the business in order to become an effective leader (Kirkpatrick & Locke 1991), Roddick does not have prior experience in the cosmetic industry. However, with much travel it has made her acquainted with many different natural beauty rituals that women from other cultures have utilized in order to maintain their natural beauty (Costello 2007). Essentially, it is not the knowledge of business per se that has helped make her successful in the cosmetic business, but still her strong principles that are communicated in her company's marketing practices. From the definition of the charismatic leadership, Roddick can be categorized as a charismatic leader. She possesses that strength of character, and extraordinary characteristics that defines her from other people (Awamleh & Gardner 1999). She also has her vision, and more importantly her mission which, by taking risks in order to fulfil the vision, she gains the respect of her followers and many people. During these undertakings does she exhibit courage as well. Perhaps, it will not be enough to classify Roddick as a charismatic leader—she can be classified as a transformational leader. The difference, as highlighted from the discussion above, is that Roddick has encouraged her people more specifically her employees and franchisees to challenge the traditional views of doing things, and constantly question their beliefs (Seltzer & Bass 1990). Because of Roddick's radical nature, she takes the extra length of convincing other people to join her in her unconventional and 'unusual' practices, views and beliefs (Lyall 2007). This has enabled her to turn the industry upside down, and to challenge the old practices. She has always believed in change, as an entrepreneur. Coupled with the strength of her character, she has transformed the way of doing business—integrating the concept of corporate social responsibility in practice, not just in theory. As regards self-monitoring, her resolute position has made her many enemies. While self-monitoring is not true and applicable in terms of Roddick's leadership style, her ability to retain her resolute position has benefited her in some ways especially in establishing her integrity before the public (Lyall 2007). Self-monitoring is not part of Roddick's leadership as she does not bend and change her actions depending on circumstances. In contrast, her actions are dictated by her principles which create definite circumstances where she could make her causes better heard. Anita Roddick cannot also be classified as a visionary leader. While in some ways she can be categorized as a charismatic leader, but most aptly classified as a transformational leader, her leadership is not rooted from her ability to create a powerful vision and communicate this vision. Her leadership is rooted from her strong principles instead. As mentioned earlier, she started her company not because of a strong vision, but because of a strong sense of mission which has fuelled its growth. As she always said, she does not really like plans in general, but she loves tactics (Costello 2007). This signifies that her success as a leader is not dependent on a strong vision that has attracted the resources needed, therefore she does not qualify as a visionary leader. IV. Conclusions Anita Roddick is coined as one of the Greatest Britons in the field of management and leadership. While Roddick's and the Body Shop brand's success, according to many people can be traced to its unconventional way of doing things, the reasons behind the company's success are beyond that. One of the factors, Roddick's leadership as represented by her firm beliefs and principles, coupled with a strong personality has served as the impetus for the company's success. Roddick's success can be traced to her strong leadership. The trait theory of leadership suggests that an individual must have specific traits in order to become an effective leader. These traits include ambition and energy, desire to lead, honesty and integrity, self-confidence, and job-relevance knowledge. Roddick has these traits, although her deeper motivation is rooted from her deeper principles as an individual. Roddick can be categorized as a charismatic leader because of her uniqueness and extraordinary characteristics, such as her courage and strength of principles which make people admire and respect her. However, she is beyond a charismatic leader, she is a transformational leader. Her desire to communicate her values and convince people to join her in her causes enable her to encourage these people to continually question the traditional wisdom and conventions, even her ideas. She has wanted people to adopt this kind of thinking especially if they work for their company. Roddick however cannot be categorized as a visionary leader. Her success is not rooted from her ability to create a powerful vision and communicate it to people. On the contrary, she once said she did not initially have a vision for Body Shop—she set up the store in order to make a living, as well as to counter the dominating ideologies that the beauty industry has continually promoted. All in all, Roddick's success is rooted from the her leadership, in which she has possessed some of the traits that are considered to be factors for her to be an effective leader, thus becoming a strong force behind the company's success. Her strong personality that supports her leadership style serves as a key factor as well. References Awamleh, R. & Gardner, W. L. (1999 Fall). “Perceptions of leader charisma and effectiveness: The effects of vision content, delivery and organizational performance.” Leadership Quarterly. pp. 345-373. Date accessed April 17, 2009 from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=1&hid=101&sid=641d1e2d-ae9b-41c4-bbaa-12321d812836%40sessionmgr102 Bass, B. M. 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