Interviewing a Leader - Essay Example

? Interview a leader [Pick the The quest of making an in depth assessment on the need for leaders to adopt new leadership roles, drove me to Admiral Group plc, situated in Cardiff, Wales and listed on the London Stock Exchange. I conducted an interview of the CEO of Admiral Group, Mr. Henry Engelhart to assess his changing role in the industry. Admiral Group is a motor insurance company and Henry has been a notable leader in the corporation. Henry has given a very distinct culture to Admiral Group as ranks don’t matter there, equality is seen as one of the cornerstones of this company’s culture and while everyone is treated equally, even shares are distributed among all employees equally. This whole idea of him providing an innovative style of freedom to his employees has resulted in a fine rapport between the employees and their superior heads as well as ranking the Admiral Group 4th in the top 40 companies of the United Kingdom (Frobes, 2011). Henry Engelhardt, is the most encouraging CEO in whom the employees have a great deal of conviction and faith, he meets all the newly hired staff, takes initiative in being available for live online chats and is usually found communicating with his staff at all levels when he is at the Cardiff headquarters. He also believes that an organization should not only give the employees a good working environment but should also give them a pack of activities to keep them fresh, that’s why he has set annual competitions for his staff. All in all Henry Engelhart is an innovative leader with a vibrant spirit to keep his employees motivated, he gives them a sense of free will while also keeping certain authorities to himself only. This new leadership style and charisma which he has attracted me towards taking his opinions on the new divergent leadership styles and the dynamism a leader needs in this new business world. The questions asked are in the appendix section of this paper. The interview responses made it clear to me that leadership is now all about adapting to new roles and ideas and is no longer a set of rigid traits and thinking capabilities, like it was many years ago. Most of the questions dealt with the acquisition of information regarding the many roles that Mr. Henry has played during his career, the conclusion to which, derived by the responses of him, determined that even staying in only one department for a couple of years requires many interpersonal and professional leadership roles to be entertained by a leader (Rothwell et al, 2001). There was more information possessed when Mr. Henry was asked about the leadership strengths that he has developed in the so far tenure of his career, and it was surprising to know that his leadership strength came from the attainment of these different leadership roles. He explained them as an observational journey in the world of leadership, making him earn strength at each and every check post he crossed. He also added that the journey was not easy as there were many nerve wrecking times when he thought he would not be able to deliver as required but he managed to overcome all such obstacles through the use of an open mind. Open mind, he added, is the basic criteria to transform you into the many diversified roles of leadership required at different stages of one’s leadership career. Motivation of employees, as explained by him, is all a matter of making a need assessment of all employees at different organizational levels and stages as the need patterns are often the product of an unsatisfactory working environment which takes employees away from attaining job satisfaction. Employee needs are loosely satisfied at the bottom of organization and the satisfaction meter moves up as we travel upwards in the chain of command of an organization; this makes the upper management attain job satisfaction, leaving the labor class away from this fruitful accomplishment, leaving them unsatisfied. An unsatisfied workforce, he said, leads to slower growing organizations, this is where leadership roles need changes and amendments. The changing dynamics of the business and industrial environment now force the leaders to become vigilant in adopting the new trends and accordingly amending their leadership style to match with the transformation of the business world. Leaders in the olden times had to maintain consistency in their leadership characteristics to make people follow their concepts and ideas but in today’s world, leaders have to keep changing their leadership dynamics to become successful at handling and directing employees (Ramey, 1991). This is often the case because many strategic decisions have to be altered as the organization paces forwards in its industry, making the vision of the organization change its focus, therefore, calling for a new set of ideas and leadership capabilities. Only a vibrant leader completely focused on accepting these new ideas and trends can be successful in this modern business world (Waltuck, 2011) . The changing industrial trends are not the only reason for a leader to change its course, the ever increasing radar of employee motivation, employee retention and job satisfaction also force the leaders to change their role and to entertain new leadership qualities. Employee motivation has been a very hot topic in the field of human resources as many studies and theories have reflected that motivated employees undoubtedly perform better and aid in the growth of the business, moreover, leaders thus need to change their roles when they are transferred to different departments as the motivation of employees of each department differ from one another. While, Employee motivation is conceptualized as the main doors key to success, employee retention has also become the door behind total organizational achievement (Ladkin, 2010). Job satisfaction is referred to as the main motivational factor in employee retention, the contentment of employees triggers their loyalty towards their company, in turn pushing the organization towards strategic advantage which not only aids in the growth process but is also used as a weapon fighting against major competitors. All this been said, it is now clear that leaders need to maintain and develop new leadership qualities and adopt new leadership roles to fight the instability of the business environment. The interview responses make me conclude that the new dynamics of changing business environments requires the same dynamism from the leaders as well in order to cope up with the changing needs of the employees and the industry itself. This new era where change is the only constant in the business field and environment, leaders are required to change their traits and qualities to meet the conflicting demands of employees present at each level of the organization in order to achieve total organizational commitment. These changing roles not only benefit the organization and its employees, but it also makes leaders learn while making them extend their leadership horizons and capabilities. After interpreting the responses, it will be essential to estimate that a leader’s strength is in his vulnerability to adjust in a dissecting environment. Leaders’ true assessment in the course of their career is to transform their leadership roles according to the environment, new trends and their department under supervision. An all round leader has the capacity along with the required capability to assess which role has to be adhered to deal with a certain department or situation, for example in case of a conflict a leader not only has to be the superior giving orders but also has to be a mediator between the ones involved in the conflict. Also not only situations require leaders to change their roles, the external environment outside a business also requires them to change the direction and focus of employees when needed. Conclusively, the role dynamics of a leader is very important in this modern business age and a leader is successful only when he is able to master them all. -APPENDIX- INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 1. How has your role changed over the duration of your career? 2. How have you developed leadership strengths in your career? 3. Has your leadership style/approach changed since your first leadership experience? 4. How do you organize and oversee teams within your organization? 5. What reform efforts consume most of your time? 6. What tools are needed to successfully complete your leadership duties? 7. What are your biggest leadership challenges? 8. How do you make your employees motivate and work harder? 9. Which leadership style do you think suits best in your organization and why? 10. How important in your opinion is acceptance to change by a leader in terms of leadership style? REFERENCES Frobes (2011). Henry Engelhardt. Retrieved May 11, 2013, from http://www.forbes.com/profile/henry-engelhardt/ Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Ladkin, D. (2010). Rethinking Leadership: A New Look at Old Leadership Questions. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Pub. Ramey, D. A. (1991). Empowering leaders. Kansas City, MO: Sheed & Ward. Top of FormRothwell, W. J., Rothwell, W. J., & American Society for Training and Development. (2001). The manager and the change leader. Alexandria, VA: American Society for Training & Development. Waltuck, B. (2011). Leadership for Turbulent Times: the changing role of leaders | Complexified's Blog. Retrieved May 10, 2013, from http://complexified.wordpress.com/2011/08/31/leadership-for-turbulent-times-the-changing-role-of-leaders Read More