Corporate Leadership Strategy - Assignment Example

Leadership Strategy Corporate strategy refers to the general scope and direction that a corporation takes towards the fulfilling of its goals. In order to achieve this strategy, there should be effective leaders who employ efficient styles of leadership. One of these styles is transformational leadership. This analysis looks at the notion of corporate strategy and the manner in which Google’s CEO Sunder Pichai uses transformational leadership in guiding the company. Moreover, it carries out an analysis of his achievements along with some of the innovative skills he possesses. Introduction Corporate strategy refers to the general scope and direction that a corporation takes as well as the manner in which a number of its business operations work together in order to achieve set goals. The commonest perception regarding the essence of corporate strategy is that it involves the improvement of the operating unit’s competitive strategies. Achieving corporate strategy requires an effective leader as well as efficient leadership skills. This is since; long-term business performance originates from leadership culture along with continuous and careful leadership development at all the levels. This paper looks at Google Company in terms of its CEO, his achievements, the leadership model that he uses along with his delivery innovation skills. In addition, it will also document the lessons that other leaders can learn from Google’s CEO before carrying out concluding remarks. Biography The current CEO of Google Inc is Sunder Pichai, who is also a computer engineer. Born in Chennai India 1972, he attained an MBA from University of Pennsylvania (Wharton School) in 2002. Prior to joining Google in 2004 as a product manager, Pichai worked as a consultant at McKinsey. While at Google, he assisted in the development of Chrome operating system for laptops which has been a huge success with a 45% reported worldwide market (The Famous People, 2015). In addition, Pichai managed some of Google’s essential aspects such as Google Drive, Gmail and Google Map. In 2008, he became the product development’s Vice President and by 2012; he had become Chrome and Apps’ senior vice president. In 2013, he landed a job that involved the supervision of Android Operating System that was moving from mobile phones to smart TVs, watches, payments and cars. On the 10th of August 2015, he was named as Google’s new CEO (Taylor, 2015). Applying an Appropriate Leadership Model Pichai can be said to operate under transformation style of leadership since; through his deeds he inspires positive changes in those people that look up to him. Just as he had done in the past even before he became CEO, Pichai would take control of a situation by conveying a clear vision of its goals, marking his passion for what he does and through thus, he made the rest of the group feel energized and recharged (Warrick, 2011). These are the attributes of a transformational leader. Moreover, he is supportive, self-depreciating, graceful and empathetic when it comes to navigating political minefields. Pichai emphasizes cooperation and he is a strong communicator who ensures that each member of his team understands the mission. He has excellent relations such that he can be considered as a polarizing figure. Pichai emphasizes cooperation and he is a strong communicator who ensures that each member of his team understands the mission. He puts his team before self as he is known to have built, mentored as well as nurtured a great team. His people policy was based on meritocracy such that he went an extra mile to make sure that his teams efforts were recognized and received due credit. Moreover, in a company that has exceptionally talented individuals, Pichai was able to inspire many people with his work ethics, integrity, professionalism, risk taking acumen, integrity, brilliance and enthusiasm, traits that any organization will look for in a leader (Warrick, 2011). Use of Discovery Skills to Promote Innovation and Manage Change As an engineering genius commonly known for his innovative ideas, Sundar Pichai is the best and is recognized as the mastermind behind the launch of the Chrome browser in 2008. Pichai played a fundamental role in persuading his seniors at Google to come up with the browser that in time developed to become the most popular browser on the internet. Moreover, it led to the launch of the Chrome operating system. This is a clear indication of how he led successful efforts for those sophisticated projects core to the continuous existence and financial success of Google Inc (Harsanto, 2014). Even though toolbar was not such an excellent product, it assisted in defending the presence of Google Search on the computer of users during a crucial period following the unraveling of Google’s incredible profitability. Furthermore, Pichai recruited, mentored as well as trained a great team of product managers who had a reputation as being the best (Fitzgerald & Schutte, 2010). Pichai being an inspiring leader solved problems in the company and appeared to enjoy a challenge especially if it was an engineering one. During his career in Google before he became the CEIO, Pichai came across as more like a teacher than a dynamic executive at the forefront of the world’s fastest growing organizations. Moreover, he deserves recognition for his role in leading Android into the biggest mobile OS on earth. Alphabet’s creation, which enables the founders of Google Larry Page and Sergey Brin to come up with ‘alpha’ ‘bets’ on future technologies such as driverless cars falls under one of his works. In fact, promoting Pichai to become the CEO of Google Company is also recognition of his leadership talent. Along with Satya Nadella from Microsoft, Pichai is among the highest ranking executives in the global tech community. When one uses Chrome, Search, Gmail, Android, ATAP or Google drive, his ‘fingerprints’ are all over then thus it can be said that no senior leader at Google exists who has a better and intrinsic understanding of the Google Machine other than Pichai. Lessons Learned There are a number of lessons that leaders can learn from Sunder Pichai the CEO of Google Inc. First is humility. Despite his growing popularity, Pichai maintained a low profile and let his work speak for him instead of his talk. Second, leaders should be able to break out of their comfort zones. Pichai handled toughest projects and because of that, he demonstrated the ability to swim against the guide and earned the right to carry out more projects and bigger responsibilities. Third is stress management. Managing people, technology, and revenue is a lot of work. The work and stress that Pichai was able to handle are beyond imagination, but somehow he came through successfully. Thus, leaders cannot avoid responsibility rather they should find a way to manage pressure and stress effectively. Fourth, leaders should have a business vision. In this era of competition and information overload, it is essential to have a clear roadmap vision as well as plans to achieve the goals. Leaders should learn to pay attention to detail. The amount of information that any leader at Google has to deal with is massive. Pichai has a keen eye for details as evident from the manner in which he shared with the owner data regarding a product that he had failed to develop and which the owner was unaware of. It is important for leaders to know KPIs and dashboard highlights as well as the underlying data from where they are drawn. Making the right decisions depends on insights gathered from a thorough understanding of the data that a leader cannot ignore. Finally, another lesson is in terms of the aspect of Prioritization. Pichai’s portfolio had a steady growth from Chrome, Chrome OS, adding of Google apps, along with toppings of Android with search, Google map, and advertisement products which contributed 89% of the company’s annual revenue. Pichai started as a product manager and scaled himself to higher heights that involved handling of breadth offerings at Google. His rising to the top was only possible because he had mastered the art of prioritization. This means having the ability to delegate or handle work as required. Conclusion While the CEO is an essential person in an organization, enduring of business performance is driven to deeper levels that include a focus on a leadership strategy. The level of maturity in leadership development of any organization has a significant impact on its long-term business performance, and such an impact transcends changes in a CEO (Bersin, 2012). Sunder Pichai has great leadership skills, and it is expected that he will take Google to the next level. Apart from leadership skills, he has a great, creative mind and has the ability t drive Google’s business strategy. Leaders can learn various lessons from Pichai such as the importance of humility, prioritization and having a business vision. Moreover, it is essential to be keen on details in order to gain effective results. This means having the ability to delegate or handle work as required is also essential for the growth of any organization. References Bersin, J. (2012). It’s not the CEO; it’s the leadership strategy that matters. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/joshbersin/2012/07/30/its-not-the-ceo-its-the-leadership-strategy-that-matters/ Fitzgerald, S., & Schutte, N. S. (2010). Increasing transformational leadership through enhancing self-efficacy. The Journal of Management Development, 29(5), 495-505. Harsanto, B. (2014). Innovation to enhance blended learning experience. Information Management and Business Review, 6(1), 17-24. Taylor, C. (2015). The surprising rise of Google’s CEO. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2015/08/10/sundar-pichai-google-ceo/#LIcsHJK4g0qh The Famous People. (2015). Sunder Pichai: Bibliography. Retrieved from www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/sundar-pichai-6439.php Warrick, D. D. (2011). The urgent need for skilled transformational leadership and organization development. Journal of Leadership, Accountability, and Ethics, 8(5), 11-26. Read More