Visionary Leadership: Jordan Kassalow - Assignment Example

Choose a social entrepreneur in the news (past or present) or someone you know. This is a different person from the leader role/model you will be researching for your final paper For the purpose of this paper, I have chosen Jordan Kassalow1 2as a social entrepreneur. He is the founder of VisionSpring- a non-profit entity which sells the basic reading glasses and this is done through a network of employees- mostly women in developing countries. Over the period of time, VisionSpring has been able to sell more than 1 million basic reading glasses.3 His achievements suggest that he has been instrumental in bringing in a desired social change in the eyewear market by offering affordable reading glasses to basically improve the overall standards of life of individuals. Why have you chosen this particular social entrepreneur? One of the key reasons as to why I chose Jordan Kassalow is because of his overall vision of how to shape the productive lives through high quality and improved services. One of the reasons as to why Jordan Kassalow started VisionSpring was the fact that he found out that more and more people are being rejected from getting the jobs due to poor eyesight. This has therefore, according to Jordan Kassalow a negative consequence for people who were otherwise fit to work and be employed. Since in certain professions, eyesight is extremely important therefore the overall mission of Jordan Kassalow to actually create equitable and affordable eye glasses for all. What is important however, is the innovative approach of Jordan Kassalow in bringing in affordable and cheap eye glasses with a focus on changing the lives of people and improving their overall standards of life. Above Jordan Kasssalow has been instrumental in achieving the social change through an innovative solution. The innovation at work though is relatively simple however, by diverting the resources and capabilities towards solving the social problems, he has been able to improve the society and standards of life.  Choose 3 Social Entrepreneur principles (1 from EACH of the 3 Social Entrepreneur articles above). Write how your social entrepreneur/leader demonstrates these principles in his/her work. One of the key principles of the social entrepreneurs is the way social entrepreneurs actually challenge the established ideology and the mindset. Social entrepreneurs tend to challenge the established views and also feel free from the overall constraints of the established ideology and mindset. For example, Muhammad Yunus of Garmeen Bank actually challenged the accepted ideology that banks shall only lend against the collaterals. By offering cost effective collateral free loans, Yunus was able to start an entirely new industry of micro-finance. Focus on solving the social problems is another principal which social entrepreneurs have to follow. The solution to social problems is often achieved through innovative use of technology as well as careful channeling of the available resources. Social entrepreneurs focus on the solving of social problems is based upon notion of applying innovative approach to solving such problems. Social entrepreneurs are also different and adapt the principle of jumping into the market without actually considering whether they have the required resources or not. This is one of the key principles being followed by the social entrepreneurs who attempt to make the move before even considering whether they have the available resources or not. From Goleman, what is the leadership style of this leader? The leadership style shown by Jordan Kassalow is that of a visionary because through this innovative approach he was able to demonstrate a clear vision which pulls people towards it. Though apparently, the vision is relatively straightforward however, it is has deep consequences for people who require cheap access to the eye glasses. What is also important to note that Jordan Kassalow has been able to show the empathy towards the social issues and brought in the change required. The overall history of VisionSpring suggests a deep empathy behind making a decision to end the sufferings of the people. Jordan Kassalow’s experiences at Mexico made him realize as to what is needed to bring in the required change and improve the overall lives of the individuals so that their chances to get the employment becomes relatively high. (Goleman, Boyatzis, & McKee, 2004) A visionary leader always has a positive impact on the environment and it is because of these reasons that Jordan Kassalow and his company is focusing on the development of sustainable business practices to develop a business which is conducive for the environment and also sustainable. The sustainability impact of the organization is also being lauded by other organizations thus making the overall leadership of Jordan Kassalow a visionary leadership to change the world.  How does the best of EACH of the 5 stages of Likert/Emberling relate to this social entrepreneur?  The coercive stage relates to the social entrepreneur because he or she has to actually exploit an opportunity. Jordan Kassalow’s exploitative tactic is limited to using the opportunity to sell cheap and affordable eye-care however, this business is still for the profit. Jordan Kassalow is a doctor himself and has worked at different positions which allowed him to micromanage things easily and at the desired level. He has therefore been able to clearly define the rules and roles within the organization while keeping an eye on the commercial aspects of the business. Jordan Kassalow is pragmatic in the sense that he is focused upon achieving maximum impact on the market his company serves. Though VisionSpring is currently present in El-Salvador however, it is expanding into other markets also. A consistent increase in the number of eye-glasses being sold suggests that Jordan Kassalow has been focusing on achieving the maximum results through positive impact on the market. He is principled in the sense that he seems to facilitate the market through an effective network of people who sell his products. His sales force mostly comprises of women and specially mothers who look to improve their family income and contribute towards achieving the social change also. From the point of view of the perspectivist, it is clear that Jordan Kassalow has been able to empower poor women in developing countries to actually become part of the sales force. Jordan Kassalow has also been forming strategic alliances with microfinance banks and other related institutions to empower the women and make them part of the overall mainstream commercial activity. This actually shows that he is able and ready to accept different viewpoints and ready to work with people having different vision and ideology. What are his/her measurable results? There are two measurable results in terms of the overall performance of Jordan Kassalow and his organization. First, the number of eye-glasses sold is on the rise suggesting that his social enterprise is actually working towards achieving its overall objectives. Secondly, the enterprise is actually in profit though it still depends upon external donations to finance most of its activities. What differences AND similarities do you see between social entrepreneur leadership and other leadership roles in organizations? One of the key differences is that of the overall focus of the leaders on maximizing value for the shareholders and the stakeholders of the organizations. For social entrepreneurs, the range of stakeholders is relatively large and thus makes it more challenging for them to achieve the desired change. Secondly, it is more critical that for social entrepreneurs, social change is more important than the profits which traditional leaders often focus on profits as the primary driver of leadership. It is also however, important to understand that the leaders often share the characteristics of being visionary and result oriented. Apart from being driven by different motives, leaders often share the vision, serving their customers/employees and bringing in change through their own methods of change. Traditional leaders can also be servant leaders who serve the needs of their employees and all the related stakeholders. What can you learn from this social entrepreneur regarding your leadership capacity and project? One of the key takeaways from the overall leadership style of Jordan Kassalow is the focus on developing the capacity to take on real issues of change. By focusing on issues which can remove inequalities, allow greater participation from all the stakeholders as well as serving the needs of the stakeholders. (Kouzes & Posner, 2010) It is also important that in order to evaluate a leader, it is important to use multi-dimensional criteria and the ability of the leader to have a greater impact on the overall society. Since social entrepreneurs often work towards the achievement of the social change and improve standards of life while giving lesser importance to serving the commercial interests of the organization. As such leaders therefore have to develop a broader vision where they also have to actually work towards improving the world and achieve the greater good for everyone. References Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R. E., & McKee, A. (2004). Primal Leadership: Learning to Lead with Emotional Intelligence. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2010). The Leadership Challenge. Washington: John Wiley & Sons. Read More