Effective Leadership of Richard Branson and Donald Trump - Case Study Example

Effective Leadership Name Course Lecture Date Executive Summary Effective leadership is an essential component of success for any organization. Effective leadership is more relevant in the modern competitive business environment. Leaders play a great role in ensuring their organization stay ahead of competitors and realize their organizational goals. Leaders have a vision for the future for their organizations which they have to get employees to support. In this essay we analyze the leadership styles of two famous global leaders with emphasis on how they get their supporters to support their vision. The paper finds out that both Sir Richard Branson and Donald Trump are leaders of exceptional vision and courage. They have been able to gain the admiration of their followers as their businesses have endured and persevered hard times to emerge stronger. Donald Trump almost went bankrupt but later recovered to earn billions again. On the other hand, Branson has entered industries with strong competitors and succeeded in building dominant brands therein. However, Branson is a more effective leader as he inspires his employee to support his organizational vision. In contrast, Trump is an autocratic leader who uses coercion to get his employees to support what he wants. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 1.0Introduction 4 2.0 Donald Trump 5 3.0 Sir Richard Branson 6 4.0 Contrasts between Branson and Trump 9 5.0 Conclusion 11 6.0 References 12 1.0 Introduction For an organization to survive and flourish in a competitive environment it needs sound leadership. To lead an organization to success the leader has to have some leadership competencies and effective management skills. Therefore the critical role leaders play organizations has increased as the business environment becomes more complex. Like individuals, leaders have different characters and natures which profoundly impact the leadership styles of the organizations they are responsible for. The leadership model adopted by any organizations is influential in determining whether the organization will succeed both in the long and the short term. However, the most successful leaders are focused on the long term success of the company. Every excellent organization has an excellent leader at the helm. Good examples include Bill Gates at Microsoft, Alan Lafley at P&G and Jack Welch at General Motors. These leaders have made profound contribution to the success of these companies. This essay contrasts the leadership styles of two famous global business leaders: Donald Trump of Trump and Sir Richard Branson of Virgin. The essay explores the leadership models and characteristics of the two leaders that have seen them lead two of the most successful business empires in the world. Secondly, the essay compares and contrasts their leadership styles and characteristics side by side. The essay finds that the most effective leaders are not those that use directive style of leadership but those who are able to inspire their followers to use their own capabilities to assist their organizations achieve its objectives. The directive leadership style is preferred by Donald Trump while Sir Richard Branson prefers the supportive leadership style. The paper concludes that Sir Richard Branson is a more effective leader as he shows an honest concern for people and relates to both customers and employees at the individual level. His employees bring out the best for him as they greatly admire him and feel that they are making an important contribution to society. This illustrates the importance of superior people relations in leadership as it gives the impression that the leaders is concerned and respects others. 2.0 Donald Trump Donald Trump is an American businessman who owns the Trump organization which has various interests in the hospitality and real estate industry (Blair 2005). Trump is also a television personality and author of several business books. Trump was born to wealthy real estate developer in New York in the year 1946 (Blair 2005). Trump leadership is characterised by assertiveness, self-confidence, drive for achievement and emotional stability. Trump (2011) mentions that has a real passion for learning. His eagerness to learn golf show him create Trump golf which brings him considerable revenue nowadays. Trump’s success can be attributed to his passion for business and success. Trump (2011) argues that most of his real estate projects were not motivated by profits. Instead he says that he wanted to improve the lives of residents wherever he had real estate projects. Recently, Trump initiated and completed the building of a New Hotel in New York in a period of economic slowdown in the American economy (Trump 2011). However, Trumps assertiveness and autocratic leadership style is considered one of the greatest weakness of his leadership style (Judge and Bono, 2000). Trump is very outspoken and makes his opinion about an employee poor performance known (Blair 2005). It is not unusual for Trump to shout at his employees if they do not achieve the high performance expectation he expects them to achieve. On his famous television show the Apprentice, Trump tells his employees bluntly that they are fired (Naughton and Peyser 2004). Unfortunately, Trump’s assertiveness and dictatorial attitudes instil fear instead of respect in his followers (Judge and Bono 2000). Trump’s leadership style can be equated to the transactional leadership approach where employees are coerced to do their work for fear of reprisals from their bosses. On the other hand, employees who do the rights thing expect some rewards from their managers. On the other hand, Trump’s emotional stability and persistence is one of his positive characteristics as a leader. In the early 1990’s, his business empire was crippled by mounting debt and he almost became bankrupt (Naughton and Peyser 2004). However, instead of folding-up Trump started to look for new business opportunities and new financiers. At the press conference to address his creditworthiness, Trump told his employees to focus on the future instead of dwelling on the present problem (Trump & Zanker 2007). In the next decade, Trump’s business empire was to expand rapidly, a factor that shows that he had a clear vision for the future (Judge and Bono 2000). Another characteristic of Trump is his drive and zeal for success. Donald Trump is known to have an intense drive and can be considered a workaholic (Blair 2005). Trump works for long hours and manages several projects at a go. He is regularly hoping to various cities across North American to oversee the many projects he is undertaking. However, the negative effect of his energy and drive is that he micromanages his employee and he has poor delegation skills (Judge and Bono 2000). Of course, Trump has several top level executives who assist him run his empire. Despite their presence it is clear Trump has to do most of the work himself and direct them exactly what to do. In contrast, successful leaders delegate tasks to their subordinates and since they know they are competent leave them to do their work (Judge and Bono 2000). 3.0 Sir Richard Branson Sir Richard Branson is a British business magnate who runs a conglomerate of business across various industries sector. Branson’s business empire is aptly named Virgin and includes Virgin Airlines and Virgin Galactic in the airline industries (Bower 2012). Sir Richard Branson has risen from humble beginnings to become one of the best known business leaders, author and TV personality. Branson was diagnosed with Dyslexia at an early age and he dropped out of School at the age of 16 and went into business immediately (Bower 2012). By the age of 24, Branson was already a millionaire. Branson is renowned for his love for adventure and his risk taking attitude. He attempted to sail across the pacific once and had been involved in a world breaking hot-air balloon flight around the world (Bower 2012). Branson Virgin business has over 150 business under its wings and over 8,000 employees in the more than 26 countries they operate (Bower 2012) . Endurance, persistence, risk taking, concern for his employee, laidback management, drive are some of Richard Branson’s characteristics that make him one of the most successful business leaders in the world (DuBrin, Dalglish and Miller 2006). Branson’s persistence and Endurance is one of greatest strengths as a leader. Sir Richard Branson started Virgin Atlantic a transatlantic Airline at a time when nobody thought that small companies could compete with large Airlines like British Airways and Pan American (Bower 2012). When he run into financing difficulties, Sir Branson sold his profitable Virgin records business to establish a firm financial foundation for Virgin Atlantic. Although Virgin Atlantic did not make profits for several years he endured this (Branson 2011). At some point Virgin Atlantic was prevented from flying into the United States (Branson 2011). Instead of despairing Richard Branson used this opportunity to train his staff and restructure the airlines operation. Richard Branson, Virgin group of limited is involved in the acquisition of other businesses majority of which do not turn profits immediately (Bower 2012). Richard Branson has had to endure this and persist in his effort to ensure the acquired businesses become a success. Branson is able to instil this sense of endurance and persistence among his employee who he advices never to give up despite the situation becoming very hard (Branson 2011). Sir Richard Branson’s success as a leader can thus be owed to his possession of the idealized influence component of the transformational leadership style (Judge and Bono 2000). Branson (2011) advises his employee to endure difficulties and be persistent in their effort if they are to succeed. He is a role model as he has taken many risks in his life and succeeded. The fact that he overcame his earlier learning difficulties due to Dyslexia shows that everyone is capable of rising from a position of disadvantage to lead the biggest entrepreneur in the world. Branson like most entrepreneurs possesses an extraordinary vision for the future and is not afraid of failure (Dearlove, 2007). Similarly, Branson advises his employees to try new things and do not be afraid whether they fail or not (Judge and Bono 2000). In Branson’s opinion it is a bigger failure to stick to what you know and let an opportunity to learn pass you by. In this regard, Branson moved from his stronghold in the Music Record business to the air travel industry and later started Virgin Cola which challenged the dominance of Coca-cola and Pepsi in the soft drink industry (Branson 2011). Branson also possess exceptional emotional intelligence. He confesses that he can never shout at his employee no matter how serious their shortcomings are (Branson 2011). Branson says that the anger is counterproductive to an organization and he shows great respect for his subordinates (Judge and Bono 2000). Branson is involved in motivating his employees to achieve even greater goals for Virgin. Branson can therefore be said to posses the individualized component of transformational leadership (DuBrin, Dalglish and Miller 2006). His businesses provide training to staff who lack the necessary skills and experience to handle their work. Branson has been known to stay in the same hotel with his cabin crew and chat with them animatedly with the interest of finding out their concerns (Bower 2012). At Virgin Records, Branson would actively seek employee feedback and ideas on running the company. He gave his home telephone and address away so his employees would communicate with him. He confesses that his first priority in the morning is to read emails from employees to obtain feedback about his business strategy (DuBrin, Dalglish and Miller 2006). In effect, Virgin employee are open to him and air grievances openly as well as provide ideas for that are used to make improvements in Virgins operations. Judge and Bono (2000) argue that when you honestly care about people you are able to bring out the best in them. Branson’s concern about people extends to his customers, in the early days of Virgin Atlantic; Richard Branson would seat with travellers in the economy section and have friendly chats with them (Branson 2011). He was able to collect firsthand feedback from his customers while creating the impression that Virgin Atlantic was the most caring airline of the time. 4.0 Contrasts between Branson and Trump Like Donald Trump, Branson also possess exceptional drive and passion for business. He is involved in running multiple businesses across the globe. However, unlike Trump, Branson is not a micromanager, although he is closely involved in the management of new businesses he has acquired. However, once a business is up and running he leaves for respective CEO to ensure its success (Bower 2012). His ability to delegate and trust his subordinates allows Branson a laid back leadership style and frees him to do other things (Judge and Bono 2000). In contrast, to Trump, Branson views failure as an opportunity for learning and says that he uses the experience gained from past failure to stab at new things. While both Branson and Trump posses Charisma and can be said to be inspirational leaders, the two components of inspirational leadership vary greatly among then. Trump Charisma and admiration comes from his self-confidence and enthusiasm in spite of very difficult conditions (Dubrin, Dalglish and Miller 2006). Trump was able to rebuild his empire from near collapse in the early 1990 and thus his employees are able to believe in the vision for the future he presents to them. Similarly, Branson has shown admirable courage by diversifying and succeeding in new businesses. He says that his personal philosophy is “ to pick someone bigger than yourself” (Bower 2012). He advises his employees never to let pessimism affect their attitude towards risk (Bower 2012). On the other hand, Branson’s Charisma also rises from his respect and honest liking for people. Branson respect and concern for both employee and customers are factors that have brought success to his various business ventures. As seen earlier, Branson is able to inspire his followers by being a role model everybody wants to emulate. According to Trump (2011) individualized influence is the most essential component of leadership that ensures that they can get employee to achieve the organizations goals. Similarly, Richard Branson shows a higher degree of individualized consideration than Donald Trump (Judge and Bono 2000). While Branson shows respect for his employee it is not unusual for Trump to shout orders and summarily dismiss his employee for failure (DuBrin, Dalglish and Miller 2006). In contrast, Branson shows a higher tolerance for failure and takes it as learning opportunity. Trump says he prefers to talk down his employee in a private area instead of blowing up in public (Naughton et al 2004). In contrast, Branson prefers to remain calm and is more likely to investigate the genesis of problem rather than fire or condemn one employee (Branson 2011). Richard Branson both practices the intellectual simulation aspect of transformational leadership but at varying degrees. Donald Trump’s tells his employee to query themselves and find out what they are not doing to give their best (Trump et al 2006). He encourages a never give-up attitude and asks his employees to keep focused on the organizational goals (Trump and Zanker 2007). In contrast, Branson creates an environment where employee can learn and develop unhindered (Judge and Bono 2000). His top executives as allowed more than enough autonomy over market decisions. Branson asks his people to be continuously innovative and find new ways of doing things to stay ahead of competitors (Dearlove 2007). 5.0 Conclusion The leadership styles of Donald Trump and Sir Richard Branson contrast sharply. Undoubtedly, this essay shows that Branson is the more effective leaders as he is able to inspire exceptional performance from his follower rather than direct them what to do. In contrast, Donald Trump is an autocratic leader who gets things done by issuing orders and threatening employees with negative consequences for failing to carry out his orders. While both leaders are risk takers and exceptional entrepreneurs they differ greatly in the tactics they employ to get their followers to support their ideas. Branson is greatly admired by his followers as he shows an honest concern for them and has been able to build great brands from humble beginning. In contrast, Trump gets admiration for his achievement from business including coming from near bankruptcy to rebuild his empire. Therefore, Sir Richard Branson’s greater effectiveness as a leader can be owed to his concern for people, trust in his subordinates and most important his respect for every individual. He possesses a high degree of individualized influence the most critical component of transformational leadership that enables leaders inspire employees in a competitive environment. In effect, his leadership style creates a work environment where employees are free to innovate and contribute new ideas that are critical in the future success of Branson’s expanding Business Empire. 6.0 References Blair, G 2005, Donald Trump: Master Apprentice. Simon and Schuster, New York. Bower, T 2012, Branson, HarperCollins UK, London. Branson, R 2011, Losing my virginity, Random House, New York. Dearlove, D 2007, Business the Richard Branson way: 10 secrets of the world's greatest brand builder (Vol. 24), John Wiley & Sons, New York DuBrin, A., Dalglish, C., & Miller, P. J 2006, leadership: 2nd Asia-Pacific Edition, Pearson Judge, TA, & Bono, JE 2000, Five-factor model of personality and transformational leadership. Journal of applied psychology, 85(5), 751. Naughton, K, Peyser, M, Gimbel, B., & Juarez, V 2004, The world according to TRUMP. Newsweek, vol 143, no. 9, pp. 48. Trump, D & Zanker, B 2007, Think Big and Kick Ass in Business and in Life. HarperCollins. pp. 79, 123, 211 Trump, D 2011, Time to get tough: Making America# 1 again. Regnery Publishing, New York. Trump, D, Kiyosaki, RT, McIver, M, Lechter, SL, Boggs, J, Dossett, J, & Sudduth, S 2006, Why we want you to be rich, Rich Press. Read More