General Electric: Leadership Styles - Research Paper Example

?Leadership Styles Introduction A key element in the success or failure of an organization is its leadership. Leadership is a crucial in organizational behavior because it has dynamic effects on the individual and organizational interaction (Obiwuru, Okwu, Akpa, and Nwankwere, 2011). The success or failure of these organizations is dependent on the leadership style adopted by all the stakeholders in the company or organization, particularly the top management. This is because the manager is supposed to be aware of the individual and group behavior as well as have the capability to communicate and motivate the employees. Their ability to perform the aforementioned things relies on the leadership style adopted. Thus, at any time the leader or the manager should employ these styles. An important issue arises and this will be subject in this paper, how are the managers capable of altering their leadership styles (as described in situational leadership theory) to communicate and motivate the employees. There are four leadership styles (the selling or coaching style, the participating or supporting style, the telling or directing style, and the delegating style) and each style will be discussed in detail and applied in the case of General Electric. Specifically, the paper will explore the leadership style of Jeff Immelt, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of General Electric. General Electric is among many companies that have excelled in their leadership styles. The leadership style employed has been used as a benchmark for most organizations and companies. It is noted that the four leadership styles are crucial for the success or failure of a company. As seen in General Electric case, a leader or a manager can apply all the four leadership styles to steer the organization. However, there is a tendency to use one leadership style more than the others are. General Electric In 1876, in Menlo Park, New Jersey, Thomas Alva Edison opened a laboratory where he could discover the prospects of the dynamo and other electrical tools or devices that he had realized in the exposition. By the year 1890, Edison launched the Edison General Electric Company by merging his various businesses. At the same time, a competitor appeared, the Thomson-Houston Company. Thomson-Houston Company became the principal electrical company through a series of unions or mergers led by Charles A. Coffin (General Electric Company, 2012). As the businesses grew, it became very difficult for either of the company to generate complete electrical installations depending entirely on their own technologies and patents. The two companies merged in the year 1892, and the new organization was called the General Electric Company. A number of Edison’s initial business offerings are still a portion of General Electric (GE) today and they include transportation, power transmission, medical equipment, industrial products, and lighting. The initial GE Appliances electric fans were generated at the Ft. Wayne electric works in the early 1890s. Full line of cooking and heating devices was first produced in 1907(General Electric Company, 2012). The GE Aircraft Engines started its operations in 1917 when the United States government started its search for a company that could produce the first airplane booster. Edison’s experiments with plastic filaments for the light bulbs started in 1893 and this led to the creation of the GE Plastics department in 1930. The General Electric leaders over the years have created a diverse portfolio of prominent businesses;a series of dominant company-wide initiatives that reduces cost and drives growth; Controllership and financial strength that permit it capitalize on openings through several cycles; and a collection of common values which permit it to face every environment with confidence(General Electric Company, 2012). Analysis The Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Model illustrates the relation between the willingness of the followers and leadership style based on relationship and task behaviors of leaders. The model comprises of four labeled quadrants and a curved line passing through each quadrant. The four quadrants are translated into four general leadership styles: (a) structuring and telling, (b) coaching and selling, (c) participating and supporting, and (d) delegating leadership style. In the first leadership style, structuring and telling (high task and low relationship) the employees are usually less ready or new and groups or individuals whose performance is falling. This leadership style, therefore, is used with a group or an individual who is rather low in readiness with respect to a particular task (Mosley, Mosley, and Pietri, 2010). The leader defines the roles required to do the work and informs the followers of where, how, when, and where to perform the tasks (Bertocci and Bertocci, 2009; Mujtaba and Sungkhawan, 2009). This form of leadership is not clearly seen in the case of Jeff Immelt. However, when he was serving as the head of GE Medical Systems (Gems), he earned the reputation of being the champion of diversity in General Electric. By the end of four years at Gems, he had “set up a system by which fast-track minorities and women were to be formally mentored” (Hegar and Hodgetts, 2007, p332). In this case, he ensured that new workers were formally mentored. This is an indication that he was using the structuring and telling leadership style. The second leadership style (coaching and selling style) is characterized by high task and high relationship. The style is best used in groups or individuals who have the potential but they have not completely grasped their assignments(Mosley, Mosley, and Pietri, 2010). The leader is supportive and offers the followers with structured instructions (Bertocci and Bertocci, 2009). Jeff Immelt states that leaders should adopt a style that encourages input from the employees. He further indicates that leaders should make use of external inputs as catalysts and check their ego. The use of this leadership style can be supported by his behavior. He spends his weekends listening to each officer at General Electric (there are 185 GE officers). During these sessions, he coaches and creates personal links with his team (Boone and Kurtz, 2011). In other words, during the weekends, Immelt “coaches and sells” to his team. Participating and supporting style is the third leadership style and is characterized by high relationship and low task. It is the appropriate style for groups or individuals as they mature. In this style, the leader is supposed to use participative management in getting ideas. He should also engage the followers in solving problems and setting objectives(Mosley, Mosley, and Pietri, 2010). In other words, the followers and leaders share in decision on how best to accomplish a high-quality task (Bertocci and Bertocci, 2009). As the employees gain competence and experience, they require more involvement in and support for their work (Mosley, Mosley, and Pietri, 2010).It is worth noting that in this style, the leader still maintains the ultimate decision. The style is not a form of weakness; rather it is a form of strength that employees will respect (Alkahtani, Abu-Jarad, Sulaiman, and Nikbin, 2011). Jeff Immelt has used the participating and supporting style effectively during his time as the head of GE Medical Systems (Gems) as he notes in an interview with him. Immelt is of the idea that having the best people in each single position offers an infinite capability to improve. Through breaking down boundaries and empowering employees, the workers can utilize their energy creatively in solving issues or problems. During his time first year at Gems, the section was making $4 billion and by the end of the four years, it was making $7.5 billion. This success was attributed to the capability of Immelt to work closely with his people in setting goals and helping them develop their capabilities (Hegar and Hodgetts, 2007). Participating and supporting style is the predominant style used by Jeff Immelt. Unlike his predecessor Jack Welch, Immelt was thought to be oriented more to the people. He used a regular-guy and friendly approach when dealing with the employees. He was not very demanding like his predecessor, thus, employees found his approachable (Hitt, Hoskisson, and Ireland, 2009). This trait is important in participative management since it permits the leader to empower employees. The employees do not feel intimidated; instead, they feel that they are supported by the leader. The fourth style (delegating leadership style) features low relationship and low task and it is the most difficult style for the leader or the supervisor to use when groups or individuals working under him are exceptionally capable and ready. The main reason is that the leader or the supervisor is held responsible for the results, and thus is reluctant to engage employees in his or her work (Mosley, Mosley, and Pietri, 2010). Although the style permits the employees to make decision, the leader is accountable for the decisions made. In this style, the leader is of the belief that he needs to set priorities and delegate certain tasks because he cannot do everything on his own (Alkahtani et al., 2011). Jeff Immelt has used delegating leadership style on several occasions and the most memorable occasion is during the financial crisis. Years before the financial crisis, he had permitted the financial arm of the company to make its own decisions on running the company. However, he had qualms with unit when it performed dismally during the crisis. Immelt took the initiative to know why the unit was not performing as expected. He did this by seeking outside opinion and ordering up a survey by McKinsey & Company in 2007. Presently, the financial unit is becoming lesser and focusing on areas where the company believes it has a competitive advantage (Lohr, 2010). He believes that delegation is important for the company to innovate more easily and gain a competitive position in the marketplace (Boone and Kurtz, 2011). Conclusion Situational leadership theory defines the four leadership styles that a leader must adopt to create a productive relationship between the organizations and employees. The four leadership styles include structuring and telling, coaching and selling, participating and supporting, and delegating leadership style. In structuring and telling style, the leader defines the roles required to do the work and informs the followers of what is expected of them. In coaching and selling style, the leader supports and offers his or her followers with structured instructions. In participating and supporting style, the followers and the leaders share in a decision on how best to finish a particular task. In the delegating style, the leader delegates decision making to the employees and he is accountable to the decision made. Jeff Immelt has used all the four leadership styles and the success of GE is attributed to the manner he has been leading the company. Immelt has made sure those employees are properly mentored before they begin their various tasks. He has dedicated his time during the weekends to have a personal talk with the 185 GE officers. During this time, he coaches and develops a personal connection with them. Immelt works closely with his people and this has seen the company make considerable profits. He encourages them to take part in decision-making and solving problems. He also permits those under him to make decisions on matter related to the company. Immelt has successfully used all the four leadership styles and this has translated into considerable success in General Electrics. References Alkahtani, A. H., Abu-Jarad, I., Sulaiman, M., & Nikbin, D. (2011). The impact of personality and leadership styles on leading change capability of Malaysian managers. Australian Journal of Business and Management Research, 1(2), 70-99. Bertocci, D. I., & Bertocci, D. L. (2009). Leadership in organizations: There is a difference between leaders and managers. New York:University of Press America. Boone, L. E., & Kurtz, D. L. (2011). Contemporary business. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. General Electric Company. (2012). Thomas Edison & GE. Retrieved from http://www.ge.com/company/history/edison.html Hegar, K. W., & Hodgetts, R. M. (2007). Modern human relations at work. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Hit, M. A., Hoskisson, R. E., & Ireland, D. (2009). Strategic management: Competitiveness and globalization: Cases. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Lohr, S. (2010, December 4). G.E. goes with what it knows: Making stuff. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/05/business/05ge.html?pagewanted=all Mosley, D. C., Mosley, J., & Pietri, P. H. (2010). Supervisory management. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Mujtaba, B. G., & Sungkhawan, J. (2009). Situational leadership and diversity management coaching skills. Journal of Diversity Management, 4(1), 1-12. Obiwuru, T. C., Okwu, A. T., Akpa, V. O., Nwankwere, I. A. (2011). Effects of leadership style on organizational performance: A survey of selected small scale enterprises in Ikosi-Ketu Council development area of Lagos state, Nigeria. Australian Journal of Business and Management Research, 1(7), 100-111. Appendix 1: Transcript of Interview with Jeff Immelt Researcher: What is your position in your company? Immelt: I am the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of General Electric. Researcher: There are several leadership styles that may be used to propel a company forward. Which is your take on this? Immelt: Leaders should adopt a style that encourages input from the employees. Leaders should make use of external inputs as catalysts and checks to their ego. This leadership style can be supported by a person’s behavior. Researcher: How do you lead your staff Immelt: I spend my weekends listening to officers at General Electric. There are 185 GE officers. During these sessions, I coach and create personal links with my team. I like to work very closely with my team, supporting them and making them feel important. I like to make them feel free and do not make unrealistic demands of them. Researcher: Do you delegate work to your staff? Immelt: I delegate a lot of work to my staff. Without delegating work, I would not have achieved what I have today. I believe that delegation is important for the company to innovate more easily and gain a competitive edge in the marketplace Read More