Home Depot Leadership Style

Donovan's description of the behavior of leaders is not very accurate. I think his ideas that leaders inspire achievement, have integrity, and build good relationships are good descriptions of an ideal leader. However, I think some of the traits that he mentions are not good descriptions of a leader, including delivering results, acting strategically, driving excellence, and excelling in customer service. I think these traits are more ideal for a manager to possess.

Home Depot is in the business of customer service, so I think the leadership style Home Depot is looking for revolves around a participative leadership style. The military is in the business of defending the nation, so the leadership style that the military is training for requires …show more content…
First, it is good public relations for their company. The Home Depot will look good to Americans because they the company is helping veterans, which might encourage them to shop there more frequently. Also, Home Depot will have managers that are generally hard-working, smart, and used to responsibility, which are good traits to have in a manager. As well, the company will be setting up an inclusive environment for their managers, as they all have a common experience to initially connect with one another and bond. This could produce a more cooperative environment in the management …show more content…
First, the JMOs will need training in a more participative or free-reign leadership style because leading in a customer service oriented company will require different skills than the directive leadership learned in the military. They will be surrounded by employees who are more knowledgeable about products and customers than they are, and they cannot be directive in managing them or they risk insulting and alienating the employees. Second, the JMOs will need training in positive motivation methods to know how to train and encourage employees in their work. The military structure of definitive command and subordinates not challenging the higher ranking officials is not valid in the Home Depot setting, and if they are not taught another way to manage, both the JMOs and employees will be frustrated. Similarly, the JMOs will need training in customer service skills, which includes emotional intelligence. Since the military structure has a rigid authority, there was likely not much need for the JMOs to develop strong interpersonal skills, since this was not a requirement for advancement or reward. Training in customer service and emotional intelligence skills will increase their interpersonal skills, which are important for dealing with customers daily.