Preview

Richard Branson Essay Example

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1279 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Richard Branson Essay Example
Running head: THE LEADERSHIP OF SIR RICHARD BRANSON

The Leadership of Sir Richard Branson
Name
University

The Leadership of Sir Richard Branson
GET Cheap CUSTOM ESSAYS at http://www.accnerd.com/products/custom-essay-service
Every individual expresses unique leadership traits and behaviors that define the way they interact with their followers. Few business leaders have managed to make an impact on the world like that of Sir Richard Branson. His leadership style has been analyzed by experts, and copied by managers who wish to duplicate his success. With his unique approach to management, he has been a driving factor in the growth of Virgin Group Ltd into a leading multinational company. In terms of situational leadership, Branson would be described as a delegating leader. He makes an effort to find talented people and inspires them with a well laid out vision, while still remaining involved in the decision making process (Schermerhorn 2005). The following analysis will define his leadership style, areas of improvement, and ways I can implement his qualities in my career.
Branson’s Leadership Style
It is clear that Sir Richard Branson was born to be an entrepreneur. He struggled throughout grade school, but still managed to start a school magazine titled Student at the age of 16. This would be the first of several successful business ventures for Branson at a very young age (Hawn 2006). From his early experiences he was able to learn how to communicate a vision to his followers and manage resources effectively. Situational leadership is the ideal way to analyze his decision making process because he clearly falls into the delegator category of leaders. A delegating leader will find the best talent for the job and assign responsibilities based on areas of strength or weakness, but remains highly involved in the decision making process (Humphreys 2010).
As time has passed, Branson’s leadership style has proved to be a very important aspect of Virgin

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    “The ability to lead has been observed and reported on for many centuries. Many ancient writings tell tales of leaders who served in battle, commanded nations, or taught religious ideas. In a general sense, the primary qualities associated with leadership are vision, enthusiasm, trust, courage, passion, coaching, developing others, intensity, love, and even serving as a parent figure. In an organizational context, leadership involves influencing the behaviors of individuals and groups to work toward predetermined goals (Baak, 2012).” With leadership comes my different forms of leadership, know as leadership styles. Leadership style is the manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating people. There are three main types of leadership styles that are well known in business, from an organizational point of view that include authoritarian leadership (autocratic), participative leadership (democratic), and delegative (laissez-fair) leadership. “Many agree that participative or democratic leadership yields the best results, as it provides a median between the extreme authority of the authoritarian leader and the lack of direction in laissez-faire leadership. Nonetheless, each leadership style can prove effective when applied in the appropriate context. The role of an effective leader is to adopt the style that fits best with his team dynamics (Cutajar, 2012).” But many leaders tend to use and abuse these leadership styles to their best advantage, with any regard for others, former CEO of Home Depot Robert Nardelli is a great example. Robert Nardelli was heavily criticized for his leadership style and methods he used during his tenure as CEO of Home Depot. The purpose of the paper below is describe his style of leadership and…

    • 2073 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    The study of leadership has been a debated topic for centuries. The leader influences others, has followers, and leaders will come to the forefront during a crisis. “Leaders are people with a clear idea of what they want, why they want it and are able to think and act creatively in non-routine situations” (infed.org, 2012).…

    • 738 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    A person has to follow the great example it has created in the worlds of business. “You can’t be a good leader if you don’t genuinely like people," said Sir Richard Branson’s in his own words. This is the way Branson defined excellent leadership and management style. Branson is coming forward as a very humble, friendly and down-to-earth human being. Furthermore, judging from several television and newspaper interviews, which were shown. It constantly acted in a way that has kept Branson out of the “bad” focus of attention. Sir Richard’s leadership style and characteristics are based on some very simple and down-to-earth rules that can be incorporated at work.…

    • 1355 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Throughout history, the organizational landscape has been highly competitive. Effective leadership aligned with the core corporate strategy can serve as a powerful lever to achieve success in a fast paced business environment. We have seen great leaders taking their businesses to new heights. They knew how to build great companies while treating their employees well, how to improve or change dysfunctional corporate cultures, reinvigorating tired brands and develop new strategic plans. Others proved themselves difficult to work for, stubborn and even out-of-touch. The following report analyzes the leadership of Robert Nardelli who is the chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Chrysler.…

    • 1544 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Studer International

    • 887 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The leadership skills necessary in a corporate environment characterized by instability and turmoil are integrity, confidence, knowledge, drive and passion. Julie Cobb demonstrated a number of these skills in her current position at Studer International. She has shown her knowledge becoming a respected expert in her field (Daft, 2011). Julie Cobb maintained her integrity by holding a high ethical standard while others were making questionable business decisions (Daft, 2011). Julie also showed her drive and passion by being a results oriented go-getter focused on the future of Studer International (Daft, 2011).…

    • 887 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Upon evaluation of the 'Leading the people' skill area; human resources leadership skill, relationship management and influencing behavior, diversity, shared decision making are all strengths of this writer (AACN, 2008 ). A self reflection of the 'creating the leader in you' area revealed, personal and professional accountability, career planning, personal journey disciplines and reflective practice reference behaviors/tenants are strengths of this author as well (AACN, 2008 ). In short this author is really strong in the 'Art of Leading people' and developing the ' Leader Within' aspects. This leader needs considerable improvement in the 'Managing Business' aspect, especially financial management and technology (AACN, 2008 ).…

    • 1197 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The leadership styles, power tactic, form of motivation and level of commitment all have a significant impact on the development of an organization. The way in which leaders communicate these methods plays a key role in the success of an organization (Robbins & Judge, 2007). Starbucks success is due to its great degree of it leaders and employees and their communication with each other and with its customers. The CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz is known for having a charismatic leadership style. Charismatic leaders tend to be more effective in his or her leadership style “because these leaders inspire lots of enthusiasm in their teams and are very energetic in driving others forward” (Mind Tools 1996). Possessing the Charismatic Leadership style, CEO Howard Schultz has enabled Starbucks to be one of the leading coffee retailers by being committed to communicate with its employees and create a rewarding and honest relationship. The transformational leadership style “has many similarities to the charismatic style. Transformational leaders provide a vision, seek high…

    • 944 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    | * Got a remarkable success as result of his own colorful and enthusiastic personality & his desire to enjoy himself. * Having self-awareness…

    • 253 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Leadership

    • 2407 Words
    • 10 Pages

    This work would not be focusing on definitions of leadership but rather would be taking a critical look at some of the different approaches and theories of leadership. More focus would be on the trait and behavioural approaches and how they have fared with reference to their relevance. (Hogan 1994)…

    • 2407 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    This paper seeks to compare and contrast the leadership styles of two successful entrepreneurs. The paper consists of a background section which gives details on the leaders, their followers and the situations. A comparative analysis will be done on both leaders in terms of Power and Influence, Ethics and Values, Leadership Attributes, Results and Legacy. The paper concludes with identifying which of the two leaders is the more effective leader.…

    • 3484 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Leadership Style

    • 2810 Words
    • 12 Pages

    In this paper I will discuss my growth as a leader and what has helped mold me into the person I am today. I will also discuss both my strengths and weaknesses that were pointed out by the surveys I distributed, as well as what I can do to improve upon those weakness. Leadership style is not set in stone, it is important for leaders to evaluate themselves to find out where their strengths and weaknesses are to insure that they are continually striving for excellence.…

    • 2810 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Mgt 330 Final Paper

    • 2131 Words
    • 9 Pages

    For some reasons, the managers’ positions have been seen in a negative way for many years. However, this does not change the essentiality of this position in any organization, especially in business set-ups. There have been a constant confusion between the role of leaders and managers, and what should be clearly established is that these two roles do not share the same meaning. Being a manager does not guarantee that one is already a good leader. However, leaders can be effective managers. This only means that in order for managers to be effective and avoid negative feedback, they should have sufficient knowledge and skills on leadership. Aside from this, managing and leading a company will also have different impacts on the organization, as well as business outputs (Treacy, 2006). Not all of the renowned managers are great leaders, but these two cannot be separated. As a matter of fact, so many supervisors, administrators, and other high-ranking officials in different organizations have been performing their role without being good leaders themselves. It is just that their positions open better opportunities to be leaders. A manager can truly rise from other managers if he or she manages to be an efficient manager and leader at the same time (Bateman & Snell, 2009).…

    • 2131 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Outlined by Darling and Leffel (2010).There are four main leadership styles, Analyzer,Director,Creator and Connector.Person's own leadership style was developed in their early childhood.During the process,one's main interactive leadership could be affected by the environment and education that could be also influenced by the level of assertiveness and responsiveness.(Merrill and Reid,1981)The way of people how to communicate,interact and work with each other is related to his leadership style. This essay will analyse the characteristics of Sergey Brin' s leadership style of Creator and Director and discuss how he has applied in his business career,therefore make him such an effective leader in the Google.…

    • 633 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Using relevant leadership, management and motivation theory, compare and contrast the leadership styles of Richard Branson and Michael O’Leary. Critically discuss the state of affairs in the two organisations that are created or impacted by their leadership styles and behavior.…

    • 2454 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    All the leaders have been selected by searching websites with the mindset focused to the roles, skills, success or failure stories, and decision-making factors skills of a leader. All those factors have been discussed throughout this document on the basis of selected companies. The purpose for doing this assignment is…

    • 15455 Words
    • 62 Pages
    Powerful Essays