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Executive Summary
Richard Branson is one of the highest-profile billionaires in the world, and his status is a function of the development of a conglomerate of companies under the Virgin brand. His leadership style and the choice of organizational structure are quite unconventional compared to other companies in the contemporary world, but it has led to the tremendous success of the Virgin Group of companies. A critical look at Bransons leadership traits highlights a charismatic leader with the appropriate behavior to influence the development of a high-performance team.
Introduction
Richard Branson was born on July 18, 1950, in England. His mother and father had a humble life, with the father being a barrister and the mother being a flight attendant. Branson faced a tough time in his early learning years because he had dyslexia. The condition led to his dropping out of school when he was 16 years old. However, his innovative character became apparent immediately after he dropped out of school because he started a youth-culture magazine that was a great success.
Branson is currently one of the highest-profile billionaires in the world, with a list of business entities under his Virgin brand name. Branson has succeeded in most of his ventures because of the development of a leadership style that influences competence on the part of the executive functions in the respective companies. Branson has developed a leadership approach that has helped him to stay away from the stressing work of controlling the business entities. This paper looks into his leadership style with a close focus on the desirable behaviors on leaders and their effects on the organization.
Richard Bransons Leadership
Since the establishment of his first company, Branson developed a highly participative leadership approach. Branson has always believed that a leader should be actively involved in the development of innovative ideas, and the execution of various processes to demonstrate to his team that he is committed to attaining the organizational goals. Branson further developed a leadership approach that involves the delegation of tasks to the human assets and giving them the freedom to make strategic decisions in the quest for mutual organizational goals. Branson believes that success in a company cannot be attained without the development of a highly competent team that can be trusted with various tasks (Dearlove 2007).
He also believes that the role of a leader is to find the best people to handle specific tasks, and ensuring that the associated employees are comfortable in their working environment (Sosik & Dinger 2007). Bransons business objective is to communicate an idea to his subordinates and allowing them to use their skills and knowledge to develop a strategy to attain the required goals.
Richard Branson has a rather non-conventional business philosophy that is characterized by the provision of ultimate freedom to his employees. According to Branson, the philosophy embraces freedom for the executive functions and employees in the different companies in the Virgin Group because he believes that working under the pressure of the top leaders influences the development of unnecessary pressure.
Branson has given his CEOs and employees in different companies the freedom to develop business strategies based on the internal and external pressures facing the respective business entities (Ashkanasy & Jordan 2008). Branson always ensures that the associated human entities are aware of the Virgin Way of running projects before they are given the autonomy to make the relevant decisions (Cunningham 2007).
Bransons business philosophy is also characterized by an efficient communication channel because the various leaders in different companies must be provided with information on the objectives of the top internal stakeholders. From an organizational theory perspective, Branson believes that the leaders in the different companies under the Virgin brand have the power to solve issues based on their critical evaluation of the situations without including him in the brainstorming process (Jones 2010).
He believes in the competence level of the people he places in the leadership positions of the different companies; hence, he reveals that he never worries about the decisions they make, as long as the required objectives are met by the businesses (Branson 2014). The employees in various businesses are also allowed to take risks in decision-making in the quest of enhancing the satisfaction of the internal and external stakeholders.
The organizational structure developed by Branson is quite different from the formal structure used by most companies in the contemporary world. The structure is organic, and it is characterized by the development of independent high-performance teams in different businesses (Organic vs Mechanistic Structures 2016). The freedom associated with the leadership approach in the company facilitates the development of a social science thinking approach rather than a managerial thinking approach (Brooks 2009).
This implies that the different teams have the autonomy to develop specific approaches in handling the associated tasks in the workflow, rather than sticking to the approaches proposed by the management and leadership function. This structure calls for a high level of communication between the different functions in the organizations to enhance the efficiency of articulating efforts toward reaching mutual goals (Dent 2014). The organic structure has led to the tremendous success of the Virgin Group because the associated individuals and teams have the freedom to employ their talents and innovative ideas in the enhancement of the performance of their respective companies.
The concept of globalization has influenced companies to develop post-modern organizational structures, but Branson does not need to change the organic structure in the Virgin Group. The company has demonstrated a high coefficient of efficiency in articulating efforts to increase profits exponentially in different businesses. The current organizational structure is highly efficient, and it is bound to increase the performance of the Virgin brand (McCarthy & Hatcher 2005).
The structure is also quite feasible in the process of globalizing the brand. For instance, the Virgin Mobile venture in Chile and Poland is bound to be successful because the experts involved in the project have the freedom to make decisions based on the pressures that they will face in the respective markets. This structure is desirable in the process of expanding the company in different parts of the world.
Richard Bransons Traits and Behaviours
Richard Branson portrays some of the most desirable leadership traits highlighted in the leadership theory. For instance, he is a charismatic leader with the ability to influence the thought-line of the employees and his team of executives (Zehir et al. 2014).
Branson has succeeded in his business philosophy by being a source of inspiration for most of the CEOs and employees running his companies. His friendly character has also played a major role in the development of a good rapport with the employees and other business partners (Finkelstein, Hambrick & Cannella 2009). Branson is also quite aggressive in his quest for success. Not only is he a high-risk taker and an opportunist but he is also a tough negotiator, which helps him to get the best deals from suppliers and other business partners.
Branson is also quite competitive, and he believes in hiring the best people to enhance the competitive power of his companies. His highly participative leadership approach also highlights the character of an innovative leader with a visionary approach to business (Brooks 2009). One of the weaknesses associated with Richard Branson is the lack of experience in running his companies (Anton 2016). It is apparent that Branson has looked into hiring people to cover his weaknesses, and by providing the freedom to the associated leaders, he has managed to attain tremendous success. However, his strength in communicating the ideas he has for the company compensates for his lack of experience in executing the required projects.
Situational Leadership and the Wider Context
From the situational leadership theory perspective, it is apparent that Richard Branson is a participative leader. This is revealed by his low directive behavior, as well as his high supportive behavior in the different companies in the Virgin Group. Branson believes that the leaders and employees in the various companies have the required levels of competence to make strategic decisions; hence, he has given them the freedom to take risks and to respond to internal and external pressures accordingly (Goffee & Jones 2006).
Branson believes that success cannot be attained if he does not develop trust in his employees, and from his personal experience, he believes that getting the best people to handle tasks eliminates the need for a leader to keep pressuring the employees (Conger & Pearce 2009). Branson has high regard for the characteristics and behaviors of his employees because he carefully evaluates their competencies, and he ensures there is a clear communication process on important matters concerning the goals of the respective businesses (Darling, Gabrielsson & Seristo 2007).
However, this type of leadership may attract challenges on some occasions because the respective leaders may have different visions for the companies they run. Since Branson has given the CEOs the autonomy to develop strategies for their companies, he might not have a strong influence on the direction of growth for some of the companies; however, since most of the companies have been recording huge profit margins, Branson believes that the direction of growth in the respective companies is appropriate (Dearlove 2009). Branson trusts his team of executives and he believes that their decisions place the interests of the internal and external stakeholders first.
Conclusion
Richard Branson has demonstrated that organizations can influence the commitment of their employees through the development of an organic organizational structure. Branson established his first company without any experience in the magazine industry, but through the employment of strategic talents, he turned it into a success. His leadership policy is an integral part of the success that the Virgin Group has attained.
The leadership philosophy is enshrined in the values of freedom for the associated human assets. Branson believes that giving freedom to the human assets in his various companies compels them to make decisions based on their skills and experience, and they are likely to be committed to achieving success. This leadership philosophy is quite viable in the globalization process because the leaders in the respective companies have the freedom to develop strategies based on the pressures faced by their companies. The social science thinking approach is more efficient than a managerial thinking process because it fosters innovation in the employees. The Virgin Group is braced for higher success levels if it continues with its current leadership style and organizational structure.
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