Attributes that Contributed to Dick Smiths Charisma - Case Study Example

DICK SMITH’S CASE STUDY Name: Course: Tutor: Date: Introduction Dick Smith is one of the personalities recognized in Australia and even far and beyond. For over fifty years now Dick Smith has been a successful business personality, famous for his epic travels. His personal philosophy that was instilled in him when growing up could be the most impeccable source of his empire. In this essay, the contribution of Dick Smith’s success is explored, and his attributes evaluated as to whether or not he is a transformational leader who has charisma. As such it would be better if we define transformational leadership at this point to define transformational leadership and charisma. Transformational leadership refers to a type of leadership approach that has been attributed to changing the individuals and the social systems. In this form of leadership, the leader gets the followers to the see the effectiveness of change, improving and be led. Yulk (2010) defines charisma as an untraditional form of a leader’s influence where leaders have exceptional attributes or qualities that are perceived by their subordinates. Contribution to Dick Smith’s Business Success There are various achievements that Dick has managed. First off, he was the first to undertake Trans-Transman balloon flight in 2002. Secondly, he founded Dick Smiths Foods in the year 1999 (Dalglish & Miller, 2010). Thirdly, he is famous for the non-stop balloon that crossed the Australian continent in the year 1993. He also founded the Australian Geographic in the year 1986 before returning the ownership of the Australian Encyclopedia to Australia in 1987 (Dalglish & Miller, 2010). He was also the first person to fly around the world through poles in the year 1989. He has been voted as Australian in the year in 1986 and the first one to have a solo helicopter flight around the world in 1983 (Dalglish & Miller, 2010). His last achievement was when he founded Dick Smith Electronics, which he later sold to Woolworths in 1982. Having looked at the success of Dick Smith, it would be good to explore some of the factors that catapulted his business success. First off, he had a strong personal philosophy that was induced in him growing up in his childhood days. This philosophy is based on gratitude and service to humankind. Dick Smith has a high value for the virtue of hard work and appreciates free enterprise as well as freedom of speech that enabled him interact with different people (Dalglish & Miller, 2010). Dick Smiths personal attributes not only make him a role model for his employee but also lures business leaders (Dalglish & Miller, 2010). Dick Smith has been able to capitalize on any relationship that he has had for the benefit of the Australian Society. The leadership positions and his patriotic spirit are also contributing factors to his success. In essence, he copied the steps of those who were ahead of him and acted differently in ensuring that he had achieved whatever his plans were. From the case, it is also evident that Smith’s charismatic qualities. As a business icon in Australia, his recognition of the public image of being a powerful competitive tool is also a contributing factor to his success (Dalglish & Miller, 2010). With a good public image, a business can draw customers and partners as well as investors. The other factor that made Smith’s business to be successful is his corporate social responsibility alignment (Stearns, 2014). One-third of all the profit made by Dick Smith Foods goes for charitable initiatives. Corporate Social Responsibility has since time in memorial been a competitive advantage tool for most organizations and businesses (Urip, 2010). Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) increases the reputation of the business and thus attracts customers who feel the business is for their benefit (Urip, 2010). This attribute coupled with his leadership skills made the business more successful in Australia. It would not be fair to attribute the success of Dick Smith in business without acknowledging the entrepreneurial skills that he had (Dalglish & Miller, 2010). He was able to take risks, and this came from his adventurous spirit that made him more of a loner and a go getter at the same time. The business mogul also drew a lot of his inspiration from learning from successful businessmen as well as working hard and at the same time keeping overheads low (Gupta, 2011). He also learns from his failure which is an essential attribute that a successful entrepreneur should uphold (Gupta, 2011). Attributes that Contributed to Dick Smith’s Charisma Charisma is an attribute that a leader must be able to have to succeed (Yukl, 2010). Dick Smith has charisma as seen in some of his attributes. Smith was developed a strong vision that his followers can spot. One attribute of charisma has a vision that is common among the followers (Yukl, 2010). To attain his leadership characteristics, Smith has effective communication skills. Through this, his concepts, thoughts, and vision have been able to be recognized and worked upon by his followers. Charisma also comes as a result of the trust that is one of the key principles that Smith upheld through honesty in all his transactions (Bell, 2013). Smith also had confidence and conviction to attain his set goals. Whatever he did, he could first learn from others so as to reduce the failure rate when undertaking the task. As a charismatic leader Smith had some form of expertise seen through the introduction of some rules in the aviation industry (Yukl, 2010). The awards also show that he was intellectual orientation and can manage his personal interests as outlined in his achievements. Dick Smith as a Transformational Leader There are various attributes that makes one a transformational leader like Dick Smith. Transformational leaders have some exceptional attributes that distinguish them (Winkler, 2010). First off, transformational leaders are models for integrity and fairness (Douglas, Lien, & McKim, 2013). In the case of Dick Smith, he was honest in all his undertakings. A transformational leader also encourages others and has high expectations (Winkler, 2010). Dick Smith encourages hard work in all his actions and speech. Transformational leaders create an inspiring vision and nurture its implementation by the followers. The key aim of this vision is to set the pace for the organizational objective (Winkler, 2010). The leader has to understand the values of the followers as well as their capabilities and the resources that are available (Douglas, Lien, & McKim, 2013). The leader is also able to use his intellectual and intelligence capabilities to assess the environment to develop a coherent strategy that will ensure that everyone is benefiting (Douglas, Lien, & McKim, 2013). Through time, Dick Smith has had a compelling vision that has expanded through all his undertakings that involve running the business while at the same time promoting national identity. He has been able to link up the vision with the value of the Australian Community that has also been part of his success. The vision reverberates with protectionism that aims at protecting the Australian market. As a transformational leader, one is expected to have oratory skills that enable them to articulate their vision effectively to their followers (Douglas, Lien, & McKim, 2013). Smith is, therefore, a transformational leader in that he can motivate the followers through his speech. His manner of speech has been said to be emotive and appealing to many. Regarding his vision and the goals he has in mind, he is self-confident and articulate. This attribute has been able to back up his public image that has been a contributing factor to his business success. Transformational leaders share the risks with the followers and lead by example. Through various awards. Dick Smith has received through the years, it is evident that he is leading by example (Dalglish & Miller, 2010). His leadership position as a Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority saw him formulate rules whose implementation was affected by the external factor in the whole industry (Dalglish & Miller, 2010). However, even after the failure he was able to pinpoint the reasons confidently. Dick Smith is also confident in all his actions no matter the criticisms that he receives. His optimism is seen right from the time he was growing up as a small boy. The most stunning factor that makes him a transformational leader is his ethical and moral attributes. In all his undertakings, he has adopted a “fair go” strategy that enables him to be transparent and honest in all his transactions (Dalglish & Miller, 2010). Last but not least, Smith is also seen as a person who has idealized influence on his followers. Through this, he has gained confidence and trust of the Australians who have voted him as the Australian of the year at one point in time (Dalglish & Miller, 2010). Conclusion Leadership remains to be the most discussed topic in the scholarly and public domain. Most industries are investing in leadership training programs. Dick Smith, a business mogul in Australia, is a leader whose attributes have impacted the lives of others. There are factors that contribute to the success of Smith’s business as have discussed in the paper. Smith as have been seen, has attributes that make him a leader who has charisma. This charisma also makes him more of a transformational leader. The attributes and the success pursuit methods used by Dick Smith make him a transformational leader as have further elaborated in this paper. Leaders who yearn to be successful in business should emulate the attributes that have made Dick Smith successful. References Bell, R. M. (2013). Charismatic Leadership Case Study with Ronald Reagan as Exemplar. Emerging Leadership Journeys, 6(1), 66-74. Dalglish, C., & Miller, P. (2010). Leadership: Understanding its global impact. Prahran, Vic: Tilde University Press. Douglas, M., Lien, B., & McKim, D. K. (2013). Transformational leaders. Louisville, KY: Congregational Ministries Pub., Presbyterian Church (U.S.A. Gupta, S. (2011). Entrepreneurship development. Jaipur: ABD Publishers. Stearns, T. (2014). Introduction to entreprenuership. Place of publication not identified: Kendall Hunt. Urip, S. (2010). CSR strategies: Corporate social responsibility for a competitive edge in emerging markets. Singapore: Wiley. Winkler, I. (2010). Contemporary leadership theories: Enhancing the understanding of the complexity, subjectivity and dynamic of leadership. Heidelberg: Physica-Verlag. Yukl, G. A. (2010). Leadership in organizations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Read More