Leadership and Charisma of Dick Smith - Case Study Example

The Leadership of Dick Smith Introduction Dick Smith was a successful businessman, the possessor of great charisma and a redoubtable transformational leader. The following discussion proves this contention. Transformational leadership is a practice that enhances motivational values and actuates its possessor to undertake activities that benefit society. Such individuals do not promote their selfish interests and avoid actions that are motivated by ulterior motives. In addition, transformational leaders differ from the other leaders in several ways, and are unique and proactive. As such, transformational leaders achieve the optimisation of performance levels and thereby attain outstanding development. In addition, development necessarily entails organisational change, and charismatic leadership. It is an essential component of outstanding organisational leadership. As such, effective change requires the initiative, guidance and effort of a charismatic leader. Question One – Dick Smith’s Business Success Dick Smith engaged in epic travels and was a phenomenally successful businessman. From his childhood, he believed in and practiced gratitude and service towards others. Smith had always accorded the greatest importance to free enterprise, hard work and freedom of speech. His business success and philanthropic dedication were based upon these values[Dal10]. Australian society had been significantly influenced by Smith’s personal magnetism. In addition, Dick Smith was close to the people and was admired and respected by employees and business leaders alike. With the passage of time, he widened the scope of his activities from that of conducting a successful business to promoting national identity, pride and self-confidence in his workforce and the Australian populace[Dal10]. Another reason for his extraordinary success was his capacity to correlate his vision with the values of the Australian community. Dick Smith had realised, at a very early stage of his life that a good public image constituted a formidable competitive device. He adopted methods that were frequently unconventional. However, his direct approach was subjected to considerable criticism. Smith endeavoured to display honesty and social responsibility at the personal level. He used to encourage the individuals with whom he used to work[Dal10]. He donated a third of the profits made by him to charity, and reinvested the rest in his business. Question Two ­– Charisma of Dick Smith Leadership constitutes a team effort, and the exemplary leader is one who motivates and facilitates others to undertake successful and beneficial actions. Such leaders develop collaboration and trust amongst their followers. Teamwork is not restricted to close confidants, and leaders involve all the individuals who are necessary for the success of the project. As such, leaders have the competence to enable others to engage in good work. They are aware of the fact that the followers should develop a sense of personal power and ownership, in order to produce the desired results[Kou03]. With a view to achieving competence in their functioning, charismatic leaders adopt a wide range of methods to improve their image. Leaders, who lack natural charisma, tend to practice with great intensity, in order to develop a charismatic personality. Several of these leaders have been observed to engender trust via visible self-sacrifice and the undertaking of personal risks, as a demonstration of their convictions. Charismatic leaders display considerable confidence in their followers, which induces the latter to function optimally[Cha151]. Moreover, charismatic leaders are some of the most persuasive people. These individuals are masters in employing body language and in the use of verbal communication. Such leaders make a deliberate display of their charisma, with a view to obtaining a desired outcome. Furthermore, charismatic leaders are effective speakers, and they make free use of metaphor and symbolism. Such leaders employ their charisma to gain and retain the attention of their followers[Cha151]. In addition, Conger and Kanungo have described charismatic leaders as individuals who are markedly different from the other leaders. The difference lies in the ability of charismatic leaders to create and describe an inspired idea[Row08]. Moreover, such leaders act in a manner that creates the impression that their mission, as well as themselves, are out of the ordinary. Contemporary organisations come in all varieties, which range from the highly ethical to the grossly unethical. Glaring examples of the latter variety being Enron and Tyco[Zeh14]. As such, Dick Smith was eminently charismatic, as he was markedly different from the other leaders. He was a well-travelled and extraordinarily successful businessman. For instance, he believed from a very tender age that a person had to possess gratitude and render service to others. Another area of his distinctiveness was the importance that he accorded to free enterprise and hard work. His actions made it evident that he differed from the ordinary individual. For instance, he was close to the people, and was regarded with esteem and admiration by business leaders and his employees. In addition, he worked ceaselessly towards promoting national pride, identity and self-confidence among the Australians. Moreover, he was an adept at linking his vision with the values cherished by the Australian community. Furthermore, Smith always strived to be personally honest and socially responsible. This was evident from his donating a third of the profits made by him towards charitable causes. Question Three – Dick Smith as a Transformational Leader Transformational leadership has been described as a leadership approach that brings about change in social systems and individuals. From a theoretical perspective, it engenders valuable change in the followers, and finally transforms them into leaders. When enacted in its authentic form, transformational leadership improves the performance, morale, and motivation of followers. Such enhancement transpires via several means. Some of these are described in the sequel. First, by correlating the sense of identity of the follower to the mission and the collective identity of the organisation. Second, by providing a role model that inspires followers. Third, by motivating followers to shoulder greater responsibility towards their work and actions. Fourth, by clearly understanding the strengths and weaknesses of followers, thereby enabling the leader to allot tasks to followers, which optimise their performance[Lan13]. Moreover, a stronger relationship exists between transformational leadership and outcome factors, in comparison to transactional leadership and laissez-faire. It has been observed that contingent rewards and outcomes have a lower positive correlation. In addition, management by exception and laissez-faire depict a negative correlation with outcome factors[Spi06]. The identification of individuals, who have the potential to become effective leaders at all levels of an organisation, is central to enriching the leadership of an organisation. Such identification is crucially important for improving executive leadership in the administration of the organisation, enhancing the leadership process, and for enabling transformational leaders to perform optimally[Spi06]. Furthermore, Burns has opined that transforming leadership is a process, wherein leaders and their followers assist each other, in order to achieve a higher level of motivation and morale. In addition, Burns stated that it was difficult to differentiate between management and leadership. He believed that these disparities were in the characteristics and behaviours. The concepts of transforming leadership and transaction leadership were established by Burns[Lan13]. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire was developed by Avolio and Burns. Its aim was to evaluate the described dimensions of transformational leadership, transactional leadership, and laissez-faire leadership. It examined the evidence, in order to classify leadership into these categories. The strong associations between leadership factors and the inclusion of the contingent reward related to transactional leadership have remained ambiguous[Gom15]. The personal values of followers are altered by transformational leaders, in order to ensure support for the goals and vision of the organisation. This is achieved by fostering trust that facilitates the sharing of visions. The following fundamental behaviours have been established by Avolio et al. as transformational leadership. First, idealised or charismatic influence; second, inspirational motivation; third, intellectual stimulation; and lastly, individualised consideration[Sto04]. Conclusion In the present age, several unethical trends have come to the forefront. It is in this background that the importance of the charismatic and transformational leader comes to the fore. Such leaders motivate their followers to perform at their optimal level. This proves to be of great benefit to the organisation. In addition, these leaders select and prepare the outstanding leaders of the future from their followers. The transformational leader ensures teamwork, ethicality and integrity among the followers. Thus, an outstanding and socially significant organisation is developed by such leaders. David Smith is a prime example of a transformational leader, and his outstanding contribution towards his business interests, community and nation will be remembered and cherished for a very long time. References Changing Minds, 2015, Charismatic Leadership, viewed 22 July 2015, http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/styles/charismatic_leadership.htm. Dalglish, C & Miller, P 2010, Leadership: Understanding Its Global Impact Tilde University Press, Prahran, VIC. Gomes, AR 2014, Transformational Leadership: Theory, Research, and Application to Sports, viewed 22 July 2015, http://repositorium.sdum.uminho.pt/bitstream/1822/26921/4/2-Cap%C3%ADtulo-Lideran%C3%A7a%20transf%20no%20desporto-R%20Gomes-Contemporary%20Topics%20and%20Trends%20in%20the%20Psychology%20of%20Sports-Vers%C3%A3o%20da%20editora.pdf. Kouzes, JM & Posner, BZ 2003, The Jossey-Bass Academic Administrator's Guide to Exemplary Leadership. John Wiley & Sons, San Francisco, CA, USA. Langston University 2013, Transformational leadership, viewed 22 July 2015, http://www.langston.edu/sites/default/files/basic-content-files/TransformationalLeadership.pdf. Rowold, J & Kersting, M 2008, ‘The Assessment of Charismatic Leadership Validity of a German Version of the Conger-Kanungo Scale (CKS)’, European Journal of Psychological Assessment, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 124-130. Spinelli, RJ 2006, ‘The Applicability of Bass's Model of Transformational, Transactional, and Laissez-Faire Leadership in the Hospital Administrative Environment’, Hospital Topics, vol. 84, no. 2, pp. 11-18. Stone, GA, Russell, RF & Patterson, K 2004, ‘Transformational versus servant leadership: a difference in leader focus’, Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 25, no.4, pp. 349-361. Zehir, C. et al. 2014, ‘Charismatic Leadership and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: The Mediating Role of Ethical Climate’, Social Behavior & Personality, vol. 42, no. 8, pp. 1365-1375. Read More