Sir Richard Branson's Effect On Organizational And Transformational Leadership

The trait theory of leadership was first discovered in mid 1800s. It is closely tied to the great man theory whereby leaders are thought to be born and only those who were born with correct traits and quality are suited to leadership (Lee, 2014). It is a line of research which examine which characteristics we should pursue to lead effectively. The most common traits to leaders are intelligence, determination, integrity, self-confidence and sociability. However, different study shows that there are other traits such as knowledge, responsibility, emotional control, courage and trustworthiness to be linked to effective leaders. Not only that, it is seen as a benchmark for what to be expected in a leader.

Given the rapid rate of change in organisations in today’s turbulent economic environment, it is crucial for leadership to be both flexible and adaptable. Given the uncertain environment within which organisations operate, the practice of transformational leadership style is vitally important as it will ensure the workforce is directed towards the future. It will also enable the workforce to think in new ways and become more creative and innovative which is imperative in todays ‘new world of work’ and digital economy within which organisations operate.

President Kennedy’s moon speech at Rice University came at a time of high uncertainty regarding technology and the threat of war. Kennedy’s emotive speech aimed to lift and inspire those who feared the worst and to encourage the population to grow and achieve their greatest potential. The ‘moon speech’ will be analysed by uncovering key components of the speech that created a lasting impression on the authors of this report. It is important to firstly explore and identify the traits and attributes of leadership exhibited by President Kennedy in this speech. Additionally, a discussion amongst group members will be necessary to ascertain how and why this speech was inspiring, and whether this speech could be considered as the greatest speech

Transformational leadership style work towards high levels of communication from a management to meet goals. Leaders are meant to motivate employees and augment productivity and efficiency through communication and high visibility. This style of leadership really does need the involvement of management to meet goals. Leaders focus on the big picture within an organization and delegate smaller tasks to the team to accomplish goals. Transformational leadership proves to be efficient not only in business, but in all other sectors where it is used. In order to increase strength in the position of transformational leadership. In terms of business, Lou Gerstner, the present chairman and CEO of IBM is one of the best examples

In this reflection, I am going to use the Gibbs (1988) Reflective Cycle to describe an interaction I had with a co-worker when I was working at a private outpatient clinic. I had a challenging interaction which I would classify as horizontal bullying. Horizontal bullying refers to a demand by a nurse towards a co-worker, causing her to feel disregarded and denied of her basic human rights (Granstra, 2015). This reflection shows how horizontal bullying would affect the patient safety (Purpora & Blegen, 2012).

Leaders are able to inspire their team and accomplish goals. Having a strong leader standing behind you can push members to do the best they can. In this paper I’m going to discuss the leadership style that I possess. I will also describe what leadership and management theories that align with my leadership style. Finally, I will discuss the type of work environment I create, based upon my leadership style and three key actions or behaviors I demonstrate to be a successful leader.

Transformational leadership has been defined as a style of leadership where leaders can inspire and motivate those who follow. James MacGregor Burns introduced transformational leadership in 1978. According to Burns (Burns, 1978), the process of transformational leadership is one in which “leaders and followers help each other to advance to a higher level of morale and motivation. The purpose of my paper is to revisit my Comparison Matrix and compare the information from three empirical studies. This paper will make a comparisons of the research questions, sampled populations, and the limitations of study of three articles. I will study conclusions and recommendations for further research.

In this article , I would like to compare and discuss the three types of leadership transactional leadership, transformational leadership and authentic leadership

The leadership approach shapes the organisational structure and effects the business culture. Consequently, the analysis of the leadership style at the Virgin Atlantic Airways clearly reflects the contemporary leadership transformational theory.

While this leader’s enthusiasm is often passed on to the team, he/she need to be supported by “detail people”. That’s why, in many organizations, both transactional and transformational leadership are

In inspirational motivation, the leader is expressly and characteristically emphasizing to his followers the need to perform well and helps to accomplish the mission and goals of the organization. Bass and Avolio argue that the leaders who adopt this kind of behaviour have an ability to strengthen their followers’ responses (Bass & Avolio, 1994).

Frequently referred to as a managerial approach to leadership, the transactional leadership style is centered on improving efficiencies within an organization or team (McShane & Von Glinow, 2015). Leaders practicing the transactional approach focus on the details of the step by step processes and workflows using a reward and punishment system to encourage workgroup production (Dartey-Baah, 2015). As errors and inconsistent results are part of the expected norm, transactional leaders succumb to the belief that employees require ongoing monitoring and supervision to ensure compliance with the expected work practices. When used with an experienced high performing staff, the constant supervision and punitive nature of the transactional leadership style can be counterproductive, causing a decrease in production and satisfaction among some groups. In contrast, when used with newly formed production units, the transactional style has been known to improve employee engagement and response (Breevaart et al., 2014).

Transformational Leadership is defined as leadership style focused on effecting revolutionary change in organizations through a commitment to the organization’s vision. (Sullivan & Decker, 2001)

Richard Branson has one said, "Do not lead sheep, herd cats". His wordings revealed that he encourages his followers to expose their own creativity instead of following straightly to the company rules established. In many ways, Branson inspires his followers rather than coercing them through his behavior and thoughts (Dearlove, 2007). Branson has opened up the Virgin Atlantic Airways in the 1980s . If it is not of his innovate ideas of expanding his company in the air field, the Virgin Atlantic Airways would not have been operated . Being an open-minded person who applies innovation on himself and tries to influence his employees to be creative, the leadership style of Branson has utilized his workers' talent and contribute good will to the organization (Messina, 2006). Branson gives them freedom to be creative and workers attain outstanding results in return. The following example is consistent with the thoughts of Messina. Simon Draper is Branson's South African cousin, and more than that, he is a famous representative of the Virgin record. This is all because of Branson's unbounded guidelines to him. Draper has incorporate elements of latest fashion and trend by using successful figures like Mike Oldfield, Tangerine Dream and Culture

This paper is a reflection of my personal leadership development blueprint this quarter. The paper identifies three main attributes that have made me to become a change leader this quarter. The paper concludes by pinpointing some core values that have successfully made this change possible.