Analysis of Leadership as a Trait, Case Study on – Richard Branson (Essay Sample)

Leadership – Richard Branson
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Leadership – Richard Branson
According to John C. Maxwell (2005), a leader is a person who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way. Therefore, a good leader must have certain proficiencies and behaviors which they display to improve the overall performance of an organization, business venture or investment. Enviable leaders lead by setting a good example to their juniors as well as making a mark in their line of duty. Additionally, great leaders are known to exhibit varied attributes like motivation, healthy decision making, self-esteem, which come in handy in influencing their juniors and augmenting their merits and the growth of the organizations.
In the 21st century, there is a complete alteration that facing the managers throughout their careers. Most of these changes are caused by globalization, increased competition, sophisticated technology as well as government policies. The ability of the manager to adapt to such changes has a significant impact on the performance and the ultimate survival of an organization. This is mainly because the managers are often the key component of a global revolution in the leadership sector. As a result, different managers from various parts of the world have continuously enhanced their leadership skills. Among them, Richard Branson, the Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Group, has stood out from his pack. Together with his unique life history, his leading traits make displays an exceptionally flawless director, making a perfect specimen for leadership case study.
Richard Charles Nicholas Branson was born on 18th July 1950, in Surrey England. As a result of his struggle with dyslexia, he had a hard time in school and was forced to drop out at a tender age of 16 years. The decision to drop out gave birth to the conception of Virgin Records. Using his entrepreneur skills, what started as a business venture into the music industry turned out to be an empire, making Branson one of the richest people in the globe, in modern times. Today, the Virgin Group boasts of more than 200 companies, from different industries. Before the commencement of the Virgin records and later Virgin Group, Branson had other ventures such as a youth culture magazine also known as Student (Burgan & Hammond, 2015).
Subsequently, Richard Branson has displayed various types of leadership styles, propelling the Virgin Group towards prosperity. A quick review of the attributes displayed by the Richard Branson reveals that charisma is one of the dominant driving forces behind his success. His positive, charismatic leadership attribute enables Branson to show a high level of self-esteem and confidence, allowing him to his visionary entrepreneurial ideas and dreams into reality. The CEO of the Virgin Group has ensured that communication is the backbone of the company. The goal, in this case, is often to ensure that all the employees and staff as much and valuable information as the executive has. All workers in this company are always entitled to know and understand how their daily efforts reflect the overall success of the enterprise. Richard Branson is, therefore, full of life, supportive, ambitious and goal oriented leader, making him a paradigm of good leadership envied by many (Boulgarides & Cohen 2001).
As mentioned earlier, Richard Branson had a lot of difficulties in his early life, particularly due to dyslexia, which leads to his subsequent dropping out of school. According to his biography, he grew in London community, which was surrounded by the music and dug panorama in Britain. It is around this time that he came up with a recording studio that turned out to be a tremendous success, ranking among the top six recording companies across the globe (Burgan & Hammond, 2015). This hardship is experienced by numerous teenagers who find it hard to navigate through their daily challenges. By coming out victoriously, Richard Branson has motivated a lot of young people with extraordinary visions hampered by some factors. In spite of his success, there are no boundaries when it comes to achieving his personal and organizational goals (Liu et al. 2010). Richard Branson believes in motivation, self-confidence, and communication to all his employees. When these factors are combined, Richard Branson helps to model positive leadership behaviors for others, mainly by acting as a role model figure.
In a like manner, I would focus on mentoring others through motivation, self-confidence, self-esteem, being visionary and, of course, hardworking, to model positive leadership behaviors for others. By ensuring that the entire staff is confident to communicate adequately, sufficiently ...