This project aims at assessing leaders from a work-related environment. The leaders’ interviews for this task have been sourced from the CEO magazine. This was viewed as an appropriate source given that it is a business related magazine that has a wide coverage. The magazine encompasses interviews with business leaders from different parts of the world hence justifying its credibility. The leaders chosen for the project come from different industries to help ensure there is diversity while assessing the leadership spectrum. They include Brad Lee, Fernando Reani and Russell Palmer.

1. Compare and Contrast
2. Construction of each leader by accounts

Brad Lee

Brad Lee is the CEO of NAFDA (National Food Distributors Association). Brad Lee has been constructed as a leader by the experience that he has immersed over the years. He learned the attributes of desirable work ethics from his mother who was a single parent but worked tirelessly to ensure he attended favourable schools. Brad Lee started as a clean-up boy while he was 11 at local butcher shops. He has grown with the notion that one ought to believe and invest in what they do to help gain the necessary rewards. Lee already has two decades of experience in the food service industry given the roles he has assumed before. This has helped in gaining the desired knowledge through observation of trends and consumer needs in the industry. The networks created in the process have also made it possible to enhance collaboration with industry players such as suppliers to ensure that everything runs as it would be expected.

Fernando Reani

Fernando Reani is the managing director of Under Armour ANZ. Reani is constructed as a leader by the path that he has encountered as he rose through the ranks. To begin with, he has a passion for sports. This has made it possible for him to hold varied roles with regards to the sporting goods sector. These roles have been held in different continents enabling him to understand the industry under different continuums. He now has the ability to understand a certain aspect based on the knowledge gained in the prior roles. There is an understanding on his side that every market is unique in its own way, and should be treated as such by anyone intending to make substantial gains. This is because people are usually wired differently based on their environment hence are likely to respond in a different manner for a similar set of events or occurrences (Hamad, 2015). The passion that Fernando Reani has for sports also makes it possible for him to understand the consumers and the needs that they might have. As a result, it becomes possible to lead other employees in fulfilling the desires of the consumers.

Russell Palmer

Russell Palmer is the Managing Director of Yokogawa. He is well travelled as he has been to many places across the globe. As a result, Palmer has been able to interact with people from different cultures. He attributes this aspect as a factor for his success in the managerial spectrum. The big trips that he has taken over the years have formed part of his personality. They have helped in the improvement of confidence, shaping his independence and helped in appreciating the small things in life. This is because he has been able to view things from different perspectives given the vast experience of interaction with other cultures.

1. How the leaders describe their conceptualisation of leadership

Brad Lee

Brad Lee conceptualises leadership as having the ability to ensure that the employees are working cohesively. This entails working in partnership and moving in the same direction on all the activities being conducted at the workplace. This is a good aspect of leadership since it works as an indication that everyone is receiving the desired satisfaction from their day to day and activities, and they are ready to move forward to ensure that the organisation succeeds. In organisations where working in partnership is not possible, there is a likely occurrence of dissatisfied employees when they find it difficult to move forward with others. Lee also believes that a leader should take the initiative to show the employees where they have come from and where they are headed. Working with an objective usually helps in instilling the drive to move forward as it provides the relevant road map (Houben, 2013). Lee also conceptualises leadership as having the ability to select and recruit the most appropriate work force for the tasks in hand. This is because employees are the greatest asset that an organisation can have.

Fernando Reani

Fernando on his part conceptualises leadership as having the ability to view things from a diverse perspective. This means that being able to understand that there is no single solution to everything. This realisation has come along due to the differences that he has seen to exist between different markets. The sports culture that he encountered while working in Brazil and Europe is quite different from that in Australia. This is why it is vital for leaders to embrace a diverse thinking ability when trying to solve problems. Using a one-size-fits all might lead to unprecedented failure. Fernando also conceptualises leadership as having the ability to understand the aspects that motivate customers and their mindsets. This is based on the information that the organisation is able to collect from different sources. Having such an understanding ensures that the consumers are able to get what they desire from the company at all times. It is upon the leaders to ensure that all the systems and personnel are performing effectively so that such information can be obtained with ease.

Russell Palmer

Palmer, on the other hand, conceptualizes leadership as having the ability to implement different philosophies at the workplace. This is due to the synergy effect that they tend to bring. A good example is how Yokogawa has combined long-view business practices exhibited by the Japanese and the Australian innovation practices. This helps in ensuring that the structures developed have the ability to serve in the long-term. In this respect, Palmer also views effective leadership as the one that does not seek short-term gratification. There is the need of leaders working with long-term objectives for the purposes of sustainability. Palmer also believes that leaders should always embrace diversity. Diversity helps in bringing different ideas that make it possible to have the best solutions to a problem. Diversity proponents should apply even to gender issues.

1. Conceptualizing success through their leadership

Brad Lee conceptualises success through his leadership in different ways. Among the ways that he views success is by ensuring that the relevant organisation improves its turnover now and then. This is evidenced by how he reiterated that the organisation would improve its turnover to $1 billion from the existing $750 million within one to three years. He made these remarks when he first became the CEO, and it is something that he achieved in just 16 months. Brad views this as a success factor since it means that the organisation is doing something right for there to be positive results on this side. Brad Lee also views continued and category expansion in the organisation as a success factor. There is a belief that category expansion comes with new possibilities of capturing increased market share since there is the targeting of new consumers. Increasing the market share is always a good thing for the business since it comes with new opportunities.

Fernando on his part conceptualises success based on the revenues that an organisation is able to actualize; the higher the revenues, the greater the success. He also seems to favour the establishment of additional retail locations. This is more like expansion since the organisation is likely to experience increased revenue due to the new customers that will start being served. Fernando also views the ability to understand the needs of the customers being targeted as a success. This is because it is only through the understanding that the company will be able to provide them with exactly what they need. Providing consumers with what they need works to the advantage of the organisation since their conversion prospect is increased significantly. Delivering products and services that are not being desired is likely to result in losses due to lack of positive customer response (Houben, 2013). Another success factor is making Under Armour a leading sporting brand. If the organisation were to acquire that success, it would easily imply that it is at the top in all the activities it is associated with.

Russell Palmer, on the other hand, conceptualises success as having the ability to impact the lives of other people even without them noticing. This is something that has been happing at Yokogawa. There are numerous facilities that people use in their day to day activities that originate from the organisation, but they are not aware. Despite people not being aware of this aspect, Russell conceptualises this as a success factor since there is a glimpse of the organisation everywhere. The company’s products have become a part of the people’s life. Russell also conceptualises success as having the ability to enhance diversity, sustainability and gender equality in the organisation. These are things likely to create a positive workplace environment. There is also an aspect of looking at the long-term aspects while making decisions in such an environment.

2. Impact on the success of their organisation by their leadership practice

Among the practices that Brad Lee uses to impact the success of NAFDA is self-confidence. Demonstration of confidence usually brings a positive impact on the side of the employees. It works as an indication that the leader is aware of what they are doing. This is an aspect that will make it easy for the employees to follow in his footsteps without questioning his decisions. As a result, there is the ability of the workforce operating as a unit while moving in the same direction. Among the ways that Brad has demonstrated confidence is when he was first appointed as the CEO and declared that the organisation would improve its turnover to $1 billion within 1 to 3 years. This showed a leader that truly believed in his abilities and had a plan moving forward. The behavioural theory proposes that leadership necessitates a strong personality with well-developed self-confidence. Another practice that brings success in the organisation is ensuring that everyone understands what needs to be achieved. Brad does this by taking everyone back from where the organisation has come from and creating a mental picture of how things are supposed to look like with time. This is something that will give employees the drive since they are not working blindly as they have a clear blueprint of what is expected of them. Trying to show them of the success that has been actualised with time also creates a belief in them that they can achieve even greater goals.

Fernando Reani on his part impacts the success of Under Armour through his practice that believes there is no single solution to any issue pertaining to the marketing of sports in Australia due to the diversity that exists. This is a very strong practice since it ensures that the organisation does not second-guess with its operations. There is no placation of notions with the expectations that there will be success. The organisation is expected to conduct comprehensive research before taking any action, as a result. When employees are programmed to work this way, there is a high probability of getting things right with regards to the organisation’s operations. The contingency theory of leadership works to affirm this aspect. The theory asserts that different situations necessitate different characteristics and there is no single optimal leader’s psychological profile that exists. Another practice that is prevalent with Fernando is always trying to understand the customers. This is a valuable trait since the only way to serve people better is understand what motivates them and how their mindset is programmed. Employees are also able to follow in his footsteps on this array, and this improves how they deal with the relevant customers. When customers get what they want, they will keep coming back.

Russell Palmer, on the other hand, impacts success at Yokogawa by ensuring the creation of a positive workplace environment. He attains this by promoting aspects of gender equality and diversity. Diversity in the organisation helps to bring people from different backgrounds to work together. Given the different backgrounds, these people tend to think in different ways. This works for the advantage of the organisation since different ideas are brought to the table. The more the ideas, the better the chances of choosing the most appropriate. Enhancing gender equality ensures that employees are usually treated by merit. This is something that will motivate everyone in the organisation to work hard since they are aware that their efforts are going to be repaid irrespective of their gender. The practice of emphasising on innovation has also enabled the organisation to succeed. The world keeps changing now and then and for a business to remain viable, there is need to keep up with new trends.

3. Identification of organizational issues

The section seeks to examine Brad and his organisation; NAFDA. From the interview, the major organisational issue that Brad is facing is that of being apprehensive about taking risks. It is an issue that he has identified and thinks that it is something that the organisation is ready to change. It is apparent that many leaders are afraid of taking risks due to the fear of unknown. Leaders are usually afraid of taking risks because they do not want to get out of the comfort zone, they fear change, desire to avoid conflict, need for certainty, lack of self-belief and fear of failure among other things (Houben, 2013). However, there is always a drawback to not taking risks. It becomes difficult for the organisation to move forward since new dimensions are not being brought to the day to day activities. It becomes difficult to move to a higher profit threshold with this conditions. So, is being risk averse good for business? No! Brad should take steps to ensure that he negates the mentality of being apprehensive towards taking risks. As a leader, he should lead by example and demonstrate to other employees the benefits that accrue with risk taking. However, there should be an assessment of the risk level that is going to be embraced.

There is the need of understanding that leadership success entails identification of new and better ways of meeting the needs of the customers. This success sometimes commences with a concept or idea that needs to be developed. To be successful as a leader, it is also important to find varying solutions to long-standing issues that have made it difficult for the organisation to move forward (Sadgrove, 2016). These aspects cannot be attained without the concept of taking risks. This is why a leader should be willing to dip his/her toes in the pool of uncertainty and not let fear to stop them. A good leader should not have limited thinking, ought to learn from mistakes, and recognises that failure and success are connected, and both are necessary for growth (Hamad, 2015). If brave women and men did not take the risk while venturing into heavens, humans would not have discovered how to fly. Music would also not have evolved through numerous genres if some musicians did not challenge the status quo and our lives would not be full of gadgets if people did not dare to test the limit of their imagination with regards to technological advancement (Sadgrove, 2016).

With this information, Brad can see the power of risk taking. This is something that he should embrace and ingrain it within his leadership prospects. However, the risks taken should be calculated risks. This means it is prudent to weigh the risk with regards to its disadvantages and advantages before moving forward (Hamad, 2015).Brad should instil the same initiative on his employees. However, he should always emphasise that risks being taken should work to serve the mission of the organisation.

4. Conclusions and Recommendations

Conclusions

There are many aspects that make people great leaders. However, they tend to differ from one leader to another. Leaders tend to be constructed in different ways, but this does not affect their leadership capabilities. There are leaders that are constructed by life experiences, there are those constructed by their dreams, there are those constructed by the people around them among other many ways. Leaders also conceptualise leadership in different ways too. This is evidenced by the three leaders whose interviews have been assessed in this paper. However, despite the differences of conceptualising leadership, all these conceptualisations accrue to seeing the development of a positive work place environment. It is very important for the workplace to have a positive environment since it allows everyone to work in partnership hence benefiting from the resulting synergy. Leaders also have a different way of conceptualising success in the respective positions. There is a leader that will assess success based on how satisfied their customers are for their products or services, while there is a leader that will view success based on the revenue and profits that have been realised. Leaders also impact the success of their organisations using different practices. Despite this, success is actualised in all cases. This is a good way of showing that there is no single way of doing things right when it comes to leadership.

Recommendations

Leaders can use relevant theories and research to help them become more efficient in their endeavours. There are also varied traits that make a great leader. It is not possible for one individual to have all these traits. However, it is important that a leader has some of these traits to help make them more effective as leaders. This includes traits such as self-confidence, being decisive, showing consistency with decisions, and being passionate among other things. These traits help leaders to become better since they execute their activities with ease and relate favourably with people.

Contingency leadership theory can also come a long way into helping leaders fulfil their roles. The theory argues that there is no single way of leading an entity. This means that a leader should not adopt a single leadership style and stick to it at all times. There is a leadership style that will work best for certain situations but fail miserably in a different situation. For this reason, it is important for leaders to assess a situation before deciding on the leadership style to adopt. This will help in achieving the best results at all times since the measures taken are the most appropriate. Being rigid with one style will only work as a barrier to success.

 References

CEO Magazine. (2017). How Yokogawa is automating your everyday: Russell Palmer, Managing Director of Yokogawa ANZ. The CEO Magazine. Retrieved 25 August 2017, from http://www.theceomagazine.com/business/russell-palmer/

CEO Magazine. (2017). Brand new fitness: Fernando Reani, Managing Director of Under Armour ANZ. The CEO Magazine. Retrieved 26 August 2017, from http://www.theceomagazine.com/business/fernando-reani/

CEO Magazine. (2017). Success on a plate: Brad Lee, CEO of NAFDA. The CEO Magazine. Retrieved 28 August 2017, from http://www.theceomagazine.com/business/brad-lee/

Hamad, H. (2015). Transformational Leadership Theory: Why Military Leaders are More Charismatic and Transformational?. International Journal On Leadership, 3(1).

Houben, S. (2013). A Systematic Literature Review of Servant Leadership Theory in Organizational Contexts. CFA Digest, 43(4).

Sadgrove, K. (2016). The Complete Guide to Business Risk Management. Routledge.

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