Leadership Style and Characteristics of Richard Branson, Virgin Group

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Branson attributed much of his success to the people around him. He maintains a close, family-like organization, created an atmosphere in his business that promoted casualness and fun and made it a priority that in terms of importance was employees or associates first; customers were second; and shareholders were third (Finkle, 2011). He wanted people to have a good time at work as if they were immersed in a hobby (Finkle, 2011). Branson was not known for paying large salaries and was not ashamed of this (Finkle, 2011). He felt that truly enjoying your work makes up for a few extra dollars (Finkle, 2011).

Assess the effectiveness of Richard Branson’s ability to articulate and communicate his vision for his company to employees and other stakeholders.

I visualize Branson as a leader who thinks out-of-the-box, a risk-taker for all or none. It was not the success that attracted his employees or stakeholders, but the success of the risks he did take. For Branson, it was all or none. His vision is not articulated through power points or executive summaries. Branson is way too adventurous for that. He finds pleasure and results through his actions and dealings with the people in the field. He addresses his ideas with a JDI (Just Do It) approach. Branson is not your typical “in the office, let’s brain-storm this idea for a minute” leader. His ideas on effective communication are valuable for CEOs, managers, business owners, entrepreneurs, and aspiring leaders and is obsessed with customer service, staff engagement, and a sense of fun in his business units (Gallo, 2012).

Although Richard Branson is not comfortable speaking in crowds, he finds comfort in his passion for his works. He focuses on his employees first by spending time in their development and well-being. Branson believes in keeping his employees happy, therefore he spends time with personally asking for feedback of their working environment (Feloni, 2015).

Assume that you have received a job offer to be a manager within The Virgin Group. Determine the criteria you would use to evaluate whether Richard Branson’s leadership style is a good fit for you as the manager and what conclusion you may draw about working under this type of leader.

If I were to receive a job offer to become a manager within The Virgin Group, the criteria that I would use to determine if Richard Branson’s leadership style is a good fit for me is1) training and development program for career growth, 2) allowance for creativity, 3) macro-management (empowerment), 3) transparency, 4) respect, 5) leadership integrity, 6) customer-focused 7) genuine care for employees 8) flexible working schedules.

If I were to be hired to work under the leadership of Richard Branson, I feel that it would be a good fit for me. I am the type of person that welcomes challenges and am a performance driver. My unconventional way of managing aligns with that of Richard Branson in that I care for people and want to see the best from them. It is my intent to ensure that employees enjoy what they do and seek to develop them to their fullest potential. I seek adventure in work and willing to take risks that will launch new dimensions within my area of responsibilities. Branson sees the most successful leaders as those who know that they do not have the time or learning capacity to excel at every aspect of their company and thus hire people to take care of things they're either not good at or should not be wasting time on (Feloni, 2015). Therefore, I would be grateful for an opportunity to work for The Virgin Group.

Take position on whether or not you believe Richard Branson is a global leader.

Being the charismatic leader that Richard Branson is, it is my viewpoint that he is a global leader. He has companies in over 30 countries and his creativity is leading him to bring about global chain by partnering with other global businesses to create an environment of continuous improvement in technology. The expansion of his business includes not only the music industry, but companies inclusive of but not limited to airlines, trains, mobile phones, space tourism,

Predict Richard Branson’s success as a leader over the next five (5) years. Support your prediction.

I view Richard Branson as a leader who is always looking ahead for better ideas that will yield continuous improvement in business; not only for the customers, but for the best of his employees. My prediction of Richard Branson’s success as a leader over the next five (5) years is that he will take the forefront in being proactive in economic issues that will have an adverse impact on businesses. He is the type of leader that does not mind sharing the wealth with other companies. This statement is supportive by a recent act of through the hosting of a summit that brought some of the top thinking business leaders from across the world creating an atmosphere that makes connections with other smart people making bright ideas come to life (Branson, 2016). The summit formed new partnerships, projects and initiative that will lead us to new frontiers (Branson, 2016).

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References

Biography.com Editors. (2015, July 8). Richardson Branson Biography.com. Retrieved

September 9, 2017, from https://www.biography.com/people/richard-branson-9224520

Branson, R. (2016, July 12). Bringing together thought leaders to create global change. Virgin.

Retrieved September 9, 2017, from https://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/bringing- t together-thought-leaders-create-global-change

Daft, R. (2012). Management (10th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.

Feloni, R., (2015, October 19). Richard Branson explains his 10 rules for being a great leader.

Business Insider. Retrieved September 9, 2017, from

http://www.businessinsider.com/richard-branson-leadership-rules-2015-10/#1-follow-your-

passions-but-protect-the-downside-1

Finkle, T. (2011). Richard Branson and the Virgin Group. Journal of the International Academy

for Case Studies, 17, 5. Retrieved September 9, 2017, from

http://www.abacademies.org/articles/jiacsvol17no52011.pdf

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