Lessons I II: Concepts and frameworks of leadership in various cultural and business environments

1. Lessons I II: Concepts and frameworks of leadership in various cultural and business environments • Defining Leadership • Leadership and Competitive Advantage • Principles of Leadership • Frameworks of Leadership • Case Study

2. Defining Leadership • There is no one definition of leadership. The reason is that people and business environment are constantly changing. • There is no one best formula for leading to business success. Many organizational leaders have successfully managed to bring in superior financial results to their businesses. There are just a few “true” leaders managing successfully to overcome major burdens by using their own leadership capabilities. • Leadership means dealing successfully with sudden, unprecedented and major changes in the business environment.

3. The leadership is a unique capability. It cannot be replicated by any other entity. A “true” leadership capability cannot be successfully adopted by others. • “Good leaders are made not born. If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders develop through a never ending process of self-study, education, training, and experience.” (Source: Donald Clark, www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadcon.html) • A “true” leader is someone who has followers. A leader is someone who successfully manage to mobilize all organizational capabilities towards achieving competitive advantage.

4. Leadership and Competitive Advantage • Competitive advantage is all about doing better than your competitors in the long run. An organization is advantaged in terms of competition and development if it successfully managed to stand out from its competitors. • “True” corporate leaders contribute to the developing and achieving competitive advantage. They manage to mobilize those unique organizational capabilities for achieving any organization’s main aim, i.e. competitive advantage.

5. The ultimate aim of any corporate strategy is achieving sustainable competitive advantage • The Corporate Strategy is the plan and the Corporate Leaders are the driving force for accomplishing the desired goal, i.e. achieving sustainable competitive advantage. • Leadership is not only a unique capability but, also, a strategic goal for any organization. • Many organizations want to achieve leadership position in the market. • Matalan plc is “one of the UK's leading clothing and homewares retailers. It offers quality products at low prices. By buying direct from the manufacturer and having convenient out–oftown stores with low overheads, Matalan is able to offer unbeatable value for money”. (Source: http://www.us.capgemini.com/services/serv_casestudy.asp?ServID=9&CSID=112) • Matalan has, actually, signaled improved results through a low-cost structure by selling from out-of-town stores. Matalan has proved its cost leadership capabilities. Case Study: “A New Strategic Architecture at Matalan plc” in “The Vertical Boundaries of the Firm. A Strategic Approach”. Summarize those factors that contributed to the development of Matalan’s cost leadership capabilities.

6. Principles of Leadership • “Be technically proficient” • “Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions” • “Make sound and timely decisions” • “Set the example” • “Know your people and look out for their well-being” • “Keep your workers informed” • “Develop a sense of responsibility in your workers” • “Ensure that tasks are understood, supervised, and accomplished” • “Train as a team” • “Use the full capabilities of your organization” (Source: Donald Clark, http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadcon.html) • We’re adding one more principle: • Use those unique organizational capabilities for achieving competitive advantages.

7. Frameworks of leadership • “Four Framework Approach”, Bolman and Deal (1991): • “Structural Framework”: “Structural Leaders focus on structure, strategy, environment, implementation, experimentation, and adaptation.” Building and implementing a certain strategic architecture at organizational level provides the foundation for a leadership structural framework. Structural leaders are key players in building and implementing successfully the chosen strategic direction(s). • “Human Resource Framework” • “Political Framework” • “Symbolic Framework” (Source: Donald Clark, http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadcon.html)