Howard Schultz has been a chief executive officer of Starbucks company for more than twenty years. During this time, he has managed to turn the company into a global chain known worldwide. These results are in a large part due to his leadership style which can be characterised as transformational, the strengths of which are openness to new ideas and creativity, and among the weaknesses can be named potential for burnout (Jensen et al., 2020). This paper offers recommendations as to how to enhance the potential of the chosen leadership style.
Howard Schultz is by all means an inspiring person who can offer others his unique vision of things and inspire them to follow him. As a transformational leader, he always thinks how the new restaurants he opens will influence the wellbeing of population, and every time takes cultural peculiarities into account (Brandt, 2020). What makes his business so successful is his personal involvement into all the details: the food, drinks and settings that help to create a special atmosphere for the customers (Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz on First Roastery in Italy, 2017). It is known that Schultz has a high regard for people working for him and tries to employ the best chefs to cook food. These strengths can be further enhanced if Howard Schultz not only adopted his innovations when opening new restaurants, but introduced them into long-established coffee shops as well. It would attract more customers not and bring more income to Starbucks chain.
The main weakness for Schultz’s leadership style is the possibility of a burnout. Constantly travelling, choosing places for restaurants and personnel can be a tiring business, especially when a person is engaged in it for over twenty years. To avoid the possibility of a burnout, Schultz should delegate part of his powers to trusted employees who would coordinate the work. Personal involment in all the details is good for business, but may have negative effect on the chairman’s personal life and ability to relax.
References
Brandt, T. (2020). Book Review of Snapshots of Great Leadership. Journal of Business Ethics Education, 17, 211-214.
Jensen, M., Potočnik, K., & Chaudhry, S. (2020). A mixed-methods study of CEO transformational leadership and firm performance. European Management Journal, 38(6), 836-845.
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz on First Roastery in Italy. Bloomberg. [Film], Web.