Introduction
Virgin Group is a company that is known in the world because of its presence in different markets such as mobile services, radio, music and air travel. The company’s tactics of leadership and management are known all over and have greatly contributed to its success and efficiency.
It is widely known that any successful organization or company has people behind its success. The culture, work ethics and goals put in place by these people determines whether the organization succeeds or fails in its operations. In this paper we will look at Virgin Group Limited and at the person behind its success on the global stage.
Virgin Group Ltd
The group’s brand “Virgin” was established in 1968 but is currently known all over the world for its success in the many markets it has ventured into. The man behind this successful group is Sir Richard Branson who is also its chairman. Many of those who have studied the group’s success for sometime attribute it to the good leadership style of Sir Branson.
At the start, Branson invested in different sectors in an attempt to have a stable business foundation. He always has had a business plan that focuses on very small areas in a particular market and ensuring that the best quality product or service is given has won him recognition on the global stage. This has more often than not led into creation of monopolies in those markets bringing in high profit margins (Werdiger 1).
Organizational culture
Virgin Group Ltd has a very complex organizational culture. It is the principal company and in charge of all the other business which operate under the brand Virgin. The only thing that has always been common to these companies is the Virgin brand. This brand serves as the reference point for what each department in the company should represent, and that is quality and innovation.
It means coming up with new ideas, the very essence of the term “Virgin”. The company offers services of high quality a factor which has made it possible for the company to have very loyal customer. Having the brand in different market segments ensures that the company’s loyalty is maintained throughout the whole market spectrum.
Innovation is also used by the company’s managers as an inspirational tool for employees in their effort to improve the company’s overall performance by coming up with their own ideas instead of waiting for directions. The company has a management style that allows employees to work competitively. This creates the desire to see the company succeed in the company’s human resource (Management 1).
Leadership
The clear distinction that has been placed between leadership and management is another contributing factor to the company’s success. To understand this, we also have to understand what leadership means. People have come up with many definitions of leadership. Many people when they hear the word leadership immediately think of a person leading. This creates four areas of focus.
The first one is that leading involves influencing other people implying that a leader has followers. Leaders therefore, will always come forward whenever a problem arises to find the solution. And finally, leaders will always understand clearly why and what they want to achieve.
In short, “leadership involves individuals who are in a position to creatively think and act in unique situations, people who aim at influencing other people’s actions, beliefs and feelings” (Doyle &Smith 1). Being a leader is therefore personal; it spontaneously comes out in one’s actions and qualities.
Leadership can also be associated with expertise, for instance, a manager can be a leader. However, it should be remembered that not all leaders are managers and vice versa. Management deals with controlling the direction of resources according to a group’s values and principles (Doyle &Smith 1).
Richard Branson
In this case, Richard Branson is a leader, who, together with other management, has set the company’s goals to be achieved. Some of the goals that Branson set for the Virgin Group of companies include expanding into other markets of the world, using new technology in its innovations, getting customer loyalty, and entering into joint ventures with other willing companies. He likes trying out new things.
We are told that he dropped out of school at the age of 16 to start his own business and he was already a millionaire at 24. He has started more than 200 business ventures that expand throughout the whole world.
He strongly believes that things should be kept simple and that the foundation of any company’s success is the people. We have already seen what it means to be a leader. Branson has the ability to influence and create a common purpose among the employees. He believes in helping others achieve what they once saw as impossible while he also learns in the process.
Branson’s leadership style
Branson has a unique leadership style that he employs at Virgin, which he used to create a culture that is strongly inclined towards his style and personality making it difficulty for those who would want to mimic it in the event that he leaves. This means that to understand his style of leadership, strengths and weaknesses, one has to use the traits approach.
There are many instances where Branson has been known to change his leadership style and approach depending on the context. One such trait emerged when Branson opted to be the face of Virgin despite the fact that he was not that sociable in school. This built him a worldwide image, something he can not do in his private life.
He is also known to apply diplomatic skills in dealing with governments in an effort to ensure that price wars do not put Virgin out of business. As it can be seen, these traits only come in when the situation calls, but they are not naturally part of his personality. This has seen many regard Branson as a charismatic leader although it remains to be shown whether he acquired these behaviors through learning or they are inborn.
However, one can say that Branson is just flexible in the way he treats shareholders, staff and the public in his bid to achieve success. It is therefore, not personality that drives his behavior, but the needs and the situation of the business, which plays a role in determining his leadership style.
This style also helped him when selecting his management team. He realized that it was important to have a management team that could reinforce his strengths and fill in his weaknesses. He did this knowing very well that he can easily change them if things do not run they way he wants. It was earlier on said that management controls the direction of the operations in an organization.
Branson knew this very well and gave his management team autonomy and trust to the extent of giving them shareholdings in company. It has also been shown that the personality of leaders affects group dynamics of the top management team.
This will therefore, mean that the dominant style and autonomy used by Branson when making decisions will affect the dynamics of the management team. Its however, shown that Branson moves along with top management in many of the decisions he makes where he has often followed their advice (Leadership and change 1).
Leaders should earn leadership from their followers. They should strive to get the respect of their followers; this is exactly what Branson does in his business. This can clearly be seen from his love for fairness and equality; values that saw him develop a business structure that is flat and non-hierarchical. Branson used a transformational model in his leadership style.
A transformational model is used by leaders who are able to adapt quickly to changes in the business. We have already seen that Branson was able to quickly change according to the situation or context. His used this flexibility in the many organizational cultures that his businesses have been involved in while moving along with his followers.
It is also argued that transformational leadership goes a long way in reflecting the social values of the time. This means that because Virgin is focused on continued growth, it is only the transformational model that can work best for the company. It is said that Branson demonstrated this charisma by giving employees his contact details so that they can be in a position to directly give him their ideas and views (Bass & Riggio 32).
The theory of transformational leadership posits that a transformational leadership leads to growth and empowerment of a leader’s followers. However, it is also argued that such a style can lead to over dependence of followers on their leader. This is seen throughout Virgin because Branson’s personality and therefore, values are the ones that dictate the activities of every department.
To work better under this type of leadership, Branson needs to create followers that will personally identify with it. People who see a leader as their role model will identify with his personality and therefore work according to his values and goals. They socially identify with their leader’s group. This is the strategy that Branson used in drawing his followers to Virgin Group.
Another important leadership quality shown by Branson is his steadfast determination to achieve his goals no matter how many obstacles he meets along the way. He relentless set up goals for Virgin, instilled what he wanted in his employees, and eventually helped Virgin reach where it is today (Bass & Riggio 122).
Conclusion
We have seen that Branson has a charismatic leadership style that is attributed to the transformational model of leadership. His ability to accommodate the emotions of others helps him in assessing his own behavior enabling him adapt his leadership to the present situation or context.
His determination and business drive for success can be said to a combination of both circumstances and genetics. It is also because of his willingness and ability to help others that enabled him becomes a successful leader at Virgin. This style looks unique to Branson, but it has worked well to everyone at Virgin making Branson be liked by shareholders, staff and the public.
Works Cited
Bass, Bernard & Riggio, Ronald. Transformational leadership. New York, NY: Routledge, 2006. Print.
Doyle, Michele & Smith, Mark. Classical leadership. Infed Organization, 2009. Web.
Leadership and change. (2005). The importance of being Richard Branson. Knowledge Wharton. Web.
Management. Management and Leadership of Richard Branson at Virgin Group Ltd. Upx Success, n.d. Web.
Werdiger, Julia. Virgin Group Plans Bid for Venerable British Bank, Now Troubled. World Business, 2007. Web.