Introduction
In one of the articles titled the one-minute manager, the features of a good manager are outlined. The authors of the article conducted a study on one leaders in the medical field and filed a report that could be used in improving management skills. The term best is used to refer to a manager who is always focused on providing quality results.
Such a manager would always feel good whenever the performance of the organization improves. The authors narrate that a young man was interested in becoming a good manager and went out to explore the features of a good leader in the organization. The young man searched in every city, but he could not find a good manager who would realize the organizational goals and dreams.
He interacted with government officials, military officials and even construction supervisors, but they never made up good managers. In his exploration, the young man found out that managers developed some strategies that were unpleasant as far as realizing organizational; goals are concerned. Some were autocratic while others were profit-minded managers.
This implies that there were various varieties of managers, but none of them were efficient. One day, the young executive met an individual who claimed that he was the best manager in the town. The manager agreed to meet young man the following day. The manager did not have the qualities that make up good managers, as expected.
The young man was surprised when he visited the manager in his office. The manager was standing near the window while peeping outside. The manager explained that he frequently holds meetings with members of staff for at least two hours. The manager claimed that he gives his employees a chance to discuss issues, as he notes down the major points.
Management Style Used by the Five-Minute Manager
Five-minute manager was generally considered a transformational leader who has the capacity to inspire his employees to achieve the best o their capacity. According to Brewster (2008, p. 38), Richard Branson strongly believes that every single employee within this firm has its worth.
Whenever Branson is dealing with the employees, he would constantly remind them that they are of very high value to the organization, and that their effort is highly appreciated.
He would inform the employees that although they were giving their best in their current state, they have potential to achieve better results if only they add a little more effort. Employees working under Branson’s leadership have been made to believe that they are not only important to this firm as employees, but also as the central stakeholders of this firm.
His management approach is always focused on making the employees feel that they own the firm (Huy 2002, p. 77). Branson has successfully eliminated the tag employee on his employees, and in its place, he has created the tag members.
This manager has successfully convinced his employees that they are part of the firm, and everyone will own any success that the firm shall achieve. By creating a sense of ownership amongst his employees, he has managed to make these employees believe that they are working for themselves. As such, the employees would feel that they are obliged to give their best effort to ensure that the firm succeeds.
According to Boselie (2005, p. 88), employees who have the feeling that they are mere employees always have a low morale. They consider themselves as outsiders whose effort would only benefit other individuals who own the firm (Fey 2012, p. 72). This is a very dangerous attitude to the development of the firm.
Another clear factor that shows that Branson is a transformational leader is the way he delegates responsibilities. Every employee within this firm has a responsibility to accomplish within a particular time. Richard Branson has created an environment where every employee feels responsible to the firm. The responsibility is created by giving the employees some form of freedom.
The employees are allowed some considerable amount of freedom in their workplaces (Jacksona 1992, p. 45). However, Branson has created a notion that success of the entire firm is pegged on the success of an individual. This will make individual employee feel that he holds the success of the entire firm in his hands. As such, the employee would make an effort to ensure that he helps the firm succeed in the competitive market.
Five-minute manager is a strong supporter of individualized attention to every employee. According to Baruch (2008, p. 430), transformational leadership encourages the approach of management where the manager gives direct attention to each employee within the firm. This means that the manager would avoid cases where decision is made on a generalized term.
Every employee has unique qualities that make him or her different from others. This uniqueness of the individuals makes it necessary for the management to ensure that every employee is understood perfectly within the organization. All the employees of this firm who are in the managerial positions have at one moment or another met five-minute manager in person (Guesa 2001, p. 510).
In such meetings, he would engage the employee in a dialogue with the sole purpose of gathering any information that may be relevant in understanding that person. He would then ensure that such an individual is given attention based on his or her unique characters. This is what he would insist should be transferred to all the junior employees whom he cannot reach directly.
The Impact of the Leadership Style on the Performance of the Firm
The impact of the leadership style used by five-minute manager in the organization is evident in the performance of this firm. According to ArturJ (2008, p. 680), the organization is one of the best performing firms globally. The group defied the massive economic recession that hit the United Kingdom and the rest of the world to register a growth (Jensen 2011, p.671).
The firm is considered as one of the few firms with a capacity to run in various industries with a considerable level of success. This may be attributed to the transformational leadership approach that Branson has employed in managing his employees.
According to Barney (2010 p. 99), transformational leadership is one of the best leadership theories that managers in the contemporary world should consider employing. This leadership structure inspires employees to work beyond their current capacity. The business world is increasingly getting competitive.
Various competitive forces in the market that is always a threat to a firm that do not consider coming up with strategies to manage them exit. Managing competitive forces would need a team of dedicated employees who have the capacity to meet the demands of the customers however dynamic they are (Marchington 2012, p. 285).
The organization is one of the success stories in the transport industry. The organization is one of the biggest airplane firms in the world, capturing the markets in Europe, both north and South America, Asia, Africa among other continents. In the financial sector, this firm has been performing well given the strategy that it has employed in dealing with the customers.
All these are because of the leadership structure applied by the top management unit of this firm.
In this firm, Biswas (2011, p. 105) says that Branson has created an environment where every employee feels aggressive, and determined to achieve better results each time. Branson has created an organizational culture where employees feel obliged to work even for extra time in order to reach for a specific target.
Although the extra time worked would always be paid, the employees always have a stronger desire to see succeed in what they are doing, than to earn the extra income. They consider their work as of utmost importance, and thus would give it all the concentration that they possibly can (Pielstick 1998, p. 504).
The result of this concerted effort is clearly evident in the kind of growth this firm has realized. Employees of this firm remain the stronghold that has seen it through to its current glorious position. With Richard Branson still at the head of this firm, organization is destined to greater heights, as the future is very bright.
Conclusion
Employees form a very important part of an organization. As seen in the above discussion, failure or success is always determined by their effort within the firm. The management strategy employed within a firm would always dictate the profitability of a firm. Richard Branson has managed to create an organizational culture where employees feel that they are part of the organization, other than being mere employees.
Using transformational leadership theories, he has managed to make every employee feel responsible for the success or failure of the organization. He has always maintained a positive attitude within the firm, which he would transfer to the employees. The result is a very successful group of companies under the organization.
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