Leadership Profile Assignment: Identify Effective Leadership ✓ Solved

Leadership Profile Assignment: Identify effective leadershi

Leadership Profile Assignment: Identify effective leadership traits. Search for a business leader that exemplifies each trait. For each leader, identify the company and job title, describe how the leader exemplifies the trait, and explain whether and how the trait inspires followership. Leadership Matrix: Effective Leadership Trait; Name of Person That Exemplifies Leadership Trait; Company; Job Title; Description of How Leader Exemplifies Leadership Trait; Describe if the Leadership Trait Inspires Followership, and if so, How. Leadership Summary: Provide a brief summary that explains the role of power and influence within leadership, states which traits you believe will inspire others, and which qualities foster effective leadership. Provide two to five references in APA format.

Paper For Above Instructions

Introduction

This Leadership Profile identifies effective leadership traits and matches each trait with a contemporary business leader who exemplifies it. For each leader I list the company and job title, describe how the leader demonstrates the trait, and explain whether and how the trait inspires followership. The paper concludes with a concise leadership summary addressing the role of power and influence and which traits and qualities best foster effective leadership (Northouse, 2019; Bass & Riggio, 2006).

Leadership Matrix

1. Transformational Vision

Name: Satya Nadella

Company: Microsoft

Job Title: Chief Executive Officer

Description: Nadella revitalized Microsoft’s culture by emphasizing growth mindset, cloud-first strategy, and inclusive innovation. He communicated a clear long-term vision, encouraged organizational learning, and aligned strategy with employee purpose, exemplifying transformational leadership by inspiring and enabling followers to exceed prior performance levels (Bass & Riggio, 2006; Nadella, 2017).

Followership: Nadella’s vision inspired followership through meaning and shared purpose; employees reported higher engagement as the company shifted priorities and mission (Northouse, 2019). Transformational leaders generate intrinsic motivation and commitment by articulating compelling future states (Bass & Riggio, 2006).

2. Emotional Intelligence (Empathy and Self-awareness)

Name: Indra Nooyi (former)

Company: PepsiCo

Job Title: Chief Executive Officer (former)

Description: Nooyi combined strategic rigor with high emotional intelligence, listening to stakeholders, communicating transparently, and balancing short-term results with long-term health of the organization. Her approach reflected empathy, self-awareness, and social skill—core components of emotional intelligence that facilitate trust and collaboration (Goleman, 1998; Northouse, 2019).

Followership: Emotional intelligence fosters psychological safety and trust, increasing willingness to follow and take initiative. Employees are more likely to accept direction and innovate when leaders show empathy and fairness (Goleman, 1998).

3. Ethical and Sustainable Leadership

Name: Paul Polman (former)

Company: Unilever

Job Title: Chief Executive Officer (former)

Description: Polman prioritized sustainability and ethical responsibility, embedding environmental and social goals into corporate strategy. This integrity-driven leadership demonstrates moral purpose and long-term stewardship, modeling ethical behavior and accountability (Burns, 1978; Kotter, 1990).

Followership: Ethical leadership promotes legitimacy and identification; followers endorse leaders whose values match their own, creating loyalty and reducing cynicism (Northouse, 2019). Polman’s stance inspired employees and external stakeholders committed to sustainability (Sinek, 2009).

4. Servant Leadership (People-first focus)

Name: Howard Schultz (former/longtime leader)

Company: Starbucks

Job Title: Chairman and former CEO

Description: Schultz emphasized employee welfare, benefits, and a customer-centric mission. By prioritizing partners (employees) and community, Schultz practiced servant leadership—placing others’ needs first to build stronger organizational commitment and social capital (Greenleaf, 1977; Northouse, 2019).

Followership: Servant leadership typically inspires deep, loyalty-based followership because employees feel valued and supported; this produces discretionary effort and higher retention (Greenleaf, 1977).

5. Decisiveness and Strategic Execution

Name: Mary Barra

Company: General Motors

Job Title: Chief Executive Officer

Description: Barra has demonstrated decisive strategic action and operational rigor in transforming GM toward electrification and safety-focused culture. Her focus on execution combined with transparent communication shows how decisive leaders convert strategy into measurable outcomes (Yukl, 2013).

Followership: Decisiveness coupled with clarity reduces uncertainty and builds confidence among followers, especially during transformation or crisis (Kotter, 1990).

How These Traits Promote Followership

Across these examples, traits that most reliably inspire followership are transformational vision, emotional intelligence, ethical integrity, servant-mindedness, and decisive execution. Transformational leaders articulate meaningful purpose that aligns individual goals with organizational mission, producing intrinsic motivation (Bass & Riggio, 2006). Emotional intelligence enables leaders to build trust and psychological safety, which are prerequisites for engagement and innovation (Goleman, 1998). Ethical and servant leadership cultivate legitimacy and commitment by modeling values-based behavior (Burns, 1978; Greenleaf, 1977). Decisiveness reassures followers and enables coordinated action in complex environments (Kotter, 1990; Yukl, 2013).

Role of Power and Influence

Power and influence are central to leadership but function most effectively when coupled with legitimacy and relational trust. French and Raven’s typology (authority, expert, referent power) suggests that referent (charismatic/relational) and expert powers are especially enduring in modern organizations (Northouse, 2019). Transformational and emotionally intelligent leaders rely on referent and expert power to influence voluntarily rather than via coercion. Ethical leaders convert positional power into moral authority, using influence to align stakeholder interests around long-term value (Burns, 1978; Kotter, 1990).

Recommendations: Traits That Foster Effective Leadership

Leaders who cultivate a clear, ethically grounded vision, demonstrate emotional intelligence, prioritize people through servant behaviors, and make decisive, transparent choices are most likely to inspire followership and sustainable performance. Organizations should develop leaders through coaching, 360-degree feedback, and structured developmental assignments that build strategic thinking and interpersonal competence (Avolio & Bass, 2004; Northouse, 2019).

Conclusion

Effective leadership combines strategic vision, relational skill, ethical commitment, and executional competence. The leader examples above—Satya Nadella, Indra Nooyi, Paul Polman, Howard Schultz, and Mary Barra—illustrate distinct traits that generate followership and organizational value. By leveraging influence ethically and fostering trust, leaders can motivate followers to engage, innovate, and sustain performance over time (Bass & Riggio, 2006; Sinek, 2009).

References

  • Avolio, B. J., & Bass, B. M. (2004). Multifactor leadership questionnaire: Third edition manual. Mind Garden.
  • Bass, B. M., & Riggio, R. E. (2006). Transformational leadership (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  • Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. Harper & Row.
  • Goleman, D. (1998). What makes a leader? Harvard Business Review, 76(6), 93–102.
  • Greenleaf, R. K. (1977). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness. Paulist Press.
  • Kotter, J. P. (1990). A force for change: How leadership differs from management. Free Press.
  • Nadella, S. (2017). Hit Refresh: The quest to rediscover Microsoft’s soul and imagine a better future for everyone. Harper Business.
  • Northouse, P. G. (2019). Leadership: Theory and practice (8th ed.). Sage Publications.
  • Sinek, S. (2009). Start with why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action. Portfolio.
  • Yukl, G. (2013). Leadership in organizations (8th ed.). Pearson Education.

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