Discuss the role of leadership and how it can impact organizational performance “Leadership is the process of developing ideas and visions, living by values that support those ideas and that vision, influencing others to embrace them in their own behaviors, and making hard decisions about human and other resources” (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2010, p.290). Leadership has a huge role in organizational performance, in that organizations that are effective have leaders who integrate customer, employee, and organizational goals. The leadership abilities and styles guide the organization and all employees must be clear on their jobs, the organizational goals, and the plans to achieve them. When a leader is clear, concise, open, and honest and conveys those characteristics to employees, he/she is able to gain the trust and loyalty of the employees. Employees who feel that they are valued, respected, and trusted feel happy about the organization and are more likely to put forth maximum opportunity in reaching for the goals. Discuss Mulally’s leadership style at Ford Motor Company and provide examples of how his actions fit this style. Mulally’s leadership style is selling. “In using a selling style, the leader provides direction, encourages two-way communication, and helps build confidence and motivation on the part of the follower” (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2010, p.306). Upon joining Ford, Mulally was able to identify specific goals for the company, implement a process to work toward the goals, and install managements system to ensure that the goals are met.
As communication is key and Mulally insists that everyone knows the plan, its status, and where special attention is needed. To let everyone know what his plans for the company are, he created plastic cards with four goals on one side and a revised definition of the company on the other. To ensure involvement by