Leadership Styles

LET Task 317.1.5-03-05

By: Charles Lewis 06/2014 First Class Printing, established in 1977, has been a leader in the commercial printing industry since its inception. Hitting its peak in the nineties, the company started a slow downward cycle because of poor execution and growing competition in the industry. After cycling through a couple of different CEO's, Bill Parsons stepped in and turned the troubled company around. Mr. Parsons has been responsible for not only getting the company back to its position among the top of the industry, but also for creating record sustained growth. Mr. Parsons is modest about his successes and readily gives credit to his subordinates for the successes that the company has experienced under his leadership. He is described as highly motivated, fiercely ambitious, and dedicated to the success of the company. He shies away from interviews and requests from reporters who want to feature him in their articles. While shunning the public spotlight for the successes, he is quick to accept responsibility for failures. Mr. Parsons recently announced that he is retiring within the next two years. His two immediate subordinates, Chandler Hawkins and Peter Toole, are two very capable leaders who are both in the running to replace him. Chandler Hawkins, a graduate of Boston College's School of Business, has been with the company for several years and is the front runner for replacing Mr. Parsons. He has been at the side of Mr. Parsons and values Mr. Parsons ideas and long-term vision for the company. He is the kind of leader who establishes clear goals for his team and is a constant source of guidance for them. He believes that there is a clear chain of command that should be followed and he rewards excellent performance from his team members. He also believes that subordinates are wholly responsible for