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FINDING COMMON GROUND
Finding Common Ground:
Analyzing the Leadership Styles of Queen Elizabeth I and Mary Kay Ash
Brianna Marshall
Dr. Chuck Williams
Leadership London
September 4, 2013
Table of Contents
Executive Summary……...………...………………………………………...……………………3
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………...……...4
Personal Backgrounds
Elizabeth I, Queen of England…………………………...... ……………………………..5
Mary Kay Ash………………….………………………………………………………….6
Leading with a Feminine Twist……………….....………………………………………………..7
Religion in Leadership…….....…………….....………………………………………………….10
Motivating Followers….....…………………………………………………………………...….13
Conclusion………………………….....…………………………………………………………18
References……………..…………………...…………………………………………………….19
Executive Summary
Elizabeth I, Queen of England and Mary Kay Ash were both prominent female leaders. Elizabeth was the first major female monarch to rule in England and Mary Kay started her own cosmetics business, Mary Kay, Inc., to prove women were just as able as men to do business. Because they lived 300 years apart, on different continents, and under very different circumstances, it would be expected that these two women would haveverydifferent leadership styles from each other. By researching their personal histories and by analyzing the major aspects of their leadership styles, it was found that their leadership styles had fundamental similarities. They both used their femininity to their advantage, religion as a guide, and motivation to gain support. Differences between Elizabeth and Mary Kay were usually the result of the different settings in which they led. As a monarch, Elizabeth had to be stern and a tad manipulative to keep the people on her side or she would risk losing her title and her life. On the other hand, by leading a modern business Mary Kay had more leeway to be innovative and to use more moral and ethical means. Mary Kay would only face financial danger, not mortal, if she lost favor within her business. Despite these differences in applications, it can still be said that Elizabeth and Mary Kay shared some basic similarities in their leadership styles.
Finding Common Ground:
Analyzing the Leadership Styles of Queen Elizabeth I and Mary Kay Ash
Elizabeth I, Queen of England and Mary Kay Ash were both famous female leaders. They were groundbreaking in their respective fields. Elizabeth(1533-1603) was the first major politically active, ruling queen of England. She took control of a male-dominated government, led the country to the famous defeat of the Spanish Armada, and brought in the country’s “Golden Age.” To this day, she is still one of England’s most loved monarchs. Mary Kay Ash (1915-2001) was the founder of the direct-selling cosmetics company, Mary Kay, Inc. One of the first and most successful female entrepreneurs, Mary Kay turned a $5,000 investment into a $10 million company in just five years (Nagel, 2003). These two women were both notable leaders, but they were from totally different spheres: separated by over 300 years, one in politics and one in business, and living in two different countries. These distinct environments definitelyimpacted their leadership styles, so one would assume that Elizabeth and Mary Kay led with completely different styles. But is that really true? Could there be fundamental leadership qualities that could work in several environments? By analyzing Queen Elizabeth I and Mary Kay Ash’s leadership styles and methods, I will answer those questions to find common ground.
Personal Backgrounds
A person’s background can greatly influence their leadership style, so it is important that it is not overlooked. In the cases of both Elizabeth and Mary Kay, their lives before they were leaders heavily influenced their future leadership methods and philosophies. The problems and struggles they faced would impact the decisions they made later on. By studying their backgrounds, we will have a better understanding of the choices they made.
Elizabeth I, Queen of England
Elizabeth was born on September 7, 1533 in Greenwich, England to King Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn. When Elizabeth was two years old, Henry had Anne beheaded so he could marry his next wifeduring his pursuit to have a male heir. Although Elizabeth was claimed to be illegitimate by Parliament on July 1, 1536, she was still brought up in the Royal household as a princess and received a formal education. Elizabeth proved to be especially bright in her study of music and languages, including Latin, French, and Italian (“Elizabeth I,” 1998).This education would prove to be essential when she was writing her speeches todemonstrate her abilities as a ruler to her own government and to foreign dignitaries. Being brought up as a princess also showed her how royalty should be treated. It was said that as queen, Elizabeth “expected instant obedience and respect,” just like her father before her (Weir, 1998, p. 221).
After her father’s death in 1547, all the Royal comforts were taken away from Elizabeth during her half-brother Edward VI’s reign. She was essentially placed under house arrest; though, she was able to continue her studies. At the time, she was “romantically involved” with Thomas Seymour, Lord High Admiral. Seymour fell in ill favor with the king and was arrested, along with Elizabeth, and he was eventually executed (“Elizabeth I,” 1994; “Elizabeth I,”1998). This was probably the beginning of Elizabeth’s aversion to marriage. When, Elizabeth’s half-sister Mary took the throne, Elizabeth was once again a prisoner. Mary, a Catholic, put Elizabeth in the Tower of London in 1553 because Elizabeth was gaining popularity among Protestants. Elizabeth was in the Tower for two months (“Elizabeth I,” 1998). Her time spent in the Tower probably influenced her reluctance to execute her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots, Elizabeth’s biggest threat, because she could remember the hardships and horrors she faced there.When Mary, Elizabeth’s half-sister, died, Elizabeth was the next in line to rule England. Finally, in 1558 at the age of 25, Elizabeth ascended to the throne (“Elizabeth I,” 1998).
Mary Kay Ash
Mary Kay Ash, born Mary Kathlyn Wagner, was born on May 12, 1918 in Hot Wells, Texas. Beginning at the age of six, Mary Kay spent her childhood caring for her father after he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. It was during this time that she gained confidence in herself and her desire to help others. She later credited much of her success to her mother, who constantly encouraged her with the words “You can do it!” when she struggled to care for her father and family. Her mother’s encouragement proved to be invaluable because Mary Kay used the encouragement as a model forher business’ practices (Nagel, 2003). Mary Kay was an honor student and graduated high school in just three years. One of her favorite extracurricular activities was competitive speaking. In fact she placed second in a state speech competition while still in junior high! (“Mary Kay Ash,” 1999).This skill of public speaking would also be very important to her future career. Mary Kay had dreams to be a doctor, but could not afford to go to college. So, she married a local celebrity musician Ben Rogers in 1935 and soon had three children.She started working at Stanley Home Products to save money for a house. It was with Stanley that she saw her talent of selling shine. When Rogers came back from serving in World War II in 1945, he asked for a divorce, leaving Mary Kay a single mother and forcing her to work full time (Nagel, 2003).
Mary Kay quickly rose to the top in Stanley Home Products and she perfected the art of direct selling. She was recruited and took a job at World Gift Company in 1953. Again, she gained success quickly and was promoted to national training director in just six years (Nagel, 2003). Despite this success, Mary Kay noticed that she was being overlooked for other jobs, as the promotions went to men she was training. She became frustrated and said later, “If I could teach them how to do it, why couldn’t I be the superior? But the real reason was, you are in the wrong body, honey!” (Underwood, 2003, p. 12). She noticed these men were making twice her salary, and she left World Gift in 1963 fed up with the discrimination she faced. She was still in her 40s at this point, so she decided to write a book about her career experiences, detailing how to be a better direct selling company. Upon completion, she realized that she actually wrote a marketing plan for her dream business. Based off her list, she decided to start her own company that would be equal opportunity for women and follow the Golden Rule. She started a cosmetic company with only one product, a beauty cream from the formula she had purchased from a previous customer when she was with Stanley Home Products. In 1963, she and her second husband took their life savings of $5,000 to open “Beauty by Mary Kay.” Unfortunately her husband died of a heart attack shortly before the opening, but Mary Kay continued with the business with the help of her son Richard Rogers (Nagel, 2003). She would marry her third and final husband Mel Ash in 1966, and although she took his surname she was already widely known simply as Mary Kay (“Mary Kay Ash,” 1999).
Leading with a Feminine Twist
Until recently, a woman with power was not very common. The leadership styles of Elizabeth and Mary Kay were notably different mainly due to the fact that they were women. While it might be taboo to label their methods as “feminine” today, Elizabeth and Mary Kay embraced their feminism to turn their challenge of being a woman in a man’s world into an advantage. Marilyn Loden wrote in her speech “Feminine Leadership” (1986/1995) that “men and women possess talents and skills unique to each simply because they are men and women…and when [women] are able to use their unique God-given talents, they can add to any organization’s strengths and accomplishments by providing a necessary balance to male styles of management” (p. 13). Elizabeth and Mary Kay did just that.
Female leaders were not a completely new concept when either Elizabeth or Mary Kay took to power; however, it was the extent to which they exercised their power while embracing of their femininity that was revolutionary. For Elizabeth, most had accepted the legitimacy of female monarchs but most also thought that Elizabeth would get married right away and let her husband do most of the ruling (MacCaffrey, 2004). Even her first secretary, William Cecil, thought she would leave most of the governing to her council (Doran, 2003).However, Elizabeth proved them all wrong and used her womanly charm to get them on her side. She played on emotions to persuade people. Sir John Harrison, Elizabeth’s godson, noted, “I have seen her smile – with great semblance of good liking to all around and cause everyone to open his most inward thought to her” (Weir, 1998, p. 220-21). Elizabeth pined for her people’s love, and could be much more open about it as a woman. She said in her 1569 “State of the Nation” speech, “We have been always desirous to have the obedience of all our subjects of all sorts… by love and not by compulsion” (Rice, 1951/2001, p. 9).To the public, Elizabeth showed her compassionate side, from visiting the sick to starting the tradition of giving money to the poor on Maundy Thursday (Weir, 1998, p.226). In one of her last speeches, she said in her “Golden Speech” of 1601, “There is no jewel, be it of never so rich a prize, which I prefer before this jewel, I mean your love, for I do more esteem it than any treasure of riches, for that we know how to prize, but love and thanks I count inestimable” (Rice, 1951/2001, p. 11-12). Queen Elizabeth gained almost a cult-like following, with her being their unwed “Virgin Queen.” Remaining unmarried also proved to be a diplomatic weapon; by not marrying she balanced Continental powers while also showing her own people that she put England’s needs above her own (“Elizabeth I,” 1998; Doran, 2003). In the privacy of her own court, however Elizabeth could act much differently. She could act much more bipolar with them, caring one moment and furious the next. Elizabeth used her “sexly weaknesses” to make her courtiers protective of her by flirting with them (Weir, 1998, p. 222), but she would also throw temper tantrums on those closest to her (p. 227). Sir John Harrington said, “Surely she did play her tables well to gain the obedience thus, without constraint. Again, she could put forth such alterations when obedience was lacking, as left no doubt whose daughter she was” (p. 220). Elizabeth played on her emotions to get the public and her court to respect her.
Mary Kay’s main use of femininity was her womanly intuition about her sales force and business. She knew what women would respond to and what type of work environment they needed because Mary Kay was a woman too. Mary Kay based her business on her personal principle of “God first, family second, and career third.” While this goes against the grain of most business strategies, it works for Mary Kay, Inc.’s female-dominated work force. She said in an interview with The Saturday Evening Post in October 1981, “Where women are concerned, if they have problems at home, they cannot function. If they keep faith and family ahead of business needs, then they will have time for a career” (Rosenfield, p. 59).That is one reason Mary Kay made her saleswomen,called “beauty consultants,” independent contractors and not employees, putting them in charge of their own career. When thinking of ways to motivate the consultants to meet their sales goals, she again used her intuition. She believed that things which made the consultants feel special would be more likely to motivate them, knowing that women are more receptive of emotions than physical objects. In fact, she thought that women would more likely use a cash bonus on a new washing machine than on themselves.So she came up with the idea of giving luxury “Cinderella gifts,” from the famous pink Cadillacs to diamond rings or even exotic vacations. Her hunch was right; the year she introduced the luxury items as bonuses, her consultants broke all existing sales records (McLean, 2002, p. 56). The recognition from getting the items was a much better motivator for women than traditional cash bonuses. Ultimately, Mary Kay used a feminine style of leadership because she wanted to show that women were just as good at business as men. Mary Kay showed that, in her own words, “thinking like a woman” could work in business. This way of thinking requires one to be empathetic and more receptive to others’ needs and feelings (Underwood, 2003, p. xiii).She also strove to give the equal opportunity she was denied. Mary Kay stated, “So often a woman comes to us who desperately needs to hear [encouragement]… When I see a woman like this, I want to do for her what nobody did for me, in the way of providing opportunities” (Rosenfield, 1981, p. 107).Mary Kay was successful in providing opportunities for women by creating a work environment that allowed women to work to their full potential. She was a champion of flextime, letting women be active in their families as well as their careers; cracking the glass ceiling, giving women equal opportunities to climb up the corporate ladder; and balanced priorities, allowing women keep their faith and family ahead of their career (Underwood, 2003, p. 114).
Religion in Leadership
Religion can greatly influence leadership style through its teachings and philosophies. It can act as a guide for decision-makingin personal life and even professional life. Using religion in leadership has been a popular method for leaders working for social causes, such as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.They both led social movements that fought social injustices but used nonviolence to achieve their goals. Gandhi and King were both rooted in their spirituality, which helped them lead morally and without violence. While these are prominent examples of religion in leadership, religion hasalso impacted politics and business. Queen Elizabeth I and Mary Kay Ash used their faiths as guides and reasoning for their leadership practices and behaviors.
Tension between Catholics and Protestants was a central issue in England for many years before and during Elizabeth’s rule, so it is no surprise that religion was an integral part of her reign. Elizabeth’s father, Henry VIII, had cut ties with the Catholic Church of Rome by creating the Church of England to obtain his divorce from his first wife Catherine of Aragon, and since then England had swung back and forth between Protestant and Catholic with each new monarch (Green & Ottensmeyer, 2001). When Elizabeth came to power, she strove for religious stability. She did not work for “purity of doctrine or practice, but public order, a goal that demanded religious uniformity” (MacCaffrey, 2004). While this was unpopular with many people, ultimately this helped keep the country peaceful.