Individual Leadership Project
Niesha Davis
Yorkville University
Table of Contents
Introduction 3
Analysis 3
Effective Leadership 3
Steve Ballmer 6
Mark Cuban vs. Steve Ballmer 8
Self Assessment 8
Conclusion 9
Reference 10
Introduction
Individuals with strong leadership qualities have a huge impact on the performance of a business. A Chief Executive Officer is an organization’s leader and visionary. An effective leader knows how to “inspire individuals to achieve common goals” (Judge, Langton, & Robbins, 2013, p. 395) which are in the best interest of any organization. Effective leaders have the power to define a company’s culture and induce a “change in values, attitudes and behavior using personal examples and expertise” (Judge, Langton, & Robbins, 2013, p. 396). These are all important tributes of a leader because “employees do not respect a leader who they feel is not the best person for the job” (Judge, Langton, & Robbins, 2013, p. 398). This paper examines the traits of an effective leader, and explores the leadership styles of Mark Cuban, CEO of the Dallas Mavericks, Steve Ballmer, former CEO of Microsoft and the learner’s self assessment of leadership.
Analysis
Effective Leadership
Key traits that are commonly found in effective leaders are extraversion, conscientiousness and openness (Judge, Langton, & Robbins, 2013, p. 398). Extraverted leaders enjoy communicating with people and often moderately assert themselves in groups making them accessible to all stakeholders (Judge, Langton, & Robbins, 2013, p. 398). A lot of leaders are inaccessible to workplace level subordinates but a successful leader knows the value of open communication. Being conscientious and open means that the leader is disciplined, keeps to their commitments, they’re creative and flexible (Judge, Langton, & Robbins, 2013).
Another great leadership trait is emotional intelligence. Employees respond favorably to a leader who is empathic towards them (Hose, M., 2012). Empathic leaders care about their employees, and in turn employees are loyal which is valuable during turbulent times (Judge, Langton, & Robbins, 2013, p. 398).
Mark Cuban
Throughout Mark’s career, he has exhibited innate charismatic leadership qualities and extraverted personality traits. Exhibiting extraverted personality traits is “the most important trait of effective leaders”(Judge, Langton, & Robbins, 2013, p. 398). Mark has a great understanding of supply and demand so his business ventures are often rooted in “finding big problems” (Carlson, 2012) and capitalizing on the solutions.
Leading without Authority. Mark Cuban’s early work experiences include his informal leadership, which was not embraced by senior executives. Mark demonstrated that he wanted to assume responsibilities beyond anyone’s expectations to make things better at the company by not “waiting for the coach’s call” (Judge, Langton, & Robbins, 2013). For example, Cuban took it upon himself to create company newsletters so that all staff would be up to date with events within the company (The Biography Channel, 2014). Cuban also organized a regular happy hour night, which allowed entry-level staff to network with senior executives (The Biography Channel, 2014). The company could have utilized Mark’s leadership by using his lack of authority to get closer to specific issues with stakeholders but instead they reprimanded him for overstepping his boundaries (The Biography Channel, 2014). According to Timothy Judge et al. (2013) some organizations prefer to suppress this kind of leadership (p. 413).
Charismatic Leadership. Mark Cuban’s current leadership style falls in line with charismatic leadership theory. According to Timothy Judge et al. (2013) a charismatic leaders “have a vision, they are willing to take personal risks to achieve that vision, they are sensitive to followers' needs and they exhibit behaviors that are out of the ordinary" (p.406). Mark Cuban had a vision for the Dallas Mavericks when he bought them in 2000 to turn things around for the team (The Biography Channel, 2014).
Mark Cuban is often on the lookout to fulfill the needs of all stakeholders. He tries to create “more value with the team than mere money” by incurring extra costs just to enhance the “Mavericks experience”(Blodget, 2013).
Mark also constantly defends the performances of his players, especially after game losses and often disputes any negative feedback from the presses. In January 2014, Forbes Magazine’s appraised value of the Mavericks was $750 million to which Mark responded, “I think we’re worth well over a billion” (Sefko, 2014). Cuban continued his optimistic vision by suggesting that all NBA teams would be worth a billion in the next five years (Sefko, 2014).
The fourth key trait of charismatic leadership style is extraordinary behavior (Judge, Langton, & Robbins, 2013, p. 406). Mark Cuban is well known for his over-the-top behavior and was recently fined $100 000 for confronting referees after a losing game (NBA, 2014). He’s paid over a two million dollars in fines of the same nature (NBA, 2014). This behavior also indicates that Mark Cuban is an authentic leader. Timothy Judge (2013) suggests that authentic leaders “know who they are, know what they believe in and value, and act on those values and beliefs openly and candidly” (p. 417).
Emotional Intelligence. By focusing on the fans’ needs and placing value in his players, Cuban used his strong emotional intelligence and extraverted personality to submerge himself in the fan experience in order to identify the fans’ needs. Mark Cuban asserts himself in crowds by sitting with the fans, and unlike other CEOs, writes a blog to keep the fans informed of team information. Mark explores the consumers at concessions stands, line-ups for the washrooms, all aspects of the fan experience in order to identify any needs he could improve on. This is an empathic quality that stems from his strong emotional intelligence.
Performance of Dallas Mavericks
Mark Cuban’s interest in the Mavericks began as a frustrated season ticketholder (The Biography Channel, 2014). The team hadn’t made the play offs in over a decade due to “poor personnel decisions and mediocre players and coaches” (The Biography Channel, 2014). Mark purchased the team and began to change the entire organizational culture. Within a year, the team made it to the play offs and broke their team wins record. In 2006, the team made it to the NBA finals but lost, however, they eventually won the NBA title in 2011 (The Biography Channel, 2014). According to Nancy Langton et al. (2013) effective leaders are innovative and “formulate long-term objectives” (Judge, Langton, & Robbins, 2013) for the organization. The Mavericks responded favorably to Mark’s charismatic leadership style, therefore he is a great leader with proven results.
Steve Ballmer
Steve Ballmer is the former CEO of Microsoft. He retired in February 2014, and his predecessor is Bill Gates who stepped down in January 2000. Prior to Ballmer’s position as CEO, he worked closely with Gates as the president of the company since 1998. Ballmer was the thirtieth employee of Microsoft and had worked in several operations positions before his CEO reign.
Charismatic Leadership. Steve Ballmer is also well known for his charismatic leadership style. His infamous “developer dance” has drawn younger generations to his fan base, which makes him somewhat of a transformational leader as well. Charismatic leaders like Ballmer typically possess unconventional behavior and “demonstrate courage and convictions about the vision” (Judge, Langton, & Robbins, 2013, p. 407). Timothy Judge (2013) suggests that there is a dark side to a charismatic leader: the liability (p. 408). A charismatic leader’s “overwhelming self-confidence” can result in stubbornness the inability to listen to others (Judge, Langton, & Robbins, 2013).
Employee Relationship. Steve Ballmer’s tumultuous relationship with Microsoft employees dates back to when he sold half of his company stock (then, four percent) and removed employee stock options. Since then, Ballmer did many things that forced employees to be more “political”. This included a review system that ranked each person’s performance. Top performers would receive bonuses and low ranking performers would be terminated (Finkelstein, 2013). Some would say that Steve Ballmer created a negative culture by reducing incentives for top performers to work together by making the competition so stiff (Finkelstein, 2013).
Microsoft Performance. Many attribute the decline of Microsoft to Steve Ballmer’s stubborn attitude towards capitalizing on multiple lucrative tech markets including smart phones, music players and tablets (Hartung, 2012). Instead, Ballmer suggested that Microsoft was strictly a personal computer company, and his outlook also stymied the growth of associated brands like Dell, Hewlett Packard and even Nokia (Hartung, 2012). Ballmer even criticized Apple for it’s Iphone and pricing, stating that it would never work out for them. Timothy Judge suggests that charismatic leaders like Steve Ballmer sometimes hold an “unjustifiable belief in his or her ‘rightness’ on issues”(p. 408), which is what hindered the growth and competitive performance of the company. According to Forbes Magazine, Steve Ballmer is “the worst CEO of a large publicly traded American company” (Hartung, 2012). The value of Microsoft’ stock has dropped from sixty dollars per share down to thirty and the market share decreased from 604 billion to 269 billion (Farber, 2013) (Hartung, 2012). Steve Ballmer may have attributed to the growth of Microsoft in past years, but his stubborn attitude and unwillingness to adapt to market trends makes him a bad leader.
Mark Cuban vs. Steve Ballmer
Mark Cuban has proven to be a far more effective leader than Steve Ballmer. Though they both possess a charismatic leadership style, Ballmer appears to be the type of CEO that Mark Cuban encountered in his early career; the type that Mark Cuban thinks of as a mentor. Mark makes decisions based on the opposite of what he thinks those CEOs would do (The Biography Channel, 2014). Ballmer’s leadership resulted in a thriving business’s downfall whereas Cuban’s leadership reversed the downfall of a team. One employee of Microsoft was quoted in an article stating that “Steve Ballmer is the wrong guy for a job” (Blodget H., 2013). As noted above, if a team does not respect their leader’s expertise, they aren’t going to be loyal; hence the quote. Steve Ballmer has topped multiple lists titled, “the worst CEOs” (Hartung, 2012).
Self Assessment
In recent years, the leadership styles required to effectively lead a Fortune 500 company have changed a lot. As Steve Ballmer’s experience would indicate, emotional intelligence is important in staying on top of the industry. Having a vision and being open to new ideas definitely proved to work better in the long run.
Charismatic leadership is more important now than in the past because content employees are far more productive and contribute to a positive organizational climate (Groysberg, B., & Connolly, K., 2013).
The learner has reached an understanding through her studies that there is more to leadership than knowledge; Steve Ballmer is a very intelligent person but that did not induce growth in Microsoft’s market share. High emotional intelligence is becoming more and more beneficial in the workforce, even though some employers are not aware of this. Through studying organizational behavior the learner has developed a new found appreciation for her strong emotional intelligence, ability to motivate and her innate charismatic qualities.
The learner has shared employer experiences similar to Mark Cuban’s during her career path. Her ability to identify problems and come up with solutions has always served her well in her career, and has typically resulted in extrinsic rewards. Though some companies prefer to suppress this initiative, learning that Mark Cuban experienced the same backlash suggests she has the right mind set to be a successful charismatic leader of a Fortune 500 company.
Conclusion
In conclusion, an effective leader is an essential component of a successful business. The most common traits found in flourishing businesses are extraversion, conscientiousness and openness (Judge, Langton, & Robbins, 2013). An effective leader will move towards creating an environment that facilitates growth, opportunity for the company and loyalty. Effective leaders have the power to define a company’s organizational culture and induce a “change in values, attitudes and behavior using personal examples and expertise” (Judge, Langton, & Robbins, 2013, p. 396).
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Reference
Blodget, H. (2013, February 01). Former Microsoft Employee Says Steve Ballmer Must Go. Retrieved March 23, 2014, from The Daily Ticker: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily- ticker/former-microsoft-employee-says-steve-ballmer-must-175526168.html
Blodget, H. (2013, August 16). Mark Cuban's Philosophy About the Mavericks Should be an Inspiration For Every Great Business Leader. Retrieved from Forbes: http://www.businessinsider.com/mark-cubans-business-philosophy-2013-8
Carlson, N. (2012, December 2). 20 Quotes That Reveal How Mark Cuban Became Everyone's Favorite Billionaire Read more: . Retrieved from Business Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/20-quotes-that-reveal-how-mark-cuban-became- everyones-favorite-billionaire-2012-12?op=1#ixzz2wl3rW54t
Farber, D. (2013, August 06). Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer and the parting of the ways. Retrieved March 23, 2014, from CNET: http://www.cnet.com/news/bill-gates-steve-ballmer-and- the-parting-of-the-ways/
Finkelstein, S. (2013, December 12). The worst CEOs of 2013. Retrieved March 23, 2014, from BBC: http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20131212-the-worst-ceos-of-2013
Groysberg, B., & Connolly, K. (2013). Great Leaders Who Make the Mix Work. (cover story). Harvard Business Review, 91(9), 68-10.
Hartung, A. (2012, May 12). Oops! Five CEOs Who Should Have Already Been Fired (Cisco, GE, WalMart, Sears, Microsoft). Retrieved March 23, 2014, from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamhartung/2012/05/12/oops-5-ceos-that-should-have- already-been-fired-cisco-ge-walmart-sears-microsoft/3/
Hose, M. (2012). Empathy and themagic of influence. Marketing Week (01419285), 35(8), 26.
Judge, T. A., Langton, N., & Robbins, S. P. (2013). Organizational Behaviour: Concepts, Controversies, Applications. Pearson .
NBA. (2014, January 14). Mark Cuban fined $100K for confronting officials after game. Retrieved from NBA.com: http://www.nba.com/2014/news/01/18/mavs-owner-cuban- fined/
Nickels, W. G., McHugh, J. M., McHugh, S. M., Cossa, R., & Sproule, B. (2010). Understanding Canadian Business (7th ed.). Canada: McGraw-Hill Ryerson.
Sefko, E. (2014, January 2). Mark Cuban: Mavericks undervalued at $765M. Retrieved March 23, 2014, from SportsDayDFW: http://mavsblog.dallasnews.com/2014/01/mark- cuban- mavericks-undervalued-at-765m.html/
The Biography Channel. (2014). Mark Cuban. Retrieved 03 19, 2014, from Biography: http://www.biography.com/people/mark-cuban-562656?page=2