Essay Josef Ackermann leadership style
Portfolio Essay: Final Draft
Josef Ackermann (Deutsche Bank/Germany)
Using Darling and Leffel’s (2010) framework, this essay will evaluate on how Josef Ackermann demonstrated his leadership style as a Swiss banker, the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Deutsche Bank and Chairman of Zurich Insurance.
As defined by Peter Northouse (2001), leadership is a process, in which an individual influences a group to achieve a common goal. And to achieve that goal, a visionary leader should put forth much effort to critically apply his leadership skills and knowledge. In general, leadership is more than management. To be successful, a leader has to be strategic, show motivation and innovation, and should be flexible and focused on systems and structures. (Lussier & Achua, 2010). The basic interactive dimensions of assertiveness and responsiveness form two axes of the Darling and Leffel leadership styles paradigm, the four primary quadrants represent the four styles: Analyser, Connector, Director and Creator. It should also be mentioned that different situations require accurate application of different leadership styles.
According to Lussier and Achua (2010) there are four key leadership theories: Autocratic, with job-centred (task-initiating structure) behaviour that focuses on the leader who is taking control in order to get the job done quickly (Professional Organizations, n.d.); Laissez-Faire, a style that depicts an inert leader who is averse to stimulating subordinates or giving focus (Deluga, 1990); Participative (democratic),a style in which leaders empower their employees in the decision-making process by meeting with them periodically and listening and trusting them (UCF, n.d.); and Transactional, one that asserts that people will follow leaders who are inspirational as the leader develops a vision, sells the vision and leads the way (Taylor, 2009).
Of the four main leadership styles outlined by Darling and Leffel (2010), Josef
Josef Ackermann (Deutsche Bank/Germany)
Using Darling and Leffel’s (2010) framework, this essay will evaluate on how Josef Ackermann demonstrated his leadership style as a Swiss banker, the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Deutsche Bank and Chairman of Zurich Insurance.
As defined by Peter Northouse (2001), leadership is a process, in which an individual influences a group to achieve a common goal. And to achieve that goal, a visionary leader should put forth much effort to critically apply his leadership skills and knowledge. In general, leadership is more than management. To be successful, a leader has to be strategic, show motivation and innovation, and should be flexible and focused on systems and structures. (Lussier & Achua, 2010). The basic interactive dimensions of assertiveness and responsiveness form two axes of the Darling and Leffel leadership styles paradigm, the four primary quadrants represent the four styles: Analyser, Connector, Director and Creator. It should also be mentioned that different situations require accurate application of different leadership styles.
According to Lussier and Achua (2010) there are four key leadership theories: Autocratic, with job-centred (task-initiating structure) behaviour that focuses on the leader who is taking control in order to get the job done quickly (Professional Organizations, n.d.); Laissez-Faire, a style that depicts an inert leader who is averse to stimulating subordinates or giving focus (Deluga, 1990); Participative (democratic),a style in which leaders empower their employees in the decision-making process by meeting with them periodically and listening and trusting them (UCF, n.d.); and Transactional, one that asserts that people will follow leaders who are inspirational as the leader develops a vision, sells the vision and leads the way (Taylor, 2009).
Of the four main leadership styles outlined by Darling and Leffel (2010), Josef
References: Darling, J. & Leffel, A. (2010). Developing the leadership team in an Entrepreneurial Venture: A Case of Focusing on the Importance of Styles: Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 23(3), 355-371. Deluga, R. (1990). The Effects of Transformational, Transactional, and Laissez Faire Leadership Characteristics on Subordinate Influencing Behavior Ewing, J. & Alderman, L. (2011). Deutsche Bank’s Chief Casts Long Shadow in Europe. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/12/business/12bank.html?pagewanted=all Guyon J., 2004, The trials of Josef Ackermann, Fortune Europe, 149( 2), 111-114. Loades-Carter, J. (2005). FT.com site: Profile: Josef Ackermann. FT.Com,1. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/docview/228871346?accountid=14543. Lussier, R., & Achua, C. (2004). Leadership Theory, Application, Skill Development. Minnesota: Southwestern. Mitchell, J. (2010). The last hurrah for deutsche bank CEO Josef Ackermann. Institutional Investor, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/docview/221507850?accountid=14543. Northouse, Peter G. (2001). Leadership Theory and Practice, second edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. Schlager N. (ed.). International Directory of Business Biographies, vol.1- A-E (2005) (466s). Taylor, R. (2009). Leadership theories and the development of nurses in primary healthcare. Primary Health Care, 19(9), 40-46. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.