Mgt506

TUI University

MGT 506 – Strategic Leadership

Module 1, Case

18 September 11

Introduction

Ford was looking for a change after the turn of the century to bring them back to their glory days of being the most influential and largest motor company in America. Who they found was Alan Mulally. A former Boeing employee in charge of creating the 777 airliner, Alan Mulally comes from a pedigree of success. Mr. Mulally’s, “Good-natured but relentless insistence on following what he has determined to be the correct course of action (Taylor, 2009)” methods look to bring Ford back to the front view of America to the world.

Management versus Leadership

Alan Mulally uses relationships in his leadership style of Ford. While Mr. Mulally is both a manager and a leader, that does not mean they are the same thing. “A manager is appointed by the organization and is given formal authority to direct the activity of others in fulfilling organization goals” (Armandi, 2003). Being appointed as a manager does not make you a leader though. “A leader is a person who influences others because they willingly do what he or she requests” (Armandi, 2003). Mr. Mulally has been successful though because he realizes the need for multiple leadership styles in different situations and with different employees. “Arriving at Ford, Mulally boned up on the company like a student cramming for an exam, interviewing dozens of employees, analysts, and consultants (Taylor, 2009).” Being a well rounded leader is the key to success into today’s complex, global business environment.

Leadership Theories

Over the years there have been many leadership theories that have been developed to help describe different styles of leadership. In all of these theories there is a focus on how to attain the best performance from your organization. The Fiedler model is one example of a contingency theory of leadership. “This first comprehensive contingency model proposes that effective...