Starbucks

1. Describe the leadership style of Howard Schultz. How did his upbringing influence it? Does he practice high involvement management?

Leadership is defined as the process of providing general direction and influencing individuals or groups to achieve goals. An important principal for an affective leader is to do the right things for the organization as well as for the employees. Howard Schultz comes across as a person who is caring and truthful in a corporate setting. His leadership style seems based on idealism that is rare and unusual in today’s very competitive global economy. His life experiences impacted his leadership style. His memories of his childhood served to emphasize the hopelessness and despair of the divide between haves and have-nots. He saw first hand a family facing unbelievable hardships and the fracturing of the American dream.

Howard gives the impression of an individual with a 100 percent commitment to take care of his staff and associates; essentially leave no one behind. All individuals want to be respected and valued as employees and appreciated as customers. This seems to be a basic aspect of management of personnel and relationships. However this is probably one of the management styles very rarely identified in the real life.

His leadership style is more along lines of transformational leadership. He increased his employee’s awareness of the vision and mission of Starbucks. The interests of the associates of the company were considered as important as the interests of the stock holders and the corporate bottom-line. His various reward initiatives and stock options provided to employees also helped raise the aspirations of employees. His attributes included charisma and high intellectual level. He presented a clear and appealing vision. His leadership style also could be characterized as supportive leadership.

The qualities and attributes of Howard Schultz lead to his been awarded the inaugural John Wooden Global...