Bus 640 - Week 4

Robert Nardelli’s Leadership at Home Depot

Stanley Smith

BUS610: Organizational Behavior

August 19, 2012

Instructor: Charlene Anderson

Robert Nardelli’s Leadership at Home Depot

During his seven year reign as CEO for Home Depot, Robert Nardelli underwent heavy scrutiny for the changes he implemented on the “famously, close-knit” company (Charan, 2006). He attempted to rejuvenate a company that had not experienced much cultural change since creation and through his predecessors. Nardelli was also criticized for this lack of retail experience as came into Home Depot with a background primarily in industrial business, not consumer business sales; his management experience came from running the power systems division for General Electric (Charan, 2006).

Even with the criticism Nardelli received, statistics can speak for themselves. During Robert Nardelli’s tenure, Home Depot experienced an annual growth rate of 12% (Charan, 2006). In his first year, Home Depot was described as a “faltering retail chain” with annual sales of $46 billion (Grow, 2007). By 2006, sales had escalated to $81.5 billion (Grow, 2007). If one were to judge Robert Nardelli only for the financial impact he had on the company, one could argue he was a very successful leader. Robert Nardelli leadership style enabled him to change Home Depot through his ingenuity and his power to influence others (Baack, 2012).

Robert’s leadership style and personality traits may have been innate according to trait theory. He may have been a born leader, enabling him to succeed at any company he would manage. Trait theory thrives on the notion that if a leader is successful at one company they will be able to succeed at another (Baack, 2012). Because he was previously successful at General Motors the assumption may have been that he would also be successful at Home Depot.

Even though his success at General Motors was a great indicator at his ability to influence others, lack of research has...