LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE

JUSTICE SAM NICHOLAS QUAYE

TABLE OF CONTENT

TITLE PAGE ..................................................................................................................................1

TABLE OF CONTENT...................................................................................................................2
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................3
The Concept of Leadership..............................................................................................................4
Review of Leadership Related Theories..........................................................................................4
Trait Theory.................................................................................................................................4
Contingency Theory.....................................................................................................................5
Situational Theories.....................................................................................................................5
Leadership Style of Mr. Moore.......................................................................................................7
Conclusion and Recommendation...................................................................................................8
References......................................................................................................................................10
Executive Summary

Leadership is the most important aspect that influences the strategic direction and success of an
organization. Leaders have the ability to inspire and influence others in a team and encourage
them to perform effectively towards organizational goals. Leadership is defined as “the
relationship through which one person influences the behavior or action of other people”
(Mullins, 2010, p. 373). Leaders in the modern age conceive an ambiance that motivates the
skills and develop receptivity of learning among the team members and initialize steps to
participate in human resources and financial performances.

This report presents a review of leadership and theories of Frederick Moore, the CEO of Accra
Hearts of Oak Sporting Club from 2018 to 2020. Born in 1950, Moore is an Ghanaian Chartered
Accountant, Entrepreneur and Business Director, and founder of AJS Limited, a fully owned
Ghanaian company with specialization in building and construction, lease of properties and
property maintenance. His leadership journey started at an early age of 25 when he was the head
of international students at South Bank University in the UK. In 2008, he was the Deputy
Director of Finance at the NHS Norfolk in the UK. In 2013, he was appointed head of Institute of
Chartered Accountancy Ghana (ICAG), until his appointment as CEO of Accra Hearts of Oak
Sporting Club in 2018. His success in business is attributed to his remarkable passion, leadership
qualities and vision which have made him an exceptional entrepreneur

This report will begin by analysing the leadership of Frederick Moore, his experience, skills and
behavior and how his effective leadership impacted and influenced his followers with the given
circumstances he performed his role. Based on the findings of this report it’s apparent that
Frederick Moore’s values and contribution has successfully impacted, shaped and influenced
management and employees of the club.
The Concept of Leadership

Leadership in an organization is needed to motivate all the members to achieve firm objectives.
In addition, the influence process within leaders and followers can create a motivated
environment for better performance. Hughes, Ginnett and Curphy (2015, p.5) define leadership
as “… the process of influencing an organised group toward accomplishing its goals”. Hughes et
al., (2015) explain that it is “complex process involving a leader, followers and a situation”.
Objectives can be achieved by the leader's influence over his followers. Leaders must have
certain features and characteristics that permit them to conduct positively. Leadership is a
process that involves influence with a group of people toward the realization of goals. In my
opinion, leadership is a dynamic and complex process, and that much of what is written these
days tends to over-simplify this process.

Review of Leadership Related Theories

Leadership theories focused on what qualities distinguished between leaders and followers.
These theories can be used to determine leadership behaviours since leadership as a process or
relationship, is a combination of traits or personality characteristics, or certain behaviors, which
are commonly referred to, leadership skills. Leadership theories vary under trait theories,
situational theories, behavioral theories, participative theories, management theories and
relationship theories.

Trait Theory

According to Hughes et al., (2015), the trait leadership theory assume that people possess certain
qualities and characteristics that make them more leadership-appropriate. Trait theories often
identify specific personalities or behaviors shared by leaders. However, if specific characteristics
are key to leadership, it is difficult to understand why some have these qualities, but are not
leaders. The trait theory also suggests that individual personalities are composed broad
dispositions (Wynn, 2003). A trait can be thought of as a relatively stable characteristic that
causes individuals to behave in certain ways. Unlike many other theories of personality, the trait
approach to personality is focused on differences between individuals (Wynn, 2003). The
combination and interaction of various traits forms a personality that is unique to each
individual. Trait theory is focused on identifying and measuring these individual personality
characteristics.

Contingency Theory

Contingency theories of leadership focus on particular variables related to the environment that
might determine which particular style of leadership is best suited for the situation (Yukl, 2011).
According to this theory, no leadership style is best in all situations. Success depends upon a
number of variables, including the leadership style, qualities of the followers and aspects of the
situation.

Situational Theories

The situational theories propose that leaders choose the best course of action based upon
situational variables (Thompson & Glasø, 2018). Different styles of leadership may be more
appropriate for certain types of decision-making. For example, in a situation where the leader is
the most knowledgeable and experienced member of a group, an authoritarian style might be
most appropriate. In other instances where group members are skilled experts, a democratic style
would be more effective. Situational theories postulate the autocratic leadership, democratic
leadership and the laissez-faire leadership.

Autocratic Leadership

Autocratic leadership is a leadership style characterized by individual control over all decisions
and little input from group members. Autocratic leaders typically make choices based on their
own ideas and judgments and rarely accept advice from followers. Autocratic leadership
involves absolute, authoritarian control over a group (Thompson & Glasø, 2018). Some of the
primary characteristics of autocratic leadership include: little or no input from group members,
leaders make the decisions, group leaders dictate all the work methods and processes, and group
members are rarely trusted with decisions or important tasks. Autocratic leadership can be
beneficial in some instances, such as when decisions need to be made quickly without consulting
with a large group of people. Some projects require strong leadership in order to get things
accomplished quickly and efficiently. Autocratic leadership can be beneficial at times, there are
also many instances where this leadership style can be problematic. People who abuse an
autocratic leadership style are often viewed as bossy, controlling, and dictatorial, which can lead
to resentment among group members.

Democratic Leadership

Democratic leadership, also known as participative leadership, is a type of leadership style in

which members of the group take a more participative role in the decision-making process.
Researchers have found that this learning style is usually one of the most effective and lead to
higher productivity, better contributions from group members, and increased group morale
(Bhatti et al., 2012). Some of the primary characteristics of democratic leadership include group
members being encouraged to share ideas and opinions. Also even though the leader retains the
final say over decisions, members of the group feel more engaged in the process. Furthermore,
creativity is encouraged and rewarded.

Because group members are encouraged to share their thoughts, democratic leadership can leader
to better ideas and more creative solutions to problems. Group members also feel more involved
and committed to projects, making them more likely to care about the end results. While
democratic leadership has been described as the most effective leadership style, it does have
some potential downsides. In situations where roles are unclear or time is of the essence,
democratic leadership can lead to communication failures and uncompleted projects. In some
cases, group members may not have the necessary knowledge or expertise to make quality
contributions to the decision-making process. Democratic leadership works best in situations
where group members are skilled and eager to share their knowledge. It is also important to have
plenty of time to allow people to contribute, develop a plan and then vote on the best course of
action.

Transformational Leadership

Transformational leadership is a “common stimulation and promotion connection that transforms

supporters into leaders, and can turn leaders into moral actors.” Transformational leadership
occurs in a way that raises individuals up to greater moral levels and motivation (Buble, Juras &
Matić, 2014). In this scenario, the transformation of leaders’ eventually changes the values,
attitudes, objectives and motives of followers, and significantly changes in the process. Thus, the
power of changing management is nobler and varies from charismatic or heroic leadership,
company or management.

In this kind of leadership, leaders in transformative leadership morph into a factor of societal
change that is missing from McGregor's version. Transformation leaders transform the self-
interest of followers, boost their self-confidence, raise expectations, stimulate change in
behaviour, and drive people to realize their potential and to achieve greater levels.

Transactional Leadership
The style of transactional leadership is a more conventional approach to leadership, based on
corporate or business viewpoints. This is a style of leadership that is based on the need for a
living, is normally concerned with positions and strength, policy and advantages, often immersed
in everyday matters, data and short-term, focuses on technical skills, focusses on efficiency,
strengthens short-term results and guarantees short-term profits. Transactional leadership also
focuses on incentives and punishments, objectives and bases.

Participative leadership theories

These theories suggest that the ideal leadership style is one that takes the input of others into
account. These leaders encourage participation and contributions from group members and help
group members feel more relevant and committed to the decision-making process. In
participative theories, however, the leader retains the right to allow the input of others (Hughes et
al., 2015).

Leadership Style of Mr. Moore

To understand his process of decision-making and the influence that Mr. Moore has on the Accra
Hearts of Oak, it is important to analyse his style of leadership from different perspectives. In
terms of power, there are different sources of leader power within the Leader-Follower-Situation
framework: expert, referent, coercive, reward and legitimate power. (Hughes et al., 2015, p.123).
In this particular case, it is possible to say that Mr. Moore exerts a different type of power in
different type of situations. It would be easy to think that the main power that the CEO of a
company applies to make decisions is the legitimate power but of course it goes beyond that. To
start, Mr. Moore recognizes that his closest circle of management members are not chosen by
him.
Second, Mr. Moore uses expert power. His background is accounting and business management.
The power of knowledge allowed him to have a differentiating factor at Accra Hearts of Oak,
making the firm financially viable despite poor on field results. Mr. Moore is also an expert in
strategy, processes and internal development; again, this gives his the tools to exercise leadership
in the organisation.

Personal values greatly influence the way Mr. Moore leads. He sticks to the premise of ‘leading
by example. To exemplify this, he often says that employees should be looking at the leader as in
a mirror. There should be transparency between both parties and the leader should be careful on
his actions because most probably, the followers are going to look and replicate the leaders’
actions. If the leader shows strong ethical convictions, great values, fairness and high working
standards; followers will imitate the leader.

Due to his various aspects as leader, it is not easy to refer to Mr. Moore's management style and
philosophy. Mr. Moore acknowledges that he enjoys studying in everybody's enterprise, and not
typical managers who know everything. Thus, his leadership features are transformative. He
loves to encourage his employees by offering them management responsibilities that not only
offer them a chance to learn and grow, but also communicate a message that their hard work and
devotion will pay for itself.

One of Mr. Moore's catchphrase was to "break boundaries if it saves costs" and he continued to
emphasize that when an employee had an idea that was feasible, he would support it as long as it
fostered the company's interests. This makes him a participatory leader who invites his followers
to participate in decision-making. Mr. Moore likewise strives to perform his utmost while
delegating his duties to other managers. Once he thinks that a business is in the correct path, he is
well recognized for leaving it to his competent managers and forming a different one that shows
his transformative and participatory leadership.

Finally, Mr. Moore pulls from the contingency thought school considerably, noting that no one
philosophy of leadership works well in all situations. He has adapted very effectively to many
situations, contexts and cultures, and has always succeeded in guiding enterprises to success. His
ability to operate so many businesses successfully across the country indicates his ability to lead
situations that transcend all theories. In various sectors, places and situations he is constantly
aggressively seeking for possibilities and has managed to build new firms.
What I would change on Fred Moore’s leadership style and the impact it would have on
followers
Mr. Moore's style of leadership has resemblance to laissez-faire, encouraging his supporters to
break the limits and draw up their own ways. This was praised for the promotion of creativity
and autonomy for employees. Branson is known to be all right in that respect for almost
everything, particularly if it comes from good people. This partly blame his failure to establish a
powerful hand in governing Accra Hearts of Oak, considering most of the bad business decisions
that he has taken until now. To ensure the success of business ventures would be much more
prudent, comprehensive and properly careful before taking investment decisions. A more
practical decision-making method also helps ensure that staff are more engaged and
conscientious in their job.

Leaders need to understand their people and exercise their leadership to guarantee that work is
carried out, McGregors Theory X and Theory Y. Although his democratic leadership style and
his entertaining personality can function well in some areas, others cannot reflect well on the
performance and attitude of the workforce. In such a circumstance, I will distinguish my
management approach from one situation to another. This would help guarantee that workers
retain good job performance and a pleasant attitude towards employment regardless of the type
of the employees, employees' adequate leadership qualities.

Conclusion and Recommendation

Leadership is a crucial to every institution's success. Over the years, the idea of leadership
developed from environment with an emphasis on an individual who is superior to a holistic
perspective of the leader, his followers and the environment (McCleskey, 2014). Although
substantial research is available in this field, experts believed that in each company, scenario,
and climate, there was no single leadership style that would perform best. A strong leader is
consequently one who can build on his capabilities to impress and encourage his followers to
make a better life while at the same time contributing to the organization's collective success,
which clearly defines Mr Moore's concept of leadership. His success stories in previous
organisations illustrate one of the fundamental qualities of great entrepreneurs who has
extraordinary passion and devotion to achievement. His record of good management in other
enterprises are not a triumph, and therefore I think that Mr. Moore is a strong representation of
the entrepreneurial atmosphere and outstanding leadership.
References

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Buble, M., Juras, A., & Matić, I. (2014). The relationship between managers’ leadership styles
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Wynn, S. R. (2003). Trait theory. Educational Administration Quarterly, 39, 95-134.
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