School of Practical Accounting

Strategic Leadership

DIPLOMA: L6 - Strategic Leadership

STUDENT’S NAME: ZUBAIR IDREES HOSEIN

PROJECT TITLE: Reflect on the organization that you work at, or on a local
organization that you are familiar with and assume you have been
appointed as the CEO. Using theories, frameworks and
knowledge gained through the program, explain how you will
proceed to lead the company effectively, especially amidst the
global pandemic.

DATE 2nd December 2021

SUBBMITTED:

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................4
DISCUSSION .......................................................................................................................................5
Roles of a Leader ....................................................................................................................................... 5
Power in Leadership.................................................................................................................................. 6
Importance of Strategic Planning ............................................................................................................. 7
Importance of Communication ............................................................................................................... 11
Emotional Intelligence ............................................................................................................................ 12
Employee Motivation.............................................................................................................................. 13
Building and Leading Teams ................................................................................................................... 14
Managing Change ................................................................................................................................... 15
CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................... 18
RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................................................................................................... 19
REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................... 21

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report presents a brief but inciteful discussion on the importance and role of leadership as it

appeals to the 21st century. Leadership is defined as the process of influencing and inducing

subordinates or an organized group to behave in a desired manner towards accomplishing a given

goal.

The continuing Covid 19 Pandemic, which started in 2019 at a global level until present, in 2021

has led to the drastic downturn of the economy. Many businesses were closed, employees were

sent home, raw materials and the supply chain was disrupted, and production became more

costly and expensive. Along with the Governmental Covid restrictions which has stunned

business growth, consumer behavior also changed towards essential purchases which has led to

further pitfalls for small businesses.

Barry’s Bakery Ltd., operating in Cunupia, fell prey to these conditions and became on the brink

of shut down. Not adapting to the change and competing with larger companies such as Kiss

Baking Co., the business model of BBL could no longer work and the need for new strategies

and leadership style arose. A struggling business was now becoming obsolete.

Mr. Zubair Hosein, decided to take the opportunity to integrate 21st Century leadership into this

business to reconfigure and realign the business with a new vison and mission, strategic planning

initiatives, team building incentives, and the application of change management steps to create

an overhaul of the business to a new dynamic look and operation, meeting and beating the

challenge of the pandemic.

This report discusses this leadership role and initiatives.

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INTRODUCTION
Barry’s Bakery Ltd. (BBL) located in Cunupia has been incorporated since October 2010 by its

founder Mr. Barry Hosein. The offerings of BBL include general bakery items such as hops, long

bread and pastries, and specializes in wedding and event cakes.

BBL offers bread van and delivery retail service to mainly the central area of Trinidad using four

delivery vans, as well as retail in-store purchases for customers. The bakery sells approximately

daily 500 bags of hops, 15 cakes and about 300 different types of pastries.

Since the commencement of operation, the business has progressed slowly, and Mr. Barry

considers his products the best in the area. However, because of the global pandemic, sales have

dropped significantly, and Mr. Barry was unable to adapt to the sudden changes, causing the firm

to suffer. Mr. Barry, under the stress of a regressing business, succumbed, became sick and was

unfit to lead the business and therefore advertised for a suitable CEO. Upon recruitment, I

(Zubair Hosein), have been appointed as the new CEO and leader of Barry’s Bakery Ltd.

Given the challenge of the COVID 19 and a regressing business, my objective is to lead as a 21st

century leader to instigate growth leading to a positive turn of the Business. This approach

involves the application of suitable leadership role and attitude, strategic planning and

implementation, team building initiatives and motivation, change management mitigation

initiatives.

These will be further discussed in this report.

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DISCUSSION
Leadership assumes various dimensions and has been defined differently throughout the ages.

The 21st century began from January 1st, 2001, and with it a host of new trends emerged. These

include the rise in the global market and economy, third world consumerism, digital revolution,

the force of generation Y and Z, economic challenges, and in recent times 2020-2021 and

ongoing, the Covid 19 Pandemic.

Hughes, Ginnett & Curphy (2015) after reviewing several definitions have preferred the

definition of leadership as, ‘the process of influencing an organized group toward accomplishing

its goals’. This therefore encompasses the 21st century leadership as a ‘process’, which includes

understanding leadership role and authority; knowledge and skills of dynamic leadership;

strategic planning and implementation; leading with example, rational and emotion; and

understanding the interactional framework of leader, situation and follower. This section

indulges key competencies in leadership for me as well as for all 21st century leaders.

Roles of a Leader
The foremost task for myself, being the leader of BBL, as well as, for any leader is to identify the

important leadership roles that are expected. Considering Mr. Jack Welch’s view, leadership has

four main roles. Mr. Welch gave his profession spin on these, which he indicates as CMO, CBO,

CGO and CFO. (Welch, (2015).

CMO (Chief Meaning Officer): This role is to give meaning positions in the organization chart

by communicating the why we are here, where are we going, what are the benefits to be accrued,

and how would we reach there. Therefore, I will have to ensure that each employee see the

meanings in their jobs, so that they understand the vison of BBL.

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CBO (Chief Brooming Officer): This role allows for mitigation and risk management strategies

to see challenges in the macro and micro-environment and to ‘broom’ away any obstacles that

comes in the path of the business and employees.

CGO (Chief Generosity Officer): This role appeals to the empathetic and generous nature of

leaders towards employees. The leader must love to see his human resources, employees, and

staff, become successful, get promoted and not feel threaten or jealous of their achievement but

must celebrate their success with them.

CFO (Chief Fun Officer): This role allows leaders to do business in a manner that there is

entertainment. This is a motivational tactic on employees to be innovative and productive.

Power in Leadership
Leadership holds the reins of power. Roter (2017) analyzing Weber, (1925) definition of power

has endorsed it as the ability to control others, event, or resources; to make happen what one

wants to happen in spite of obstacles, resistance or opposition. To guide BBL towards its vision,

exercising of power will become necessary to the extent of the need. However, it is believed in

agreement to Gardner, that it is not necessary that power be exercised in order to have its effect.

(Huges, Ginnet, & Curphy, 2015).

The aim of power is to influence either the follower, the situation or both towards the strategic

direction of the business. Leadership brandishes this social taxonomy to drive and motivate

others. Leadership at BBL may have to use, at times, the 5 bases of social power according to

French and Raven (1959). These are summarized as follows:

1. Legitimate Power: This depends on the person’s assigned role in the business. Note:

Having this type of power means that one also has Reward and Expert power

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 2. Reward Power: This involves the potential to influence others because of one having

control of resources desired by others. These resources can be grants, payments, salaries,

office space, etc. Note: More benefits given creates greater loyalty and influence over

others.

3. Coercive Power: This involves the potential to use punishments and negative sanctions

to influence others. This may include warning letter, suspension, dismissal, fines, etc.

These three are connected to the job title of a person

4. Expert Power: This involves the power of knowledge and experience especially in the

business operations and technical skills. As new leader at BBL, it would require me to

develop my expert power by substantial research into operations and new technology

along with staff practice and input into the operations.

5. Referent Power: This involves the potential influence over others due to the

relationships with them and to build their loyalty. A leader influences others by their own

example, their positive attitude and their principles in dealings.

To develop continuous improvement at BBL, I must be a strong leader and must be able to apply

authority and power, especially Expert and Referent power.

Importance of Strategic Planning

Leadership has a fundamental role in strategic planning and implementation. A strategic plan is a

document that communicates the organization's goals, the actions required to accomplish those

goals, and all the other key elements established throughout the planning process to the rest of

the organization. (Thompson, et. al, (2016)

It's a focused, disciplined endeavor that results in basic decisions and activities that shape and

govern what an organization is, who it serves, what it does, and why it does it. Effective strategic
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planning spells out not only where a company is heading and what steps it must take to get there,

but also how it will know when it's done.

A company’s strategies provide direction and guidance, in terms of not only what the company

should do but also what it should not do. Good strategies make best use of resources while bad

strategies cause waste of resources.

BBL will engage in 3 critical processes for Strategy Success

1. The Strategy Process: Where the BBL wants to go

2. The People Process: Who’s going to get the company there.

3. The operation process: Provides the path for the people to take BBL there.

BBL will also engage the following processes to develop a Strategic Plan of action :

1. Analysis - SWOT & PESTEL Tools – These tools will be used to scan the internal and

external environment to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the company as well

as the environment it must deal with. Covid 19 has created a turn of events in the

economy and has constantly influenced the macro environment. BBL has to survive

amidst the challenges. To be able to survive in a rapid changing business environment,

critical analysis will be carried out using the above-mentioned tools.

2. Vision - A Vision Statement describes the desired future position of the company.

3. Mission - A Mission Statement defines the company’s business, its objectives, and its

approach to reach those objectives and where the resources of the organization can be

best utilized.

A company's vision and mission statements guide the organization's strategy. One of the

most crucial roles of the leader is to clearly define the company's vision so that there is a

clear direction for all stakeholders to align their efforts to accomplish it.
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After consultation with relevant stakeholders of BBL, the Vision and Mission for BBL were

decided.

The Vision of Barry’s Bakery is:

“Barry’s Bakery products will bake the favorite bread and pastries finding its place in all

homes in Trinidad.”

The Mission of Barry’s Bakery is:

“Barry’ Bakery will effectively and economically utilize quality resources to create bakery

products meeting the needs and expectations of consumers.”

Both the vision and mission statements establish purpose and goals for BBL, which are

essential components for an effective strategy

4. Values – this represents the beliefs, traits, and behavioral norms that the organization is

expected to portray in the business operations and dealings as it pursues its strategic

vision and mission. BBL has adopted the values of quality, integrity, and service as its

core values.

5. Goals & Objectives - business goals and objectives describe what a business expects to

achieve over a specific period. Goals are more overarching while Objectives are more

short terms and SMART (Specific, Measurable, Accurate, Reliable and Timebound).

BBL has set several goals among which are the following:

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 Table showing Goals and Objectives for BBL.

Goals Objective [1] Objective [2] Objective [3] Objective [4]

Increase the Marketing via social / Promotion and Marketing via B2B meetings / esp.
Brand awareness digital media product deals physical billboards/ with larger
flyers businesses
Improve Organize hospitality Create monthly Surveys and feedback Standardize brand
Customer service training recognition – from customers logo and uniform.
Employee of the
month
Enhance Staff Scheduled staff training Motivation for Promotional Quarterly outdoor
Experience quarterly workers – monthly opportunities events.
prizes / bonuses
Increase sales 10 Expand area of service More B2B Target meal providers Commissions for
% to neighboring villages arrangements to fixed customers – sales reps.
to Cunupia. especially Hospitals / food
supermarkets feeding programs, etc

6. Implementation – Implementation of strategy is the process of translating plans into

action to attain a desired outcome. Fundamentally, it's the art of getting things done. The

success of BBL as well as every business lies on its ability to implement decisions taken

and execute essential practices and processes effectively, efficiently, and constantly. This

will be done over a schedule time frame. BBL has decided to implement the strategies

into three main phases which can be termed as initial, in progress and completion phases.

BBL plans to put quality control in place to assist with the implementation phases.

7. Evaluation – Evaluation of strategy refers to the process by which the leadership

assesses strategy implementation and how effective or not the strategy is. The evaluation

process in a nutshell is assessing the process and measuring business performance. BBL

considers progress as cycle of improvement. It starts with a plan and ends with evaluation

and then the cycle starts over. It is in effect the PDCA cycle.

(Thompson, et al, 2016)

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Importance of Communication
Communication in organizations is of utmost important to express clear messages about

policies, plans, strategy, developments, branding, marketing, and customer service A business

needs to develop focused and consistent promotional messages tailored to its stakeholders to

build brand. Likewise, internal communication builds relationship among staff and supervisors /

managers and fosters teamwork and cooperation. The keys to effective communication within an

organization lies with leadership. Leadership requires the ability to think effectively, convey

ideas, and communicate with a diverse group of individuals. Leadership communication involves

the inspiring and encouraging of others by meaningful and systematic dissemination of

information using outstanding interaction skills. Likewise, the responsibility involves learning to

cope with fast-moving information both inside and outside the firm, as well as between

consumers, partners, and other stakeholders and influencers. (Luthra, 2015)

Sitting in the leadership chair at BBL it is understood that I must empower all stakeholders to

work toward common goals and thereby generate positive, incremental change. This can be

achieved through this powerful tool called communication. To build trust, connect efforts toward

common goals, and inspire positive change, effective communication is essential

Therefore, it is the duty of BBL leadership to communicate the reviewed vision and mission,

goals and objectives, strategic plans, and implementation schedules to respective stakeholders.

Likewise, the communication of expected tasks, work breakdowns schedules, milestones and

outcomes of achievements must be communicated clearly.

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Emotional Intelligence

A 21st century leader, which I propose to be, must possess emotional intelligence (EI). It is

described as the ability to recognize, use, comprehend, manage, and handle emotions. Those with

high emotional intelligence can notice their own and others' emotions, use emotional information

to drive their thoughts and conduct, differentiate between different feelings and name them

appropriately, and alter emotions to fit their surroundings. (Goleman, 2006)

I will therefore strive to implement the 5 elements of Emotional Intelligence into my character as

the leader. These are summarized as follows.

1. Self- awareness – Being aware of one’s own feelings and emotions and how it affects

other. This involves having a clear view of one’s talents and flaws, as well as acting with

humility.

2. Self-regulation - Leaders should set the goal of self-regulation in order to maintain

control of their emotions which will less likely lead to verbal attack on others, drive rash

or emotive decisions, label people, or compromise one’s principles.

3. Self- motivated - Leaders should be self-motivated which would cause them to work

persistently toward their objectives and hold themselves to exceptionally high standards

for the quality of their work.

4. Empathy - Empathy is essential for leaders to manage a successful team or business.

Empathic leaders can put themselves in the shoes of others. They assist in the

development of their team members, criticize unfair behavior, provide constructive

comments, and listen to those who require it. If one wants to win the team's respect and

loyalty, then one should show them care by being empathic.

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 5. Social Skill - Leaders who excel at emotional intelligence's social skills component are

excellent communicators. They're equally receptive to receiving terrible news as they are

to receiving good news, and they're masters at rallying their team behind them and

getting them excited about a new mission or project. Leaders with strong social skills

excel at managing change and politely resolving disagreements. They're rarely pleased

with the status quo, but they also don't sit back and expect others to do the job for them.

Employee Motivation
Employee motivation refers to the amount of enthusiasm, dedication, and inventiveness that

employees bring to their professions. Finding strategies to encourage employees is always a

leadership / management priority, regardless of whether the economy is growing or shrinking.

Jack Welch on motivating stakeholders said that leaders and manager owe their employees to the

extent that they should not second guess their position in the organization. He again mentioned

that leaders should have a rigorous ‘appraisal system’ and that employees should be informed

where they stand. Onochie and Ebere (2021) have categorized motivated employees like assets

who are directly proportional to the success of the organization. They have also quoted the

famous statement of Bob Nelson, that an employee’s motivation is a direct result of the sum of

interactions with his or her manager.

Therefore, during the challenge of Covid 19, I must unfold motivational tactics for workers

because having a motivated workforce provides many benefits, including fewer absenteeism,

employee retention, and low staff turnover, improved management-worker relations, higher

worker performance, improved quality, and enhanced customer service.

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Building and Leading Teams
Leadership requires the appointing, building, and working with teams. As the top team leader,

being the CEO at BBL, I will build strong teams to carry out tasks because "Teamwork divides

the task and multiplies the success”.

A team is defined as a group of individuals who execute interdependent tasks to achieve a

common goal or mission. (Hughes et at, 2015) Similarly, a team can also be described as a

collective effort of the members which results in a level of performance greater than the sum of

the individual parts. (Dyer, 2013)

Among the groups and teams at BBL, there are the marketing and sales team, baking and kitchen

team, delivery team and administrative team. In forming teams, the following team values and

characteristics will be kept in perspective:

Some guiding values for team members.

1. The Law of relationship – must know your people

2. The law of tough love – courage to say what needs to be said

3. The law of coaching- being and guide and mentor

4. The law of accountability – transparency in all dealings

5. The law of feedback – for evaluation and improvements

6. The law of building a cathedral not cutting stone – to keep focus on the purpose and not

be derailed

7. The law of personal commitment – drives inner energy and attention towards team

objectives

8. The law of expectations – self-fulling and sense of achievement

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Some characteristics of forming effective teams:

1. Team charter and norms

2. Widely shared team goals

3. Team cohesion and task interdependence

4. Team demographic and size

5. Clearly defined roles and responsibilities

6. Positive interpersonal relationships

7. Clearly stated operating procedures

8. Effective conflict resolution strategies

9. High- levels interpersonal communications

10. Strong top management support

Managing Change
Change is unavoidable. And occasionally it's planned, but most of the time it's not. As a leader, I

must be able to navigate through changes and ensure that the organization and teams do not

become derailed because of them. When the Pandemic started, there were changes to the external

business environment which impacted the internal operations of BBL. Given the allowance to

operate a Bakery (as a source of food) and an essential service within the pandemic, changes will

be made to turn this challenge into an opportunity.

To weather the storm of change, and in being a change agent, I intend to adopt the following

characteristic for BBL. To have a Clear Vision where I want to lead the Bakery; To be Patient

upon the challenges but Persistent to achieve the business goals; To lead by example and being

fully knowledgeable of the process; To establish strong relationships with stakeholders built

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on trust; and to be realistic on the situation through root cause analysis and asking tough

questions.

Hiatt & Creasey (2013) consider that when the unexpected happens, the main barrier to success

in businesses is a lack of change management processes (especially with the people aspect). For

effective change management, the teams must carefully progress through the necessary steps of

change management.

8 Essential Steps for a successful and effective Change Management Process.

1. Identify What Will Be Improved: Knowing what needs to be improved lays the groundwork

for clarity, ease, and successful implementation. Most change management systems recognize

that understanding what needs to be improved provides a solid foundation for success.

2. Present a Solid Business Case to Stakeholders: Onboarding is a multi-step procedure that

involves patience, time, and open communication. There are several layers of stakeholders, each

with their own set of expectations and experiences.

3 Plan for the Change: This is the "roadmap" that shows where to start, how to get there, and

where to end up. The strategy will also include the resources to be leveraged, the scope or

purpose, and the expenditures.

4. Provide Resources and Use Data for Evaluation: Resource identification and funding are

critical components of the planning process. Infrastructure, equipment, and software systems are

examples of these. Think about the tools you'll need for re-education, retraining, and re-thinking

your priorities and methods.

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5. Communication: This is the "golden thread" that runs throughout the change management

process. Communication is essential for identifying, planning, onboarding, and implementing a

successful change management strategy.

6. Monitor and Manage Resistance, Dependencies, and Budgeting Risks: Resistance is a

natural component of change management, yet it can jeopardize a project's success. Most

resistance stems from apprehension about the unknown. It also happens because there is a

significant degree of risk connected with change. Anticipating and planning for resistance by

providing leadership with skills to deal with it can help ensure a smooth transition.

7. Celebrate Success: Recognizing project milestones is an important component of every

project. When managing a change's lifespan, it's critical to acknowledge the accomplishments of

the teams and individuals involved. This will aid in the implementation of both your change

management process and the change itself.

8. Revise, Review and Continuously Improve Change is both difficult and painful, but it is also

a continuous process. Even change management tactics are frequently tweaked during the course

of a project. This, like communication, should be woven throughout the entire process of

identifying and removing impediments. And, like the requirement for resources and data, the

success of this process is contingent on the willingness to measure and analyze.

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CONCLUSION
The mentioned discussion highlights the appointment of myself, Zubair Hosein, as the CEO of

Barry’s Bakery along with proposals and plans for the success of the business in a period of the

pandemic. The report addresses key areas of leadership, power of the leader, the importance of

strategic planning and implementation, stakeholders’ motivation, the process of change, the traits

of a good leader, team building and change management.

These discussions also emphasis that leaders don’t exists in a vacuum but is surrounded by

followers and by the situation. It then concludes that a leader should have excellent personal

traits, be a good team player, who leads by example and values, so that success can be achieved

with lesser efforts and resources. Therefore, leadership is an art to be learnt, skills to be

developed and wisdom to be gained in dealing with variations, and influencing others towards

success against the changing business environments.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

The 21st Century leader is a change agent who possesses many laudable attributes. The following

are recommendations for me and for any 21st Century leader.

1. Communication: Every Leader should have a good connection to their employee. And

that is facilitated by having good communication. A good leader's ability to communicate

effectively is a crucial leadership role. Leadership and effective communication are

inextricably linked. To produce achievements via others, a leader must be a competent

communicator in the many engagements at the organization, in communities and groups.

The leader must think clearly, explain ideas, and communicate with a wide range of

people. One must learn to manage the quick flow of information within your company, as

well as between customers, partners, employees, and other stakeholders and influencers.

Effective communication requires leaders to be deliberate and purposeful. One must

know when and how to communicate, as well as which mode to use depending on your

target audience.

2. Motivation: Every leader should strive to motivate their employees, and they

should enjoy watching them develop. A true leader should be able to influence others in a

positive way. A true leader can re-energize and motivate coworkers who have lost sight

of their goals and ambitions. He should check in with team members to see how they're

doing, listen to what they have to say, and encourage them to participate more fully in the

process. Another major incentive is to create a pleasant work environment.

3. Emotional Intelligence: To be an effective leader in the 21st century a leader must leader

with emotional intelligence along with intellectual intelligence. According to research,

emotional intelligence is said to be responsible for 80% of one's success, Some

characteristics of emotional intelligence are:

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 • Common sense

• Trust- building behavior

• Integrity

• Composed under pressure

4. Integrity: A leader with integrity bases his decisions, behavior, and interactions with

others on their values. They are admired for being honest, principled, ethical, and

consistent in their beliefs about what is right and wrong. They have a strong sense of

character, follow through on their promises, and connect with people in an open, honest,

and direct manner. Employees will reward the leader with loyalty, confidence, and

respect when one demonstrates integrity in his daily actions.

5. Finally, and most importantly, leaders should never take their employees for granted.

Employees at all levels of the business require ongoing investment in terms of skill

development, mentoring, and welfare. To improve brand equity and organizational

culture, leaders must comprehend these large-scale transformations in attitudes toward

work and the workplace while remaining guided by a set of consistent values. If CEOs do

not put people first, their organizations will see perpetual instability, blocked progress,

and a degradation of their mission.

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REFERENCES

Dyer, W.G, Dyer, J.H., & Dyer, W.G. (2013) Team Building – Proven Strategies for improving
team performance’, 5th Edition, Publisher: Jossey-Bass

French, J., Raven, B.H, (1959), The Bases of Social Power

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/215915730_The_bases_of_social_power Last visited:
1st December 2021

Goleman, D. (2006) ‘Emotional Intelligence’ Bantam Books Publishers.

Hiatt, J., Creasey, T., (2003), ‘Change Management: The People Side of Change’, 1st Edition,
Prosci Learning Center Publications, p.6-13

Hughes, R.L, Ginnett, R.C, & Curphy, G.J. (2015) LEADERSHIP Enhancing the Lessons of
Experience, Mc Graw Hill Education Press, 8th Edition, p.5

Luthra, A (2015) ‘Effective Leadership is all about Communicating Effectively: Connecting

Leadership and communication’ Journal, Faculty of Management Studies, SRM University

Onchie, L.A. & Ebere, O.B, (2021), The Effectiveness of Motivation on Employees’
Performance Towards Achieving Organizational Goals: “A Literature Examination of
Employees' Motivation”, GSJ: Volume 9, Issue 6, June 2021,

Roter, A.B. (2017), Understanding and Recognizing Dysfunctional Leadership: The Impact of ...
Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, London, p.13

Thompson, A.A., Peteraf, M. A., Gamble, J.E., & Strickland III, A.J., (2016) ‘Crafting and
Executing Strategy’, Mc Graw Hill Education, 12th Edition

Welch, J. (2015) You tube video: What is the role of a leader? - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojkOs8Gatsg Last visited: 12th Nov 2021

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