Leadership Profile Part III: How to Be an Effective Leader

Psychologists have made significant contributions in the business sphere by outlining primary traits of
accredited leaders. Organizations have administered psychological tests to identify features that are most
common among successful managers or leaders. With globalization, the service industry has become more
competitive, compelling firms like Starbucks to place much stress on leadership. Starbucks is looking for
leaders who have a strong sense of work and ethics as well as anticipate paradigm deviations in the market
(Morais, 2014). Even though there have been some locations that have been closed, the steady leadership of
Starbucks has built a successful business because it is the most successful coffee chain in the world and has
achieved unparalleled rapid growth.
Starbucks summary
Starbucks is a retail coffee company that was started by three friends back in the 70s. According to a market
research, Starbuck is the biggest coffeehouse chain in the world that serves both hot and cold beverages,
coffee latte as well as whole bean coffee espresso. Starbucks has its headquarters in Seattle, Washington.
District managers are in charge of regional operations and reports directly to the Starbuck Corporation. The
same procedure is implemented in all their 21,878 stores in over 57 nations globally. Starbuck’s primary
mission is to nurture as well as inspire the human spirit as stated by the motto “one person, one cup, and one
neighbourhood at a time.”
As an international organization, Starbucks comprises of numerous large divisions spread across the globe
and headed by the organization’s representatives. Starbucks being a major corporation, it is led by three top
officials, where Howard Schultz is the CEO, Kevin Johnson the COO and Scott Maw as the CFO (Morais,
2014).

Desired leadership skills

The most commonly preferred leadership traits in the hotel industry are dominance and intuitiveness. Leaders
who exhibit dominance traits are usually decisive and competitive and often like to overcome hurdles. Such
leaders have assertive attitude and thinking style when dealing with employees or even customers (Khan et
al., 2015). Further, globalization coupled with information surplus is inhibiting managers from mastering
everything. As such reasoning and logic may not help leaders in making productive decisions. Therefore,
leaders must value the using intuition and trust their “audacity” when making critical decisions.

Desired leadership Skills

Due to the heavy decision-making duty and responsibility is given to them; leaders should be strategic
thinkers (Glanz, 2007). Every decision they make should be strategically thought out and its possible
outcomes analyzed. They should always see the bigger picture and come up with plans that will ensure the
sustained growth of an organization.
Leaders should also be good communicators. Their communication with the employees and public should be
top notch (Glanz, 2007). They should be listeners first: people who are always willing to hear what the
general public has to say about their product. They should also be able to communicate orally and do it
effectively. Relevant information within the organization should also be passed on in due time. This can only
be achieved by having a leadership with strong communication relations.
Strategic thinking is essential for leaders in Starbucks because it will help them analyze the kind of
competition at hand. Such skills also help leaders implement new strategies to counter such in the future. It
also helps them to be able to draw long-term plans and establish goals to work to guide the business. Again,
good communication traits help the company create a bond with the general public (Khan et al., 2015). Their
customers get to interact with them and share their views. This helps them secure a large number of loyal
customers. Good communication also benefits the organization in that they can note the areas where they do
not perform and come up with strategies to ensure good performance.

Desired leadership style

Further, the kind of leadership style is also important in the realization of a company’s goals. First,
transformational leadership is quite important (Khan et al., 2015). This kind of leadership is where a leader
creates a working rapport with employees to boost productivity. Employees are bound to feel tired and
overworked from time to time. However, boosting their morale by constantly motivating the staff helps
maintain a favourable working environment for them. This working condition in return leads to increased
productivity in an organization.
Authoritarian leadership is also another leadership style that guarantees the success of business. This type of
leadership ensures the maintaining of a clear division between employees in a company and the employer
(Glanz, 2007). This kind of leadership gives the leaders authoritative power over their staff in that they can
command them to partake certain duties. Authoritarian leadership also ensures that employees stay
committed to achieving the company’s goals.
Starbucks requires transformational leadership to motivate staff towards achieving their targets. Most
employees work daily in the various coffee retail shops, and this could make them become worn out and
bored with the work. Constant motivation is crucial in making them live up to their expectations in the
organization. Authoritarian leadership also makes the employees maintain their focus on realizing the
organization's goals. It also creates a sense of order in the firm.

Desired leadership behaviour

Leaders in the coffee industry should also be people with inspirational and motivational attributes. They
should be able to keep a good spirit amongst the employees. They should be courageous in their undertakings
and support their employees at all times. At Starbucks, the leaders are always encouraging the employees to
achieve greatness. They urge on being a perfectionist in everything the employees are assigned. This makes
the employees feel respected in their position, and it makes them remain committed to serving the
organization.

Desired personality traits

Leaders should exhibit professionalism as they exercise their leading role over the employees. They should
be self-disciplined, self-motivated and should always lead by example. Again, they should also be great team
players and be servant leaders. Personality is a significant element of personal characteristics of leadership
which plays a crucial role in the Individual Difference Framework. These factors include Neuroticism,
Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. Many studies have shown that extraversion
as a factor that is strongly related to leadership whereas agreeableness has exhibited a weak relationship
(Khan et al., 2015). A clear comprehension of features and traits exhibited by effective leaders enables
Starbucks to assign the right leaders to the right positions.
The Starbuck leadership team is considered as one of the best globally. When recruiting, the firm seeks
employees who are team players and are passionate to work for the organization. In return, the team treats
their employees well with respect. The culture that Schultz has built in Starbuck is unique and allows
empowerment and entrepreneurship, quality and service to define values of leadership. Schultz has entrusted
his employees with the power of making a decision as well as the flexibility to choose when to work.
Democratic leadership is the style that Schultz uses in his organization and this evident when he honors
feedback from his employees.
In conclusion, Starbucks is the best coffee shop globally, with the leadership and vision of Schultz, Starbuck
will continue to dominate the market. The organization takes recruitment seriously by selecting team players
who are passionate about the firm. Schultz also believes that it is imperative to respect all the employees as
well as motivating them.
References
Glanz, J. (2007). On vulnerability and transformative leadership: an imperative for leaders of supervision.
International Journal of Leadership in Education, 10(2), 115-135. Retrieved from
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13603120601097462?journalCode=tedl20.
Khan, M. S., Khan, I., Qureshi, Q. A., Ismail, H. M., Rauf, H., Latif, A., Muhammad, T. (2015). The styles
of leadership: a critical review . Public Policy and Administration Research, 5(3), 87-92. Retrieved from
http://www.iiste.org/Journals/index.php/PPAR/article/view/20878.
Morais, U. P. (2014). Managing diverse employees at Starbucks: focusing on ethics and inclusion.
International Journal of Learning & Development, 4 (3), 35-49. doi:10.5296/ijld.v4i3.5994