Week 3 Assignment

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Feb 20, 2024

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Week 3 Assignment Rian Adams-Mazza BUS 119 – Principles of Personal & Organizational Leadership Ashford University Dr. Richard Leventhol January 18, 2021

Many business leaders throughout history have made a big impact on the people and the organizations they have led. Throughout this course, we have learned about different skills and traits a leader may develop throughout their leadership journey. This paper is going to discuss Kenneth Chenault outlining his relationship trait, the challenges he faced as a leader, and his overall approach as a democratic leader. There are many skills a successful leader must possess; we will discuss the importance of emotional intelligence and the reason a leader must effectively cast vision to set a tone for followers. Leaders are the lifeblood of an organization; Kenneth Chenault set an example of an exemplary leader and gave others an example of someone they could aspire to be. There are many different skills that Kenneth Chenault excelled at as a leader, one of the strongest identified was the relationship trait. In any leader’s journey, relationships can an d will play a pivotal role at some point. Whether it be a connection that leads you to another connection needed to get a project completed or just building a solid relationship with key players in an organization that creates an unstoppable team, relationships can not be undervalued. In an article written by Economics and Sociology (2015) they discuss how relationships can enhance a leader’s traits by mentioning “Prior studies provide evidence that leadership relationship enhances the effect of leader’s traits such as competence and ability, based on which followers’ trust is built and it can serve as an organizational practice that strengthens the role of normative rules and procedures on trust” (Pucetaite et al., 2015, para 4). When thinking about the way good relationships in business can enhance your abilities as a leader, it is no exception this could have been the case for Kenneth Chenault in his journey with American Express. No leader is perfect in across the board, they may excel in a few traits but have to rely on relationship building teams to accomplish big things. In Kenneth’s journey as the CEO of American Express, he faced many

challenges from reshaping a companies business model that was being driven out of the industry in the 1980’s to facing the challenges that were brought on by catastrophic events like 911 and the financial crisis of 2008. In an interview with The Service Ethic (2014), Kenneth was mentioned facing these challenges as a leader shaped him by stating “what is most important is to have integrity. That is the foundation of leadership. It is very BUSINESS STRATEGY REVIEW hard to motivate people if they don’t trust you. And for me, integrity is the consistency of words and actions” (Collins, 2014, para 5). Integrity is important in building relationships because it builds trust with others in an organization. A leader that lacks integrity is unlikely to sustain success in leading teams over a long period of time. Throughout his career, Kenneth Chenault faced many challenges and has numerous obstacles to overcome. Being the CEO of American Express from 2001 to 2018, Kenneth served during some of the most challenging times in history the world of business has faced. The challenges that could derail any leader of an organization during this time would be the acts carried out on 911 and the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009. Kenneth mentions in an interview with The Service Ethic (2014) by stating “The third experience was one of my most challenging experiences and that was managing the company in the aftermath of 9/11. Our headquarters building was right across the street from the World Trade Center. We lost 11 employees. So the emotional challenge, the psychological impact on the company plus the dramatic impact on our busine ss were formative experiences for me” (Collins, 2014, para 3). As a leader in facing a crisis like 911, it is easy to reflect and think how you would react until you are facing a moment like this. Through this journey as an organization, Kenneth had to lead by showing a tremendous amount of compassion and empathy. These communication skills are critical and needed to comfort people in traumatic events like 911. Ultimately, Kenneth was as successful as any great

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leader in these trying times American Express faced. The world was in a dark time and many had no idea what tomorrow would bring. The way the teams withing American Express must have together to get everyone through was a reflection of the senior leadership. American Express stood out in the financial services industry, even in these dark times. This is a prime example of excellent leadership from Kenneth delivering and inspiring people with the right message, which had an impact on the customers American Express served. There is a lot to consider when defining the type of leader one person may be. It is not uncommon that a leader will show qualities of various forms of leadership in their style and approach leading people. Between authoritarian, democratic, or laissez-faire leadership styles, Kenneth Chenault would be identified as a democratic leader. In the classroom textbook, Northouse (2018) defines democratic style leadership as “democratic leaders treat followers as fully capable of doing work on their own. Rather than controlling followers, democratic leaders work with followers, trying hard to treat everyone fairly, without putting themselves above followers. In essence, they see themselves as guides rather than as directors. They give suggestions to others, but never with any intenti on of changing them” (Northouse, 2018, 4.2). In studying Kenneth’s leadership style, it is known that his approach was very democratic in the way he believed in his team’s abilities to get the job completed. His communication style was direct and on the same level os the followers in the organization. Kenneth never approached communication from a top- down approach. Kenneth’s ability to listen to the people in his organization, especially in times of hardship, promoted communication and ideas that pivoted Am erican Express to become a leader in the financial services industry. Those under Kenneth’s direction at American Express were inspired and influenced to work under their talents to get projects completed. In an ever-changing world, American Express has sustained success over a

long period of time, this could be largely contributed to Kenneth’s democratic leadership approach. One of the toughest things a leader will face in their journey could be emotional intelligence (EI). Emotional intelligence is something a skill everyone has whether we think consciously about it or not, it is an ability we develop over time. It is important to understand the context behind emotional intelligence before diving into why a leader needs to possess a high level of emotional intelligence. I the classroom textbook written by Northouse (2018) emotional intelligence is defined as “a person’s ability to understand his or her own and others’ emotions, and then to apply this understanding to life’s tasks” (Northouse, 20 18, 6.2). We ask ourselves why would it be important for a leader to possess a strong level of emotional intelligence? The answer lies in the leader ability to socially interact with their teams and build sustainable relationships. Abdelmoniem and Osman (2 020) mention “Emotional intelligence contains a set of emotional and social skills that the individual possesses which are necessary for career success. As leaders are the key players of the success of any organization, the level of their emotional intelligence and their adopted leadership styles will certainly influence the organizational outcomes” Abdelmoniem & Osman, 2020, para 1). In every organization, the leaders are an integral piece to the lifeblood of the business. A leader’s ability to process his or her emotions provides a deep level of understanding how they may react in certain situations in the business world. A leader that understands their reactions will aid tremendously in times of conflict to resolve the issue at hand. Being emotionally intelligent also aids the leader in understanding the people the leader may work with. When we look at any successful leader, one of the most important qualities an effective leader can possess is the ability to follow and cast a vision of the future possibilities a project

may have. The importance of this skill in setting a tone for the projected outcome is something that inspires others to see the project through to completion. Northouse (2018) mentions that visionary leadership is broken down by 5 characteristics: a picture, a change, values, a map, and challenge (Northouse, 2018). The skill a leader possesses to create vision will impact any project they may face and direct teams to shift their resources effectively. A leader will inspire people by creating a vision that will motivate others to work outside of their normal capacity and accomplish things they may never have thought possible. Nothouse (2018) outlined this thought by stating “It provides a picture of a future that is better than the present, is grounded in values, and advocates change toward some new set of ideals. Visions function as a map to give people direction. Visions also challenge people to commit themselves to a greater common good” (Northouse, 2018, 7). When we think about the ability a leader may have in casting a vision, they also set a tone for the team. The tone you set as a leader will likely determine the success of those you lead. This paper was intended to cast a vision into the audience’s mind, outlining some of th e skills that Kenneth Chenault possesses that made him a great leader. We discussed the emotional intelligence skill and the importance behind why a this could be one of the greatest tools a leader can have. A leader has to learn how to cast vision and setting a tone for others to follow. When we take a step back admire all the Kenneth accomplished throughout his career with American Express, it is something that can provide an example of strong leadership. Leaders are the lifeblood of an organization; Kenneth Chenault set an example of an exemplary leader and gives others an example of someone they could aspire to be.

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Abdelmoniem, I., & Osman, E. (2020). The relationship between Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Middle Management Leadership Styles (Transformational and Transactional Leadership) among managerial personnel at Khartoum State. Ahfad Journal, 37(1), 3 – 13. Collis, C. (2014). The Service Ethic. Business Strategy Review, 25(1), 30 – 32. https://doi- org.proxy-library.ashford.edu/10.1111/j.1467-8616.2014.01024.x/ Northouse, P. G. (2018). Introduction to leadership: Concepts and practice (4th ed.). Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/ Pucetaite, R., Novelskaite, A., & Markunaite, L. (2015). The Mediating Role of Leadership Relationship in Building Organisational Trust on Ethical Culture of an Organisation: Guest Editorial. Economics and Sociology, 8(3), 11 – 31. https://doi-org.proxy- library.ashford.edu/http://www.economics-sociology.eu/

Week 3 Assignment

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