Impact of ICCR's Growth on Rachel Adams' Leadership

Introduction

In this assignment, I will analyse a case study of Rachel Adams, who is the founder and CEO of the ICCR, which stands for the Independent Centre for Clinical research. Rachel Adams has managed efficiently to lead ICCR to the success that it is now with her leadership style, for this reason I will be analysing whether or not Rachel is a transformational leader and if so, how has the growth in her company impacted her transformational leadership traits. Along with this I will provide logical and reasonable suggestions on what Rachel would do to re-establish her as a transformational leader again.

PART A

A critical review of Rachel’s leadership style with discussion on features that clearly suggests that she is engaged in Transformational leadership

Transformational leadership was first introduced in 1973 by James V. Downton, the leadership style was later expanded on by James burns and researcher Bernard M. Bass in the years 1978 and 1985. The leadership style focuses on encouraging and inspiring employees or team members to become innovators and create change for the benefit of their company or group. This leadership style is predicated around transforming the very core of a company or team to be open to new ideas and concepts that will benefit both the leader and their subordinates. Transformational leadership consists of four very simplistic traits, which if followed, would ensure a team or company is transformed. The four traits are idealised influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualised consideration. A transformational leader should try and embody these traits to the best of their ability, as it is the traits, which transform leaders into transformational leaders.

Individualised consideration

Individualised consideration is when a transformational leader shows true and authentic concern for the needs and feelings of their followers or team (Riggio, 2014). For example, John Lewis practices individualised consideration as they in 2017 launched their wellbeing campaign which is centred on supporting their employee’s mental and physical health, by providing them with the necessary incentives and support to tackle these issues.

An article on John Lewis partnership states, “Having a supportive employer who enhances employee wellbeing and invests in early clinical intervention, can make a real difference to someone grappling with a physical or mental health conditions and their recovery” (Knowledge, 2019). John Lewis has practiced individualised consideration, as they have considered the health implication, which mental and physical damaged can have on certain employees, who struggle with those issues. Therefore, to tackle this they have provided them with support groups in the form of clinical intervention, as well as to support their employee’s individual well-being. Similarly, Racheal also practices individualised consideration in ICCR as the case study shows Rachel has created an onsite day care program, with flexitime scheduling for mothers with young children.

Intellectual stimulation

Intellectual stimulation is the ability for a leader to be open minded and challenge assumptions, takes risks and solicits followers’ ideas (Towler, 2019). Google displays this trait perfectly, as they remain open minded to new and challenging concepts brought about by their very own employees, Google gives their employees the chance to voice their opinions without critiquing and undermining their view points. Martin, (2014) stated “Employees can make use of many channels of expression to communicate their ideas and thoughts channels include Google+ conversations, a wide variety of surveys given to employees.” Google have shown intellectual stimulation through remaining opened by allowing their employees the opportunity to express what ideas they have through a range of avenues.

Furthermore, Google's open minded approach helps to cultivate intellectual stimulation as employees can use their intellect to bring about news idea which will then be discussed every Friday within employee forums. According to Martin, (2014) “The company host employee forums on every Friday where there is an examination of the 20 most asked questions.” Google’s weekly examination of their employee’s idea shows that not only do they provide their employees with provisions to express their thoughts and opinions, they also consider them. The case study suggests that Rachel does hold the trait of intellectual stimulation, as it describes her as being a free thinker and open to new idea showing she’s open minded and innovative, which are traits of intellectual stimulation.

Inspirational motivation

The trait of inspirational motivation lies in the ability of a leaders to not only inspire confidence, motivation and a sense of purpose in his/her followers Schieltz and Seidel, (2019). On the other hand, Cocoa Cola exhibits this trait perfectly as they motivate and inspire their employees by creating an energising work environment through employee perks and insensitive such as providing them with free parking and an onsite gym at their UK branch.

According to Dwlison (2018), “Coca-Cola strives to offer an energizing environment that will motivate employees every day. Coco Cola provides employees with free parking along, with a free laundry system and onsite gym located in it UK branch.” Coca Cola has shown Inspirational motivation by providing their employees with a productive and proactive work environment through employee’s perks and an energising atmosphere. Rachel has also adopted the trait of inspirational motivation with her staff at ICCR as they describe working there as a place which is progressive and very positive in how it treats their employees and customers. Along with this Rachel also provides her part time employees with full health coverage; this is a direct demonstration of how Rachel uses Inspirational motivation at ICCR as she provides employees perks and proactive work environment which are all means of motivation for her employees.

Idealised influence

Idealised influences act as role models and display a charismatic personality which positively influences others to want to become more like the leader (Schieltz and Seidel, 2019).Within society, there are leaders who lead and there are leaders who are idealised, (in other words), looked up to by many. These leaders are often morally adept and ethical in their actions and leadership. Sims, (2018) stated that “Michelle Obama is an outstanding role model to young women”, inspiring them to figure out (a clear path in life.” She is a role model to many, because she holds herself in a classy and professional manner, she’s also moral and ethically adept, as she has opened many charities and programs, which benefit young women and families who are underprivileged. Similarly to Michelle Obama Rachel is described by the women in ICCR as leader which they see as a role model. Rachel has shown herself to be an idealised leader especially for women as her all female see her as a role model who shows that she is idealised and influential to them.

Along with this, there are other examples of idealised influences which help to inspire others through what they implement this often revolves around their inclusive approach to leadership. A good example of this is the popular youtuber Lily singh, who has just transgressed from YouTube to the world of late night with her new job she has employed a diverse staff. On her success by Liu, (2019) states, while building her team, which is half women, Singh made efforts to hire a diverse set of producers and writers. “I want them to feel comfortable bringing their point of view because that’s why they’re in the room,” she said. Like Lily Rachel has become an idealised influence amongst her all female staff, because of the initiative she has taken to employee and all female being that women are often underrepresented in the work place. Along with this Rachel further shows herself as an idealised influence amongst her peers being that she is a female entrepreneur especially in the pharmaceutical industry a 2018 study conducted by the house of common liberty stated by Powell, (2018) “Men are more likely than women to be involved in “total early stage entrepreneurial activity”, which includes owning or running a business less than 3.5 years old. This shows that, Rachel is an idealised influence as her being a female entrepreneur is a feat many women aspire to achieve thereby making her an idealised influence.

Evidence suggest Rachel is a Transformational leader

Having evaluated Rachel’s leadership style, I have concluded that, she is a transformational leader, as she poses the four traits needed to be a transformational leader. She has displayed in different periods of her leadership, Rachel has carefully and precisely implemented theses transformational leadership traits throughout her organisation there is clear evidence to this in the actions and traits she has used to run ICCR. With evidence from the transformational leadership model and evidence from various national global organisations which use transformational leadership, as their model of leadership and poses the four transformational leadership traits which are intellectual stimulation, idealised influence, inspirational motivation and individualised consideration. As a means to transform their organisation or businesses, Rachel has implemented all the above transformational leadership traits in ICCR her pharmaceutical company for this reason she is a transformational leader.

PART B

Identifying and discussing ways in which the growth of ICCR had an impact on Rachel’s leadership

As a transformational leader, it is important to retain transformational leadership traits through all the stages in your organisation. For this reason, in this section, I will be analysing what the impact of ICCRs has had on Rachel as a transformational leader, and whether she has lost some of her transformational traits. Along with this, I will be assessing how and where she lost these traits along with, what are the implications of her losing these transformational traits on her organisation and staff.

Individualised consideration

As a transformational leader considering the individuality in your organisation is important, as they have their own specialised needs, which requires to be met for the betterment of your team and organisation. However due to the growth in ICCR Rachel is steadily losing this trait as the case study states that due to the rapid growth of the company Rachel has had to spend a lot of time abroad meaning she is distant from the day-to-day running of ICCR.

Because of Rachel’s lack of presence in the organisation, she lost her personal connection in which she once had with her employees meaning she can hear or understand her employee’s individual needs like she once did. This can be detrimental to a company as Kokemuller, (2018) states “Poor communication limits a company's ability to optimize performance.” There is a impact of individualised consideration which is primarily brought about through communication between leaders and employees. This is evident in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs under the term esteem which involves two components as shown by Hopper, (2019) “The first involves feeling self-confidence and feeling good about oneself. The second component involves feeling valued by others, through achievements and appraisal given by others.” An employee’s self- esteem is vital and can be helped through individualised consideration as personal consideration is being given to an employee hence making them feel worthy and important within an organisation. Rachel was not in the physical presence of her employee’s stifles and this thereby limiting her ability to consider the individuals in her company.

Intellectual stimulation

For a transformational leader being able to intellectually stimulate your team through bring new an effective idea to them whiles remaining open mind is a trait which allow an organisation to prosper as it brings about positive innovation and change. As ICCR has grown Rachel is increasingly losing her ability to intellectual stimulate her team as the case study states Rachel due to travel has grown to feel she lost her handle on what makes the organisation tick.

Due to Rachel’s lack of presence in her organisation has lost her vision of what makes her organisation thrive the consequence of this can be detrimental, as Robinson, (2017) stated that, “when people engaged with their work, they don’t tend to leave the organization even if their wages are low. It’s when things slow down and employees are bored or unchallenged, that they take that call from the recruiter.” This shows that, one of the main factors to the decline of an organisation is lack of intellectual stimulation as employees like to be challenged Abraham Maslow (1943, 1954) states that human motivation is based on people seeking fulfilment and change through personal growth (McLeod, 2018). This is predicated at the top of his Maslow hierarchy of needs under the term self- actualisation this shows employees are hungry for encouragement and innovation within their place of work, as this keeps them interested hence increasing work ethic and motivation within their organisation. For this reason the impact of Rachel’s lack of intellectual stimulation could mean that her employees will lose interest in working at ICCR or the work ethic will decline hence jeopardising the success of ICCR.

Inspirational motivation

Leaders are there to inspire their followers through the growth and the decline of a company it is important that followers feel inspired and motivated whiles working in an organisation to enable them to work effectively and with drive. However, Rachel is increasingly losing her ability to inspire and motivate her employees as the case study states Rachel no longer frequently gives weekly pep talks to her supervisors instead she gives them just two formal pep talks a year.

Due to this Rachel is lacking in her ability to inspire and motivate her staff this can negatively impact as business as it is motivation and inspiration which brings about drive in an organisation. According to Leonard and Seidel (2019), “A lack of employee morale leads to lower productivity, an inability to overcome challenges, apathy and poor customer service.” This shows that, employees need to feel motivated at work in order to perform to the best of their abilities it is very important for an employee to feel inclined to be productive at work and productivity comes from motivation and encouragement by an employer. 1959 Herzberg motivation and hygiene theory stated that, motivation is a pivotal factor for employees in an organisation. Surbhir (2018) stated “motivational factors are inherent to the job, and so the increase in these factors will lead to the rise in the satisfaction level.” This shows motivation which inspires employees in an organisation is an important factor as motivation in an organisation not only encourages employees to perform and meet targets it also increase employee satisfaction in their job. On the other hand, Rachel ability to inspire and motivate her employees has dramatically declined as she only gives them two motivational pep talks in a year rather than the weekly pep talks she was once known for.

Idealised influence

It is important that leaders are admired and coveted as a respectable leader is a leader who is often remember and honoured by often many or their peers. However, Rachel is losing this trait, as a once idealised influence in her company Rachel is now often seen as an outsider, the case study states that Rachel feels estranged from employees at work as in a recent director meeting she expressed her frustration as people didn’t call her by her first name and many other had even forgotten who she was.

For this reason Rachel has lost her touch as an idealised influence in ICCR being that her employees are not as engaged and acquainted with her as they once were. As Macaulay, (2010) stated that, “A role model is someone who serves as an example, whose behaviour is emulated by other people and consistently leads by example. Being a role model is synonymous with an idealised influence Rachel’s lack of presence in ICCR means she isn’t being a good example to her staff as remaining presence in your company is central something she is lacking. Leonard and Seidel, (2019) state that, “As employers and employees often work in close quarters, they necessarily develop relationships.” Building familiarity between and employer and an employee is pivotal to being an idealised influence as all idealised influence are well known either amongst peers or in society at large. Due to Rachel’s in ICCR absence from once being an idealised role model who was well known she is now a stranger in her own organisation, this has impacted Rachel’s leadership as she is no longer the idealised and coveted leader as she was once seen as.

Evidence suggest due to ICCRs growth Rachel has lost her transformational leadership traits

Having analysed the growth in ICCR and Rachel’s leadership, I can now see that, she has lost many of the traits which made her a transformational leader. These traits such as individualised consideration, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation and idealised leadership have steadily become lost in ICCR due to the growth of ICCR.

PART C

Suggestions on what Rachel might do to re-establish herself as a transformational; leader at ICCR in the face of the problems confronting her:

In this section I will be proposing suggestion to which Rachel can utilise to bring back her transformational leadership traits despite the challenges she faces.

Individualised consideration

Rachel can grasp back the trait of individualised consideration through cutting down her travel schedule. As the case study states due to Rachel travel schedule she has lost touch to what makes ICCR tick, for this reason she should try and make herself more present in the organisation as it is more important to cultivate a thriving organisation Rachel should try and focus on building a relation again with her employees as Schreiner and Seidel, (2019) state that, “Just as with all relationships, the employer and employee relationship is one that must develop over time.” For this reason, Rachel should take time of her travel to prioritise her employees, therefore bringing back her trait of individualised consideration.

Intellectual stimulation

In order for Rachel to intellectually stimulate she needs to find what makes ICCR tick again Rachels needs to gain back the vision of her company in order to intellectual stimulate her team again. Mishra, (2017) stated that, “It is vital for a leader to know their company mission and vision can be amazing tools to build sustainable workplaces and businesses”. Rachel was lacking in intellectual stimulation as the case study stated she had lost touch with what makes her company tick meaning the vision she had for her company had gone. For this reason Rachel should try and gain back the vision she once had for ICCR so that she can properly intellectually stimulate her team again as Rachel can only intellectually stimulate her team if she has a vision for her company in which she can convey to her team.

Inspirational motivation

In order for Rachel to inspire and motivate her team again she needs to return back to her old routine of weekly pep talk in which she used to give to her team. According to Towers, (2017) “company pep talks are often used to get the company back on track, improve employee morale and focus staff on key goals.” Pep talking helps to inspire and motivate the team around you as it helps to bring a vision to goal set, while so giving your team positive affirmations through speak helps to inspire and motivate them Rachel should engage her team as the case study stated she curt down her pep talks from 1 every week to 2 a year. This will help inspire and give a vision of the company’s goals to her team whiles providing them with positive affirmations which will help to boost their moral and therefore inspire and motivate them.

Idealised influence

The trait of an idealised influence helps to bring assurance and respect from your employees. Rachel can get back this trait through being present in her company more one of the underlying factors of being an idealised influence in a business is that you are present amongst your team. Mudd, (2014) stated that, “A great role model will surround themselves with great people and inspire them by being present, both in mind and body.” Rachel was lacking presence for this reason her team different see her as a role model anymore many had even forgotten her name, if Rachel was to establish herself as an idealised influence within ICCR she needs to be presence and productive to become idealised again by her team.

Conclusion

To concluded Rachel was a transformational leader how happen to lose her transformational leadership traits due to the growth of ICCR however she can gain back these traits and become a transformational leader once again