Leadership comes to the fore in post-recession UK business

Many observers believe that a key business focus post-recession will be on effective leadership.  I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see leadership chosen as the next research topic for AQA BUSS4 June 2011/Jan2012.

A good piece by Stephen Archer over on SMEWeb this week provides students with some through-provoking ideas on how businesses can improve the quality of their leadership.  Well worth a read and follow-up discussion.

I like the suggestion that business leaders should be freed from following the mantras of tired business processes and concepts - like meetings, committees and dealing with over-complex organisational structure.

There is an interesting suggestion that leaders need to challenge the prevailing wisdom of shareholders, who are described as “not really liking risk”.  There must be some truth in this assertion.  How many of the investment managers in the large financial institutions would prefer maverick and unconventional leaders to the more predictable and “steady eddies” in the boardroom?

There are also some excellent points right at the end of the article about how leaders need to make change management their top priority, and about how important it is to challenge the prevailing corporate culture.  Classic BUSS4 material.

BUSS4 - a clash of culture and a failed takeover [24 May 2012]
Revision Presentation - Improving Organisational Structures [17 May 2012]
Paul Polman (Unilever CEO) on cultural change, leadership, Asia and Corporate Social Responsibility [27 Apr 2012]
Vodafone and Cable and Wireless Worldwide [25 Apr 2012]
Competitiveness and organisational structure - a great example of delayering [20 Apr 2012]
Irene Rosenfeld on Leadership, Transformation, and THAT takeover [18 Apr 2012]
Organisational culture, strategy and performance in fewer than 1000 words [9 Apr 2012]
Revision Presentation - Change Management [5 Apr 2012]
Revision Presentation - Leadership [5 Apr 2012]
Revision Presentation - Business Culture [4 Apr 2012]
Women & Leadership [22 Mar 2012]
Sony - All Change at the Top with a new CEO [12 Mar 2012]
Tata & Jaguar Land Rover - Culture and Strategy [11 Mar 2012]
Apple’s new CEO and a new iPad - A Change in Leadership [9 Mar 2012]
Takeover and merger integration: lessons from the experts (GE Capital) [9 Mar 2012]
Mergers in Action - All Systems Go for United? [5 Mar 2012]
Takeover troubles - Has the Co=operative got Indigestion with the Somerfield Integration? [5 Mar 2012]
Lesson Activity: The Human Organisation Chart [24 Feb 2012]
The Strategic Challenges Facing International Airlines Group - Interview with Willie Walsh [14 Feb 2012]
The Leadership Style of Willie Walsh - In Quotes [14 Feb 2012]
Ideas not Hierarchy Makes a Business - Steve Jobs on Teamwork & Culture [13 Feb 2012]
Insights on takeovers and mergers from KPMG’s 2011 global survey [12 Feb 2012]
Innovation in Business - Perspectives from Stephen Elop (CEO of Nokia) [12 Feb 2012]
Leadership - Howard Schultz on the importance of leading an innovative culture [29 Jan 2012]
Leadership - what is the best leadership style? It depends on the “situation”! [29 Jan 2012]
Leadership - Tough decisions to turn Starbucks around [29 Jan 2012]
Leadership - 40 examples of leadership at the movies in just 120 seconds [29 Jan 2012]
Leadership - what qualities does an effective leader and manager have? [29 Jan 2012]
Schultz on Leadership, Love and the Competitive Advantage of Culture [29 Jan 2012]
Leadership - it’s not a popularity contest [29 Jan 2012]
Technological change - Kodak’s big strategic mistake [28 Jan 2012]
Straight-talking answers to business questions - the examiners might hate some of this! [12 Dec 2011]
How flat should the organisational structure be? [4 Nov 2011]
Leadership video - A heartfelt apology from the boss [15 Oct 2011]
Management By Committee? Not At Apple [9 Oct 2011]
De-layering: do firms need middle managers? [5 Oct 2011]
Leadership styles for effective change management - Morgan Freeman style [29 Sep 2011]
Autocratic leadership style in action - Basil v Manuel [22 Sep 2011]
Inspiring leadership? [19 Sep 2011]
Olaf takes the knife to management hierarchy [5 Sep 2011]
Corporate culture meets recruitment [28 Aug 2011]
Leadership - Farewell to Steve Jobs [24 Aug 2011]
The Case for Transformation [29 Jul 2011]
Sir Ken Robinson on Creative Leadership [20 Jul 2011]
Rupert Murdoch and Leadership - Should a CEO Know What’s Going On? [20 Jul 2011]
Leaders’ Weaknesses [4 Jul 2011]
Lessons from the Tesco Growth Story courtesy of Sir Terry Leahy [4 Jul 2011]
Leadership, Culture and Trust - A Letter from Sir Richard Branson [1 Jul 2011]
Retrenchment for Thorntons following strategic review [28 Jun 2011]
Nokia and Strategic Change - the Essential A2 Business Case [17 Jun 2011]
Strategic change for the Guardian - from print to digital [17 Jun 2011]
ResearchBuster: New Leaders and Strategic Change [16 Jun 2011]
CSR & Strategy - Why the Cooperative Group changed to survive [16 Jun 2011]
Leadership styles - the importance of listening [14 Jun 2011]
Leadership - a crisis of confidence? [13 Jun 2011]
Chanel No 5 at 90 [29 May 2011]
What makes Ferguson great? [27 May 2011]
An unusual new entry in an organisational structure [23 May 2011]
CSR and Business Legislation - The Bribery Act comes to town [5 May 2011]
Leadership and the Golden Circle [21 Apr 2011]
Private v Public Sector - A Clash of Two Cultures? [20 Apr 2011]
Leadership - a triumph of youth over experience? [6 Apr 2011]
Leadership Resource - Every Little Helps [16 Mar 2011]
Change management - Kraft and Cadbury One Year On (FT) [14 Mar 2011]
Howard Schultz - A Changed Starbucks. A Changed C.E.O [13 Mar 2011]
Cadbury and Kraft One Year On - Culture and Change [12 Feb 2011]
Leadership - can Apple really be a one-man band? [19 Jan 2011]
Training, social immobility and tuition fees - KPMG’s blueprint solution [13 Jan 2011]
Lessons in leadership [5 Jan 2011]
Strategy in Action - Is Gray Nicolls Batting on a Sticky Wicket? [29 Dec 2010]
Meet Sir Terry Leahy at the Business Teacher National Conference 2011 [18 Dec 2010]
Bruce Poon Tip exploits a huge Gap in the adventure market [12 Dec 2010]
Leadership in action - A Day in the Life of Willie Walsh [25 Oct 2010]
Leadership skills of the new CEO drive profits at Pret [8 Oct 2010]
Culture & Change - The Challenge Facing Nokia [27 Sep 2010]
Leadership & Strategy - “Welcome to Nokia” [20 Sep 2010]
Can new leadership revive Nokia’s fortunes [12 Sep 2010]
Ryanair contemplates a change in leadership style? [12 Sep 2010]
Lesson worksheet - Organisational Structure Basics [26 Jul 2010]
AQA BUSS4 Section B Practice Question - Starbucks [15 Jun 2010]
AQA BUSS4 Section B Practice Question - British Airways [15 Jun 2010]
What must it feel like to be the ‘most hated’ CeO? [10 Jun 2010]
Managing People - Will Staff Turnover Increase as the UK Emerges from the Recession [2 Jun 2010]
Sir Richard Branson on Virgin Atlantic Business Strategy [26 May 2010]
BUSS4 - Leadership in a Changing Environment [16 May 2010]
The Sense of a Goose [28 Apr 2010]
A useful resource on leadership and management [22 Apr 2010]
BUSS4 - Building exam skills [21 Apr 2010]
Starbucks - the Famous Strategic Change Memo from 2007 [21 Apr 2010]
Motivation, Leadership & Culture: Ban the Boss (BBC) [24 Mar 2010]
HRM priorities as firms exit the recession [27 Feb 2010]
Strategy in the UK Recession - What 69 UK CEOs Did About It [22 Feb 2010]
Contingency planning failure leads to customer service disaster [12 Feb 2010]
Leadership sets the culture for a thriving retail brand [31 Jan 2010]
Revision Presentation - Organisational Structures (Intro) [16 Jan 2010]
The UK: A nation of accidental managers [10 Nov 2009]
Q&A - What is the continuum of leadership? [30 Oct 2009]
Q&A - What do Leaders Do? [30 Oct 2009]
Q&A - What is Leadership? [30 Oct 2009]
Leadership styles in action - Dead Poets Society [28 Oct 2009]

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