Assignment task:
In analyzing the leadership style of Liz Claiborne, it is apparent that she had a unique and welcoming approach to motivating her team. Unlike most counterparts within the industry, she believed in creating a team environment and treated members of her staff with respect and consideration, which sometimes could be perceived as weakness, especially by male executives. Conversely, it created intrinsic motivation for employees to succeed and excel in job performance. Her approach to leadership, although different from the norm, created great productivity and demand for quality products and excellence.
Due to the collaborative nature of the organization, Claiborne's leadership style was Democratic. This was apparent from the beginning, where each principal member had a specific contribution, such as concept/design, production, manufacturing and marketing. They also met for dinner each night, thereby instilling a sense of camaraderie which carried over throughout the entire organization. She created an Employee-Centered approach, allowing staff to work independently on projects without the need for overseeing each detail. This created trust within the company and staff and motivated them to do quality work.
According to the Ohio State University Leadership Model, Claiborne incorporated a high consideration and lower structure style. She valued communication and the sharing of ideas within the team but gave independence to get the task completed. Also, in looking at the Leadership Grid, Claiborne falls between a middle-of-the-road leader and team leader. She valued her employees, but still demanded excellence. By granting team members respect and autonomy, she created intrinsic motivators for them to be productive and earn her praise. Claiborne wanted to maximize the potential of all staff.
By treating all her staff fairly, motivation was established through process motivation theories. Equity Theory and Expectancy Theory played a large role, as employees were motivated to complete tasks while maintaining priorities, such as professionalism, entrepreneurial spirit, flexibility and the demand for excellence. She also promoted both male and female staff into designer and executive roles, thereby giving positive reinforcement for quality work.
Although Liz Claiborne had a serious, introverted, and shy nature, she genuinely loved giving women a positive self-image. She wanted them to feel confident about themselves and the clothes that they wore. This demonstrates, despite her personality, she was able to create an atmosphere of high job satisfaction and was able to leave a positive impact on both her employees and customers.
PLEASE ANSWER THIS QUESTION
Identify any issues emerging from the leadership style and behavior of the company's CEO and propose recommendations to address these issues?