OVERVIEW:

The case deals with the leadership styles of John Whitehead. His work profile had a wide range of experience, from professional partnerships to government bureaucracies, from charities to regulatory agencies, and from Second World War to the end of Cold War. During his entire career he showed various leadership skills effectively but stumbled at the fag end of his career when he was the chairman of Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC).

ANALYSIS:

Big 5 ModelJohn Whitehead’s various leadership traits were seen throughout the case. He was ambitious and resourceful since the beginning of his career and showed extraversion trait as was evident from his college days. He participated in various church and cultural activities and pursued different hobbies. As he came to know about the high expectations of his parents, he became more serious and conscientious, and became very much committed towards his work. When he joined Haverford College he was influenced by ‘Quakers’ principle of reaching consensus and respecting other people’s viewpoint. This shows emotional intelligence on his part which is a positive sign of leader effectiveness. His openness to experience was seen at Goldman, Sachs & Co. where he bought new concepts in investment banking, altered the recruiting policies and encouraged the firm to go global. These characteristics come under the Big 5 model.

Leadership Styles & EffectivenessHe gained leadership experience in scouting, was elected president of the students council, became a lieutenant in the navy, worked as a partner in Goldman Sachs, became deputy secretary of state, regulator of Federal Reserve Bank and chairman of Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. In all these positions he exhibited effective leadership, although in different styles.John Whitehead, while serving the US Navy, displayed directive leadership while directing the fleet of ships towards the Normandy beach. He didn’t have the time to consult anyone and relied on his instinctive reactions as to what should be done. From the beginning we can see that he was achievement oriented as apart from being highly committed he had a strong competitive drive. He not only wanted to participate but also wanted to achieve the desired results.

Behavioural Approach

Initiating Structures - By drafting 12 essential points, he codified the ethics of the company. He was able to structure & set clear principles that everyone would adhere to in all their dealings.

Consideration - He showed trust and respect in working with Co-chairman John L. Weinberg. They jointly shared the responsibility and consulted each other’s view points. He firmly believed in reaching a consensus rather than going for voting, as during voting there is always a loser while in a consensus all the members will agree upon the same point and there will be no animosity within the organization.

Authentic LeaderWhitehead was a tireless proponent of good business ethics in order to protect his firm’s reputation and to maintain its strength. Also, while Whitehead was co-partner at Goldman Sachs, he was extremely worried about the ethos of the firm and felt that it could be lost to rapid growth. Thus he designed a clear set of distinctive business principles which everyone in the firm would adhere to, ensuring that there was no deviation from the set ethical standards & conduct. This also helped him in gaining the trust of the employees. Thus he exhibited characteristics of an authentic leader, and his followers undoubtedly considered him to be an ethical person.

Charismatic LeaderWhitehead showed various traits that coincide with that of a charismatic leader. He was chosen as the chairman of the LMDC as he was viewed by many as the only person with a chance to craft an agreement that was acceptable to the common public as well as the business community. He was also willing to take high personal risks as evident during the Normandy invasion he disobeyed the orders and made quick decisions to avoid huge losses when his fleet was facing heavy firing from the enemy. He was sensitive to others’ needs when he decides to become the co-chairman with John Weinberg at Goldman Sachs so he doesn’t feels bad about losing the succession race. At Goldman Sachs, he had a vision and articulation, as he devised a set of business principles taking into consideration the long term benefits of organization. Moreover he was always at an upper level in whatever job he did giving him more powers to influence people. He also managed various situations of crisis or stress whether he was in the navy, or when he became the chairman of the LMDC. He always delivered high performance in whatever he did. All these qualities make him stand as a charismatic leader but there are not enough concrete evidences in the case which tell about what his followers thought of him.

Transactional & Transformational LeadershipThere are many incidences in the case highlighting John Whitehead’s good transactional leadership skills. During his stint at the Navy Supply Corp, Whitehead handled the crisis by giving clear directions to the crew, disobeying the orders and led with effectiveness, hence conforming transactional leadership.He showed Transformational Leadership when he provided a vision statement to Goldman Sachs and also built an environment of trust and mutual respect in the organization.

Level 5 LeadershipJohn Whitehead exhibits most of the qualities which a level 5 leader must have in him. He is a highly capable individual, a good team player, a competent manager, an effective leader and showed an inclination towards humility as he showed preference for backstage roles. He was a good team member and worked in good coordination with others which we see when he was working with Weinberg as Co-chairman Goldman Sachs. Also he made it a point to inculcate team skills in all the inductees. Whitehead willingly stepped down from Goldman Sachs after 37 years of service when he realized that he may be a hindrance for the growth of the company. This shows that he was more concerned about company’s growth rather than his own growth. Apart from all these traits, Whitehead also displayed humility when he gave the credit for ending the cold war to Gorbachev. Also he turned down the offer to run for the U.S. Senate at a later stage in his life. Despite of all these qualities we cannot clearly call him a level 5 leader as there is no evidence that he transformed his company from a good to a great one and he also did not show any clear vision.

CONCLUSION:

At the end of his career Whitehead is now faced with the most challenging task of getting a consensus amongst the people that addressed business, cultural and political communities. His all experiences were proving to be futile, as all his life he relied on reaching a consensus over issues which he was finding hard in current scenario. Hence he was looking for new approaches to leadership and decision making abilities.