1. LEADERSHIP
By Daniel Whitford

2. Whenwe thinkof leaderswe tendtothink of some of the great political leadersof ourtime, overthe
lastcenturythere have beenmanypolitical leadersthatspringtomind.
• NelsonMandela
• JohnF Kennedy
• WinstonChurchill
• Adolf Hitler
• Mahatma Ghandi
• Dalai lama
• Genghiskhan
• Margaret Thatcher
• QueenVictoria

3. To be a leader you don’t have to lead a political campaign,
there are many leaders everywhere we look, some examples
are:
•Work place: In the work place there is what I call a pyramid of
leadership, this starts at the top with the CEO and filtering its
way down the levels of management, from managers to
supervisors and team leaders
• Football teams: Examples of leaders in a football team could
range from club management to the coach and captain.
•Social groups: from school to your circle of friends, we have
all witnessed those people who tend to lead rather than be a
follower
•Celebrities: Jamie Oliver, Jamie was responsible for leading
people to healthy foods and changing their views on eating
habits as well as educating schools on child obesity and helping
them implement new menus.
•Business: Over the years there have been many successful
business men and women, all leading the way in business and
their industries.

4. Some examples of great business leaders are:
1.Jeff Bezos, Amazon– Jeff Bezos is a pioneer in world of internet commerce, and
was instrumental in defining this space that is now defining many aspects of the
internet world. It is Jeff Bezos who innovated the concept of “predictive analytics”–
recommending products to customers based on search history and buying habits.
Whether you like the concept or you hate it, the idea has made online commerce
more profit rich and efficient, and is making online shopping a better experience for
consumers throughout the world.
2.Howard Schultz, Starbucks – From his upbringing in a poor family in the Bronx to
an athletic scholarship and eventually the head of Starbucks, Howard Schultz is a
consummate example of courage, hard work, and the ability to achieve the
American dream. Even in the glow of his own successes, Howard is also interested in
investing in others’ success and continues to invest actively in other business
ventures, such as eBay.

5. Sir Richard Branson
• And last but not least I would like to talk about Richard
Branson as the leader who inspires me. Anyone who
owns more than 400 companies and is worth billions
of dollars is clearly doing many things right. I admire
Richard Branson’s tenacity, and I admire his personal
brand.
• While there are some cores principles to being a
leader which I will touch on later, Sir Richard Branson
defies these and has proven to be successful by
implementing his own style and way of thinking, I
would say that he definitely thinks outside the box.

6. In an interview he described his own leadership style.
Dan Schawbel: How would you describe your leadership style? How do you believe this style makes your
company culture unique?
Richard Branson: Rule-breaker – because I never learned the rules in the first place. To change the game is at the
heart of what Virgin stands for, so the company culture has always been: “Don’t sweat it: rules were meant to be
broken.”
Schawbel: From the beginning, how often would you research what your competitors were doing? What did you
learn from them early on that helped you develop your branding strategy?
Branson: Researching the competition has never been the Virgin way. Many of our products and services come
about because we pay attention to what the market is missing or what’s not being done well. The commitment is
about doing things differently.
Our strategy has been to screw business as usual. To look at what it is our customer wants, and what it is the
industry needs, and to go in and exceed their expectations. And we’ve been successful not by wasting time
scrutinizing our competitors but by looking at ourselves from the point of view of our customers and seeking
feedback through listening.

7. Richard’s 3 Leadership Principles
1. Listening is one of the most important skills that anyone can have. That’s
a very Virgin trait. Listening enables us to learn from each other, from
the marketplace, and from the mistake that must be made in order to
get anywhere that is original and disruptive. I learn so much from guests
and employees that way.
2. Learn: Learning and leadership go together. Too much credit goes to me
for what we have achieved at Virgin but the successes happen from
working and learning with some of the world’s most inspiring and
inspired people.
3. Laughter: My number one rule in business, and in life, is to enjoy what
you do. Running a business involves long hours and hard decisions; if you
don’t have the passion to keep you going, your business will more than
likely fail. If you don’t enjoy what you are doing, then you shouldn’t be
doing it.

8. What leadership strengths can I bring to
Rich’s?
• Firstly what is leadership?
The Definition of leadership in business:
• The individuals who are the leaders in an organization, regarded collectively.
• The activity of leading a group of people or an organization or the ability to do this.
Leadership involves
• Establishing a clear vision.
• Sharing that vision with others so that they will follow willingly.
• Providing the information, knowledge and methods to realize that vision.
• Coordinating and balancing the conflicting interests of all members and stakeholders.
• A leader steps up in times of crisis and is able to think and act creatively in difficult situations. Unlike management,
leadership cannot be taught, although it may be learned and enhanced through coaching or mentoring.
• The act of inspiring subordinates to perform and engage in achieving a goal.

9. Leadership Style
A leadership style is a leader's style of providing direction,
implementing plans, and motivating people. There are many different
leadership styles that can be exhibited by leaders in the political,
business or other fields

10. 1. Autocratic leaders make decisions without consulting their team members, even if their input would be useful.
This can be appropriate when you need to make decisions quickly, when there's no need for team input, and
when team agreement isn't necessary for a successful outcome. However, this style can be demoralizing, and it
can lead to high levels of absenteeism and staff turnover.
2. Democratic leaders make the final decisions, but they include team members in the decision-making
process. They encourage creativity, and people are often highly engaged in projects and decisions. As a
result, team members tend to have high job satisfaction and high productivity. This is not always an effective
style to use, though, when you need to make a quick decision.
3. Laissez-faire leaders give their team members a lot of freedom in how they do their work, and how they
set their deadlines. They provide support with resources and advice if needed, but otherwise they don't get
involved. This autonomy can lead to high job satisfaction, but it can be damaging if team members don't
manage their time well, or if they don't have the knowledge, skills, or self motivation to do their work
effectively. (Laissez-faire leadership can also occur when managers don't have control over their work)

11. For me leadership doesn’t have a secret formula; all true leaders go about things in their own way. It’s this ability to think differently that sets
them apart - and that enabled successful leaders like Steve Jobs to create perhaps the most respected brand in the world.
What leadership boils down to is people. Whatever your style, whatever your method, you need to believe in yourself, your ideas and your
staff. Nobody can be successful alone and you cannot be a great leader without great people to lead.
So you may be asking what leadership skills can I bring to Rich ?
Traits
•Adaptable to situations
•Alert to social environment
•Make people feel valued
•Ambitious and achievement orientated
•Assertive
•Cooperative
•Decisive
•Dependable
•Dominant (desire to influence others)
•Energetic
•Persistent
•Self-confident
•Tolerant of stress
•Willing to assume responsibility
Skills
•Great Listener
•Ability to motivate my team (incentives as a team and also for individual
motivations)
•Lead by example
•Ability to engage the team (Communication)
•Ability to deal with negativity
•Clever (intelligent)
•Conceptually skilled
•Creative
•Diplomatic and tactful
•Fluent in speaking
•Knowledgeable about group tasks
•Organised (administrative ability)
•Persuasive
•Socially skilled

12. My Leadership Development
Whilst I believe that my leadership traits and skills are at an acceptable level there
are many ways for me to hone my skills.
•Reflect and identify the skills I need to lead effectively and create my action plan
to develop them.
•Ask for feedback from work colleagues, line managers and my ‘followers’.
•Find a mentor – learn from positive leadership role-models.
•Attend further leadership and management training(CPD)
•Review your performance as a Leader.
•Assess myself as a Leader.
•Conduct a SWOT analysis - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats.