Effective Leadership through the Perspective of Darwin Smith

This report discusses effective leadership through the perspective of Darwin Smith, the then CEO of Kimberly-Clark was an exceptional leader whose leadership was a level five. The report will discuss the leadership qualities that he possessed which played a major role in the success of the firm. The nature of the leadership will also be discussed in the paper introducing a clear picture of his personalities. Are leaders born or made, this statement will be debated through the leadership perspective of Darwin where a conclusion will be made that will justify the final conclusion. Finally, the paper will elaborate and justify if the leadership qualities portrayed by Darwin can be possessed by leaders today.

ASSIGNMENT 1: LEADERSHIP
NAME:
ID:
LECTURER:
INSTITUTION:

Leadership: Assignment 1 2
Executive summary
Effective leadership is crucial to the success of an organization in achieving its goals and
objectives. This report discusses effective leadership through the perspective of Darwin Smith,
the then CEO of Kimberly-Clark was an exceptional leader whose leadership was a level five.
Throughout his years in the firm, he has illustrated a perfect example of the leadership style and
qualities that should be emulated to achieve growth and success of an organization. Darwin
turned this company from its bad situation to a great historic success through effective
leadership. The report will discuss the leadership qualities that he possessed which played a
major role in the success of the firm. The nature of the leadership will also be discussed in the
paper introducing a clear picture of his personalities. Are leaders born or made, this statement
will be debated through the leadership perspective of Darwin where a conclusion will be made
that will justify the final conclusion. Finally, the paper will elaborate and justify if the leadership
qualities portrayed by Darwin can be possessed by leaders today.

Leadership: Assignment 1 3
Table of Contents
Leadership: Assignment 1...............................................................................................................3
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Darwin Smith qualities as a Leader.............................................................................................4
Leaders are made not born: Darwin Smith..................................................................................7
Level 5 leadership........................................................................................................................8
level 5 leadership skills..............................................................................................................10
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................13
References......................................................................................................................................15

Leadership: Assignment 1 4
Leadership: Assignment 1
Introduction
The success, growth, and development of an organization is high determined by the role played
by its leaders. the development of an organizations vision, mission, goals, and objectives are
made possible through leadership. However, leaders who portray effective leadership in their key
roles will be influential in maintaining the quality standards that define their brand reputation.
This means that the culture of the organizations is also defined by leadership in the long run. The
leadership behavior and competence have reliable association with association adequacy and
execution (Bolman and Deal 2014). The authoritative culture additionally assumes critical job in
creating and forming the initiative style. Leaders are involved in influencing the employees and
the supporting staff towards the goals and objectives of the firm. Moreover, effective leaders do
not only influence their employees but impact their performance and increase it to the highest
potential with available tools and methods at their disposal which in the long run improves
product service delivery and overall performance of the organization. Additionally, high ranking
leaders such as executives or senior board members should always mirror the goals and
objectives of the firm regardless of the situations and organization is facing (Bolden 2016,p 156).
In relation to this context Darwin Smith, the then CEO of Kimberly-Clark was an exceptional
leader whose leadership was a level five. Throughout his years in the firm, he has illustrated a
perfect example of the leadership style and qualities that should be emulated to achieve growth
and success of an organization (Ciulla 2017). Darwin Smith was able to transform the
organization which when he took over it had already gained numerous loses in the markets that
saw its value drop be 36%. Darwin turned this company from its bad situation to a great historic

Leadership: Assignment 1 5
success through effective leadership. Therefore this report will evaluate and analyze the
leadership case study on Darwin smith leaderships as the CEO of Kimberly-Clark through
strategic questions that will ensure a deeper meaning and depiction of how effective leadership
can result to the growth and development of an organization (Le 2015)
Darwin Smith qualities as a Leader.
Darwin Smith the then CEO of Kimberly-Clark Throughout his years in the firm, he has
illustrated a perfect example of the leadership style and qualities that should be emulated to
achieve growth and success of an organization. Darwin Smith was able to transform the
organization which when he took over it had already gained numerous loses in the markets that
saw its value drop by 36%. Darwin turned this company from its bad situation to a great historic
success through effective leadership (Smith et al .2016) Therefore, this means that Darwin
leadership style was cemented by intriguing qualities which spearheaded his vision for a
successful organization, these qualities include;
Effective decision-making capabilities- this leadership quality simply illustrate the ability of a
leader to identify and exploit opportunities that will benefit the firm in the long run. Darwin
Smith is able to demonstrate this by strategically changing the business model and operations of
the firm by shifting out of the paper products market into the consumer products, such as selling
some K-C mills. Darwin was able to strategically identify that the initial business was the reason
the firm was performing poorly (Sousa and van Dierendonck 2017). Therefore, the move to the
new market was proved to be a wise choice, moreover, he made further investments from the
proceeds earned in strategic firms and brands such as Huggies and Kleenex which further pushed
the organization to its current success and strong reputation

Leadership: Assignment 1 6
Commitment and passion – This leadership quality simply illustrates the ability of a leader to be
able to fully give his or her all to the core purpose of the success of an organization in the long
run. Such a leadership quality further insinuates that a leader is concerned with from employees
and ensure their performance is at its highest potential. Darwin Smith was able to illustrates this
quality throughout his decades of leadership in the firm. Despite being diagnosed with cancer
where he was told he could live for a while, maybe a year or so, he was committed to ensure that
he will live a legacy of converting the company to it greatest performance level and success
(Zehir et al. 2014)
Delegation and Empowerment- this leadership qualities tends to focus on the key aspects of
empowering employees of key role and duties to perform towards the goal and objectives of the
firm. It is essential for leader to focus on key responsibilities of the firm and leave the rest to the
employees and supporting staff (Bourne 2016). Micromanaging of employees and subordinates
may prove to be risky as it will lead to lack of trust and the leaders will not firmly focus on the
key issues at hand. Darwin is able to demonstrate this leadership quality through building
straight within the organization (McCaffery 2018). He was able to improve and redefine
corporate goals moreover he polished the leadership groups effectively by winnowing those
employees who did not compliment or sim to fit with the intended objectives and goals while he
constantly promoted those who did. This imposed reward system he used to empower employees
increase their productivity, in the long run, emulating the success achieved in the years
Creativity and Innovation – This leadership quality is able to distinguish between a leader and
its follower. Therefore, in order to be productive and relevant in an ever-changing business
environment, effective leaders are required to be innovative and creative at the same time.

Leadership: Assignment 1 7
Creative thinking and constant innovation crowned with effective decision making and
empowerment is what makes an organization to stand out from its competitors. Darwin is both
creative and innovative as illustrate in the case study, he is able to identify potential investment
points by revisiting the business model and operations changing it to consumer products which
proved to be far essential and rewarding over the years. He focused the entire business from
paper mils which he deemed to be dooming the potential of the firm within its business
environment. He implored the business through strategic investment on Kleenex and Huggies
disposable diapers, that would compete against Procter and Gambles’ Pampers and be among the
best firms intentionally and leading in the product market (Gehrke and Claes 2017).
Loyalty- effective leaders are able to comprehend that genuine dependability is equal. Along
these lines, they express that steadfastness in substantial ways that advantage the individual from
their groups. Genuine reliability is guaranteeing that all colleagues have the preparation and
assets to carry out their employment. It's going to bat for colleagues in emergency and struggle.
Darwin’s commitment and passion towards the firm for decade illustrated explicit loyalty. His
precise buildup of a strong community within the community and rewarding and empowering his
employees with appropriate promotions that will spearhead the success of the firm was pivotal.
Despite the lack of confidence from the board he still stayed on point regardless of the current
situation of the firm which he drove to success used as a learning curve by merging and large
organization other importance of loyalty. It is essentially reciprocated by the members of the
staff as well as the consumers which plays a major role in improving and stabilizing the growth
and development of the firm (Gabriel 2015).

Leadership: Assignment 1 8
Leaders are made not born: Darwin Smith
This is certifiably not another discussion, not another opening discourse question, and not
another title for an article or area in a book. Savvy authors frequently support with a "clearly
both" reaction, taking note of that there are unquestionably natural personality traits in leaders
such as Darwin smith but likewise taking note of that there has been an improvement and
development on the matter. Maybe the discussion started when Thomas Carlyle detailed the
"great man theory" to portray leaders who drastically formed and affected society. He contended
that pioneers with mind-blowing initiative ability and characteristics ascend to the best and affect
individuals around them. The hypothesis, created in the 1840s, gave the feeling that great leaders
are born and society is confirmed to them. On the off chance that we credit to the "great man
theory," at that point, one is either born an extraordinary leader or not (Waldman and Bowen
2016, p 357).
Experts and researchers reacted that there is no genuine information to help the "great man
theory" and that leaders are made by social orders more than leaders shape social orders. leaders
are results of their surroundings, of the general population encompassing them and sustaining
them. Regardless of the overall myth that most of the level five leaders are born, Darwin Smith
doesn’t fit the category although he is an exceptional leader in the long run. He was placed there
by a string of decision to take over a failing organization regardless of the drops of confidence
portrayed by some of the board members despite their decision. In fact, the Kimberly-Clark
director had to punch back his on his confidence that he lacked the pivotal qualification to
properly manage the job that he was chosen to do. This means that Darwin had a strategic choice

Leadership: Assignment 1 9
proving that he was a great leader despite the lack of confidence and spirit at the initial stages.
Despite being diagnosed with cancer where he was told he could live for a while, maybe a year
or so, he was committed to ensure that he will live a legacy of converting the company to it
greatest performance level and success (Adams et al. 2018)
He was able to boost his leadership qualities through identifying the problem that has been
facing the organization and how to solve it once and for all, he is able to identify potential
investment points by revisiting the business model and operations changing it to consumer
products which proved to be far essential and rewarding over the years. He focused the entire
business from paper mills which he deemed to be dooming the potential of the firm within its
business environment. He implored the business through strategic investment on Kleenex and
Huggies disposable diapers, that would compete against Procter and Gambles’ Pampers and be
among the best firms intentionally and leading in the product market. Moreover, he was able to
improve and redefine corporate goals moreover he polished the leadership groups effectively by
winnowing those employees who did not compliment or sim to fit with the intended objectives
and goals while he constantly promoted those who did. This imposed reward system he used to
empower employees increase their productivity, in the long run, emulating the success achieved
in the years. These activities and leadership qualities were gained due to the necessity of the
current situation of the firm and the need steward the firm towards its goals and objectives, in the
long run, therefore leaders are not born they are made.
Level 5 leadership
An effective leader is known by his characteristics and the characteristics that mirror a genuine
pioneer are extraordinary arbitrary highlights but rather all-around custom fitted attributes that

Leadership: Assignment 1 10
make a more lead an outstanding one. The pecking order of authority brings up that there are five
distinct levels of classifications that might be an impression of any leader and of them the level 5
is the most elevated amount that features initiative abilities. The nature of leadership portrayed
by leaders in this category such as Darwin Smith is a paradoxical mix of furious will and
individual humility. They are adamant and savage, however, they are very humble. Most of the
level five leader would not even make the cover of a magazine or any business publication, they
did not relay on charism to lead their organization. However, they are very ambitious when it
comes to the interest of the organization in general, and they rarely allow their ego or personal
issues affect the success of the organization (Storey 2016). Despite the fact that they achieve
tangible results for their associations they never assume acknowledgment. They credit their
momentous achievements to their kin, outer factors, and sheer good fortune. They are propelled
just by the enormity for their associations. They anticipate that their associations will be
shockingly better after they take off. Level 5 leaders show their wild will in guaranteeing
sublime outcomes for their organizations. They assume the most vital job in changing their
organizations that are just great, to incredible. When they are chosen about what to do to
guarantee the best long-haul results, they will experience the procedure with steady
determination. Level 5 leaders move benchmarks, construct continuing and extraordinary
organizations against chances. smith moved toward becoming CEO of Kimberly-Clark in 1971
and confronted the merciless reality that the organization was simply below average, with a lot of
its capital tied up in huge paper mills (Leavy 2016). Darwin Smith offered no fantastic vision,
statement of purpose, huge acquisitions, or "hoopla-laden" change program. He basically
scrutinized his key pioneers: "What could Kimberly-Clark be energetic about? What could the
organization be best at on the planet? (Amanchukwu et al.2014)

Leadership: Assignment 1 11
Level 5 leaders have a "window" and a "mirror" way to deal with leadership approach as
depicted in the case study At the point when things turn out badly, the level 5 leaders tend to
look in the mirror and reprimand themselves for the missteps or inadequacy. At the point when
things go right, the level 5 leaders watch out of the window and guarantee, everybody had a part
in the achievement of the goals and objectives of the firm. The focal point of the organization
would move toward becoming Kleenex and Huggies dispensable diapers, that would go up
against Procter and Gambles' Pampers. The objective was to escape the item's market and
concentrate more on the consumer goods market. When Smith resigned, Huggies had turned into
the main offering expendable diaper and represented over $7 billion in yearly incomes for the
organization. leaders must act strongly, yet acting strikingly is useless in the event that you miss
the point. It is smarter to take care of business than be amazing.
level 5 leadership skills
managerial competence and effective decision making- this leadership skill simply illustrate the
ability of a leader to identify and exploit opportunities that will benefit the firm in the long run.
Darwin Smith is able to demonstrate this by strategically changing the business model and
operations of the firm by shifting out of the paper products market into the consumer products,
such as selling some K-C mills. Darwin was able to strategically identify that the initial business
was the reason the firm was performing poorly. Therefore, the move to the new market was
proved to be a wise choice, moreover, he made further investments from the proceeds earned in
strategic firms and brands such as Huggies and Kleenex which further pushed the organization to
its current success and strong reputation.

Leadership: Assignment 1 12
Creativity– This leadership skill is very crucial and is able to distinguish between a leader and its
follower. Therefore, in order to be productive and relevant in an ever-changing business
environment, effective leaders are required to be innovative and creative at the same time.
Creative thinking and constant innovation crowned with effective decision making and
empowerment is what makes an organization to stand out from its competitors. Darwin is both
creative and innovative as illustrate in the case study, he is able to identify potential investment
points by revisiting the business model and operations changing it to consumer products which
proved to be far essential and rewarding over the years (Ewest 2017). He focused the entire
business from paper mils which he deemed to be dooming the potential of the firm within its
business environment. He implored the business through strategic investment on Kleenex and
Huggies disposable diapers, that would compete against Procter and Gambles’ Pampers and be
among the best firms intentionally and leading in the product market
Delegative- this leadership skill tends to focus on the key aspects of empowering employees of
key role and duties to perform towards the goal and objectives of the firm. It is essential for
leader to focus on key responsibilities of the firm and leave the rest to the employees and
supporting staff. Micromanaging of employees and subordinates may prove to be risky as it will
lead to lack of trust and the leaders will not firmly focus on the key issues at hand (DuBrin
2015). Darwin is able to demonstrate this leadership quality through building straight within the
organization He was able to improve and redefine corporate goals moreover he polished the
leadership groups effectively by winnowing those employees who did not compliment or sim to
fit with the intended objectives and goals while he constantly promoted those who did. This
imposed reward system he used to empower employees increase their productivity, in the long
run, emulating the success achieved in the years

Leadership: Assignment 1 13
Positive and passionate – This simply illustrates the ability of a leader to be able to fully give his
or her all to the core purpose of the success of an organization in the long run. Such a leadership
quality further insinuates that a leader is concerned with from employees and ensure their
performance is at its highest potential. Darwin Smith was able to illustrates this quality
throughout his decades of leadership in the firm. Despite being diagnosed with cancer where he
was told he could live for a while, maybe a year or so, he was committed to ensure that he will
live a legacy of converting the company to it greatest performance level and success. Therefore,
leader must always remain positive and passionate during their endeavors.
Integrity and humility - effective leaders are able to comprehend that genuine dependability is
equal. Along these lines, they express that steadfastness in substantial ways that advantage the
individual from their groups. Genuine reliability is guaranteeing that all colleagues have the
preparation and assets to carry out their employment. It's going to bat for colleagues in
emergency and struggle (Paris et al.2015). Darwin’s commitment and passion towards the firm
for decade illustrated explicit loyalty. His precise buildup of a strong community within the
community and rewarding and empowering his employees with appropriate promotions that will
spearhead the success of the firm was pivotal. Despite the lack of confidence from the board he
still stayed on point regardless of the current situation of the firm which he drove to success used
as a learning curve by merging and large organization other importance of loyalty. It is
essentially reciprocated by the members of the staff as well as the consumers which plays a
major role in improving and stabilizing the growth and development of the firm (Wanasika and
Krahnke 2017)

Leadership: Assignment 1 14
Is it possible to have the leadership qualities possessed by Darwin E. Smith today?
The era of information has seen drastic improvement in technology and innovation. These
improvements have made businesses today to be complex and full of numerous risks although
rewarding. Therefore, there is need of quality leadership as portrayed by Darwin Smith in this
context. However, through this perceptive, there is an intriguing query or research gap on the
context on the availability of leadership qualities on leaders of today which would insinuate there
its slightly possible in the long run. Contrary to the research opinion, Complexity of business and
the volatility of the business environments demands these qualities with no apologies’ good
example is a situation where there are several companies with similar resources at their disposal
who have to maneuver around the market so as to gain a competitive advantage and remain
relevant and dominant (Sethuraman and Suresh 2014). This situation is somehow similar to the
scenarios in the case study which occurred several decades ago, the difference is the volatility of
the business environments. leaders have different personalities which results to different
approaches and tactics to succeed. The CEO of Tesla and the CEO of Facebook have different
personalities and approaches to success but similar leadership qualities to Darwin. Therefore, it
is possible to have the leadership qualities possessed by Darwin E. Smith today.

Leadership: Assignment 1 15
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is evident from the paper that the success, growth, and development of an
organization is high determined by the role played by its leaders. the development of an
organizations vision, mission, goals, and objectives are made possible through leadership.
However, leaders who portray effective leadership in their key roles will be influential in
maintaining the quality standards that define their brand reputation as portrayed by Darwin
Smith the then CEO of Kimberly-Clark. His qualities as an effective leader have been expounded
on the paper illustrating how he was able to turn a company that was on the brink of collapse to
one of the most profitable firms. His period in the firm for close to two decades proved to be a
strategic decision for the board members regardless of some who were not quite sure how a man
who has no skills or experience in the post will succeed.in relation to this context, the paper has
also discussed the nature of the leadership which is level five (Rosenbach 2018). The nature of
leadership portrayed by leaders in this category such as Darwin Smith is a paradoxical mix of
furious will and individual humility. They are adamant and savage, however, they are very
humble. Most of the level five leader would not even make the cover of a magazine or any
business publication, they did not relay on charism to lead their organization (Binder 2016).
However, they are very ambitious when it comes to the interest of the organization in general,
and they rarely allow their ego or personal issues affect the success of the organization.
Additionally, the skills required in this category have also been discussed concluding with the
debatable remark suggesting that the leadership qualities possessed by Drawing smith can be
possessed by leaders of today

Leadership: Assignment 1 16
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Leadership: Assignment 1 17
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Leadership: Assignment 1 18
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Leadership: Assignment 1 19