Leadership: A Case Study of Yvon Chouinard

Leadership 1
LEADERSHIP
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LEADERSHIP 2
Executive Summary
This paper looks into leadership and it’s based on a case study of Yvon Chouinard who appears
to be an accomplished and successful mountaineer having climbed many peaks during his
mountain climbing career. He attributed his success to discipline and teamwork something he
considered of great importance in all ones activities. During this time he started selling climbing
gear from the trunk of his car and eventually due to sales increase Patagonia Company was
formed. Due to his limited background in business, Patagonia’s fast growth startled him but he
took it as a positive challenge and sailed through the storm of challenge as he always did during
his climbing escapees. He maintained his nature and believes throughout the growth of Patagonia
without allowing its growth and increase in profits to derail him from his believe and spirit of
being an environment activist: Rather he used his Company as a platform to promote
environment conservancy. This was through the use of environment friendly raw materials and
campaigning for environment conservation globally during his business tours.

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Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................................4
1. What in your understanding is the nature and personality of Yvon Chouinard?.........................4
2. Do you feel it is possible to become a leader when confronted by situations? What are the skills
required of a person to become a leader?.....................................................................................................6
3. What are the situations and factors that are to be taken into account, if one were to exhibit the
leadership quality exhibited by Yvon Chouinard?.....................................................................................10
4. In today's globalized, competitive world, do you feel the leadership practices followed by Yvon
can be applied?..........................................................................................................................................12
5. What do you feel are the advantages and disadvantages of following Yvon's leadership
approach?.................................................................................................................................................14
References....................................................................................................................................17

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Introduction
Leadership refers to the ability of a person or a group of persons to influence and lead others. It
involves the making of decisions on behalf of others either in an organization. Leaders are
responsible of steering those that they lead in achieving the organizations goal. An effective
leader possess certain character traits that enable them to effectively discharge their leadership
duties. This traits include strong communication skills, openness, agreeable and also easily
accessible. This case study looks into Yvon who possesses great leadership skills which are seen
to make him propel his company to great heights.
1. What in your understanding is the nature and personality of Yvon Chouinard?
Personality trait refers to feelings, behaviors, and thoughts that individual persons display
naturally in their daily activities. This, therefore, implies that for one to be said to possess certain
personality traits, they must exhibit them consistently. According to Borghans et al 2008,
personality traits usually have direct effect on the socio economic outcomes of the individuals
possessing or lacking them. According to the text, Yvon Chouinard prominently exhibited the
extraversion personality trait. People with extraversion personality traits tend to be outgoing,
friendly, talkative and are very energetic. This is evident as he was a successful and
accomplished mountain climber. Evidence cementing his extraversion personality trait is his
travels around the globe as he developed and tested Patagonia products while still serving as a
crusader for environmental issues.
Another personality trait that Yvon possessed was openness. Persons with this
personality trait are said to be open to new experiences. Yvon appreciated new ideas from his
employees, and he encouraged them more by ensuring there were no closed offices in his
Patagonia Company. He also allowed the employers of his company to dress as they often