Leadership in Business: The Qualities of Darwin Smith

This article discusses the leadership qualities of Darwin Smith, the former CEO of Kimberley-Clark, and how he transformed the company into a leading consumer paper-product company. It explores his unique leadership qualities, including his vision, decision-making capabilities, farsightedness, creativity, and innovation. The article also analyzes his charismatic leadership style and the skills required to become a successful leader like him.

Running head: LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS
Leadership in Business
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

1LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS
Answer 1)
The leadership qualities of Darwin Smith aided in the transformation of the company
Kimberley- Clark and it became a leading consumer paper-product company within the
world. The company was able to beat the rivals like Scott Paper along with Procter & Gamble
with the help of his unique leadership qualities. It was the personality of Darwin Smith that
was able to transform the company from good to the great and it has been successful in
maintaining the transformed status (Swanson and Frederick 2016). Mr Smith built strength in
the company that aided in its transformation. He had great vision that helped him in raising
and re-defining that of the corporate goals. He was instrumental in examining the leadership
group of the company and he sent out those people who would not help in the growth of the
company. Darwin Smith had the decision making capabilities that helped him in taking
effective decisions within the company. Darwin Smith had the leadership quality of far-
sightedness that made him increase the geographical diversification pertaining to the facilities
of KImberly-Clark. He allotted a great amount of money for the purpose of research and
development that helped the company in succeeding within the competitive business
environment. He had the leadership quality of creativity along with innovation and he hence
encouraged the aspect of research that was carried out in the company (Pruzan et al. 2017).
He knew that for the success of a business it was important to innovate that can help the
business in competing against the competitors. His visionary quality was revealed in the fact
that he did not give up the failing diaper business although there were many people who
opposed his move. He was instrumental in strengthening the position of the company in
regard to the tissue segment of paper industry that pushed the company to improve the tissue
technology.
Answer 2)

2LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS
The analysis of the personality of Darwin Smith reveals that a great leader is born.
The leadership traits that were present in Darwin Smith are generally present in an individual
since his birth. The stoic attitude towards life that Darwin Smith had are generally embedded
in an individual since the time they are born. He had firm determination that helped him in
steering the fortunes of Kimberly-Clark. Darwin Smith was diagnosed with nose along with
throat cancer two months after he became the CEO of the company. He was told that he
would not be able to survive more than a year but still he went on with his job with his zeal
that was a distinctive quality of him. He had firm resolve and was very courageous which are
generally present in an individual since the time they are born (Voss 2018). Smith continued
with the demanding work schedule even when he was told that he was not well. He helped in
the rebuilding of the company Kimberly-Clark with the help of his ferocious resolve that was
inherent in him. He made a dramatic decision that completely changed the fate of the
company. He sold the mills because he felt that the traditional coated paper business would
not be able to succeed in the long run. The economics of the coated paper was business was
bad that made him to sell mills. There were others who felt that being thrust into that of the
consumer paper-product business can help it for achieving greatness (Klaus and Fernando
2016). Smith however went on with his decision and inspite of vehement criticism he sold the
mills along with the namesake mill that was situated at Winconsin. He stated that they would
make investments in certain brands like Huggies diapers and that of Kleenex tissues. Darwin
Smith had the leadership qualities present in him from the time of his birth that was a
dominating reason for the success of his company named Kimberley- Clark.
Answer 3)
Nature of the leadership style that was exhibited by the personality of Darwin Smith
was charismatic leadership. A charismatic leader can influence the mind of his subordinates
with the help of his positive attitude. Darwin Smith was able to develop the “halo effect” that

3LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS
helped in the evolution of Kimberly-Clark from that of a good company to that of a great
company. He was able to bring about great changes in the company with the help of his
charismatic leadership style. The short coming of a charismatic leader is overlooked and great
emphasis is laid on their strong points. In the event of Darwin Smith acting as the chief
executive officer the company was able to generate cumulative stock return that was 4.1
times greater as compared to the general market. The charismatic personality traits that were
imbibed in Darwin Smith helped Kimberly-Clark in outperforming the venerable companies
that included the industry rivals. Mr Smith used to give credit to employees, managers along
with customers for the success of the company. The personality of Smith was an
amalgamation of personal humility along with professional will. A charismatic leader
behaves in a responsible manner so that he is accepted by his subordinates in a company
(Chang, Chen and Chiou 2015). Darwin Smith with the help of his dynamic personality was
able to convince employees of Kimberly-Clark regarding his value that can help in bringing
value to the organization. A charismatic leader exudes confidence and Darwin Smith had
immense confidence that inspired the people working under him. A charismatic leader
displays confidence that proves to be influential for the establishing of trust in an
organization (Ward 2016). He made a dramatic decision in the history of the company when
he sold the mills. Smith along with his team felt that traditional business coated paper would
not be able to succeed and this compelled him to sell the mills. Darwin Smith had the
confidence that helped him in taking such a courageous decision that helped the company to
succeed in the market.
Answer 4)
The kind of skills that will be required if a person has to be in the genre of Darwin
Smith are that of communication, motivation, delegating, positivity and creativity. The
faculty of communication will help the leader in explaining to the employees regarding the

4LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS
organizational goals to that of the specific tasks. The leader should be able to listen that can
help him in understanding the point of view of other people. The steady flow of the
communication will be able to create a bond between the leader and his employees that can
help in the growth of a company. The motivating skills of the leader will help in projection
of a positive attitude in the subordinates that will be able to help the employees in their
growth. A successful leader should be able to motivate the employee that can help in
providing an employee with autonomy. A person should have the mentoring along with
convincing skills that can help him in becoming a leader like Darwin Smith. An essential skill
that is required of a leader is delegation that can help the leader in assigning duties to the
employees (Harney 2016). The duties have to be assigned on the basis of the skill set of the
employees and if a person has to be like Darwin Smith he has to learn this essential skill. It
will be able to help the leader in focussing on other tasks that are important. A leader should
have the skill of positivity that can help him in taking decisions that go against the strain of
other employees in the company. Positivity will help the leader in seeing things in a positive
light that will help him in taking challenging decisions within a company (Verbos, Kennedy
and Claw 2016). These decisions can help in the growth of a company and it can bring profit
for the company. The essential skill of creativity can greatly help a leader in taking
innovative steps that can help in making a company prosperous. The creative zeal in a leader
can help him in staying ahead of the competitors that can ensure the long term growth of a
company.
Answer 5)
It is possible within today’s context to have the leadership qualities like Darwin
Smith. The educational curriculum of the present age helps an individual in developing
analytical along with critical thinking skills that can help an individual in becoming a
successful leader (Oreg and Berson 2015). A person has to undertake projects in the present

5LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS
day that helps an individual in gaining practical skills. It helps a leader in learning leadership
skills that can greatly aid an individual in his professional growth (Blakeley 2015). It is
possible to become a leader like Darwin Smith in the current age if one has been dedicated
and competent in his academic life. In the event of an individual being proficient in his
academic life, the person will be able to emerge to be a leader of the stature of Darwin Smith.
The skills pertaining to communication, motivation and delegation are there in people but the
polishing of these skills can help a person in becoming a successful leader.

6LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS
References:
Blakeley, K., 2015. Inspiring responsible leadership in business schools: Can a spiritual
approach help. Leadership development: Questions business schools don’t ask, pp.151-163.
Chang, T.Z., Chen, S.J. and Chiou, J.S., 2015. Management leadership behavior and market
orientation: The relationship and their effects on organization effectiveness and business
performance. In Marketing, technology and customer commitment in the new economy (pp.
276-281). Springer, Cham.
Harney, B., 2016. Book review: Developing leadership: Questions business schools don’t
ask.
Klaus, L. and Fernando, M., 2016. Enacting spiritual leadership in business through ego-
transcendence. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 37(1), pp.71-92.
Oreg, S. and Berson, Y., 2015. Personality and charismatic leadership in context: The
moderating role of situational stress. Personnel Psychology, 68(1), pp.49-77.
Pruzan, P., Pruzan-Mikkelsen, K., Miller, D. and Miller, W., 2017. Leading with wisdom:
Spiritual-based leadership in business. Routledge.
Swanson, D.L. and Frederick, W.C., 2016. Denial and leadership in business ethics
education. Business ethics: New challenges for business schools and corporate leaders,
pp.222-240.
Verbos, A.K., Kennedy, D.M. and Claw, C.M., 2016. Native American values applied to
leadership and business ethics education. In Tribal Wisdom for Business Ethics (pp. 111-
123). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

7LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS
Voss, C., 2018, July. Conscious Leaders Practicing Conscious Capitalism: Developing
Conscious Leadership in Business. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2018, No.
1, p. 12886). Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510: Academy of Management.
Ward, J., 2016. Keeping the family business healthy: How to plan for continuing growth,
profitability, and family leadership. Springer.