Leadership Skills and Styles

This report analyzes the leadership style of Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair, exploring his traits, skills, and the consequences of his approach. It examines whether he is a leader or a manager, and how his style has impacted the airline's success. The report also discusses the future of Ryanair under O'Leary's leadership and whether a shift in approach is necessary.

LEADERSHIP SKILLS AND
STYLES OF MICHAEL O' LEARY

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................1
QUESTION 1...................................................................................................................................1
Michael O' Leary, a leader or a manager....................................................................................1
QUESTION 2...................................................................................................................................2
Traits and skills of Michael O' Leary..........................................................................................2
QUESTION 3...................................................................................................................................3
Consequences of leadership style of Michael O' Leary..............................................................3
QUESTION 4...................................................................................................................................5
Future of Ryanair with Michael O' Leary...................................................................................5
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
The role of leaders in inspiring and empowering organisation is crucial for success of an
organisation. The key aspects of leadership styles are to motivate and guide human resources
of organisation so that they can be productive in achieving business goals. It is the responsibility
of leader to adopt leadership style which suits business environment best and enhances
effective corporate culture (Bolden, 2016).
The report will analyse leadership style of Michael O' Leary, CEO of Ryanair. The
Ryanair is one of the most successful airline service providers in Europe. The organisation is
well known among customers for its low cost and innovative services. The report will evaluate
role of O' Leary in growth and development of Ryanair as a leader or manager. The report will
analyse skills and characteristics of Michael O' Leary which has contributed in rapid success of
organisation. It will also evaluate the future impact of O'Leary's style on Ryanair. The report will
also discuss suitability of Michael O' Leary for Ryanair in future ahead.
QUESTION 1
Michael O' Leary, a leader or a manager
The most influencing attribute in the success of Ryanair is involvement of both;
leadership and managerial approaches by its CEO Michael O' Leary. During successful journey
of Ryanair, Mr. Leary has used his distinct style which consists of, both; manager and leader. As
an effective leader, Michael O' Leary aims at creating vision instead of creating goals. It is the
result of Mr. O'Leary's vision that Ryanair continuously aims at providing low cost services with
innovations. Contrary to the leadership approach, Mr. Leary like a manager always takes risks
and aims at achieving results (Dubey, Gunasekaran and Ali, 2015). Like a manager, Michael O'
Leary plans, coordinates and controls the organisation for its effective management.
As far as the strategic approach is concerned, O' Leary considers the conflicts as a form
of asset. He used to involve in controversies and controversial statements which depicts his
leadership style. During recent conflicts between pilots of Ryanair and organisational policies,
Mr. Leary adopted his managerial style instead of leadership approach. At the time of conflict
O' Leary aimed at accomplishment of final results instead of focusing on demands or growth of
its employees or teammates. On various situations, it is observed that Michael O' Leary does
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not follow either a leadership or a managerial style rather as per the demand of organisational
environment he used to adopt both of these principles.
Mr. O' Leary is never seen to give up his control on decisions and policy making of
organisation irrespective of internal and external forces of business. Rather, he always gives
directions to Ryanair for each and every situation (Northouse, 2018). This attitude of O' Leary
depicts his managerial step towards implementing decisions of organisation. From beginning
the major policy of Ryanair is to provide airline facility to customers at low prices. For achieving
this vision, the organisation keeps introducing new strategies which maintains balance between
its operational cost and profits. Michael O' Leary always focused on achieving his sales target
without much consideration about the concern of its customers or people. This characteristic is
one of the key feature of managers. It can be observed several times when Ryanair did not
consider the feedbacks and opinions of its customers and O' Leary implemented decisions with
the aim of just achieving profits (Donate and de Pablo, 2015).
The uniqueness and innovations are the highlights of Ryanair as well as Michael O'
Leary. It can be considered as the leadership style of Mr. Leary that Ryanair never introduces
policies by observing its competitors. Rather, O' Leary always aims at making innovative
strategies which their competitors find hard to implement. Thus, Michael O' Leary has significant
contribution in achieving goals for Ryanair and for reaching these goals Mr. O' Leary uses both
leadership and managerial role. The implementation of both of these roles results in overall
development of organisation.
QUESTION 2
Traits and skills of Michael O' Leary
The high brand value of Ryanair is the result of dedication and explicit strategies
formulated by Michael O' Leary. Mr. Leary can be considered to have calculative mind. His main
policy for achieving the profits is to reduce operational costs. These cost reduction strategies
are not only implemented within flights but also to routine activities of organisation as well as Mr.
Leary. He never hesitates in involving new practices which could benefit the Ryanair (Michael
O’Leary | Ryanair, 2014). Despite of huge criticism from media houses and other competitors
Mr. Leary never gives a second thought to his decisions.
He can be considered as antagonistic by nature. Mr. O' Leary does not believe in
bounding innovations with general and undefined rules. For instance, his proposals such as
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charging additional money from passengers against the use of toilets in Ryanair flights or seat
allotment strategies were criticised a lot but he always has faith in his decisions. This confidence
and faith of Mr. O' Leary has always been proved as profit and attention gaining strategy. With
effectively formulated long term vision and analysis skills he has succeeded in fruitful marketing
of organisation.
Another skill of Michael O' Leary which has been proved beneficial for Ryanair is his
ability to manage controversies and associated risks. The ideas and statements of O' Leary are
criticised a lot and there are possibilities that they might upset customers of organisation. But
with a fearless attitude Mr. O' Leary never miss any opportunity to involve in expressing his
opinions which have high probability to create the controversy and disputes (Michael O’Leary on
How Ryanair is Going to Take Over the World, 2016). This attitude of Michael O' Leary makes it
possible for Ryanair to always remain in the headlines either with the positive influence or
negative. With the business mind perspective O' Leary knows it very well that how his extreme
new strategies can retain its customers.
The innovative concepts of reducing operational cost and fare prices such as beginning
of new models airlines, controlling speed of flights to save the fuel and have made it possible
for Ryanair to held its position of the largest Airline in Europe. These innovations and profit
oriented strategies are the results of brilliancy of Michael O' Leary. One of the most critical skills
of Mr. Leary is that he is very quick to respond. This characteristic feature of O' Leary does not
always help him. For every incident like variation in fuel prices or critical evaluation of the
policies of Ryanair by competitors or media publications, Michael O' Leary always responds
quickly. This quick responsive behaviour makes it possible for the Ryanair to grab many
opportunities for its success and development (Ryanair, Scorned in Europe, Turns on the
Charm, 2013). Thus, it can be considered that long term vision and extraordinary approach to
visualise the opportunities are key skills of Michael O' Leary which have contributed in vast
growth of Ryanair.
QUESTION 3
Consequences of leadership style of Michael O' Leary
The leadership style greatly influence the performance of human resources which
directly contributes the organisational success. Mr. O' Leary can use following leadership styles
for achieving the goals.
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Democratic leadership style:
The democratic style in business practice involves the participation of all group members
equally. In this type of leadership the leader acts as intermediate between group members so
that decision can be made with mutual consent of each team member. This can provide equal
rights and authorities to each team member. Democratic leadership helps in creating efficient
teams which can easily solve the complex issues. Michael O' Leary can use this leadership style
for resolving the quality issues (Moore, 2016). It will help Ryanair to improve the quality of its
services and to retain the customers for long term. However, this leadership is time consuming
and is not suitable for critical decisions during risks management and control.
Laissez-Faire style:
It is also called delegative style of leadership. In this type of leadership style group
members are allowed to provide greater involvement in decision making. As in this type of
leadership style leaders have less involvement, this style will not be suitable for Michael O'
Leary. The role of O' Leary is significant in decision making and strategy formulation. This
leadership style will make the employees of Ryanair to solve their problem at their own without
much guidance from Mr. Leary. This leadership style could be beneficial for organisation if
employees are skilled enough to make organisational policies without much support of leader
(Wong and Giessner, 2018). With laissez-faire style O' Leary will not be able to define the role of
individuals and hence his reduced participation in group can degrade the performance of
Ryanair.
Authoritarian leadership:
With the current scenario of Ryanair it can be observed that Michael O' Leary is following
this leadership style. Under this leadership style as a leader O' Leary has full control over
decisions, strategies, goals and methods of execution. Michael O' Leary does not need the
support of any subordinates and thus it creates lower level of autonomy among other
employees of Ryanair. During the growth phase of business this style can be considered as
effective but for sustaining the growth the organisation need to shift from this style. With the
adaption of this leadership style Mr. Leary has lead to resentment from other employees of the
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organisation. Also, the power solving skills of the leader are not much effective. The same has
been observed when Ryanair faced strikes of pilots and number of negative feedbacks from its
customers then Mr. Leary did not make any influencing and required decision which could have
saved organisation from the tough situation (Jeston, 2014).
Participative leadership style:
Ryanair has established itself as one of the leading service provider. Now it is required
for Michael O' Leary to shift from authoritarian leadership style to participative style. This
transformation is necessary for Ryanair to sustain its growth and profits. With participative
leadership style O' Leary can involve the other employees of Ryanair in presenting their ideas
and views (Champy, 2018). This approach will promote the innovation and creativity within
organisation. This leadership style may slow the decision making process due to involvement of
all group members but for avoiding the conflicts and customer satisfaction issues which Ryanair
is facing currently, this leadership style can be considered suitable for Michael O' Leary.
QUESTION 4
Future of Ryanair with Michael O' Leary
Under the guidance of CEO Michael O' Leary Ryanair has experienced great response
from customers. But the factors like over confidence, considering customers as second priority
after profit making and excessive involvement in unique innovations cum controversies is
creating high dissatisfaction among customers. If the situation will continue then it may become
difficult for the organisation to maintain its value in the future. CEO Mr. Leary is regularly making
controversies by policies and statements such as additional charges for fat people, charged
onboard toilet facilities, ignorance to customers feedbacks and regular flight cancellations due to
internal conflicts (Sethuraman and Suresh, 2014). These actions are definitely keeping
organisation in the news but in long run this approach may not be profitable for the organisation.
Low cost models are for sure attractive feature for customers but along with the cost, quality and
policies of the organisation are also important factor for consideration. With such approach it
may happen that Ryanair may lose its existing brand value and its customers may seek other
alternatives. The competitors of Ryanair can also take advantage from this scenario of the
organisation.
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For sustaining the growth of Ryanair it is essential for the Michael O' Leary to review his
leadership strategy. The major crisis faced by Ryanair at present is the customer dissatisfaction.
Thus, O' Leary must make an alignment between profit making and customer retention. The
organisation and Mr. Leary must not consider the customers for granted. Rather, their priority
must be the benefits of customers so that they prefer Ryanair over others. The problem can be
solved if Mr. Leary can be replaced by manager. The performance of Ryanair can be improved
by involving the guidance and greater role of manager. The managerial approach can help
organisation to avoid conflicts and to develop strategies which will emphasis more on profit
rather than creating controversy. The internal conflicts such as strikes and employees
dissatisfaction can be easily addressed by manager. It will be easy for the manager to analyse
the possible risks and threats for the growth of organisation. Mr. Leary is taking consumer
interests for granted (Nice and profitable: How Ryanair revamped itself, 2016). This approach
can bring performance of Ryanair down. Hence, it will be beneficial for Ryanair to have a
manager in near future.
CONCLUSION
From the report it can be concluded that for maintaining the growth the organisation
must review their leadership style for maintaining their growth levels. The leadership style
greatly influence the performance and productivity of the employees. The report has explained
the role of Michael O' Leary as both manager and leader in business activities of Ryanair. The
report has also analysed various skills and features which have helped O' Leary to make
Ryanair as one of the most successful organisation. From the report it can be concluded that
different leadership styles can have different impact on decision making of organisation. The
report has explained the consequences of various leadership styles. It has analysed if Michael
O' Leary is suitable for the future of Ryanair or organisation require the alternative in form of
leader or manager. Thus, it can be conclude from the report that leadership is crucial factor for
the Ryanair.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Anderson, M.H. and Sun, P.Y., 2017. Reviewing leadership styles: Overlaps and the need for a
new ‘full‐range’theory.International Journal of Management Reviews. 19(1). pp.76-96.
Bolden, R., 2016. Leadership, management and organisational development. In Gower
handbook of leadership and management development (pp. 143-158). Routledge.
Champy, J., 2018. Reengineering Management The Mandate for new Leadership. Harper
Collins.
Donate, M.J. and de Pablo, J.D.S., 2015. The role of knowledge-oriented leadership in
knowledge management practices and innovation. Journal of Business Research.68(2).
pp.360-370.
Dubey, R., Gunasekaran, A. and Ali, S.S., 2015. Exploring the relationship between leadership,
operational practices, institutional pressures and environmental performance: A
framework for green supply chain. International Journal of Production Economics. 160.
pp.120-132.
Goetsch, D.L. and Davis, S.B., 2014. Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: pearson.
Iqbal, N., Anwar, S. and Haider, N., 2015. Effect of leadership style on employee
performance. Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review. 5(5). pp.1-6.
Jeston, J., 2014. Business process management. Routledge.
Moore, J.F., 2016. The death of competition: leadership and strategy in the age of business
ecosystems. HarperCollins.
Northouse, P.G., 2018. Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.
Rosenbach, W.E., 2018. Contemporary issues in leadership. Routledge.
Sethuraman, K. and Suresh, J., 2014. Effective leadership styles. International Business
Research. 7(9). p.165.
Wheelen, T.L., Hunger, J.D., and et.al., 2017. Strategic management and business policy.
Pearson.
Wong, S.I. and Giessner, S.R., 2018. The thin line between empowering and laissez-faire
leadership: An expectancy-match perspective. Journal of Management. 44(2). pp.757-
783.
Yahaya, R. and Ebrahim, F., 2016. Leadership styles and organizational commitment: literature
review. Journal of Management Development. 35(2). pp.190-216.
Online
Michael O’Leary | Ryanair, 2014. [Online] Accessed Through
<https://www.europeanceo.com/profiles/michael-oleary/>
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Michael O’Leary on How Ryanair is Going to Take Over the World, 2016. [Online] Accessed
Through <http://www.universitytimes.ie/2016/12/michael-oleary-on-how-ryanair-is-going-
to-take-over-the-world/>
Michael O’Leary: turbulent times for money-saving master of the skies, 2017. [Online] Accessed
Through<https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/30/michael-oleary-ryanair-
cancelled-flights-observer-profile>
Nice and profitable: How Ryanair revamped itself, 2016. [Online] Accessed Through
<https://www.irishtimes.com/business/transport-and-tourism/nice-and-profitable-how-
ryanair-revamped-itself-1.2655130>
Ryanair, Scorned in Europe, Turns on the Charm, 2013. [Online] Accessed Through
<https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/29/business/international/ryanair-embarks-on-charm-
offensive-as-competition-grows.html?mcubz=1&register=facebook>
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