Leadership Style of Mark Parker at Nike

This report discusses the leadership style of Mark Parker, CEO of Nike, and its impact on the brand. It highlights the importance of different leadership styles and employee engagement. The report evaluates Parker's transformational leadership style and its effect on Nike's success. It also discusses the drawbacks of an extensively participative and engaging culture.

Leading Business Organization
Case study and Reflection

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Contents
Part A: Reflection............................................................................................................................2
Part B: Management report based on case study.............................................................................3
Introduction..................................................................................................................................3
Overview of leadership style........................................................................................................4
Importance of different leadership styles.....................................................................................5
Evaluation of Mark Parker’s leadership style..............................................................................6
Recommendations for Mark Parker for selecting a successor.....................................................8
Key competencies of the successor..........................................................................................8
The new leader – Within or without?.......................................................................................9
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................11

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Part A: Reflection
Effective leadership is critical for the success of any organization. A great leader can guide a
team to increased productivity and deliver high performance (Wagner, 2016). On the other hand,
a poor leader can misguide the entire team and reduce overall effectiveness of the team. Some
leaders are born while some people develop leadership abilities over a period of time. With the
right experience and guidance, a leader can successfully build and manage a highly productive
team.
Leadership styles are also changing over a period of time. Leaders existing today are not just
leaders owing to their position in the organization but they are guides and mentors to their team
members (Bolden, 2016). The role of a leader is gradually increasing and hence more
responsibilities are being bestowed upon them. For ensuring effectiveness in leaderships, there
are several steps that a leader can take.
Leaders must consistently work towards improving themselves. They can do so by reading books
on leadership, follow other remarkable leaders and learn from their life stories, attending
workshops on leadership as well as by seeking help from their seniors. Either way, it is
imperative that the leader consistently strives to improve skills and enhance abilities.
The changing business scenario has also increased the role of a leader within the organization.
Their span of control is rising and expectations set from leaders are also sky rocketing. Even in
the same organization, there is fierce competition for leadership roles. Therefore it is even more
important for contemporary leaders to receive in-depth leadership development. This would help
them have a strong vision for the organization and also ensure that they become leaders who can
guide and mentor their team members. This would further lead to improved leadership skills and
enhanced productivity from the team.
The organization where I wish to work is Facebook. It is a relatively large organization.
Therefore the flow of leadership is strictly through designation. There are a lot of creative teams
at Facebook. Within the team, people enjoy a participative culture. The entire work culture at
Facebook is very participative. All the employees are included in the decision making process.
Before taking any major step, the entire team brainstorms the idea and then a final call is taken.

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Moreover, Facebook essentially requires employees to be innovative in their approach. Therefore
all the employees are taught to take risks and work upon their ideas no matter how stupid that
might be. Facebook also offers flexible working hours to employees. This somehow enhances
the roles and responsibilities of the leader because it is it the leader’s job to coordinate with the
entire team. Facebook is a symbol of innovation and creativity. This is the predominant reason
why I aspire to be a part of Facebook. The brand is symbolic to new changes. The leaders in the
organization are highly dynamic and energetic. They are always open to new ideas and they are
always willing to try something new.
The culture of communication too at Facebook is highly open and dynamic. The leaders adopt an
open door policy. There is a lot of transparency regarding every business process. Given this
scenario, I feel my innovation will get a boost and this is why I strong wish to work there.
There are various attributes of my personality that I have been working upon in order to enhance
my leadership abilities. I took the leadership self-assessment questionnaire and realized that my
biggest strength is my relationships. I have always known this to be true for myself. I genuinely
believe in building and maintaining strong relationships with people. I once heard a statement
that said “A person’s network is a person’s net worth”. This is why I have always focused on
building strong connections. As a future leader, I am sure this ability will help me build a strong
network of competent individuals.
My second strength is my self-discipline. I have always been a determined and disciplined
person. I like to plan my days in advance and stick to the schedule that is given to me. I have
been an active sports person since I was really young and I know that this strong sense of
discipline stems from my sports background. I need to work upon the quadrant in which I scored
the least. This was values. As a person, I have believed that some ends justify any means.
Through this course, I have learnt the importance of values and business ethics. And this is
something I would surely work upon.
Being an effective and efficient leader is very important to me and I would ensure that before I
take up such a role, I am well prepared and possess the right abilities and skill set to contribute to
the same.

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Part B: Management report based on case study
Introduction
Leadership forms an essential part of every organization that operates today. A strong leadership
can guide a business towards growth while a weak leadership can pull the entire team back
leading to reduced productivity (Clinton, 2018). Leaders coming from different backgrounds and
leading different teams adopt several different leadership styles. No single leadership style works
for every situation and hence it is the responsibility of the leaders to effectively adopt a
leadership style that is best suited for their respective teams. There are several remarkable
leaders that have changed the shape of the organization that they led. This report throws light
upon the leadership style of Mark Parker. Mark Parker is the CEO of shoes and apparel
behemoth, Nike. Mark has been associated with the brand since 1979 and has served in several
departments including product design, marketing, development, manufacturing, research, and
brand development. Through this report, we aim to understand his leadership style and his
contribution to the brand Nike.
Overview of leadership style
Every leader has a different style of working and leading. Certain leaders are democratic and
hence more participative in their approach (Bryman, 2013). On the other hand, several leaders
are highly autocratic in their leadership styles. It is important to note that all these leadership
styles have certain pros and cons. It is imperative that leaders are effectively able to determine
the leadership style that would work best in the given situation.
Mark Parker joined Nike in 1979 and has been associated with several business processes since
then. He was appointed as the CEO of the firm in 2005. After a thorough understanding of
Parker’s efforts and working style, it has been noted that Parker is a transformational leader. A
transformational leader works with the team with the aim to identify the need for change and
then putting efforts to bring about that change in the most effective manner (Jian & Fairhurst,
2017). As the name suggests, these leaders try to transform the given situation into something
bigger and better.

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Nike’s entire business was divided into several processes. However, Parker abolished that system
and decided to divide the entire business into six customer focus groups including running,
training, basketball and women’s fitness etc. (Forbes, 2018). He focused largely on bringing in
new innovation and devising strategies to revamp the entire brand. As a leader, he created a
culture of open communication and rigorous innovation. During brainstorming sessions at Nike,
every employee was allowed to share opinion. Parker specifically believed that there are no bad
ideas. This encouraged his team members and made them feel valued. Parker ensured that at any
point of time there are over 1000 employees who are dedicated to bringing about innovation in
the organization (Inc, 2018).
Last year, he shortlisted 40 out of over 30000 Nike outlets and decided to transform them into
providing an exceptional buying experience to customers. The idea clicked and the personalized
customer experience was appreciated by customers throughout the globe. Such efforts by Mark
depict the strong vision that he has for the company. He consistently strives to enhance and
improve customer experience by delivering value and improving the shopping experience at their
stores (Forbes, 2018).
As a leader, Mark encourages his team members to do whatever it takes for the growth of the
firm. He believes in delivering value. Employees at Nike go out and associate with athletes in
order to understand their needs in a better manner. Designers are always encouraged to try out
their ideas even when they are not met with enthusiasm by the rest of the team. Parker also likes
to be in control of the situation despite the openness in the culture that exists throughout the
organization. His leadership style is marked by authority, responsibility as well as openness and
opportunity.
Every leadership style has its cons. Given the culture that is created by Mark, it is difficult for an
individual to seek trust or respect on the basis of their designation. Since it is a rather informal
culture, power flows through informal relationships rather than a formal structure. This somehow
leads to an uneven and unfair distribution of power.

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Importance of different leadership styles
It is essential for a leader to adopt different style of leadership in the face of changing situations.
This helps in increasing the overall productivity of the team (Bolman & Deal, 2017). As a leader,
Mark Parker is a true visionary and a disruptor that has entirely revamped the brand Nike. His
imagination and innovation have established the brand as a leading player in the industry. He has
built a culture of open communication and free work. Everyone in the Nike team is entitled to
their opinion. Employees are free to work on different projects that they believe have potential.
Working hours offered by the organization are highly flexible. All these efforts by Mark have
made Nike a highly innovative organization.
Mark’s leadership style encourages participation from all employees of the business. Despite
giving a free hand to all employees, Parker knows how to keep the baton of the team with
himself. He conducted an internal investigation within the team in order to understand where his
team stands in terms of creating a gender equal working environment. After understanding the
issue, he put considerable efforts in ensuring that women associated with Nike can be offered an
equal platform. One of the most important aspects of a leader is to identify a mistake and work
towards rectifying it. When the organization was accused of having a misogynistic culture,
Parker issued a public apology where he accepted that he and other executives of the business
missed signs of unhappiness among women employees. He assured the team that women
associated with the company will not only be compensated for the brunt borne by them up until
now but that he will personally ensure that a culture of respect and equality is encouraged at
Nike. Parker also identified that human resource management policies at Nike will continue to be
regularly reviewed and evaluated to avoid such mistakes in the future.
Mark Parker leads by example and continues to participate in every business process. It is
essential for leaders to lead by example in order to understand the crux of the business and create
an environment of respect. Mike Parker actively takes part in the design process in order to
monitor the final value that gets delivered to the customers.

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Evaluation of Mark Parker’s leadership style
Mark’s leadership style is predominantly transformational. This leadership style has changed the
brand’s positioning in the industry. Today Nike is a giant player with a large set of fiercely loyal
customers. At the time when Mark Parker was appointed as the CEO, Adidas was leading the
industry post acquiring Reebok. At that point of time, Mark’s leadership style were largely
needed by the brand in order to establish itself in the industry. There were several challenges that
were faced by Nike but it was Parker’s powerful leadership and magnanimous presence that
helped Nike in establishing a solid foothold in the market of operation.
Employee engagement is an essential aspect within the tenure of every employee (Anitha, 2014).
It is critical to derive motivation among employees and making them feel valued in the business
(Mishra et. al., 2014). Engagement refers to the efforts made by an organization in the direction
of involving employees in the decision making processes of the business. Mark Parker’s lays
especial emphasis on ensuring high levels of employee engagement within the organization. In a
typical brainstorming session at Nike, all the employees are encouraged to share their opinions.
Parker fosters a strong culture of open communication and ensures that different opinions are
executed and respected. Mark believes that this approach to communication has helped Nike in
leading innovative change.
Employees at Nike are also persuaded to work on their opinions and ideas even when the idea
does not receive support from the rest of the group. Nike’s designers are consistently engaged
with developers and marketers of the business and hence every employee is consistently aware of
the status of the product. Mark Parker has also adapted an open door policy within the
organization. This policy suggests that the top management of the organization is always
available for the staff in case of any issues. Under the leadership of Mark Parker, employees are
actively engaged in the decision making processes of the business inducing a participative
culture.
However, a severe drawback of an extensively participative and engaging culture is that the
workplace atmosphere becomes so casual that power does not flow through the business
structure. Rather, power flows through informal relationships within the business. This
sometimes can lead to a highly unfair and partial work process. Unfortunately, Nike also faced

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the same issue where several female employees complained of a misogynistic culture as almost
all leadership roles were occupied by white males.
Such a work culture can also reduce the overall productivity of the team. As every person is
allowed and encouraged to work upon different ideas, the possibility of successful ideas
drastically reduces. Even though this may increase the risk appetite and the level of innovation
within the business, but the overall productivity of the organization as a whole is drastically
reduced.
Change management is a critical responsibility of a successful leader at any given organization.
How a leader takes the entire business through a change process without disrupting business
processes or employee morale is highly important (Frankland et. al., 2013). Not all leaders can
drive a change or a transformation within an organization in a smooth manner. Mark Parker hits
the nail right on top with his ability to manage the change that needs to be done.
Since his appointment as the company’s CEO, Mark Parker has brought about a lot of change
within the business. The foremost change that he introduced was the division of the all business
processes on the basis of six critical customer segments rather than business functions. The
second predominant change that he introduced was the shift the team’s focus on 40 out of over
30000 Nike stores that are there in the world. The idea was to enhance the customer shopping
experience in these select stores. Parker has reformed the brand and created a disruption in the
entire industry making Nike a strong competitor for other players. Through the entire change
process, he led the team in an effective manner.
Communication plays a strong role in the change process for any business (Quirke, 2017). Parker
has therefore ensured that in the midst of such massive changes too, Nike continues to remain a
largely transparent organization. Employees’ grievances are effectively addressed. One of the
major problems faced by employees of an organization going through a change is their resistance
towards change. Mike Parker has effectively dealt with employee resistance towards change by
encouraging all the employees to participate in the change process. Once employees feel that
their opinions are heard then the entire change process becomes a lot easier. Even as a CEO he
continues to address all his staff through regular emails and memos. This helps employees feel

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that they are connected to the business and hence are able to accept the change that takes place in
the organization in a better manner.
The steps taken by Mark Parker as a CEO towards the employee engagement and change
management are truly commendable. However, even as a former chairman, Mark continues to
provide the brand with his insight towards several organizational processes. Parker’s contributes
significantly to the design team and continues to play a significant role in all the creative aspects
of the business.
Recommendations for Mark Parker for selecting a successor
For every leadership role, it is crucial to find the right successor. Mark Parker’s successor would
have tough shoes to fill owing to the excellence demonstrated by Parker in his tenure at Nike. It
is going to be a difficult procedure to find someone who can fill the space that Parker occupied
and hence it becomes an even bigger responsibility for Parker to find the right person for the job.
Key competencies of the successor
There are several key competencies of Parker’s successor that are recommended. Parker always
had a strong vision for Nike since the day he was associated with the brand. It is important that
his successor too must be a visionary and knows exactly what needs to be achieved. Having a
strong vision guides leaders to create their plan of action and strategize a better future for the
organization.
Parker has worked with different departments of the firm and hence has detailed knowledge of
the business. It is therefore important for his successor to possess thorough business knowledge.
A strong knowledge about the business process helps leaders lead by example.
The culture at Nike created by Mark is that open communication and trust. In such a culture the
flow of power comes through informal relationships rather than structure. Therefore it is
important that Parker’s successor has a strong personality and is flamboyant enough to command
respect in such a culture. The new leader at Nike must be able to infuse well with the culture of
the firm and ensure that the work place environment continues to be positive and motivating.

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As a leader, Parker has always been honest and integral to the business. This quality of a leader
is highly important in order to ensure trust and respect towards the leader within the organization
(Black, 2015). The new leader must therefore have an honest approach towards the business.
The large number of business changes brought about by Mark has changed the organizational
culture at Nike. The next leader must be able to improve upon the same and make Nike a better
place. The new leader’s contribution to Nike must enhance the business’s productivity and add
on the already rich culture existing in the organization.
Mark’s leadership style has been transformational. He joined the organization, proved his mettle
and earned his spot in the firm. He worked hard within every department that he served.
Therefore it would be important for his successor to prove his mettle as well. This is important
for build trust and respect as a leader. When a leader is succeeded by someone, a sense of
comparison and sometimes even resistance comes naturally to the entire team. This is why it is
essential that the new leader appointed is worthy for the position earned.
The new leader – Within or without?
Mark has created a culture on openness and growth in the business. Therefore in order to appoint
a new CEO, it is important that suitable candidates are looked for within the business. Another
advantage of finding a successor within the organization would be that the leader would already
be well versed with the organizational culture and structure. This new leader who could be
appointed from within the organization would have probably worked with Mark in the past and
they may be sharing the same vision for the firm.
A leader who is recruited from within the organization would be a lot easier to accept because
this leader would have proved his or her mettle in order to be considered for this position.
Having already been associated with Nike, this new leader would also have firsthand information
regarding several business processes at the firm.
In this case, however, it is essential to ascertain that the new leader is innovative and is willing to
bring about change. It would be risky to have a leader who is extremely comfortable in the
current setting at the firm. The process of finding a successor to an impeccable leader like Mark
Parker will be a difficult process. It is important to ensure that the person has the right vision and

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a strategically designed action plan for the future (Hollander, 2013). The selection process will
have to be extremely strict to ensure fair selection. People from outside the organization must
also be considered to apply but a candidate from within the organization must be preferred.
Conclusion
Leadership is an essential aspect of any business (Daft, 2014). Mark Parker has led the shoes and
sportswear giant Nike and served the position of the chief executive officer. This report has
highlighted upon the leadership skills and styles demonstrated by Parker throughout his tenure at
Nike. Recommendations have also been provided to effectively find an appropriate successor as
a CEO for the brand.

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