The Leadership of Richard Branson

Running Head: THE LEADERSHIP OF RICHARD BRANSON 1
The leadership of Richard Branson
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The leadership of Richard Branson
Elements of leadership styles of Richard Branson and their impact on the success of his
business
Branson is known as a transformational leader who bridged change in his business
through commitment and inspiration to improve the productivity of every worker. Branson uses
rule-breaking approach to encourage his employees to be innovative to add value to the business
and to them (Oke, Munshi, & Walumbwa, 2009). He selects the right people in his business and
does not only focus on monitoring productivity and organizing. He understands the importance
of thinking differently. His leadership style is democratic and collaborative making it optimize
the available talent. He looks for talents in his employees before hiring them to ensure they have
the necessary experience, skills, and drive. He sets a positive company culture which supports a
positive work environment for his employees.
Another element is his ability to delegate duties helping him and his senior workers
reduce their workload hence giving the ambitious employees an opportunity and a space to thrive
(Robbins, 2014). As a business leader, he has the willingness to listen and learn as he
understands that success comes from working and learning from others even their juniors (Dess
& Lumpkin, 2015). He uses the approach of hands-on by engaging with the employees and the
business to ensure his employees perceive him as part of their team. Another element is a passion
for your job hence leaders can build the team, make strategic decisions and motivate employees

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hence improving the success of the Virgin group. He maintains a good leader-employee
relationship. He is a risk taker and very good at handling situations.
How the aspects of the leadership styles of Richard Branson mesh with multifaceted
organizations’ attributes
Richard assumes diverse styles and methods of leadership depending on the situation he
is currently dealing with. He applies changes promptly in Virgin group. For instance, when he
fails in competition he alters his business strategy, management, and products location. Working
in a Virgin which is a multi-faceted organization Branson supports business expansion as he is
very creative, opportunist, risk-taker, fast, competitive, negotiator workaholic, friendly and
adventurous (Robbins, 2014). Branson’s leadership style follows all the attributes described in
trait theories of leadership hence he engages in the basic virtues to boost Virgin’s success.
Richard Branson has unique leadership qualities, vision, and passion which shape his exponential
entrepreneurship.
The structure of the organization and the leadership style which Richard Branson applies
sets as an example to other multifaceted organizations as it contributes to the success of Virgin.
Richard’s leadership style encourages innovation as the group operates in a competitive hence it
can Virgin group apart from other options available to customers (Hackman, & Johnson, 2013).
The leadership style builds a network which is very beneficial to the Virgin group and different
facets can borrow strategies, ideas and share resources hence being an attribute of the
multifaceted organization. Such organizations like Virgin, use Richard’s leadership style which

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encourages it to develop foresight, forecasting capability and insights giving it a competitive
edge and increases its value (De Vries, 2008).
Two ways Richard Branson uses to motivate his employees to achieve the Virgin group’s
goals
Richard Branson motivates and encourages workers by involving them in decision
making and giving them chances to attempt new work areas as he inspires them on risk-taking.
Employees get the opportunity to prove their competency through their endeavor into new fields
of the world. Through this motivation, employees put in more efforts and use all their abilities,
skills and experiences to attain their employers’ trust hence promoting the achievement of the
goals (Choi, 2016). Involving workers in decision making improves appreciation in them hence
motivating them to achieve the organizational goals. The workers give their best performance to
attain success in the Virgin group. Motivating workers to explore new areas is important as it
challenges them and gives them a chance to apply innovation hence they can be promoted on
merit as well as achieving Virgin’s goals.
Richard’s leadership styles provide flexibility to workers hence allowing them to apply
unconventional approaches thus increasing Virgins productivity. Employees get an opportunity
to invest in Virgins objectives and they will consider Virgin’s success as their personal gain
(Robbins, 2014). Through this motivation, workers perform their best to achieve virgin’s goals as
they are involved in all activities and they have a feeling that they are part of the group. This
approach will not fit in all organizational settings. The motivational strategy used in Branson’s
leadership styles is not applicable to organizations without different areas of work. The approach