Leadership: The Story of Daniel Flynn and Thankyou Group

This report explores the leadership style and challenges faced by Daniel Flynn, the co-founder of Thankyou Group. It discusses the background of Daniel Flynn, his leadership style, key challenges faced as a leader, and the lessons learned from his work. The report highlights the importance of transformational and positive leadership in driving the success of Thankyou Group, a social enterprise that uses its profits to fund life-changing projects around the world.

Ruining Head: LEADERSHIP 0
Leadership
Report
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Table of Contents
Background of Daniel Flynn:..........................................................................................................1
Leadership style:..............................................................................................................................2
Key challenges they have faced as a leader:....................................................................................3
Learning from this study:.................................................................................................................3
References........................................................................................................................................5

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Background of Daniel Flynn:
Daniel Flynn is the Managing Director as well as Co-Founder of Thankyou Group. It is a
business venture, which was founded by him in age of 19 years. Income of Thankyou group
products sale is used for the social work. They are used their 100 % of income to provide clean
water and other things to needful persons (Trotta , 2016).
Daniel donated in excess of $2,500,000 to charity on individual basis. Daniel was named
Victorian Young Achiever of the Year in 2013, and he got Victorian Young Australian of the
Year in 2014. They are produce body products, such as body wash, foaming, nappies, hand wash
and hand wash. They are involved people in thier charity form their purchasing and they are also
providing facility to track your impact ( White, 2014).
Thankyou group is earning money from their product sales. They are selling packed water, food
and body care products. Thankyou is an international group, which is awarded as social
enterprise. It is a group, which provides 100 % to fund life-changing projects at different places
over the entire world (Brancatisano, 2016).
Thankyou group is requesting to every Australian to live every day, give every day, to make
deference through a simple purchase in their everyday life. Their purchasing is so helpful for
those people, who are needful for those resources. Their projects are running in these countries,
which are Cambodia, Kenya, India, and Timor Lester. Thankyou products are distributed
through over 4500 outlets including Coles and Woolworth’s supermarkets. It has received over
500 media features in Australia alone. Daniel is regularly called to provide insight and
commentary on entrepreneurship, youth affairs and leadership by media (Guardian, 2016).

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Thankyou was started in 2008. It was started in Melbourne with zero business experience. They
started it for helping people and they are believed that we all have the power to change stuff. It is
a journey in which of bumpy ride of gut-wrenching decisions, mistakes and daring moves into
marketing, social enterprise.
Leadership style:
Daniel Flynn is following Transformational leadership in their work. It is often identified as the
single most effective style. This style was described during the late 1970s. It is a way to used
business processes for social work. Researcher Bernard M. Bass expanded upon transformational
leadership. This style of leadership is having these abilities to motivate and inspire followers. It
is used to direct positive changes in groups. Transformational leaders have a tendency to be
emotionally intelligent, active, and adoring (Ainscow & Sandill, 2010).
Source: ( McConnell, 2018)

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Four I’s are so important for this leadership that are Idealized, Intellectual, Individualized and
Inspirational. Transformational leadership is helping to handle critical conditions of a business
as well as social things, which are related to the business processes. There are few things, which
are affecting a social leader, such as critical conditions, dilemma and budget ( Cherry, 2018).
This type of leaders is changing thoughts of new generations as well as different social workers.
This is a new concept that earns money from different products and uses that money for charity.
Daniel Flynn is famous speaker in Australia and he is invited in many conference and workshops
for motivating peoples ( Hoch, et al., 2016). Organizational leadership is also reflecting in this
case, as a team is managing all the business processes in a proper way, which is having garneted
100 % charity (Greyvenstein & Cilliers, 2012).
They are also using technology to share their idea with people for help. Information
Communication Technology (ICT) is best way to share information as well as managing the
business processes. They are having their supply-chain processes, which are providing tracking
system (Johnston & Marshall, 2013). Employees of his company are also providing helps in
different manner. They all are set an iconic image of their charity in all over the world from
Thankyou group (Müller, 2010).
They faced many critical situations in their starting process. However, they did not having
money and they faced financial as well as commercial issues with them. Critical situations are
making stronger to them as they have a strong courage to help people (Nixon, et al., 2012).
Key challenges they have faced as a leader:
It was started in last decade with an impossible idea, which is a bottle of water that exists to help
of people end the water crisis. They are facing so many challenges for doing that work in starting
of this organization. They started a group, which is selling different products and income of
those products is 100 % provided to 60,000 people. It is provide to their projects in different
countries in all over the world. They are facing some issues that government is not supporting
them, it is saying we acknowledge global issues are real, but they are not our issues. It is
affecting their work, as they are work for social enterprise at worldwide level. A single person

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cannot change the life of another person. Therefore, millions of people can start charity to affect
just one other person’s life (Thnakyou, 2019).
In starting, no one was supported Thankyou group’s products, and then they decide to make it
more knowledgeable for people. They make a video and post it on social media. It was real
starting of Thankyou group. All products are distributed and people are interested in the
purchasing of Thankyou group products. Clove and Woolworth’s supermarket chains are also
denied in starting but after few time, they are also agreed for selling their products in thier stores
( Langley , 2016).
Learning from this study:
I leant about so many things from the work of Daniel Flynn from their real life. He has no
resources for that work but still he did it in better way with his hard work. I learnt about social
life and social work from this report. I want to help people those people, which are require help
for their basic needs such as food, water and shelter. It is an example of positive leadership also
as they was started work with zero balance ( Langley , 2016). I learnt that this type of leadership
is helpful for securing people from world water crisis at different place. Everyone should donate
money for it, which is most important for those people, who are needful for it. There are so many
things to manage for doing that type of work (Bolden, 2016). I really influence from this type of
work as well as I would like to join this types of firm, which are doing an extraordinary work for
social enterprises. I also leant that helping is not having any boundary, such as help in home
country only (Cameron, 2012). It is a best work, which is heard by me in my whole life. I
studied a lot about Daniel Flynn and his work. There are so many things, which are interested.
This is a social work, which provides a message to all citizens. It is a charity with different idea.
So many people like it as it is providing business and that business income is used for charity
(Day, et al., 2014).
Few things are influencing by this thing, which are thoughts and behavior. I support it from
depth of my heart. I purchased book ‘chapter one’, which is a book on Daniel Flynn. ‘Chapter
One’ is not a book, it is more than a book. It is an invitation, addressed to me for doing
something different, which is out or world. It influences me for making my crazy ideas can

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become reality in future. It is also an opportunity to be a part of something, which can change
thinking style of human being (www.successfulspeakers.com.au, 2015).
Thankyou group is a best example as a social enterprise to all the human beings. This group is
spreading a good message to all humans that everyone should do something for unknown
persons, which are needy to food and water. There is a good message behind this work that
everyone can do something for charity without any cost. It is a best example for charity in all
over the world as I like most. It is also a good example of positive leadership also, as it is
motivate to all the people for charity (Kelloway, et al., 2013).
References
Cherry, K., 2018. Leadership Styles and Frameworks You Should Know. [Online]
Available at: https://www.verywellmind.com/leadership-styles-2795312
[Accessed 13 January 2019].
Hoch, J. E., Bommer, W. H. & Dulebohn, J. H., 2016. Do Ethical, Authentic, and Servant
Leadership Explain Variance Above and Beyond Transformational Leadership? A Meta-
Analysis. Journal of Management, pp. 1-29.
Langley , S., 2016. Positive Leadership: A Framework for Boosting Organisational
Performance. [Online]
Available at: http://blog.langleygroup.com.au/positive-leadership-a-framework-for-boosting-
organisational-performance
[Accessed 21 november 2018].
White, S., 2014. Meet the boss - from student to CEO. [Online]
Available at: https://www.smh.com.au/business/meet-the-boss--from-student-to-ceo-20140523-
zrm4g.html
[Accessed 13 January 2019].

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Ainscow, M. & Sandill, A., 2010. Developing inclusive education systems: the role of
organisational cultures and leadership.. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 14(4), pp.
401-146.
Bolden, R., 2016. Leadership, management and organisational development.. In Gower
handbook of leadership and management development, 1(1), pp. 143-158.
Brancatisano, E., 2016. 'Thankyou' Founder Tells The Story Behind Your Bottle Of Water.
[Online]
Available at: https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/12/07/thankyou-founder-daniel-flynn-on-
eradicating-poverty-and-cling_a_21622182/
[Accessed 13 December 2019].
Cameron, . K., 2012. Positive leadership: Strategies for extraordinary performance. 2nd ed.
New york: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Day, D. V. et al., 2014. Advances in leader and leadership development: A review of 25 years of
research and theory. The Leadership Quarterly, pp. 63-82.
Greyvenstein, H. & Cilliers, F., 2012. Followership's experiences of organisational leadership: A
systems psychodynamic perspective.. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 38(2), pp. 1-10.
Guardian, 2016. Are you the right kind of leader for the future? Hear from Thankyou, Sendle,
Optus and others – Melbourne. [Online]
Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-events-australia/2016/sep/14/intergenerate-
melbourne-are-you-the-right-kind-of-leader-for-the-future
[Accessed 13 January 2019].
Johnston, M. W. & Marshall, G. W., 2013. Sales force management: Leadership, innovation,
technology.. 2 ed. London: Routledge.
Kelloway, . E. K., Weigand, H., McKee, M. C. & Das, H., 2013. Positive leadership and
employee well-being. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 20(1), pp. 107-117.
Müller, R., 2010. Müller, R., & Turner, R. (2010). Leadership competency profiles of successful
project managers. International Journal of Project Management, 28(5), pp. 437-448.

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Nixon, P., Harrington, M. & Parker, D., 2012. Leadership performance is significant to project
success or failure: a critical analysis. International Journal of productivity and performance
management, 61(2), pp. 204-216.
Thnakyou, 2019. WHY THANKYOU?. [Online]
Available at: https://thankyou.co/about
[Accessed 13 January 2019].
Trotta , L., 2016. ONE PERSON CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE – A CHAT WITH DANIEL
FLYNN OF THANKYOU. [Online]
Available at: https://lauratrotta.com/one-person-can-make-a-difference-a-chat-with-daniel-flynn-
of-thankyou/
[Accessed 13 January 2019].
www.successfulspeakers.com.au, 2015. Founder - Thank you Water. [Online]
Available at: https://www.successfulspeakers.com.au/daniel-flynn
[Accessed 13 January 2019].