An Analysis of Leadership Styles at Ford Motor Company

This essay provides an in-depth analysis of the leadership styles employed at Ford Motor Company, examining the leadership of key figures such as Henry Ford and Alan Mullaly. It explores the evolution of leadership within the company, highlighting the transition from Ford's early inclusive and empathetic approach to Mullaly's transformational strategies. The essay delves into three primary leadership styles: autocratic, transformational, and democratic, discussing their characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses within the context of Ford's operations. It analyzes how these styles have influenced the company's performance, particularly during critical periods like Mullaly's tenure, when decisive actions were needed to save the company from collapse. The essay also touches upon the importance of communication, employee motivation, and strategic decision-making in driving organizational success, drawing on specific examples such as the development of the Ford Taurus and the implementation of Mullaly's recovery plan. The essay concludes by evaluating the effectiveness of each leadership style, considering their impact on crisis management, team dynamics, and employee engagement, thereby offering a comprehensive overview of Ford's leadership journey and its implications for organizational management.

Running head: Ford leadership styles 1
Ford leadership styles
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Ford leadership styles
Introduction
The Ford Motor Company is an American corporation that deals with automobiles.
The company was formed in 1903 by Henry Ford together with his partners. The company is
a large manufacturer of trucks, passenger vehicles, tractors and automotive spare parts. Ford
has its Headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan (Langerud, & Jordan, 2020). Since the inception
of the company by Henry Ford, the company has undergone through various leadership styles
that have ensured the company stays at the top. The founders, Henry Ford was a man of the
people and greatly appreciated the value of other people. Henry Ford’s leadership involved
inclusion and empathy for his employees. He was a diversified and revolutionary leader. It is
seen through the way he employed women in his company, minority groups and even
disabled people. He made sure that all nationalities worked at Ford, and included even people
from the LGBTQ community were well represented. Henry Ford greatest leadership traits
were emotional intelligence, accepting other people and being at the center of it all.
General Activities
The other very notable person at Ford is Allan Mullaly. He was hired as CEO of Ford
in 2006 when Ford was falling apart (Gulliford, 2019). He devised a plan to save Ford by
identifying the organizational goals, and putting in place a proper management system to stir
the company towards the set targets. Mullaly is seen to be relentless to save the company
from collapse and he decides to borrow $23 billion against Ford’s assets which were not an
easy decision to make. Mullaly did not want to accept government loans and all the financial
independence of Ford is as a result of the operational discipline that Mullaly instilled at Ford.
Mullaly having no prior knowledge about designing cars is resilient on devising plans to
move Ford towards recovery and is seen to ask for weekly and sometimes daily updates of

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the progress. Allan is seen to have gotten the company to its feet and Ford finally made it
back to track.
Mullaly’s leadership style is of great determination and vision. Usually, it is the
leaders with great ambition that make the difference in many organizations (Larabee, 2017).
Mullaly demonstrates excellent organizational behavior and discipline that moves the
company forward. He establishes strong communication with the employees and interacts
with them on their level. He sets out a plan to his employees and gives directions on how to
achieve the set plans. The way he communicates with employees motivates them and builds
their confidence. He encouraged working as a team and enhances the importance of
communication. He often listens to his employees and encourages them to brainstorm new
ideas when they conduct their normal weekly meetings.
Mullaly set goals for the company and his goals have been realized. He has made
some strategic moves that have seen Ford through separating itself with its competitors. The
Ford Taurus in one of the cars that bear Allan’s vision. He instructed his team to make the
coolest car to carry the name Taurus and it 2010 is entered into the Ford showrooms.
Leadership Practice
Various leadership theories apply to the Ford Motor Company depending on their
CEO. The theories have been discussed below.
Autocratic leadership.
Allan Mullaly solely came up with a plan to save the company. Interviewed his
employees, business consultants and other relevant people and came up with a plan. Although
he is believed to make aware his plans to all the people in the organization, he single-
handedly came up with the plan for the company. This approach is said to be common in the
past but in today’s world, it does not hold much weight (Gandolfi, & Stone, 2018). This
method is however applicable in situations where critical decisions need to be made like

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when Mullaly was reviving the company. The other employees were still unfamiliar with
their roles and a decision had to be made very fast to save the company and that is when
Allan decided to take $23.6 billion against the company’s assets.
Characteristics
This form of leadership allows minimal input from employees as is first seen when
Allan joins the company because he seems to have his plan.
Transformational leadership.
This form of leadership style applies to a company if they require a change in the
company. The leader works with the employees to make sure that the organization changes
for the better (Langerud, & Jordan, 2020). Ford is seen to undergo major operational changes
when Mullaly joins the company in 2006. He states his vision for the organization and
communicates it clearly to the employees. Many people that his slogan was to communicate
and he encouraged this within the organization. Mostly, he is seen eating at the cafeteria with
the employees at all levels rather than eating executively because he wants to understand
them on their level. This leadership model has seen the transformation of the Ford Motor
Company towards success.
Characteristics
Charisma
This is a leadership characteristic that is mostly derived from where leaders derive
their legitimacy through behavior rather than through their position in a company, rules in the
society or any traditions. Most transformational leaders are seen as a positive force to
mobilize changes in organizations.
Motivation
This is the extent to which a leader communicates his vision stimulating the
employees to work towards the realization of the goal. Mullaly communicates his vision to

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the employees and constantly motivates them towards the realization of the mission and
vision of the company.
Democratic leadership.
This form of leadership requires the leader to think about the opinions of people while
making major decisions. Allan Mullaly often calls his people for weekly meetings and asks
them what they think while encouraging them to share their ideas. This method is seen to
encourage employees and boost their confidence in the activities of the firm (Yahaya, &
Ebrahim, 2016). He seeks for opinions before making major decisions and promotes a team
spirit by asking employees to communicate with each other regularly on the goals and vision
of the company. it also allows for creativity and innovation because employees are not forced
on the methods, they should use in projects but they rather come up with ways that are
comfortable for them to complete the assigned tasks.
Characteristics
Intelligence
Democratic leaders are very intelligent and competent. They provide enough
information about the vision to the subordinates and empower them towards the realization of
the goal.
Creativity
Democratic leaders are creative and motivate the creativity of their employees as well.
The leader has to come up with ideas and encourage his team to come up with new ideas as
well. Mullaly is seen to present his ideas and also encourage his employees to state their ideas
during their meetings.
Strengths and weaknesses of Ford leadership styles.
The performance of an organization heavily depends on its leadership styles however,
as much as these leadership styles help an organization prosper, they are not always perfect

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and have their disadvantages. Below are the strengths and weaknesses of the leadership styles
at Ford Motor Company.
Strengths
Autocratic
This type of leadership puts a focus on consistency where members of the team
perform their duty in a similar way. Some of its major strengths are that it has first crisis
management benefits. Under such leadership, the leaders are well equipped to deal with and
manage a crisis situation. This is because they're not the only ones tasked with making the
decision. It acts as an asset to the company because of its ability to fill in during a shortfall
immediately provide a solution to a problem in almost every situation. This enables the
effective resolution of emergencies and problems (Cherry, 2018). When short-term
authoritative results are needed in an organization, an autocratic style of leadership comes in
handy. In times of crisis, a leader with this leadership Style can make decisions that will have
an immediate effect on the organization putting it back on its mission. In 2006, Ford’s CEO
Allan Mullaly borrowed $23.6 billion and used their assets as collateral, this was a risky
move but it also meant that Ford would not depend on government loans. It helped Ford get
back on its feet. Autocratic leadership can also be applied to inexperienced teams such that
each employee benefits from the leader’s experience and expertise (Leonard, 2018). The
employees are able to replicate results because of the given specific instructions to follow.
Transformational
One of the biggest merits of transformational leadership is its ability to allow the
leader to engage fully. Alan Mullaly was able to succeed at Ford and achieve high levels of
productivity from the employees because he met the employee’s personal needs. This
leadership Style helps the leader to recognise the employees existing needs and demands to

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motivate them towards achieving the organization's goals (Erden & Yaşlioğlu, 2020). During
his first two years at Ford, Allen conducted thousands of interviews and employee’s analyst
and consultant to get a feel of the company and no the employee's needs was to establish and
develop a point of view about business and how you can motivate the employees. This
leadership Style also Fosters a great communication relationship between the leader and the
employees. With proper communication employees become more productive due to the
excellent and consistent feedback provided by the leaders. Former Ford CEO Alan Mullaly
had a great communication openness with employees because he ensured every employee
knew the plan its status and the area that needed special attention and this one him
organisations support all through his tenure. Leaders and employees in this style are
responsive to change and easily respond to the organisations and teams ever-changing needs.
They encourage their employees to make the changes themselves and help them discover
their full potential.
Democratic
The democratic style of leadership encourages everyone to participate through giving
their ideas and opinions freely without fear of being judged. Since democratic leadership is
more of a hands-off approach towards situations leaders encourage employees to be more
creative which in turn create high levels of productivity due to the employee’s insights and
the fact that they are encouraged to use their skills for the benefit of the organisation and
everyone at large. Encouraging employees helps them to think outside the box develop
conventional methods solving problems and tasks eliminating The Reliance on traditional
methods. This style of leadership allows those who want to contribute to air out the opinions
voluntarily while those that prefer sitting in the background and not contribute can do so
without any judgement (Hunt & Fitzgerald, 2018). It strengthens the relationship among the
team members together with that of their leader compared two other leadership Styles. It also

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improves job satisfaction since every employee feels like they have played an equal role in
the judgement of the organisation's goals and objectives.
Weakness
Autocratic
In an autocratic style of leadership, there's no definite individual or group that can be
held accountable for the results. There are two main instances where this can occur first is
when the leader takes ownership of all the quality of the work completed which leaves out
whether members of the team and taking ownership. The other instance is when the leader
refuses to take responsibility for the work they ordered the employees to complete. In both
instances, the employee’s morale will be reduced and the blame-game will be initiated or one
of them will be blamed even though they might not be the cause of the said problem (Cherry,
2018). This leadership style is also highly dependent on its leaders’ skills and knowledge. In
the event of a leader is absent the team’s functionality becomes questionable. The team will
not be able to perform her tasks because of their over-reliance on all the leader’s instructions.
Due to this overreliance, the leader is often overburdened with work, since they take full
responsibility for team decisions and review of a team's work. This may lead to high levels of
stress on the leader and even health problems.
Transformational
As much as transformational leaders can motivate employees and help them realise
their full potential some employees may feel burdened by their presence or feel it as constant
pressure. This may lead to employee demotivation and even burn out because it emphasizes
that reporting to work, doing a great job and going home is never enough (Imran, Ilyas &
Aslam, 2016). Transformational leadership has a high potential of being abused especially
when the leader’s ways of doing things is the wrong way for the organisation and the

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employees. A good example of such an instance and leader Adolf Hitler and his reign over
Germany.
This leadership style also requires constant and consistent feedback. The employees
under such a leadership style need constant feedback on their progress lest they fail. The
transformational leaders need to maintain a specific level of enthusiasm for their employees
to achieve the set goals and objectives (Erden & Yaşlioğlu, 2020). Transactional leaders lack
transactional focus and ten to look at the bigger picture. This may lead to some leaders being
fixated on the final results and forget the details required to achieve such results.
Democratic
Democratic leadership may create negative emotions especially among employees
whose ideas tend to be rejected or perceived to be wrong. Over time they can become
resentful what the leader the fellow employee and the organisation at large. If not checked
search employees can intentionally cause harm or destroy the company's properties. Since
everybody is allowed to voice their opinion reaching a consensus on a decision and take a
very long time because each idea has to be discussed thoroughly before it can be accepted or
dismissed. However, the agreed-upon idea or opinion does not necessarily mean it is the best
possible solution (Tang, 2019).
Recommendations
Since the advent of globalisation that led most of the motor companies selling out or
transferring their manufacturing and assembly plants to Asia Ford has been struggling to
survive in the motor vehicle industry. Despite the efforts of great CEO like Allan Mullaly to
revive the former giant, they are still far from their former glory partly because of some
leadership issues. Below are leadership recommendations for Ford:

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When hiring leaders Ford should look beyond technical skills and employee leaders
who are fast and flexible and empowered to act proactively. There has been a shortage of
executives that are commercially oriented with business development expertise. Having
flexible leaders ensures that some people understand how to receive and circulate
information, with autonomy and initiative in the automotive industry.
Increased demand for motor vehicles has increased consumer expectations which
have forced car manufacturers to become more innovative. Ford should focus on reinventing
themselves through modern technology under the correct leadership.
Ford should embrace a pacesetter style of leadership. This will help drive fast results
in the organization. They should hire a performance-oriented leader and one that will set high
standards for the employees and hold them accountable for fulfilling their tasks (Gandolfi &
Stone, 2017). This will also improve production and efficiency in all departments.
Conclusion
Based on all the information in this paper, leadership seems to be very crucial towards
the success of any organization. Leaders are advised to be very careful while choosing their
leadership style because it determines the behaviour of the employees and the overall success
of the company. Having a mapped out plan also stirs the overall achievement of goals in an
organization because all the activities will be doctored towards the achievement of the
organizational goals. The leaders and employees should communicate often to ensure that
they are all working towards the realization of the same goals for the organization. Ford
seems to emphasize a lot on communication through Allan Mullaly and so should every other
organization that wants to move forward.

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