Leadership Case Studies: Darwin Smith & Yvon Chouinard Analysis-SBS

This assignment presents two leadership case studies, focusing on Darwin Smith of Kimberly-Clark and Yvon Chouinard of Patagonia. The analysis of Darwin Smith identifies him as a Level 5 leader, emphasizing his focus on achieving goals, building the right team, and giving credit to employees. It argues that leaders are made through experience and learning, highlighting Darwin's leadership style and the skills needed to emulate him, such as communication, awareness, and innovation. The second case study examines Yvon Chouinard's independent and passionate personality, noting his resilience, self-confidence, and flexibility. It explores the skills required for leadership and factors that contribute to his success, while also considering the advantages and disadvantages of his leadership approach. The assignment concludes by reflecting on the presence of similar leadership qualities in today's world.

Running Head: Leadership
Leadership
Leadership Case studies

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Contents
Case Study 1................................................................................................................................................2
Answer 1..................................................................................................................................................2
Darwin’s qualities as a leader..............................................................................................................2
Answer 2..................................................................................................................................................3
Leaders are made................................................................................................................................3
Answer 3..................................................................................................................................................4
Leadership Style of Darwin..................................................................................................................4
Answer 4..................................................................................................................................................5
Skills required to be like Darwin..........................................................................................................5
Answer 5..................................................................................................................................................6
Qualities like Darwin in Current World................................................................................................6
Case Study 2................................................................................................................................................6
Answer 1..................................................................................................................................................6
Personality of Yvon Chouinard............................................................................................................6
Answer 2..................................................................................................................................................7
Skills needed to be a Leader................................................................................................................7
Answer 3..................................................................................................................................................8
Factors and Situations in account same as Yvon.................................................................................8
Answer 4..................................................................................................................................................9
Qualities like Yvon in current world.....................................................................................................9
Answer 5..................................................................................................................................................9
Advantages and Disadvantages of Yvon Leadership............................................................................9
References.................................................................................................................................................11

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Case Study 1
Answer 1
Darwin’s qualities as a leader
The qualities as a leader which Darwin had, clearly justifies that he was a level 5 leader. Some of
the qualities which Smith possessed are as follows:
1. Focus on achieving goals: He was really focused and had an aim in his mind that he
wanted to make the company great from good. He would not expect no for an answer as
what he needed, he achieved.
2. No Mediocrity: The level 5 leaders clearly know that there are three things which are to
be prevented in order to make the company great. They are mediocrity, complacency and
nepotism. Darwin did not want to tolerate the average because he just could not stand
being average himself. He always focused on what exactly he needed and that is what
took him so far (Collins, 2007).
3. Systematically building the board: It has been researched that not just any kind of person
is needed to build a great company rather it is the right people who builds one. When the
people will be right, they would be passionate about their job and that would help in
making the company great. Darwin winnowed the people who were not right for the firm
without any hesitation and kept the good ones. This was one important quality that took
him so far.
4. Focus on the Right People: If people will work in the wrong area, there will always be
mediocre results formed. People like Darwin worked with right people to get good results
as he focused on the right resources and area to get the best. Also, he did not encourage
nepotism or any kind of politics in office which is really needed in today’s life as well.
5. Credit to the employees: Darwin always gave credit to the right employees that he
worked with for good performance of the company (Sabutey, 2018).

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Level 5 leader by Jim Collins
Source: (Sabutey, 2018).
Answer 2
Leaders are made
Leaders are not born but they are made. This is what one can get from the leadership personality
of Darwin Smith. When the leaders are made not born, they go through the process of the
teaching, learning and observation (Liccardo, 2007). There are some behavioral theories which
say that leadership is actually an amalgamation of skills which can be learned by training,
perception, experience and practice which develops with time. Learning about the leadership is
the activity that continues for the lifetime. Leaders who are good will always look forward to the
growth opportunities which will support them in learning the new skills. Darwin was just a
lawyer in Kimberly and he knew nothing about being a leader. Yet, he learned that skill with his
talent and remained the CEO of the company for 20 years. The leaders who are made are the
amalgamation of some skills like self awareness, self motivation, they are efficient socially and

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have empathy too. Darwin always believed in working in team but that team should be filled
with right people who are fit for the job (Giulio, 2015). There is some experience that initiates a
leadership quality in a person. Darwin came from a family of farmers from Indiana and he knew
from his very childhood that he has to work hard and also seen some experience which made him
strong and tactful. Hence, experience makes the person the leader. Most of the leaders operate in
effectiveness which needs them to have certain qualities of being adaptive and perceptive
(NSLS, 2017). These are some of the personality traits of Darwin which clearly suggests that
leadership is made not born.
Answer 3
Leadership Style of Darwin
The nature of leadership style that Darwin followed was 5 leadership styles. 5 Leadership is
much related to the transformational leadership style but both of them have a few differences too.
Darwin was considered to have more traits that a 5 leadership style having leader would have
(HVLI, 2018). A leader is always known by the qualities he possesses and also displays as a true
leader. These qualities are not just some arbitrary feature but these qualities make a leader an
exceptional one. Leaders like Darwin not just let go off their ego when it comes to working with
effective teams but also let go of their self needs or keep them as least priority. They also
channelize their hard work for the growth and the benefit of the development, betterment and
achieving the goal for the company. Darwin was ambitious and took the initiative in leading the
firm towards success when the firm was facing a downfall. Smith had humility which a 5
leadership leader should possess and made efforts in the firm to take it to the higher level. The
firm was also lagging behind in terms of stock market to the height that it went to become the
pioneer (Leonard, 2010). The firm went on to become the leading one in the paper based user
products too and with Darwin’s dedication, the firm was able to achieve the stock returns 4 times
of the usual market. He was influenced by nothing in his whole life. He was not fearful of
anything. He was detected with the nose and throat cancer and was informed that he will be able
to live just for an year more but he was so determined with the work and his life that he did not

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just cured the cancer but went on to love 25 years more out of which 20 years he was the CEO of
the firm (Crivellaro, 2014).
Answer 4
Skills required to be like Darwin
There are a few skills which are the most in order to become like Darwin. They are as follows:
 Communication: It is one of the most significant skills required to be a leader like
Darwin. It is the ability which is used to strategize critical factors and some of the
strategies which are nothing if the team is unable to follow the instruction. To ensure that
the team has understood the tasks the right way, a leader should be able to communicate
well with the team (Luthra & Dahiya, 2015).
 Awareness: A good leader like Darwin should have a keen eye on the process of the
business for learning about the ideas which are effective and not effective. The quality of
observing everything can take a leader to know about the minute details which might be
prove to be effective in the business growth.
 Honesty: Great leaders are not the people who get good results but those who do value
their employees with honesty and also value the firm they work in. The team members
will always never like what a leader says but if it is the honest message, they will at least
try to understand it work towards it (Bisk, 2018).
 Relation Building: A leader should be able to build good relations with the people he
works with. People will always appreciate the leader who motivates them and encourages
them to work well. The employees are pen up with such type of leaders which can give a
leader an extra nudge to do good for the firm.
 Innovation: Like Darwin put his hands in Huggies diaper market and a few other markets
as well, he really knew how to try hands on new businesses and make Kimberly as the
greatest growth rating company of a kind in the world. Similarly, a leader should have the
capability to make new innovation inside or outside the company which helps in the
growth of the firm (Hao, 2015). The leader who is innovative is the one who takes

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complete responsibility of the problems and makes a new way forward towards bringing
the work as per the expectation.
Answer 5
Qualities like Darwin in Current World
There are some of the leaders who have the qualities of innovation, relationship skills
development, communication etc. For Example: Steve Jobs had an eye on new innovations and
he made Apple Inc. what it is today (Wadhwa & Parimoo, 2013). Yet the qualities like Honesty
and awareness and humility is found at very less places in today’s world. It was researched that
there is politics in almost every firm. It is hard to find a firm which is completely honest with its
employees and that there is no politics. However, the question is that is it possible to have
qualities like Darwin in present world. So, the answer would be a yes. It is possible to have such
qualities in today’s world but the leaders would have to be like Darwin then. If such type of
firms works in any field, those will be the firms which would attain the highest level of growth
because of t he honesty and the passion the people will have for the firm (Wisniewski, 2010).
Case Study 2
Answer 1
Personality of Yvon Chouinard
The nature and personality of Yvon if talked in simple terms was independent. He was
considered to be the easiest going leader yet strict when time wants him to be. Some of the
personality traits that he possess are as follows:
 Passionate: He was really passionate about mountaineering and he has climbed multiple
peaks in the world. As a result, his passion in his work in making such a big company
which has a turnover of $250 million can be easily seen (Potloc, 2018). There are a lot of
people who think that great leaders just become great to just earn money and become rich

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but they do not know as to how much effort they put to reach at the level where they can
call themselves as rich. Yvon was passionate about the work he was doing for people and
the environment.
 Resilience: One of the personality traits that Yvon posses are resilience. He can get over
the failure easily and he thinks that there is not time to waste and cry about the bad things
that have happened to one. When he started his business, the business was really slow yet
he continued by giving his best and made the company worth millions today (Chouinard,
2006).
 Self Confidence: He was a very self confident man who knew where he was headed to
and due to having such self confidence; he made it great in the world.
 Flexibility: He is an open minded person and hires the employees who are open minded
and challenge the bad decisions too. He is flexible with his employees when it comes to
work and no work both. For example: he allows his employees to be absent for one or
two months and come to work as their own will.
 Curious: He is a person who is curious about nature and making new products which are
not bad for the environment as well as the people. His curiosity takes him around the
world for checking his products on people of different countries and according to the
feedback made necessary changes (Labrague, 2017).
Answer 2
Skills needed to be a Leader
Yes, it is possible to become a leader when a person is confronted with the situations. It can be
said so because there have been live examples of people who have become the leader while they
were surrounded with the adverse conditions. For example: Steve Jobs who is considered to be a
great leader was in adverse conditions when he started Apple and even after that he was kicked
out of the firm which was incepted by him only. Again, he came back with new innovation and
Apple had t take him back. It depends on the will power and the talent which can take the person
from nowhere to everywhere (Toma, 2013).
There are a few skills which are absolutely necessary for being a leader. They are as follows:

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 Delegation: This skill can act as the gateway of entering into being a good leader. There
have been leaders who are unable to delegate their employees. A person who can
delegate can access the strengths and the weaknesses of the employees, allocate the work
which matches up to the skills of the employee and set the right expectation. This type of
leader would be able to become a great leader (Boyt, 2018).
 Creativity: Creativity in leadership is something which involves of seeing the people with
varied lenses and seeing their situations too. A person with creativity can solve the issues
if any, can brainstorm new ideas and make new connection which are necessary for the
firm.
 Decision making: Most of the time a leader does not have to worry about making the
decisions that he makes. Yet there will be times when a leader has to go through tough
times in making right decisions. A person who can take good decisions in the times of
crisis is eligible to take the company to a new level.
 Strategic Thinking: A good leader should be able to ask the right questions when the time
requires them to ask. Also, that leader must pay attention to the forces of the market and
see the future picture moves that can easily be made when the time and the market allows
(Khan & Ahmad, 2012).
 Open mindedness: A leader should be opening minded and he should be ready to take
decisions with an open mind and also listen to every employee’s ideas and issues.
Answer 3
Factors and Situations in account same as Yvon
There can be several factors and situations which any aspiring leader can take in account for
becoming a great leader like he is. Firstly, he is a passionate mountaineer. He lives his life under
no boss yet he became a great leader as he implemented flexibility for his employees. This
flexibility was very much appreciated by each and every employee of the firm. Secondly, there
came a situation when he faced hardships after starting the business of selling gears which were

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used in mountaineering. Yet he kept on going with a no quitting attitude. According to him, there
is no reason to stay at one place and not think of growing. He was self confident and never was
afraid of anything that comes his way. Thirdly, he is a curious personality which allows him to
make necessary changes whenever required in his firm. For example: he takes his products to all
parts of the world in very small places too just for taking the feedback from the people and ask
them if the products are environment friendly or not. He not just wants to create new products
but also want to innovate the products which are good for the environment. Fourthly, Yvon came
from the background where he had nothing nut just the passion for mountaineering. He started
with making something out of his passion and started selling the gears made by him only. Hence,
it can be said that he was very hard working and could work in adverse conditions too as he had
climbed mountains where there were adverse conditions too.
Answer 4
Qualities like Yvon in current world
There are a few leaders who have the qualities like being flexible, giving importance to the
employees and their ideas, sharing the time with the staff members and considering oneself as
other only and not someone special. Yvon was one of the leaders. In today’s world, leaders can
easily have such kind of qualities only if they want to. Flexibility is very much needed in every
organization now days as employees are looking forward to work according to their work
schedules and when they want to work. However, it is still hard to find the companies like
Patagonia which gives a huge flexibility to its employees. Leaves are also one of the concerns
which the employee faces which is just the opposite of what Patagonia preaches. Hence, it is
hard to say that qualities of Yvon as a leader can be found it someone. However, it is possible
that a person or the firm change themselves and try to amend the changes (Muteswa, 2016).
Answer 5

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Yvon Leadership
Advantages
1. Value of Independence: This autonomy is actually freeing for a few members of the
group and support them to feel content with their work. Yvon leadership style is very
good for the people who are very passionate about their work and are self motivated.
2. Creativity: Yvon leadership style will take out the creativity from every people the leader is
working with or will work with as the members will feel values and will give their ideas of
innovations freely (Dalluay, 2016).
3. Motivational: This leadership is motivational because the freedom that the employees feel is
immense. This will not only make them comfortable with their work but they will also not work
under pressure and perform well.
Disadvantages
1. Lack of Role Awareness: In some of the situation, Yvon leadership will go on poorly
defining the roles in the groups. Since, people work so freely in this leadership, they
might not know where to go sometimes.
2. Avoidance: Yvon is a free man and he actually does not have any influence on his
members. It can be said that as the employees work so freely there can also be avoidance
of the leader done by the employees. This might also happen that no one takes the leader
seriously sometimes (Khan, Khan, Qureshi, 2015).
3. Taking Advantage: A few of the employees can take the advantage of this leadership and
make the most use of it and doing nothing. It is said that flexibility is good but sometimes
it can backfire too when the people are not right (S., 2017).

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