Leadership Styles, Culture, and Diversity: A Critical Evaluation

This essay critically evaluates leadership styles, organizational culture, and diversity management, drawing on statements from Mark Zuckerberg and Mark Cuban during the COVID-19 pandemic. It explores Laissez Faire and Affiliative leadership styles, assessing their impact on employee motivation ...Read More

Leading People
(Essay)

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Critically evaluation of the statements given by two CEO's and business leaders during the
current Covid-19 pandemic by drawing attention to different leadership styles and theories....3
Assess the impact of leadership on organizational culture and diversity management..............5
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Leadership approaches and theories are the tools and measures that are used by leaders to
develop a effective and motivating environment around in their teams and keeping people
motivated to work with utmost talents and efficiencies (Blanchard, 2018). Leadership has a
strong influence on people behaviours and their working styles while assigned respective tasks
and goals. Therefore, leadership is defined as a process of keeping employees satisfied and
happy within the organisation and making the best use of their capabilities. The chosen
organisation on example basis for the assignment is Microsoft and the reference of its former
leader and leadership styles of Bill Gates. The report will be evaluating the range of leadership
styles and models along with it the impacts placed on organisational culture and diversity
management in regards to leadership is evaluated.
MAIN BODY
Critically evaluation of the statements given by two CEO's and business leaders during the
current Covid-19 pandemic by drawing attention to different leadership styles and theories.
The first statements was given by Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of FaceBook which was given
by him for appreciating his employees around the globe working with FaceBook from different
regions and handling the operations on behalf of the organisation. The statements given was “I’m
very proud about how our teams around the world have pulled together to support people getting
accurate information, fighting misinformation, supporting small business and their recovery
making sure that important social and communication services that people rely on to keep in
touch with the people they love, stay stable and running.”
According to the statements it is determined that Mark is a leader using Laissez Faire
style of leading staff around the globe in different regions where the organisation has established
its operations. FaceBook is working on mass level with huge workforce, hence it is important for
Mark to trust people and assign them power, duties and responsibilities accordion to their skill
sets and capabilities (Herring and Elton, 2016). With the use and help of Laissez Faire leader
style Mark placed huge trust in his employees around the globe in the situation like the
pandemic caused known as Covid-19.
As a leader Mark believe that assigning jobs and opportunities to people for growth and
their personal development will be leading the people more closer to the goals of company as

they will be motivated to render their best to the company by practising their new talents and
knowledge. The leadership style adopted by Mark is useful on those who are experienced
professionals and are filled with huge skills and talents. The major concern in regards to the
leadership style of Laissez Faire is monitoring and performance reviews. The leader that is Mark
have to make thorough evaluation and examination of performances rendered by employees and
professionals on whom he is placing enormous amount of trust in accordance to their
experiences, skills and professional competencies (Lorenz, Hartmann and Langen, 2017).
The second statement was given by Mark Cuban the CEO and business leader of Dallas
Mavericks an American professional basketball team. Mark Cuban made a general statement by
considering the situation of the world due to Covid-19 by comparing the CEO's of organisations
with the lower level staff members and those employees who keep the company running and
flourishing. The statements given was “The CEO is no more important than somebody cleaning
the floors or that takes a bucket and mops the floors. I think that this is a time as a reset where we
really have to re-evaluate how we treat workers, how people are paid, how we can get them into
a role where they receive an equity as part of their compensation. So when they’re not having to
live pay-check, they have something to appreciate. All these things I think are important as we
go through this reset in business.”
In regards to the statement placed or made by Mark Cuban it reflected the concern and
major focus of him as a leader on those staff members and workers of the society and different
organisations who work on daily basis to keep the basis environment and surroundings of the
entity running smoothly. From the statement the leadership style which is most suitable and
matching by Mark Cuban approaches is of Affiliative Style. The leader suing affiliative style to
lead staff is more concerned and focused on people and place them first. They follow the agenda
of “ People Come First”, it is the approach where the leader make sure to stay close with
employees and stay in close contact (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and
Medicine, 2020).
Mark Cuban in his statements states concerns for lower ground workers in order to make
more changes and revaluation of the ways in which people are treated within the organisation.
The affilitative style is best reflecting upon Mark Cuban attitude and way of working as a leader
as he is paying more and more attention on making people emotionally more stable by fulfilling
their emotional needs and agendas. The leader Mark Cuban suggested the topic of being more

connected and attached with workers emotionally in order to keep them more happy and
satisfied. This leadership style is useful and beneficial for creating and encouraging harmony
within the organisation as well as for keeping collaborative relationships with teams, members
and workforce of the company.
The leaders made sure to keep people first and appreciating their work while the situation
of Covid-19 occurred causing huge chaos and uncertainties within the social, economical and
markets environment. The employees needs to be kept motivated and harmony within the
workforce have to be developed and the agendas are supported by the leadership used by Mark
Zuckerberg and Mark Cuban reflected from their statements made (Hicks, 2018).
Assess the impact of leadership on organizational culture and diversity management.
Organisational culture and diversity are two aspects which are interlinked with leadership
and the type of leadership approaches used by the leaders within the organisation and of different
departments of the organisation. An overall leadership style of the organisation which is
followed by the leaders on top level influences the culture, values and diversity management
within the company.
Organisational culture refers to the belief, values, principles, expectations and practices
which guide and develop the actions of all the people within the organisation and different teams
that are present in the company and working for attaining the objectives of the organisation. The
organisational culture holds significant influence on the behaviours, attitudes and work practices
of staff members. The organisational culture do have impacts due to the leadership styles and
approaches leaders uses while directing and guiding staff for completing assigned tasks and
jobs.
The organisational culture is highly affected and changes with the leadership styles and
the work practices chosen and practised by leaders of organisation for regulating staff and
making them work for the goals. For example, Microsoft is a leading organisation in the field of
technology. The company's organisational culture reflects characteristics like openness,
innovation, diversity and continuous learning. The culture within the company is developed by
the efforts and practices used and promoted by the leaders of the organisation (Uhl-Bien and
Arena, 2017).
Earlier in Microsoft the culture was to know it all but with changing time and developing
awareness in the market the culture changes with the changes taking place in the leadership

styles of new and upcoming leaders with updated and fresh knowledge. Hence the culture of
know it all changed to learn it all. This culture promoted the aspect of continuous learning within
the company where people are encouraged to keep their observational skills high and updated
and learn form one another by taking interest in several field or departments within the
organisation.
Another leadership practices and evolution impacts was placed on organisational culture
which is reflecting on the diversity and inclusion culture of Microsoft. The culture states
attempts to promote the culture of diversity and inclusion to all organizational stakeholders
majorly employees through multiple communication channels and more effective flow of
information being rendered to parties who has the rights to have the particular information.
Microsoft declared “we strive to create an environment that helps the company in capitalizing on
the diversity of the people involved and engaged in the organisation and the inclusion of ideas to
meet the needs of our customers who are increasing globally and diversifying customer base
which is being developed in constant work environment (Sun and et. al., 2016).
Hence, it is clearly states and determined that organisational culture and diversity
management within workforce and other stakeholders attached with the company are
significantly impacted by the leadership styles and approaches used by new and existing leaders
of the company. Earlier Bill Gates the former leader and co-founder of Microsoft developed the
culture of regular learning within the company by know it all aspects where people thrive to
learn and develop by themselves and seek knowledge of all areas related to business and the
organisational objectives. The new young generation leaders within Microsoft developed the
culture of learn it all by working within the organisation with people belonging to different fields
and departments where the learner or the employee will be receiving knowledge and capabilities
by keeping their observational and absorption power high and seeking knowledge from all parts
and from everyone within the work structure (Herrington, Bonem and Furr, 2020).
CONCLUSION
Form the report above it is summarised the importance and need for leadership and the
leaders to be effective while working with a team and number of members of the organisation as
team subordinates. The leadership styles and values affects the company's culture and diversity
as the leaders will be influencing the behaviour and attitudes of individuals through their styles
of working and operating the team and the employees working for them as their followers. The

leadership approaches used by leaders for supporting and guiding team in the right directions
highlights the potentials of the workers as well as improves the overall performances of the
organisation.
REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Blanchard, K., 2018. Leading at a higher level: Blanchard on leadership and creating high
performing organizations. FT Press.
Herring, H. and Elton, T. M., 2016. Leading congregations and nonprofits in a connected world:
Platforms, people, and purpose. Rowman & Littlefield.
Herrington, J., Bonem, M. and Furr, J. H., 2020. Leading congregational change: A practical
guide for the transformational journey. Fortress Press.
Hicks, D., 2018. Leading with dignity: How to create a culture that brings out the best in people.
Yale University Press.
Lorenz, B. A. S., Hartmann, M. and Langen, N., 2017. What makes people leave their food? The
interaction of personal and situational factors leading to plate leftovers in
canteens. Appetite, 116, pp.45-56.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2020. Leading Health Indicators
2030: Advancing Health, Equity, and Well-Being. National Academies Press.
Sun, W. B. and et. al., 2016. Silver‐Catalyzed Direct C _sp^2 H Phosphorylation of Indoles
Leading to Phosphoindoles. Advanced Synthesis & Catalysis, 358(11), pp.1753-1758.
Uhl-Bien, M. and Arena, M., 2017. Complexity leadership: Enabling people and organizations
for adaptability. Organizational Dynamics.