Leadership Analysis: Profile Report on Andy Penn, Telstra CEO

This report provides a leadership profile and assessment of Andy Penn, CEO of Telstra, using various leadership theories and concepts. It evaluates Penn's leadership through the trait approach, contingency approach, perception and personality, leader ethics, motivation, and power and social influence. The analysis reveals Penn's strengths in strategic vision and digital transformation but also highlights weaknesses in employee relations, ethical conduct, and motivational strategies. The report concludes that while Penn demonstrates some effective leadership qualities, significant improvements are needed in his approach to employee engagement and ethical leadership to foster a more positive and productive work environment at Telstra. Students can find similar solved assignments and study resources on Desklib.

Assessment
Leadership
Profile Report

Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Main Body..................................................................................................................................3
Evaluation 1: Trait Approach-...............................................................................................3
Evaluation 2: Contingency Approach....................................................................................4
Evaluation 3: Perception and personality...............................................................................4
Evaluation 4: Leader Ethics...................................................................................................5
Evaluation 5: Motivation........................................................................................................6
Evaluation 6: Power and social influence..............................................................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................8
References..................................................................................................................................9

Introduction
Andy Penn is working at the position of Chief executive officer in Telstra which is
established in Australia. He has been selected for this designation in the year 2015 by the
administrative team and members of board. The objective of Penn is making the Telstra
advanced in the digital industry and telecommunication business. But on the other side he is
not fulfilling some of his moral obligation as a leader towards the staff and employed of the
institution (Fitzsimmons, and Callan, 2020). It is the reason due to which this business firm is
not able to maintain their employees longer for with the operational activities of the
company. This given report is about the leadership of Penn which will be evaluated with the
help of some known theories and concept. It will also explain the necessity of the good
leadership tactics in an organisation and for the employees. The poor conduct of a leader is
directly coordinated with the working of the staff in any organisation.
Main Body
Evaluation 1: Trait Approach-
This theory of leadership is about the features and attributes of a leader, according to
it the leaders are not born and no one can teach the quality of the leadership. It is something
with which one is born, he himself has the capability that help in governing or guiding the
people. But in case on Andy Penn, it is not same. He was working as lower designation in the
Telstra before becoming the CEO of the organisation. So, it does not show his potential that
he might be a good leader for the employees it just like a promotion which he has get because
of the good working (Bhattacharyya, and Jha, 2018). Here, Penn must have that skills which
assist him in making the good employee of the firm, but he lags in making the people aware
about the accomplishment of task in order to attain the organisational goal of Telstra. With
the necessary study of the trait theory which basically emphasis on the characteristics of the
leader in the firm. There are some good qualities of Penn such as his commitment regarding
the construction of Telstra as most progressive in utilising the digital aspects. Not only this he
is also confident and self-aware which makes him more devoted towards the working. Penn is
focusing on presenting the new policies in the company, which shows that he is quite open in
the risk-taking activities. Not only this, he must have some good plans that help Telstra in
overcoming the adverse situation. By rating them on the scale of 1-10 of trait approach then
he lies on the 7th position, because of his abilities which are aligning with the basic traits of a
leader in an organisation. This theory is depicting the Penn as an effective spearhead which

has all the key factors with which he is showing that he is a good leader for Telstra
(Gibbs,Press,and Wong, 2019).
Evaluation 2: Contingency Approach
This theory of helps in identifying the relation among the leadership style which used
by a leader is parallel with the prevailing situation in an organisation. This approach of
leadership indicates the diversified condition of the workplace that may present the style of
the leader effective and ineffective. To explore a good leader with the help of this approach,
one must have the efficiency to look over the situation in different manner as per the
requirements and needs of the circumstances. For instance, Penn has to face some new and
challenging task at Telstra, so as per this theory his mindfulness in such situation specifies his
all and all ability to govern the organisation and the employees who are working there. It has
been observed that employees who are working in the company does not have productive and
friendly relation among each other (Latta,2020). Moreover, there is also avoidance in
providing the better environment of functioning for the workers, this may increase the
inefficiency among the employees. Penn is following the strict work structure in the
telecommunication institution, which may increase the burden on the employees. Continuous
and rigid work schedule may result in unproductive and less creative staff which
automatically affects the performance of Telstra. Moreover, the policies that are formulate
with the objective of guiding and informing the employees is quite restricted which is not
allowing the employees to involve the decisions taking business meetings. The employees are
not getting enough encouragement and support from Penn, which is not good as this might
result in development of conflicts at the work place. By acknowledging the leadership of
Andy Penn with the contingency approach then he gets the rank of 4 because of the less
responsible behaviour for the employees which is building the poor work culture in Telstra
(Prentice, 2022).
Evaluation 3: Perception and personality
The perception of a leader refers to the observation and awareness while dealing with
the different employees and staff in the institution. This concept is not limited to the
workforce of the business but it also ranges to the external environment and stimulating
factors for the management. Talking about Penn, then he is very much strong and opinionated
while dealing any contrary condition, he presents his overall judgement and try to build the
good and constructive planning for Telstra institution. But keeping everything aside, here one
thing which is not presentable among him is that, he is not collaborative and coordinative

with employees (Evans, Sanner, and Chiu, 2021). He only focuses on the accomplishment of
the task and work, which makes him less understanding for the employees. Penn should know
about the fact that showing care for the workers helps in building the good and constructive
connection between the higher authority and subordinates of Telstra. After becoming chief
executive officer, Penn has gone to various interviews and events where he has spoken on his
strategy and planning for the future development of Telstra. This represented him as the good
communicator and narrator for the situation. In some situation, he has been accountable for
the errors which may occur in the institution. But he was found guilty in money laundering
case that makes his appearance bad in front of the customers who are associated with the
business. In addition to this it could be difficult for the employees as well to work under the
leadership of such person who have been done such things in past (Day, and Liu, 2018). This
may affect the working of Telstra as well, but it is very questionable that why the committee
has selected him as the CEO of the telecommunication business. Due to this Penn ranks to the
spot of 2, this is because such dishonours could reduce the effectiveness of leader in the
business firm.
Evaluation 4: Leader Ethics
Ethical behaviour of Penn in Telstra is not very impressive, he is always stress on
finishing the task before the given deadline. The leader of the company should know that if
he will give proper acknowledgement and importance to the employees who are working for
him, then he will also get that respect and loyalty as the reward. But Penn does not provide
such health surrounding of working to the employees (Kozachuk, and Conley, 2021). He
must know the necessity of inclusiveness among the meetings which is concerned with the
suggestion and ideas of the subordinates. The poor ethic of Penn keeps him on the rank of 5,
this is showing his disorganization for the workforce of Telstra. Such tactics of the business
may give rise to the disinterest of the employees in the work structure of the company. This
also shows the uninformed behaviour of the leader in the firm. The leader of the business is
that part which embodies the ethics of the employees also. By showing such unethical
actions, Penn is responsible for the poor conduct of the employees. This type leadership
ability also impacts the consumer base of the business. Furthermore, Penn should provide the
time-to-time employees meeting that will help in gathering the reviews and feedbacks of the
employees about the behavioural aspects of himself (Tarker, 2019). With the constant
exploitation of employees in the form of bad conduct, makes them frustrated and
disappointed with the administration of Telstra. In consequence of this, they will deal with

the customers in the same way which reduce the competitiveness of the business firm from
their rivals. This will adversely affect the goodwill and reputation of the business, and make
it difficult for the management to have the better customer base. So, it is necessary for Penn
to work on this setback and improve it as soon as possible.
Evaluation 5: Motivation
It is that factor of the business institution which helps in keeping the employees
focused towards the working and organisational objective of the firm. Being a leader, it is the
duty of Penn to provide the desired motivational support to the employees. It could be in the
form of appreciation in the presence of everyone, providing them compensation and other
benefits. By doing so, Penn can gain the lost interest and faith of the employees, this also
helps in building the progressive workforce. In the absence of desired motivational support
by the leader of the organisational institution is turning the employees less engaged with the
management. They are also not showing their full concern in the strategical approach and
other aspects of Telstra. Due to the negligence of Penn for the labour force of the company, it
has been seen that institution is not finding any opportunities in this industry which supports
in presenting the new beneficial schemes for the customers. By considering all these activities
of Penn, he gets only 3 points in admiring and inspiring the people for the good working. He
should build a new form of motivational strategies in the firm, which will help in encouraging
the people in making the noticeable plan of action which helps in ensuring the success of
Telstra in the international telecommunication industry. By bringing the necessary
improvement in the communicational and other business tactics, Penn can fulfil this issue of
his leadership and generate the more systematic working framework in the establishment. He
must know about the necessity of such morale supporting instrument while working in such
enormous and established workplace. In this he can also take advantage of his past
experience where he himself was an employee of the considering. By placing own self at that
position, Penn can develop the required changes in the firm (Crosby, and Bryson, 2018).
Evaluation 6: Power and social influence
It points out the control of the leader on the decision taking and other crucial side of
the business. By having a strengthen appearance in front of the management, a leader can
create the disciplinary environment and self-controlled employees. In the presence of such
ability a leader does not have the excess concentration on performance of the employees. As
it will help in generating the sense of awareness among the workers itself, by which they can
monitor and analyse their own recital and in case of any errors they work on it according to

their own manner. The social influence explains the presence of the leader on admiring the
people and maintain a good connection with them. This will help in stimulating the
promotion of new planning and schemes of the institution (Yammarino, and Dionne, 2018). If
a leader is a good and effective in managing the customer relation then he can also build a
faith and trust among those people who already associated with the functional area of the
compaby. For this Penn will get 5 marks as he is moderate in both the qualities which is
getting discussed in this evaluation. So again, he is holding himself back in presenting the
best of his leadership by which he can grab some advantageous possibilities for the business.
There is another thing that Penn is only concentrating the goal which he has made at the time
of his appointment as the CEO of Telstra. If he actually wants to attain that goal then it is
important to involve each and every employee whether they are from distinct department.
Penn is liable for establishment a proper systematic relation different section of the
establishment and focus on taking the suggestion of each person which helps in showing the
concern of organisation’s head towards the plans which are formed by them.
In last the overall leadership point for checking the effectiveness of Andy Penn is 26
out of 60, this is quite moderate. This also shows that Penn needs some major changes in his
conduct and other leadership style. All and all, the evaluation has cleared the several things,
Penn has that ability by which can work an take the Telstra at good position. But he should
focus on building the synchronizing form of relation with the employees. By paying more
attention to the workforce, Penn can acquire all his objectives in effective manner. The most
unappreciated side of Penn leadership is that he is not giving the enough help and support to
the employees (Dzubinski, and Diehl,2018). By acknowledging the needs and complication
which are faced by the employed during their working and performance of any task, can
make the more helping or supportive environment at the workplace. Before the
implementation of this evaluation on the leadership of Andy Penn, he was portraying as the
incompetent CEO of Telstra who has no such quality with which he can help and support his
employees and different departments. Later on, he came up as the knowledgeable person,
who just have to focus more on his ability to guide people and bring the best from them. He
should embrace that quality of leader who emphasis over the power by which a person can
constructively encourage the people to reach the set goal of the business. The overall effect of
Andy Penn after this evaluation is that he has that potential by which he can become a good
and efficient leader of Telstra.

Conclusion
In the conclusion of above given report it has been evaluated that leadership is most
significant system in the success and failures of the business it helps in finding out that
effective person for any business firm which shows his capability in leading the management
and employees as well. With help of this report, distinct theories and aspects has been
discussed which disclosed the different demands and conduct of the leader in the dynamic
situation. The complete evaluation of the leadership style of the leader has concluded a fact
that it is not necessary that all the leaders will have those ability by which he can govern the
people in most systematic manner. This report has also revealed about the different qualities
which needs to be embraced by a leader for the employees as it will allow in turning the work
style of the employees according to the needs and demands of the business infrastructure.

References
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