Leadership Styles: CEOs of Woolworths, Australia Post, Qantas

This report provides an overview of leadership styles employed by CEOs in the Australian business landscape, specifically focusing on Bradford Banducci of Woolworths, Ahmed Fahour of Australian Post, and Alan Joyce of Qantas. The report delves into the distinct leadership approaches of each CEO, including authoritarian, transformational, and democratic styles, respectively. It discusses their backgrounds, key leadership traits, and their impact on company performance and market competitiveness. The analysis includes success stories, comparisons of leadership styles, and recommendations for effective leadership practices. The report highlights how each leader's approach contributed to their company's success, providing insights into the practical application of different leadership theories in a business context.

Running Head: Leadership in business
Leadership in Business

Leadership in Business 1
Executive summary
The purpose of this report is to provide a brief overview of the leadership styles which different
leaders possess in their companies. Leadership refers to the ability of an individual to efficiently
lead the company and gain the competitive edge in the market. It is the duty of the leader to take
corrective actions and achieve competence. Further talking about the three companies
Woolworths, Australian Post and Qantas and its CEOs, they adopted different leadership styles
to run their business in the global market. The report also provides a brief comparison of
different styles of leadership, success story of leaders and their leadership role in company.

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Contents
Executive summary.....................................................................................................................................1
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
Point of Discussion......................................................................................................................................3
Leader 1-Bradford Banducci........................................................................................................................3
Leader 2-Ahmed Fahour..............................................................................................................................5
Leader 3-Alan Joyce.....................................................................................................................................7
Comparison of leadership styles..................................................................................................................9
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................10
Recommendation......................................................................................................................................10
References.................................................................................................................................................12

Leadership in Business 3
Introduction
Leadership refers to the process of setting a vision and direction by a leader on the path of which
the team shall follow. A leader is a person who is an insightful person and believes in working
together by motivating and inspiring other to work efficiently. The report provides a brief
overview of leadership style inherited in CEOs of company. It also discusses about their success
factors and ways in which each leader is different from other. Further the activities of three
leaders explained in the analysis are, Bradford Banducci (CEO of Woolworths), Ahmed Fahour
(CEO of Australian Post) and Alan Joyce (CEO of Qantas). All three leaders are highly
successful in their industries and have helped their companies to reach the peak by initiating their
leadership activities in business process (Clarke, 2013).
Further talking about the CEO of Woolworths, Mr. Bradford Leon Banducci became the
managing director and chief executive officer of Woolworths on February 26, 2016, but is
serving the company since 2015. Before this, he was employed on director post in Woolworth
group Liquor Company. There he served a period from 2012 to 2015. Mr. Brad actively makes
use of features like flexibility, collaboration, situational etc. to initiate success of their business.
Mainly they make use of Authoritarian leadership to gain competitive edge in the target market
(Aydin, Sarier, & Uysal, 2013).
Mr. Ahmed Fahour is an Australian Lebanese business who is the former managing director and
group CEO of Australian Post. He became the CEO and new MD of Australia Post in the year
2009, before that he was the CEO of National Australian bank. Mr. Fahour planned to initiate
sustainable communications business with the aid of digital mailbox, so it shall be noted that he

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believes in managing or changing the people for a better outcome. Thus, he uses the
transformational leadership style in his workings (Du, et. al., 2013).
Another leader of Qantas Alan Joyce joined Qantas airlines in the year 2000 as a network and
schedule planner; afterward, he became the CEO of the company Qantas in the year. Alan Joyce
has been rewarded as the most influential leader by the Australian in the year 2011, which states
that he is remarked as one of the best leaders present their business activities in the society.
Further, Alan makes use of democratic style of leadership as he puts emphasis on initiating
shared decision making and promoting the interest of union irrespective of personal gains.
Further biographic details about the leaders and their leadership styles are discussed below.
Point of Discussion
Leader 1-Bradford Banducci
Mr. Bradford Banducci is the chief executive officer of Australia's biggest retail store holding
company Woolworths. Talking about his background, he is commonly known as Brad, and has
achieved a bachelor's degree is commerce, and then is qualified LLB and they master in business
administration. Before becoming the CEO at Woolworths Company in 2016, Mr. Banducci
served his time period in W-store ltd. of Woolworth's group in Tanzania as a CEO only. He
continuously participated in the leadership role of the company by engaging himself in
Woolworth’s supermarkets, Metro, Digital and New Zealand supermarket businesses as well.
This showed that Mr. Banducci was a keenly observant and an enthusiast person who always
wanted to improve his capabilities by participating in every activity related to his job. Also, this
ability of him helped him reach the position where he is standing right now (Nahavandi, 2016).

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Mr. Banducci also served his period as a managing director in Australian Food and Liquor of
Woolworths Limited. Apart from that, he also accounted himself in the Tyro Payment ltd
company as a CFO in 2005, and he spent 15 years of his professional career in Boston
Consulting Group in which he served 9 years as a president there. So, with his biography, the
fact is known to all that he has an adequate amount of experience in the field of leadership and
he is acting standing upon his responsibility and achieving the targets confidently (Vergara,
E.2014).
Talking about the leadership role of Mr. Brad, it shall be noted that he is actively playing his
leadership responsibilities in the organization. In context of leadership, a leader is one who
knows the way, goes the way and shows the way, this fact is rightly stated by John C. Maxwell.
As Mr. Banducci with his affirmative targets stated that he will change the condition of the
company by unveiling long-term targets defined for the company. He aspired to increase the sale
of the company 4 per cent till next. His confidences and long-term thinking skill showed his
strong leadership abilities in an organization. Further the leadership style which he uses to
flourish the business is authoritarian states that this type of leader believes that there should be an
identified professional relationship of the company shall be maintained in the global
environment. (Frankel, 2017) This leadership style shows that Mr. Banducci offers a vision to his
team and then creates control in the organization so that efficiency in customer satisfaction level
is focused. Traits which this leader possess through initiating authoritarian leadership style is
that, he develops understanding about the concept, then initiate goals for the management to
follow and then lastly engage all people in one way communication and initiate control so that
objectives are properly achieved. Also the fact shall be noted that he is one of the factor due to

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which the company is gain competitive edge in the retail market (van Prooijen, & de Vries,
2016).
According to Australian financial review, Mr. Banducci is the right man for the working of the
company and gaining the competence in the market. As it is known that Mr. Banducci believes in
spreading optimum benefits to the stakeholders of the company as they provided around $ 110
million bonus to its investors previous year (Einarsen, Aasland, & Skogstad, 2016). This huge
amount of bonus shows that the company is already earning optimum returns that are why it is
providing bonus to its employee. If talking about the success of Mr. Banducci in Woolworths.
The fact shall be taken into consideration that he shaped the sales and returns of the company in
initial hundred days of his term period. He improved the services received to the customers in the
stores and he took the major decision changing the prices and reducing them (Mwenda, &
Wachira, 2015). This activity of him helped the company to gain $ 800 million for the company.
So, there is no doubt that Mr. Banducci led the company appropriately and helped them
maximize their profits as well. Also by making use of authoritarian leadership style, he gained
control over the company by increasing the sales margin of the company innovatively
(Northouse, 2017).
Leader 2-Ahmed Fahour
Ahmed Fahour is a Lebanese Australian businessman who is the former managing director and
group CEO of Australian post. Apart from that, he was the former chief executive officer of
operations in national Australian bank. He is brought between successful business people who
helped him to gather his knowledge in the business field. Further talking about his coalition with
Australian post, Mr. Fahour joined the company in the year 2009 when he was regarded as the

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MD and CEO of the company. Looking at the skills of Mr. Fahour it shall be known that he
possesses great leadership skill and the quality with the aid of which he gained satisfactory
success in life is due to his positive response to every situation faced in life (Girma, 2016). Due
to such personality qualities of Mr. Fahour, the company Australian post also gained success in
the target market. Further, he was appointed as the Australian government's special envoy to the
organization of Islamic cooperation in the year of 2011. Also in the year 2014, he was appointed
as the chairman of Pro-Pro Packaging group and additionally in the same year he was appointed
as the adjunct professor at La Trobe Business School. Apart from that, he was also appointed as
a fellow of the Australian Institute of company directors and in the current he has been appointed
as an officer of the order of Australia for providing distinguished services to business, especially
in the postal area communication, banking and investment sector. All the above-mentioned
positions are achieved by him, and it is clear to know that he has been a great leader and
motivator in the environment (Clegg, 2017).
Further talking about the leadership role which Mr. Fahour possesses in his business activities is
Transformational leadership style. Transformational leadership refers to the style of business
under which the leader finds it his duty to lead the people and make corrective changes in the
organization which is required by the market. Such type of leaders does not require any type of
motivation or appraisal from their team members or followers but they find it their duty to work
for a better transformation. Considering the company in which Mr. Fahour is the CEO that
Australian Post, the company aims to provide authentic information to its members irrespective
of the criticism they receive from other people (Arnold, et. al., 2015). Similarly, the leader work
in such a way that they fulfill the objectives defined in the internal management of the
organization. Talking about their leadership role in the organization, with the starting of their

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term period, Mr. Fahour initiated "Future Ready" strategy in the internal process of the
organization under which he implemented activities which centered the interest of customers.
Apart from that he also aimed to initiate transformation in the organization by shifting the focus
of the organization to not just run the business but become future ready (Jiang, et. al., 2017).
Additionally talking about the success of Mr. Fahour in the organization, it shall be noted that the
initial leadership trait which is showed after becoming the CEO is that he initiated the "Future
Ready" program under which he possessed transformation leadership trait (Henkel, 2016).
Talking about the exit of Mr. Fahour, he initiated sustained success in the organization and he
also walked out by gaining $ 10.8 million packages with him, apart from that he also gained
incentives in the year 2015 and 2016 (Zhao, Hwang, & Lee, 2016). Also, the numeric data states
that the company earned optimum bonus, apart from that they served good returns to the
employees of the company as well. Being a transformational leader adequately changed the
mindset of people towards different things prevailing in the market by unveiling the truth. Due to
which the company earned respect and reputation in the market. So, the fact shall be noted that
former CEO and MD of Australian Post Mr. Fahour adequately served their time period in the
business to help it reach its peak in the market and gain competence. The decisions which the
former CEO took helped the company to gain the position on which they are right now, also with
the help of a great motivation leader the company gained the competence in the global market
(Choi, Kim, & Kang,2017).
Leader 3-Alan Joyce
Alan Joseph Joyce (June 30, 1966) is an Irish born citizen of Australia who is a businessman by
profession. He is the Chief executive officer of Qantas Airlines Australia. Talking about the

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professional career of Alan Joyce, he initially worked at Aer Lingus for consecutive eight years
which was a flag carrier for Ireland. At Aer Lingus, he worked on the position of sales,
marketing and information technology, revenue management, and many more other positions.
After leaving Aer Lingus he joined new defunct Ansett Australia (Tucker, 2017). Later on, Alan
Joyce joined Qantas in the year 2000. He used to work in schedule planning, network planning
and network strategy as a leader in both the company Qantas and Ansett Australia. Joyce was
regarded as the most influential business leader in the year 2011, another honor which he
received was of becoming the ambassador of Australian Indigenous Education Foundation. Apart
from that, he was also certified for providing efficient and effective services in the field of
aviation and many other sectors as well (Bellamy, & Bellamy, 2016).
The leadership role which Alan Joyce possessed in his behavior is the democratic style of
leadership. The fact shall be earmarked that this style of leadership helped Alan Joyce to initiate
activities in the organization through the company can achieve competence in the global market.
Further, talking about the leadership style of Alan Joyce it shall be noted that he being a
democratic leader believed that the decision shall be made and implemented in an organization,
with the collective repose of all the members of the company. This role of the leader helped the
company gain and sustainable position in the market. Apart from that Alan Joyce promoted the
interest of people by practicing social equality in the management of the company. He was
implemented group decision-making process in the management of the organization due to
which the standing is standing on such an affirmed position right now. A democratic style leader
needs to be honest and inspiring to the other team members of the company (Antonakis, 2017).
Talking about the success story of Alan Joyce in Qantas Company, he adequately used the
correct approach for leading the company so that they can earn optimum return for the

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organization. it has been noticed that the company lost its major share in the market by 6 per
cent, due to which it came as an emergency for the company to regain its position in the market
by modernizing and restructuring the management of the company. Further, Alan Joyce initiated
the use of innovative technology in the management due to which the company somehow came
back to its current position in the market (Fashola, Akanni, & Ajila, 2016). Also, it shall be
remarked that Alan Joyce initiated three-year transformation due to which it became difficult for
other competitors to imitate them. The way through which the company gains success in the
market is by understanding the actual requirement of the customer with the product and services
which the company offer. Apart from that Alan Joyce's management skills helped them to initiate
innovative activities with honesty and accountability, due to which the company gained the trust
of people in the market showed positive growth. As stated the company reached the top position
in the market with the help of its democratic leader Alan Joyce (Peter, & Kalai, 2016).
Comparison of leadership styles
Comparing the leadership style of all the three leaders analyzed in the report, it shall be noted
that all people are working well in their particular fields, which stats that the leadership style
which a person shall possess in their business also depends upon the type of business. On
comparing the leadership style of Brad Banducci with that of Alan Joyce, it shall be noted that
both companies perform just opposite leadership styles in their business depending upon the
business. Like, in retail business proper control of management and employees is required which
Mr. Banducci follows but Alan Joyce initiates just opposite activities. He believes in taking
collective decision with the help of team members also. Apart from that a democratic style leader
needs to give equal importance to its team members whereas an authoritarian leader only focuses

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on the outcomes of the process, they do not believe in implementing any type of informal
relationship with the management (Schaubroeck, Shen, & Chong, 2017).
Further talking about transformation type of leadership style, under this leadership, the leader
does not consider the response given by other people who present in the society just like
authoritarian leadership, but its practices involve intelligent innovation strategies like democratic
leadership. But this leadership does not possess strict rules on their member like authoritarian nor
does it believe in considering the participation of members in company's decision-making
process like democratic style leaders do. Thus, it shall be noted that different business process
has their different leadership style with the implementation of which they can earn competitive
edge in the market (Chawla, & Sharma, 2017).
Conclusion
Thus, in the limelight of above mentioned events the fact shall be noted is that all types of
leadership styles have their different significance in the business depending upon the type of
business. Apart from that, it takes the skills and capabilities of a leader to initiate success in an
organization (Antonakis, 2017). The above mentioned report discussed leadership styles and
practices of three different leaders in their individual market. All three leaders have achieved
competence in the market with the aid of their efficient leadership skills. Concluding to the
above analysis it shall be noted that all people possess different type of skills and implement
different leadership styles depending on their attitude and type of business process.