Strategic Leadership: A Comprehensive Analysis of Virgin Group

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of strategic leadership within the Virgin Group, examining the meaning and importance of leadership, various leadership approaches, and the role of leadership in strategic management. It compares leaders of work groups and teams, evaluates the impact of leadership on both formal and informal groups, and analyzes the characteristics of effective work groups and teams. The report also assesses organizational effectiveness and performance, explores leadership development requirements, and provides criteria for evaluating strategic effectiveness from a leadership perspective. Furthermore, it examines the exercise of leadership power and influence, emphasizes the importance of ethics, values, and corporate social responsibility, and evaluates leadership and sustainability concepts and trends within the context of the Virgin Group, highlighting Sir Richard Branson as a key example of effective strategic leadership.

STRATEGIC
LEADERSHIP

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................3
1.1 Explain the meaning & importance of leadership ....................................................................3
1.2 Describe main approaches to the study of leadership ...............................................................5
1.3 Examine the role of leadership in strategic management..........................................................6
2.1 Compare the relationship between leaders of work groups & team..........................................7
2.2 Evaluate impact of leadership on groups & teams & on formal as well as informal................8
2.3 Analyse characteristics of effective work group and team .......................................................8
3.1 Assess the nature of organization effectiveness and performance. ...........................................9
3.2 Critically explore the main feature and requirements of leadership development..................10
3.3 Provide criteria for assessing an organizations strategic effectiveness from a leadership
perspective.....................................................................................................................................11
4.1 Examine the exercise of leadership power & influence..........................................................12
4.2 Explain importance of ethics, values & corporate social responsibilities in relevance with
organisation....................................................................................................................................13
4.3 Evaluate leadership and sustainability concepts and trends....................................................13
CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................................15
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................16
Books & Journal:...........................................................................................................................16

INTRODUCTION
In organisation, business and competition is rising at rapid level due to which it is becoming
difficult to survive in market. Leadership is defined as changing or influencing other decisions or
getting work done from others. Virgin Group, which is multinational company headquartered in
UK. It provides ample numbers of products and services such as jewellery, music, retail, travel and
tourism etc. This report includes concept of leadership, approaches, role of leadership in strategic
management, difference between leaders of work groups& teams, influence of leadership on groups
& teams, formal & informal, characteristics of effective work group & team, nature of enterprise
effectiveness as well as performance, features and requirement of leadership development,
accessing strategic effectiveness in firm, leadership power and influence, importance of ethics &
values to firm value and leadership & sustainability concepts.
1.1 Explain the meaning & importance of leadership
Each and every entity requires manager and leaders in the management who manages and
maintains the structure, employees, functions and operation of business. In relation with Virgin
Group, Sir Richard Branson is a true leader who is also influencer and is role model of others.
Without leadership it is not possible to manage and staff and employees in enterprise (Shao,
2019)To use this process in proper manner firm uses different theories as well as concepts so that it
is used in appropriately and widely. Concept of leadership is wide and broader and requires abilities
and skills to lead the people in effective manner. In this various types of styles are used by leaders
which participative, achievement oriented, directive and supportive. Every individual and leader is
different from each other & possesses heterogeneous traits. It depends upon the managers as well as
leaders to choose suitable style which is applicable to everyone in team. (Rothaermel, 2016).
Contemporary leadership- It is type of approach in which leader influence society and
people to achieve goals and objectives in such a manner that change is done in community. Such
type of leader is friendly and act as role model for others. They do not control or monitor followers
on hourly basis like the leaders in organisation. In this, various approaches are involved such which
are mentioned below-
Transformational Leadership- These are the leaders who influence employee to achieve
the goals and task assigned to them as well as to achieve the organisational mission. In this,
personnel work for firm mission and vision rather than caring about what is suitable for their
growth.
Transactional Leadership- Such leader is one who uses reward and punishment as source
to get the work done by employee and personnel work for the exchange system that if they do the

work they will get something in return. This type of leadership is not so effective and motivates
subordinates only for short period of time. It is used when firm need to improve their productivity at
higher level and acquire larger market share growth.
Case Study
Sir Richard Branson, who is the owner of Virgin Group and is leader as well as influencer
for individual. He started the Virgin Group with motive of becoming entrepreneur. Organisation
deals in variety of products as well as services and is stated as diversified company. There many
competitors of the firm such TESCO, Sainsbury etc.
Background- Sir Richard Branson started his own company named as Virgin Group and
which has now become a multinational firm covering more than 60 companies all around the world.
This enterprise was established in 1970, by naming and starting first company Virgin Records.
Richard Branson is considered as born leader because in his childhood he started his own small firm
named as student magazine and sold which results in profits as well as revenues (Ma, 2018).
Strategic leadership- According to the Virgin Group, strategic leadership is defined as
acquiring of mission and vision by managers & leaders of firm by using effective strategies. In
relation with Virgin Group, they use strategic leadership so that more profit and larger market share
growth is acquired by organisation.
Approaches to the study of leadership- The chosen firm and leader Richard Branson
adopts the functional approach in which he states that leadership can be learned and developed to
any individual person has the ability to learn (Sharma, 2019).
Role of leader- Sir Richard Branson is a great leader and influencer who is always ready to
take the risk in business explore new opportunities. He has played important role in leadership
because with his ideas and thoughts Virgin Group is rising at wider scale.
Reviewing ethics values and CSR- Virgin Group also focuses on corporate social
responsibility as because it is essential for business to operate with ethics and morale. They are
doing CSR by producing and delivering low carbon services with easy to use and consume
methods.
1.2 Describe main approaches to the study of leadership
To understand the study and concept of leadership in proper manner it is important to
analyse and examine the approaches which helps leader to use the process in management properly.
There are various types of approaches in leadership which are discussed below-
Traits Approach- This states that every leader have different traits and characterises and

accordingly manages employees as well as followers. It is essential to analyse and examine traits as
well as characteristics of person to identify leadership skill.
Function or group approach- According to this approach, leadership can be learned by
anyone if person is interested to become a leader. This also focuses on which style and how that
style is adopted by leader on employees.
Behavioural Style approach- In this, leaders behaviour as well as people behaviour is
analysed and identified & how they affect the team performance (Stoker, 2019).
Case Study
Richard Branson is the owner of Virgin Group & is a great leader and entrepreneur. He owns
many more firm including subsidiaries such Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Entertainment etc.
Background- Virgin Group was founded long back ago with motive of becoming the global
leader of across the globe. Earlier it was only a small firm with limited workforce & resources but
with changing time period it spread out in the market (Lemoine, 2019).
Strategic Leadership- VG use strategic leadership in business to provide innovation and
new approaches to the market and people. Richard Branson adopts diversification leadership which
is used in management with motive providing new products & services.
Approaches- In this, RB use both function and behavioural approaches in the management
so that effective results & objectives are achieved in proper manner. This helps them in maintaining
relationship between firm & employees.
Role- Management cannot perform until and unless leader performs his role in proper
manner. Richard Branson uses market development and diversification as tool for developing
strategy. This was done by introducing more new airlines services in Virgin Atlantic.
Leadership value and ethics in driving CSR- RB besides a leader, also focuses on
corporate social responsibility as contributing towards the NGO’s which helps children and people
in making their life more better and sustainable.
1.3 Examine the role of leadership in strategic management
Leadership play vital role in strategic management as because without leader it is not
possible to implement and adopts strategies in appropriate manner.
Role of leadership
Monitoring execution- When strategic management is applied to employees at wider level
it is necessary to have proper monitoring and control over execution. So, leadership helps

employees to understand and work according to the SM.
Motivating staff- When new strategies are introduced in firm, leader in management
encourage & motivate staff to adjust according to the change so the tasks and goals are achieved.
Setting Goals- In business, it is crucial to analyse goals of firm and management what they
needed to be achieve. With help of leadership, leader in enterprise assist employee to set goal and so
that effort and manpower is used accordingly (Hassi, 2019).
Case Study
Background- VG is multinational corporation which deals with variety of products,
services and goods.
Strategic leadership- It refers to producing of new strategies and tactics to achieve the
mission and vision of firm with help of leadership and employees. Strategic leadership is important
because it provides way of dealing with uncertain market situations. So, Virgin Group use strategic
leadership so that new methods are used in business of generating profit & sales.
Approaches to leadership- Firm use behavioural approach in business so that leaders and
managers in VG adopt effective leadership style which is suitable to team and group. This approach
helps them in analysing and examining the role of leader as well as employees in the process
(Beersma, 2019).
Role of leader- Sir Richard Branson is the true leader as he motivates and influence
employee and people with his strategy approaches and thoughts. As leader he is always ready to
help and understand his employees in proper manner.
Leadership values& CSR- Business functions and operations in VG run with ethics and
values. Moreover, company also pay attention to its social responsibility.
2.1 Compare the relationship between leaders of work groups & team
Leaders of work groups- In this, leader are directive, dominate and control the group to get
the work done within a period of time. Only work assigned and task achieved is being focused by
leader of work group. Also, leader in this work group is only one which means that individual are
answerable to one leader only with single work flow which makes work simpler and achievable.
Employees or say members in the group are forced to do the work and submit their assigned task
within a period of time.
Leaders of work team- This depicts that leader in this act as facilitator and involves every
team member in decision making process. In this, many more than one leader is involved and it
becomes difficult for members to focus on work. Individual in work team mostly focuses on

completing and attaining their goals and objectives. Further, team members in this work
independently with motive of achieving targets as well as goals (Devaraj, 2019).
Organisation uses both these in effective manner so that team and group both contribute to
organisational performance at appropriate level. With help of leadership, it becomes easy to
maintain and manage the group and team. It is duty of both leader & manager to make ensures that
individual from both the side work in proper manner and complete as well as achieve their
objectives at specific time period. Leaders of work group and team use different leadership style
according to the view of all the members. Brainstorming and group discussions are adopted by both
leader so that progress and performance level, sharing of ideas, thoughts are examined & evaluated
properly. In relevance with Virgin Group, Richard Branson use both work group as well as work
team so that all the functions & operations are carried out in appropriate manner.
2.2 Evaluate impact of leadership on groups & teams & on formal as well as informal
Formal Group-
These are those groups who come under operation with motive of achieving organisational
goals and objectives. Leadership in such group has deep impact as because managers and superiors
maintain formal relationship with subordinates.
Informal Group-
In this, these are conducted outside the management and without following any rules or
regulations in the firm. In such groups, leadership impact on employee is positive because they are
free to work independently. Moreover, in informal group employee are free to work according to
their own and enjoys freedom of expression (Fraser, 2010).
Group-
In groups, impact of leadership is flexible as well as rigid depending upon the leader
style. Individual work in groups with motive of completing the assigned tasks and role. Impact of
leadership is not so effective because leader in group only focuses on achievement of target by
every person. This creates negative affect on performance of both leader as well as members.
Team- In team, influence of leadership is broader and wider because of maintaining and
working with rules & regulations. Further, leader in team is able to change and develop each and
every member skills as well as traits. This is because, in team main focus is to enhance team
performance and increase firm productivity. In relation with Virgin Group, team in firm is well
structured and managed by managers as well as leaders this leads to increase in firm productivity
(Sweis, 2019).

After a brief analysis of above matter, it is stated that impact of leadership on group, team,
formal and informal is at deeper level. Further, it also analysed that at every phase leader act
differently according to the assigned role and responsibility. Thus, it is essential to use leadership in
enterprise to achieve the goals and objectives.
2.3 Analyse characteristics of effective work group and team
(Effective work group) Characteristics are-
 Effective work groups focus on behavioural and are formed with motive of achieving
common and desired goals.
 Main aim is to develop performance and increase the skills as well as ability of individual.
 In an effective group, power authority is applied in positive manner not in negative way.
 In effective work group, leaders understand and help employees or members whenever they
face problem and solve them mutually.
 Also, conflicts and errors are solved by sharing of ideas and thoughts within the group
members. (Tien, 2019).
 In effective work group, appraisal for the work done by subordinates is given time to time
so they get motivated and encouraged.
(Effective team) characteristics are-
 In an effective team, open communication is present and task as well as objectives is
understood by everyone with clear mind.
 Each and every individual in in effective team is well aware about their team roles assigned
to them and work accordingly.
 Also, in an effective team work is done with proper time management which leads to
positive outcome. In context to Virgin Group, manager of firm use proper time management
and which results in positive outcomes.
 Whenever, individual faces challenges or risks all members support each other and resolve
the problems.
 Effective team is one which work together and develop positive relationship with each other
(Molinero, 2019).
 Understanding the impact of leadership on performance of business organization.
Every business organization adopts those styles of leadership which imposes direct impact

on the performance level of employees within business organization. In context of Virgin money,
the manager chooses participative leadership style in order to provide opportunities to employees
working in the organization.
Examine the stages of group & team development & role of leadership in maximising group & team
performance
Team development stages-
Forming- In this stage, member in team are nervous and feel uncomfortable at workplace.
Storming- Further, team members start sharing their ideas as well as thoughts with each
other. In relation with Virgin Group, manager of the team make ensure that mutual relationship is
established between each other.
Norming- Then comes stage in which members in team start performing and leaders do not
have to guide them consistently.
Adjourning- In this, members in team compete with each other & fight for wins. In
relevance with VG, targets are given to each and every member which are achieved by team
members in specified period of time.
Group stages-
Orientation- In this, members in the group are get introduction about the group and their
working structure. In context to Virgin Group, it conducts training and session for new members.
Power struggle- In this, grouping in group get started and every individual choses his own
group.
Synergy- Further, each and every sub group in group start performing & achieve desired
goals as well as objectives.
Role of leader-
Motivator- When it comes to development of team and group leader as well as managers
play vital role act as a motivator.
Source- Also, leaders in group as well as team are also the source for individual because any
issues or problem faced by members are solved by either leaders or it is being transferred to
superior authority by the leaders.
3.1 Assess the nature of organization effectiveness and performance.
Organization effectiveness is considered as a process in which it is the capability of firm to

achieve its goal and objective in stipulated time period. Therefore, it is necessary for business firm
to optimum utilization of resources in order to reduce wastage. In addition to this, the highly
efficient business organization display strength in five areas such as leadership, people, process of
work, systems as well as in taking effective decision. It is important for the success and growth of
organization to adopt the changing environment at marketplace. In other words, organizational
efficiency is the ability of business organization to produce anticipated outcomes with the less
expenditure of time, money, human, and energy as well as material resources. The primal purpose
of organizational effectiveness is to increase profitability level at marketplace. It helps in increasing
performance level of business organization in an effective manner. In addition to this, it assists in
boosting productivity as well as profitability level at workplace. There is different kind of
organizational effectiveness for being successful which is going ot be mentioned below:
Decision making: Organization effectiveness increases the quality of decision which will be
beneficial for the company. The manager focuses on maximizing the productivity in order to reduce
waste which will be advantageous for business organization (Ferrell, 2019).
Change and Learning: It is the process in which person can increases the knowledge to
generate something innovative at workplace. In addition to this, the manager makes optimum
utilization of resources for gaining more and more profit within business firm.
Group Effectiveness: Herein, the team member works in a group in order to bring
innovative ideas for being successful within business firm. It assists in boosting success and growth
in future period of time. And also increases effectiveness and efficiency of the business firm.
Self-organizing: Herein, the self-organizing system helps in increasing skill and knowledge
regarding organization effectiveness within business organization. It increases sales as well as
profitability level in upcoming period of time.
3.2 Critically explore the main feature and requirements of leadership development.
Leadership plays an essential role for the success and growth of company. The leader
focuses on influencing the behavior of subordinates in order to achieve goal and objective of
business organization. There are different characteristics as well as requirement of leadership in
context of Virgin money which is going to be mentioned below:
Features:
Influencing the behavior of others: Leadership is the capability of an individual person to
encourage the behavior of other subordinates to accomplish goal and objective in given time period.
The motivated employees execute their task in an effective manner (Rothaermel, 2016).

Continuous process: Herein, it is the responsibility of leader to coordinate different
activities and functions that helps in performing their work in better way. And also, it helps in
increasing sales and profit in future period of time.
Attainment of common organizational goal: The main aim of leadership is to provide
direction to the individual person in accomplishing goal at marketplace (Shao, 2019).
Importance:
Coordination: A leader coordinates different activities and functions in an effective manner that
helps in increasing productivity as well as profitability level at marketplace. It motivates employees
to execute their task in better way.
Building work environment: Herein, the leader focuses on resolving conflicts and grievance in an
effective manner. It helps in building positive atmosphere within business firm. And also it makes
an environment that assists in increasing performance level of employees at workplace.
Providing motivation: Herein, the leader focuses on motivating employees to execute their work in
better way. Therefore, it increases success and growth in upcoming period of time.
3.3 Provide criteria for assessing an organizations strategic effectiveness from a leadership
perspective.
There are different criteria which are used for organizations strategic effectiveness from the
point of view of leadership. Herein, the professional focuses on improving the quality of services. In
addition to this, they use those tactics and strategies which help in achieving success and growth of
business organization. There are some strategies which is used for organization effectiveness that is
going to be mentioned below:
Make use of Human resources: The HR manager plays an important role for the
effectiveness of organization in an appropriate manner. They hire talented and skilled employees for
achieving goal and objective in short span of time (Ma, 2018).
Keep the customer in mind: Herein, it is necessary to analyses the need and wants of
customer in order to increase the effectiveness of organization in better way. In addition to this, they
offer unique products and services to its customer in order to satisfy their needs.
Work on quality products and services: The business firm focuses on offering superior
quality products as well as services to its customer. Therefore, the organization offers a products
and services at affordable cost. It helps them in retaining customer for a longer time person. And
also increases trust and loyalty of customer towards products as well as services of company within

marketplace (Sharma, 2019).
Use of Technology: Technology plays an important role for the success and growth of
business organization. Thus, it is important for manager to implement advanced technology in order
to boost efficiency and effectiveness of the organization.
Focus on growth: Herein, the leader focuses on understanding the strength as well as
weaknesses of various professional that helps them in making appropriate strategy in order to
increase effectiveness and efficiency level of business organization. In addition to this, the leader
focuses on building a team that helps in coordinating different tasks and activities in an effective
manner. And also, it boost productivity as well as profitability level of business organization at
workplace. It assists the company in increasing growth and development in future period of time.
4.1 Examine the exercise of leadership power & influence
Organisation performs functions and operations with help of leadership and leaders in firm.
It is important to focus on leadership power and influence but both are different from each other and
affect the team as well as groups accordingly. Power and influence both are beneficial for
organisation but work differently. Steve jobs, who was leader, media proprietor and founder of
Apple Corporation. He was leader with both and power and influencing mind.
Power- It is defined as authority to make the work done through others. This is used mostly
in firm and team to complete the assigned task and responsibility.
Influence- It refers to making people to do the work but with voluntary approach. This is
positive way of getting work done on their own will.
Case Study
Background- VG is an international conglomerate which was established and founded in
1970 by Sir Richard Branson (Stoker, 2019).
Strategic leadership- In the chosen organisation, firm use market development and
diversification as strategic leadership. These are adopted because of high rise in competition and
acquiring more customers. Managers and leader of firm make ensures that effective strategies are
used in business.
Approaches- In leadership various approaches are used by entities such as traits, function
etc. In context to Virgin Group, they use functional approach in which they impart new skills and
abilities in employees to motivate them towards becoming a leader.
Role of leader- In this, developing strategy is important and because without developing
them firm cannot survive in market. Branson play major role in developing strategy of entity was