Compare and contrast Fr. Jose Maria Arizmendiarrieta's leadership with that of Michael Chaney. Who do you think is the more effective leader in business? Why?
Two of the finest business leaders the world has ever known are Michael Chaney and Fr. Jose Maria Arizmendiarrieta. They both have demonstrated outstanding leadership abilities and moral character, which have won them the high regard they enjoy in the business world today. Being a leader is not a simple assignment, particularly in the dynamic and fiercely competitive corporate world, and both of these individuals have much to teach us. Describe leadership. There are several definitions of the phrase leadership. It can be defined as the process whereby someone influences a group of people to achieve a common goal (DuBrin 2016, p.3). It can also be described as an act which causes other individuals to respond or act in a shared direction or the act of influencing others through example or persuasion to adhere to a certain line of action. Apart from these definitions, leadership is also commonly described a principle dynamic force which coordinates and inspires an organization in the achievement of its set goals. This paper will take a comprehensive look into the leadership of two well-known business leaders (Michael Chaney and Fr Jose Maria Arizmendiarrieta) by comparing and contrasting their leadership styles, ethics, and qualities and using this as a basis of establishing whom among them is a better leader.
Michael Chaney's leadership background
Michael Chaney re-joined the Board of Wesfarmers, a popular farmers' cooperative in Western Australia, back in June 2015 as a non-executive director and later on became its Chairman in November 2015. His journey to this position was not an easy one. Chaney graduated from the University of Western Australia with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1970 and a Master of Business Administration degree in 1980. In 1992, he went to Harvard Business School where he completed the Advanced Management Program. Apart from these great academic achievements, Chaney was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by the University of Western Australia (Wesfarmers.com.au, n.d.).
After getting his Bachelor of Science degree, Chaney worked for as a petroleum geologist in the United States and Australia for about eight years. In 1980, he became a member of the Australian Industry Development Corporation where he was a corporate finance executive and in 1981 became the Manager for Western Australia. Two years later, Chaney joined Wesfarmers as the Company Secretary and Administration Manager and in 1984 he became the company's Finance Director. In July 1992, he got appointed as the company's Managing Director but retired from the post in July 2005 (Wesfarmers.com.au, n.d.).
Chaney is now the former Chairman of the National Australia Bank and the Chairman of Woodside Petroleum Limited. He is also the Chancellor at the University of Western Australia and a member of two important associations; the Australia-Germany Advisory Group and the Commonwealth Science Council. Lastly, he is a director at the Centre of Independent Studies.
Fr Jose Maria Arizmendiarrieta's Leadership Background
Arizmendiarrieta attended a rural church school until he was 12 years old. From the age of 12, his learning took place at the Castillo Elejabeita Lower Seminary where he got to discover about a whole new world. He later on attended the Conciliar Seminary situated in Victoria, where he pursued Philosophy and Theology. While here, he got absorbed in the religious beliefs of the Victoria Priests' Movement and became a priest in 1940. Arizmendiarrieta arrived at Mondragon in 1941 and was appointed as the Chaplain of Catholic Action. He put in a lot of effort in bringing the community together from a Christian point of view. In 1943, he created the Professional School and later in 1947 sent 11 youth to Zaragoza to pursue Industrial Engineering. It was the school itself together with the group of young individuals that later formed the basis of the Mondragon Cooperative Experience (Arizmendiarrieta 1915-2015, 2015).
Arizmendiarrieta was a determined entrepreneur. Thanks to his dedication and passion several other activities developed, which would have never happened were it not for his generosity and integrity. They include:
- 1957: The San Jose consumer cooperative was created and two years later Lan Kide Aurrezkiak was set up as well. Lan Kide Aurrezkiak later merged with four other cooperatives from Aretxabaleta to form Eroski in 1969.
- 1962: Arizmendiarrieta created T.U. (Work and Union) as a way of strengthening the vision of the cooperatives. The main message of the Magazine was Arizmendiarrieta's insight, although this did not always concur with the ways of the cooperatives.
- 1962: He created Lana kooperatiba. It was a project that went against the prevailing trends, given that farming was not the focus at that time.
- 1964: Centro Asistencial hospital was set up under sponsorship from another organization. The hospital was the first to offer maternity services in Arraste.
- 1964: Arizmendiarrieta set up the Biteri Egoitza Hall of Residence to accommodate 300 students after the opening of the Eskola Berria School.
- 1970: Alecop was created. The company's main aim is to offer part-time jobs to the kids at Mondragon School and Mondragon University. He also set up Auzo-Lagun the very same year. Women were forced to resign from the Mondragon Cooperatives once they got married. Arizmendiarrieta realized his mistake and created Auzo-Lagun to allow women work part in order to achieve their work-life balance (Arizmendiarrieta 1915-2015, 2015).
On top of the above, the dynamic development and growth of Mondragon cannot be attributed to some special aspects of the Basque culture. Its success is mainly due to the great leadership and vision of the founder (Fr Jose Maria Arizmendiarrieta) the great social inventions he generated, and the remarkable organizational culture that he, together with his followers, created as a guide for the complex.
Leadership Styles
Every leader has their own style of leadership. A leadership style simply refers to the rather consistent behavioral pattern that characterizes or distinguishes a leader. A leader's combination of behaviors and attitudes creates a particular predictability and regularity when handling members of a group. Most categories of leadership styles are mainly founded on the aspects of structure initiation and consideration.
There are four different styles of leadership; participative, autocratic, and entrepreneurial leadership styles and leadership-grid styles. Both Chaney and Arizmendiarrieta seem to employ the participative leadership style. In this style of leadership, the leaders share decision-making with other group members (Kesting et al. 2015, p.26). This style is made up of three different sub-categories (1) consultative leaders who deliberate with the group members before decision-making but maintain the final word; (2) consensus leaders who aim for a consensus; and (3) democratic leaders who bestow final authority on the group. The Mondragon cooperatives are simply a confederation of worker-owned cooperatives. In this cooperative, the workers are the owners of the business; there is no outside ownership. Each worker or owner is a vote, and decision-making is based on a democratic vote of all the owners. From this it is quite clear that Arizmendiarrieta is a democratic leader. Similarly Michael Chaney employs the participative leadership style. He 1984, he was made Wesfarmers' Managing Director where he did quite a good job before he retired from the post in 2005 and later re-joined the company's board as a non-executive director in 2015. Wes farmer's is run by a management team but boards of directors are in place to offer governance, supervise and also direct management (Sustainability.wesfarmers.com.au, n.d.). Decision-making is done by the board and unlike Arizmendiarrieta, Chaney is more of a consensus leader. Being the Board's chairman, he strives for a consensus to be reached among the board members when it comes to decision making.
Another leadership style common among the two business leaders is entrepreneurial leadership. This style is a combination of entrepreneurial and leadership qualities (Mgeni 2015, p.3). Both of them are great entrepreneurs and they possess some behaviors and traits typical in entrepreneurs such as an intense achievement drive, a visionary outlook, and an eye on the future. Arizmendiarrieta had an eye for the future. In 1943, he set up a trade school that would his students to possess the necessary skills to earn a living and to establish and run a cooperative. Later, in 1947, he sent 11 youth to Zaragoza to pursue Industrial Engineering. It was this school together with the group of young individuals that later formed the basis of the Mondragon Cooperative Experience. Chaney, on the other hand, has a strong drive to succeed. His leadership is that of a conglomerate, owning business ventures in several different industries, something that has proved to be a difficult undertaking for most companies that have tried it. Wesfarmers started as a farmers' cooperative in Western Australia but successfully participates in industries such as hardware retailing, coal mining, and insurance just to mention a few.
Ethics
Ethics can simply be defines as distinguishing right from wrong (DuBrin 2016, p. 174). It plays a very important role in leadership. Leaders get faced with ethical dilemmas on a daily basis. An ethical leader faces such dilemmas with the aim of doing what is right. In fact, a leader sets a moral example to his/her juniors which then becomes the organization's or group's model. An ethical leader displays determination and integrity to do what is right even when faced with great pressures to deviate. A leader's personal values determine the type of ethical climate to cultivate in their respective organizations (Nyukorong 2014, p.56). Various researches reveal that employees only wish to work for ethical organizations. An ethical leader is one who is:
- Trustworthy and honest and has integrity when dealing with his/her colleagues.
- Fair to all. He/she should pay attention to every stakeholder and treat everyone equally and fairly.
- Respectful to all. A leader should respect others and always keep the promises they make.
- Community building. Everything the leader does should be aimed at the achievement of the group's or organization's goals.
- Determined to create a pleasant workplace.
- Determined to build a sustainable environment.
Based on this, Arizmendiarrieta and Chaney are both ethical leaders, an aspect that significantly contributes to their success in the corporate world. Initially, the Mondragon Cooperatives used to fire female employees who got married. Arizmendiarrieta was not for the idea of cooperate women employing other women as domestic workers. However, he realized his mistake and made up for it by the creation of Auzo-Lagun, so that women could now work part-time to achieve a positive work-life balance. Apart from this, Mondragon promises its worker a sustainable future, another manifestation of Arizmendiarrieta's ethics. Mondragon provides a sustainable environment because it is not steered to develop and grow in a manner similar to the capitalist model. Additionally, it allows its owners/workers great benefits other than more material consumption.
In Wesfarmers' 2106 sustainability report, Chaney mentions that ethics is one of the values held by the organization. The organization expects its employees to operate honestly and ethically in a straight-forward and transparent manner. Wesfarmers' employees are expected to adhere to the cooperation's rules and regulations at all times. He encourages his employees to pay attention to their customer's needs and treat their suppliers with utmost respect. He ensures that the company's employees are well taken care of, and that their workplace is not only safe but also fulfilling. Lastly, he strives for community building. Wesfarmers expects that all their businesses to make solid and positive contributions to the communities they serve (Sustainability.wesfarmers.com.au, n.d.).
Arizmendiarrieta and Chaney are not different at all when it comes to their ethical values. Ethical leadership might be related with increased levels of employee performance and organizational commitment (Yates 2014, p.3). This is something that is clearly seen in the organizations lead by the two individuals.
Leadership Qualities/Traits
Different leaders possess different leadership qualities. Research reveals that leaders possess various personality traits that are actually linked to their success. Chaney and Arizmendiarrieta are both possess certain qualities that make them great business leaders. They share some of these qualities whereas some are different. There are two categories of leadership personality traits; general and task-related personality traits.
General personality traits are those qualities that can be observed and are linked to satisfaction and success in both the individual's work and personal life. Examples of such qualities are humility, self-confidence, extroversion, trustworthiness, assertiveness, authenticity, emotional stability, sense of humor, optimism, warmth, and enthusiasm (Nyukurong 2016, p.74).
Michael Chaney displays great self-confidence in his leadership. In fact, his leadership is that of a conglomerate, something that most companies find to be very challenging. Arizmendiarrieta, on the other hand, was a very humble individual. He even once mentioned that he was born to do more than just live for himself. He was a selfless leader who actually spent most of his life serving others. Additionally, he was considered a 'warm' person. He was very personable and this made a lot of people get drawn to him especially during his time as a priest. Chaney, however, did not spend sufficient time on entirely people matters and this is one thing he regrets (ref).
Nonetheless, these two leaders share some general personality traits. Both of them displayed trustworthiness. The great levels of credibility, integrity, and honesty displayed by both leaders earned them the trust of their employees. Wesfarmers trusted Chaney enough to offer him a leadership position on the company's board even after his retirement. As for Arizmendiarrieta, several cooperative owners trusted him to eventually work together with him. Extroversion is another trait displayed by both leaders. Chaney is ever on the look for new innovators to work with him. He has even groomed several entrepreneurs within the organization. Just like Chaney, Arizmendiarrieta also encouraged other cooperatives to join his movement. Additionally, during his time as a priest, he got to interact with numerous individuals.
Task-related personality traits are those that are very closely linked with the achievement of a task. Research shows that the main focus of a task-oriented leader is the achievement of optimum efficiency with organizational resources (Hassan, Asad and Hoshino 2016, p. 163). Some traits possessed by such leaders include great passion for the task and employees, courage, emotional intelligence, flexibility and adaptability among others. Arizmendiarrieta and Chaney both display great passion for their works. Mondragon cooperatives, created in 1956 through the great efforts of a visionary priest, started as a small enterprise involved in making kerosene stoves. It is now the 7th largest business group in Spain. Likewise, Chaney is highly acknowledged in driving Wesfarmers to be the greatly successful conglomerate it currently is. Another trait displayed by Chaney is flexibility and adaptability. He has been fortunate enough to Chair different boards of different organizations and he has been a remarkable leader in all these places. Arizmendiarrieta, on the other hand, displayed great emotional intelligence when dealing with others. He was empathetic with the workers-owners at Mondragon and always had their best interest at heart.
Conclusion
Leadership has great influence organizational performance. It is quite obvious that Michael Chaney and Arizmendiarrieta are both remarkable business leaders with great leadership qualities. The no better business leader among them; both of them display expertise and greatness in what they do. Each one of them has been very successful in their respective organization(s) and there is a lot to be learnt from both of them. The two truly deserve the kind of respect that has been accorded to them in the business world today. Being a great business leader takes more than just wanting to lead; hard work and determination is a must.
References
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