In What Way Is Michael A. Todman Exercising Leadership?

Question #1

In what way is Michael A. Todman exercising leadership?

Different people require different styles of leadership, and while leadership is learned, the skills and knowledge processed by the leader can be influenced by his or hers attributes or traits, such as beliefs, values, and character. Everybody is a leader in one or the other, and some people have inborn leadership qualities, so a leader must display confidence in his or her own ability to lead in order to gain the confidence of others to follow. Leadership means different things to different people, but we can define leadership as a process where a leader influences the direction of a unit in achieving its objectives and great leaders are visionaries whose intuition helps them to capitalize on business opportunities, but most importantly great leaders lead by morals, fairness and don't make unreasonable demands on their followers or the lead. Todman exercised a lot of leadership qualities in turning around the fortunes of Whirlpool International, but he also took some drastic decisions which can be safely said, to be bordering on dictatorial push for the success of Whirlpool International by not consulting with the stake holders by closing costly plants, and instead of dialoguing with the workers, started educating them on the new models he was about the introduce to the consumers. One quality I see, he had to be tough and pushy in some of his leadership quality to make the corporation successful. In the article we could see that even Jeff Fettig, Whirlpool Corp, CEDO and chairman said 'Mike has a number of strengths. First, he's got great expertise in being a global leader; he knows how to operate effectively with different cultures and different people." When Michael A. Todman took over as the president of Whirlpool International, the company had been facing performance challenges due to the global recession which started from Europe, over the past few years leading to intensified insecurity, banks less willing to support businesses and consumers less open to parting with their cash, turning Whirlpool Corporation around was not going to be easy, especially if the company had been struggling for years and this is where core leadership qualities should be applied. He exercised leadership by locating the real business problems facing Whirlpool Corporation, examined the trending marketing strategies, Shifted business models, and adopted a global strategist approach in reclaiming Whirlpool Corporation's place in the global market. The first step Todman took in developing a trading strategy is to select the market action and corresponding strategy type that he felt will work for Whirlpool International, but in making the choice, the most important thing to note here is that Michael A. Todman knew that the choice was for him to make alone and a leader should know when to make the right choice. Longevity in an organization refers to the act of binding oneself emotionally, to a course of action. In the article we see that Todman joined Whirlpool International in 1993 in London as director of finance, eventually running the customer service business in Europe. Longevity is the length of service, time or tenure and usually goes hand in hand with loyalty. Being loyal and having longevity are important in being qualified to be heard as a leader, as people want to know that you believe in what you are saying, and are committed in doing what you're doing, and will be available as a useful resource in the organization in the future. For Todman leadership role in helping bolster Whirlpool's financial performance through his strategic vision in accessing global markets and ability to effectively drive innovation. Todman has even been selected as the 2010 black enterprise Corporate Executive of the Year.

Question #2

Identify at least three leadership roles Michael A. Todman emphasizes as president of whirlpool international?

Some of the leadership roles Michael A. Todman emphasizes as the president of whirlpool international were: Figurehead because he was the president of Whirlpool International. He coaches and motivator because he pushes employees to think more broadly and more creatively. Strategic planner on the way he focused on revamping the product line to make the company more successful. He also has other traits such as understanding complex business situation, adopting a global strategist approach to problem solving, innovation, understanding consumers, well managed communication skills, problem identification, and a clear vision and priorities for the organization.