The Meg Whitman Case

520 Words3 Pages
The comment about Meg Whitman holding the title as one of the best CEO’s in the country is an understatement. She has developed a leadership style that works for her and creates an environment where those around her want to participate and strive for excellence. One of her leadership styles would be considered transactional leadership, as this style is known for its motivations and rewards, clear chain of command and leaders create structures for subordinates. Whitman’s decision to allow new employees to observe and study the company mission for three months is cutting edge to say the least. Most organizations would not be as innovative or courageous, if you will, to allow this type of training. The motivation behind this is to learn all you can then the expectation is high to produce what you learned in ones role. That approach is not unrealistic as the traditional way of initiating new employees to workforce would be, orientation and maybe one day or week of training, and you are expected to grasp everything and work at the same time. By aligning the proper chain of command the subordinates know exactly who they are to report to and follow instructions. The authentic leadership style is applicable to Meg’s growth as a CEO and leader. “I’m a better leader, a better manager, a better executive than when I arrived as a youngster. I have learned how to manage a company that reinvents itself every couple of years.” Hellriegel; Slocum, Organizational Behavior, 12th Edition (2009), Part 3 Leaders and Teams in Organizations, pg 316 After her arrival, she made a commitment to transform the company from an auction house online to a larger general shopping entity where the mindset would be this is the first place they would consider/look to make purchases. What is so attractive about this approach is that eBay has no overhead outside of its regular offices for
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