Ford Leadership Style Analysis Essay

The turnaround at Ford under Alan Mulally has been nothing short of spectacular. Ford has gone from posting record multibillion-dollar losses in 2006 when he took over, to five consecutive years of annual profits. Such legendary turnaround calls for an analysis of the power structure and leadership of Ford. According to Mulally, a turnaround isn't about the executives at the top or their brilliant strategy. Every employee has to be aligned with the vision of the company; they have to buy in to the plan, and feel supported in their jobs. If people aren't optimistic, they're not going to make the sacrifices and do the work required to turn things around. It's a remarkably humble leadership style. To understand the leadership analysis at Ford, we will have to first understand the various types of leadership styles.
1. Autocratic Leadership: The autocratic leadership style allows managers to make decisions alone without the input of others. Managers possess total authority and impose their will on employees.
2. Paternalistic Leadership: The leader works by acting as a father figure by taking care of their subordinates. In this style of leadership the leader supplies complete concern for his followers or workers. In return he receives the complete trust and loyalty of his people.
3.

This brings us to the power structure of any organization. An organizational chart shows who reports to whom in a company. People in the top boxes of the chart are presumed to have the most power. Typically the top box is reserved for the president or CEO. However, the power structure of an organization can be very different from a company's formal organizational structure. Real power of the organization might reside in the middle-management people on the finance staff, design staff or other entity that is key to a company's growth. Depending on who actually holds power in the organization, the following two structures have been