preview

Allan Mulalally Leadership Analysis

Better Essays

I am a huge fan of Allan Mulally leadership style. What his team accomplished at Ford is nothing short of legendary. There is something about a corporate turnaround I like, the transformational Journey of these companies close to bankruptcy and back to profitability is very, very fascinating.

Two cases immediately come to mind, Steve Jobs returning to Apple and Carlo Goshen turnaround of Nissan. But Ford turnaround and the leadership prowess of Allan Mulally really took home the first prize in my opinion. It was captured well in Bryce G. Hoffman book American Icon: Allan Mulally And The Fight To Save Ford Motor Company. If you want a blueprint, behind the scenes road map on how to save a company, you must read this book.

After analyzing …show more content…

Mulally stood in the line at the cafeteria like everybody else waiting for his lunch and soliciting feedback from his staff in the corridor. If you are familiar with the culture in Dearborn, it was unheard of that the CEO of any of the big 3 will have that type of interaction with junior staff in the company.
Mulally, however, understood that the company needed to work together as a team if the company had any chance of survival. Mulally also understood that the CEO must walk the talk and lead by example and it must start with him and the executive team at the company.

Mulally’s own leadership style reflected this. Jim Collins, in his book Good to Great, classified this type of leadership as level 5 Executive. Someone who builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will. Mulally was a coach, not a king and while he relished the spotlight that came from Ford’s amazing resurgence, he was constantly pulling other executives into with him.

Communication is Absolutely …show more content…

The team developed their One Ford Plan which became the reference point for the transformation.

The picture of the plan

Mulally had this plan printed on wallet cards and distributed to every Ford employee. He opened every weekly meeting by reviewing them. He recited them in every speech, in every town hall meeting, in every press conference. One of the most critical variable use to achieve the transformation was a compelling vision, clarity of strategy, open and honest communication and a change of values. Mulally ensure that his communication was constant and consistent to point where people got fed up of hearing the four-point plan.

Mulally went at lengths to communicate and make people feel comfortable about the change and to explain their role in the process. His positive influence over the company eventually caught on and even his doubters begin to believe in his ability to pull this thing off.

When you have open and honest communication in your company, it will remove any ambiguity and allow your employees to trust the plan, trust the process and most importantly trust the

Get Access