Introduction
In the book title Good to Great , the author Jim Collins tries to explain the factors that enable some few companies to make the transition from good companies to great compenies while the majority of companies remain at good. In this case, great means that the companies have attained and maintained a financial performance beyond the market average by several aspects over a significant period. In the nine chapters, Collins evaluates factors such as personnel, management, attitudes and operations practices among others and ultimately connects them to the transition from good to great (Collins, 2001). With that in mind, a summary of the first four chapters of Good to great in light of the leadership process and styles helps better understand the aspects of great companies.
Chapter 1: Similarities between good to the great and transformational leadership
The first chapter of Good to the Great entails the decisive factors used in determining the companies that were used for the study. Some of the decisive elements included the period the process of growth took and a company's ability to sustain performance above the market average for an extended period. The findings showed that greatness had little to do with technology, acquisitions or change in management approaches. Instead, the common identifiable factors for the top great companies regarded discipline in actions taken in the company, disciplined personnel and disciplined style of thinking (Collins, 2001). The elements identified with companies transitioning from great to good displays similarities with the transformational style of leadership. The backbone of Transformational leadership is gratifying necessities through innovation, adaptability and continued improvement (Ghasabeh & Provitera, 2017). A transformational leader exhibits characteristics such as charisma and vision and focuses on human assets to identify, implement and grow new ideas for the benefit of the organization.
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Charisma is about conducting oneself in a way that inspires others and gives them direction. Vision is about having a clear and convincing plan and imagery of the future and being able to draw commitment to goals that amount to the vision (Josefina, 2016). The market is a rapidly changing environment which creates room for uncertainty and the need for transformational leadership that enables a company to innovate for sustainability in such unpredictable markets (Ghasabeh & Provitera, 2017). Therefore, Good to great and transformational leadership are similar in several ways. First, uphold values of charisma and being visionary with the ability to inspire others are elements of personal discipline as a leader. Secondly, innovation attributes to the discipline of thinking to reason and perceive things in a way that stimulates change and new approaches. Thirdly, the disciplined action is the act of taking the responsibility of being inspirational, identifying potential and provoking it to manifest and grow to institute change.
Chapter 2: Can a level 5 leader be a servant leader?
In Chapter 2, Collins goes into details of the factors that contribute to greatness and make great unique from good companies. Evidently, a level 5 leader is capable of becoming a servant leader since they are driven by humility and will. Chapter 2 focuses on the leadership factor of greatness in regard to nature and quality of leadership. Collins identifies five leadership levels which he attributes to great companies which include executive leader, effective leader, competent, contributing team member and highly capable individuals. Level five identifies the executive leader characterized by a combination of humility and will to build greatness. In humility, the executive leader does not at any point in time allow their ego to stand in the way of the vision for the company. Therefore, executive leaders tend to credit the success of the company to other factors aside from themselves.
A level 5 leader has the conviction to take whatever action necessary to deliver desired results including making changes at the top level of management (Collins, 2001). A servant leader is defined as a leader who is willing to serve first by looking at what one can do for others. A servant leader is guided by the desire to serve first and have others join them in service. A servant leader ensures that followers know they care and invest in their followers without restrictions. Above all, a servant leader is led by humility to serve those they are his followers and encourage them (Williamson, 2017). Therefore, the description of a servant leader aligns with the virtue of humility in level 5 leader and the will to do whatever it takes. If it takes serving others to achieve goals then a level 5 leader is willing to do so which shows that a level 5 leader can become a servant leader.
Chapter 3: Bus concept in regard to the leadership process
Chapter 3 of Good to great advances the bus concept idea and emphasizes the importance of the "who" before the "what." The bus concept provides that the step of identifying the people with level 5 qualities should come before developing the strategy and the vision of what the company wants to achieve. Bus concept advances the idea of getting the right people for the task before determining the task. With level 5 attributes, a person can take any role and see it to the accomplishment of the set goals. With the right people on the bus, there is no need for motivation and management as everyone is self-driven (Collins, 2001). With the wrong or a few right people, there will be dragging behind as the wrong people seek motivation and require to manage. Without the directive of the leaders, wrong people lose focus of the vision.
Leadership process is a process with steps that need to be taken in order. First, leaders undergo orientation to be simulated to the organizational process. The leaders then assess the organization to build a comprehensive understanding of the business. Thirdly, leaders develop the strategy and vision for the company. Later follows the redesigning of the business process to achieve the set vision through the outlines strategy. Lastly, the management is integrated within the organizational performance. In the process leading the strategy and vision are developed way after the selection and orientation of the leaders (Allen, 2012). Therefore, the leadership process promotes the bus concept in that the right people stay on the bus while the wrong people are left out before developing the business vision and strategy. That way, the organization can develop and retain high performance at all levels of growth hence be in a position to sustain greatness.
Chapter 4: Confronting the brutal facts to authentic leadership
Collins explores the element of facing reality in faith rather than holding on to the dream as another factor of greatness in Chapter 4. Companies that are willing to find and work with facts within the company and the industry are better positioned to make the transition from good to great. The modern market is characterized by rapidly changing consumer choices that require companies to keep up in order to remain sustainable. A company that cannot keep up with the rapid changes will often fail. To keep up, a company needs to deal with facts about the marketplace and its position in regard to market factors (Collins, 2001). That way, the company can institute strategies that help it thrive in the changing uncertain markets.
Authentic leadership promotes the idea of leaders being who they are and embracing their personality such that the person at work can be identified as the leader outside of work. Attributes of authentic leaders include self-awareness, genuine, result-focused, driven and long-term goal oriented. Authentic leaders are themselves as leaders and do not appear to play the role of leadership to meet the stereotype of perceptions about leaders. Authenticity is, however, a missing element among leaders which distinguishes good and great leaders (Kruse, 2013). Confronting the brutal fact of authentic leadership is the leadership paradox which deviates from the notion of leaders being prominent personality individuals and large profiles. Authentic leadership is about being true to personal values, modest and even reserved to some extent (Paul, 2013). Confronting the reality that great leaders are modest and authentic leaders away from the perceived large profiles and outrageous headlines are the difference between good and great companies and companies with the potential to transition to greatness.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the four chapters of Good to Great by Collins emphasize the role of leadership in enabling the transition from good to great. The approach to leadership stood out as the major characteristics of great companies. Every aspect of leadership from the style of leadership, the process and the realism of the people in leadership play a significant role in driving the vision of the company to greatness. Leaders who take the company vision based as a personal goal and work genuinely towards it accomplishment are better identified to drive a company into the transition from good to great.
References
Allen, R. (2012). The leadership process. The Center for Organizational Design. Retrieved on 15 September 2018, from http://www.centerod.com/2012/02/leadership-process/
Collins, J. (2001). Good to great: Why some companies make the leap... and others don't . New York: Random House Business.
Ghasabeh, M. S., & Provitera, M. J. (2017). Transformational leadership: Building an effective culture to manage organizational knowledge. The Journal of Values-Based Leadership , 10 (2), 7.
Josefina, G. L. (2016). The similarities and differences between the four leadership models. LinkedIn Corporation. Retrieved on 15 September 2018, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/similarities-differences-between-four-leadership-gretchen-j-/
Kruse, K. (2013). What is authentic leadership? Forbes. Retrieved on 15 September 2018 from https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2013/05/12/what-is-authentic-leadership/#32c9bc36def7
Paul. (2013). The leadership paradox. Medium. Retrieved on 15 September 2018 from https://medium.com/@MuddPartnership/the-leadership-paradox-aaa39a7b2fde
Williamson, C. (2017). Servant leadership: How to put your people before yourself. Forbes. Retrieved on 15 September 2018, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2017/07/19/servant-leadership-how-to-put-your-people-before-yourself/#108017d066bc
