Discussions about leadership style

Organizations, business professionals, and even the public often take a keen interest in discussions about leadership style. The reasons for the popularity of discussing leadership style approaches may lie in the way leadership researchers define leadership as a collection of observable behaviors. People can both observe and learn behavior, unlike innate traits. When people study the behavior of a successful leader, such as a CEO, from a leadership styles perspective, they may seek to uncover what aspects of that person’s leadership style led to his or her success. People then attempt to emulate that leadership style in the hope of achieving a comparable level of success. Leaders with unconventional leadership styles, such as the late Apple founder Steve Jobs, attract considerable attention. Jobs’s leadership helped make Apple one of the more prosperous companies in the world. He remains an inspiration in spite of his reputation for being rough on employees (Isaacson, 2011). He achieved success despite the fact that his leadership style was different from those widely recommended in published leadership style approaches. People like Jobs challenge previous assumptions and conceptions of good leadership. While many others debate these issues, researchers continue to look for empirical and systematic ways to uncover an elusive link between leadership style and leadership success.

To prepare for this Assignment, select and interview a business executive about whom you can find information regarding his or her leadership activities and the organization with which he or she is affiliated. This may be someone you know or who owns a business local to you. Use the weekly readings as additional support for your ideas. Your interview should focus on the following two questions:

How would you describe your leadership style?

How would you describe your role as it relates to the health of your organization?

Submit a 3- to 4-page analysis of the individual’s leadership style and the impact of that style on his or her organization. Your analysis should include the following:

An evaluation of the leadership style of your selected leader, according to an existing leadership style theory

An assessment of the health of that leader’s organization, based upon information shared during the interview as well as any additional resources to support your assessment

A comparison of the relationship between your chosen leader’s leadership style and the health of his or her organization, as conveyed in the interview, to what is depicted in any local media, websites, or news information about the organization

A minimum of two specific citations per page from this week’s Learning Resources and/or additional scholarly sources; you may also include media examples of leadership behavior and other relevant organizational information to support your analysis.

Note: Be sure to use the APA Course Paper Template (6th ed.) to complete this Assignment. Also, refer to the Week 2 Assignment Rubric for specific grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will use this rubric to assess your work. Please Note: For each page of your paper, you must include a minimum of two APA-formatted scholarly citations.