Effective leadership across every level of the organizational hierarchy is the cornerstone of any business’s successful operations. As such, all the managers in the company must share similar views concerning the mission and vision of the company. However, the different approaches to leadership are also desirable if they complement each other. In this regard, I would like to analyze what perspectives on leadership exist in The Home Depot – the company I work for as a sales consultant. To achieve that, I have chosen to investigate the opinions on the matter of the two company leaders. Firstly, I interviewed George – my store’s sales manager–concerning his leadership perspective. Additionally, I reviewed and analyzed some internet materials and public statements of Craig Menear – The Home Depot’s ex-CEO and chair of the board.
The analysis of the interview and other materials revealed that the two managers view leadership slightly differently. Craig Menear positions himself as a customer-oriented and innovative administrator (Parker, 2018). Therefore, it can be concluded that he hopes to be a leader who seeks to bring benefits to the local communities by introducing non-trivial solutions. On the other hand, George hopes to be a leader that is able to build a strong and cooperative team. In this respect, he mentions, “my workers are like my family.” Additionally, he also mentioned that it is important that subordinates fear and respect him. According to George, the latter is the key factor that motivates his workers to be organized and complete the tasks on time.
The managers’ perspectives on leadership also determine what they want to achieve as administrators. For instance, Menear claims that he wants to be a leader that is able to predict customer demands (Saporta, 2018). Moreover, he wishes to be able to offer solutions that would make people’s online and offline experiences seamless (Forbes, 2019). In contrast, George seeks to build trustful and understanding relationships with his subordinates and the team that would be effective without the need for constant supervision from the manager.
Finally, as seen from the discussion above, there are certain perspectives on leadership that are common for George and Craig Menear, as well as some aspects that are different. As for the commonalities, both managers seek to be leaders that are devoted to people and their well-being. However, while George is more oriented toward building a strong team, Craig Menear prioritizes the happiness of the customers above everything else. Additionally, the latter manager emphasizes the importance of innovation, whereas the former leader did not mention it.
Next, it is important to evaluate the level of alignment between the manager’s views on leadership and actual power-exercising behavior. In this regard, the previous research emphasizes the two popular methods of worker evaluation, namely the management by objective method and peer review as part of 360-degree feedback (Bruccoleri & Riccobono, 2018; Fleenor, 2019). As for the former, it can be concluded that Craig Menear’s perceptions of good leadership coincide with the actions. For instance, in 2020, under his leadership, the company increased its sales by 20% compared to previous years, significantly outperforming its main competitor – Lowe’s (Meghan, 2021; Monteros, 2022). Although not directly, this number signifies that Menear is successful in satisfying the customers’ needs. In a similar vein, the increase in sales by 25% and 22% in 2020 and 2021 accordingly may indirectly show George’s ability to build an effective team.
As for the latter method, I could only ask George’s subordinates concerning their manager’s performance. As such, to my question, ‘what are the strongest qualities of George as a leader?’ most of the respondents named ‘care for the workers,’ ‘desire to help,’ or ‘strict but fair.’ Therefore, it can be concluded that both managers’ perspectives are similar to the company’s central value, “taking care of our people” (The Home Depot, n.d.). However, there is still a contrast in regard to prioritizing between employees and customers. While Menear places greater emphasis on customer satisfaction, George prioritizes the happiness of his employees.
References
Bruccoleri, M., & Riccobono, F. (2018). Management by objective enhances innovation behavior: an exploratory study in global management consulting. Knowledge and Process Management, 25(3), 180-192.
Fleenor, J. W. (2019). Delivering 360-degree feedback. In L. A. Steelman & J. R. Williams (Eds.), Feedback at work (pp. 227-247). Springer, Cham.
Forbes. (2019). Forbes premium executive: #51 Craig Menear. Web.
The Home Depot. (n.d.). Our values. Web.
Monteros, M. (2022). Home Depot continues to grow more quickly than rival Lowe’s. Modern Retail. Web.
Meghan, M. (2021). The Home Depot builds in the pandemic (preprint). World Health Organization. Web.
Parker, G. (2018). 10 things you didn’t know about Home Depot CEO Craig Menear. Money Inc. Web.
Saporta, M. (2018).Atlanta Business Chronicle sits down with Home Depot CEO Craig Menear. SaportaReport. Web.