Two Entrepreneurial Titans; Mary Kay Ash and Anita Roddick

Two Entrepreneurial Titans

MGT522 -Women in Leadership

Strayer University

When linking both Marky Kay Ash and Anita Roddick as managers and as leaders, each were leaders who had a vision to serve, motivate and guide others. Respectively each were in my view highly driven to flourish in large part due to their personal needs and economic needs. Roddick was driven by financial security. Ash was more attentive in showing that women can be influential and thrive in general. As managers, Ash helped others succeed through reward and recognition. Ash also wanted other to thrive by providing them steps to success to her sales individuals, managers and even the over-all public. Roddick was focused more on the creation and created an environment of fairness. Both women were both a triumph, nonetheless Ash wanted to spread her achievement and authorization while Roddick was more attentive in the causes she reinforced.

As a manager in a leadership position, I believe that Ash is the better manager and leader due to the fact she wanted others to be successful. She implemented a reward and recognition program to acknowledge those who performed well. In helping other be successful by providing them with the steps to success, she now has a company that is a success. As a leader, your goal is to empower those that you are leading and provide them with guidance so they can get to the level of success that best suits them. Coaching and development are some of the most important qualities that managers and leaders should display to help team members become successful.

The greatest achievement for Ash is that she overturned the notion that women didn’t belong in the competitive world of sales. In the 1960’s it was infrequent for a business’s sales force to be made up entirely of men; Mary Kay was the first business with a sales strength made up completely of females and the economic achievement opened the door for a peer group of women to move into well-paid positions in sales in all types of businesses. Ash also proved that women can lead a company and have high sales. Ash also provided jobs to women in 35 markets on 5 continents with a sales revenue of $2.6 billion. She provided many career paths for women and showed women how to bring others into the company to achieve high commissions.

Roddick’s achievements were her ability to build a business philosophy based on primarily on human relationships. She created a business which freed social and human rights with animal welfare and eco-friendly shield. Roddick was able to balance her ethical and profitable business strategy with the needs of her staff and customer base while keeping in mind the natural environment in which she lived. Roddick also achievement was with the support of community trade and protecting our planet which she defined as her core values.

In my opinion, I believe Ash’s greatest accomplishments were proving women can lead a company and achieve high sales. I also feel that by Ash providing women with career paths to developing themselves, it built trust in her team and in her consumers, that her company was dedicated to the development of women. Roddick’s achievements in my opinion were the ability to balance her ethical beliefs while having a profitable business strategy. As a leader, the importance of profits and ethics are important in the success of a company.

In analyzing the quote from Mary Kay Ash, three ways it is relevant to a successful business is that she has a good strategy, corporate culture, and her company can handle constant change. Having a good strategy is how a sound business strategy tied to her company’s core competency. Strategy is interpreted into what gets done in the company. Corporate culture is how employees in the company collaborate, brainstorm and share knowledge while ensuring the company achieves its goals. Being able to handle constant change means that the company is able to adjust when the market changes.

The importance of Anita Roddick quote “If you think you are too small to have an impact, try going to be with a mosquito” is what makes you distinctive. Your purpose is your brand, what you are driven to achieve and what makes you tick. Your impact or purpose is how you do your job and why, it’s also what everyone close to you recognizes as uniquely you. Your leadership purpose springs from your identity as a leader and the essence of who you are to the company. In this quote from Roddick, she is describing that even though you make a small impact in the company, your impact as a leader is one that will help develop others in their careers. As a manager, Roddick’s quote helps managers realize the small impact they have will have a large impact on the company and how employees are part of the success of the company as a whole.

Mary Kay Ash’s leadership style is transformational in which she uses to change and transform people. Ash provided life-altering opportunities to women, in which many women in her company admired her leadership style. As a manager, I would consider myself as a transformation leader. I help to guide my team in the corporate work and change the mindset and attitude so they will be geared towards change and success. As a transformational leader, Ash was able to set clear goals, encourage other, and inspires people to reach their goals. As a manager, I ensure that I communicate clear goals to the team and I coach and develop my team members. Transformational leaders are people who nevertheless possess the skill to create big shifts in their onlookers rational, which leads to big shifts in their routine, which allows them to achieve unexpected results. Ash and Roddick have developed these set skills and their companies display the qualities of a successful business.

References

Reeves, M. E. (2010). Women in business: Theory, case studies, and legal challenges. New York, NY: Routledge.

Valerio, A. (2010). Developing women leaders: A guide for men and women in organizations. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.