Running head: LEADERSHIP STYLE OF A HISTORICAL FIGURE 1

Leadership Style of a Historical Figure

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Leadership Style of a Historical Figure

Chapter I. Introduction

The historical leader getting assessed in this case is Jeffrey Skilling, one of the most resilient leaders of his time, yet a scandal destroyed his entire career. It is possible to study the leaders’ behaviors for the current world since the techniques he applied are effective for business continuity, management of employees, and dealing with diverse work operational factors. Jeffrey Skilling had a vast expanse in terms of leadership expertise since he was able to push Enron Corp to the top as a company that had shares worth $90.75 (Segal, 2021). The leadership technique applied by the leader is highly motivated by behaviors he observed among other persons. At the same time, he worked at McKinsey & Co. as a consultant since he could surpass the public’s expectations. Known as a highly experienced consultant, Jeffrey Skilling was able to adopt diverse and influential operations unfamiliar with what the country had ever had. Assessment of Skilling as a historical leader is valid since he became a highly respected businessperson during his term. However, there was a rise in toxic leadership in his professional time, resulting in the current global relevance and inclusivity of the styles of leaders (Zakia Benzoubeier, 2019). This paper shall assess Mr. Skilling’s leadership style that had catapulted him to be admired beyond the existent expectation, yet his downfall occurred at a higher rate than comprehendible.

Chapter II. Literature Review

According to historical records, Skilling adopted various qualities that allowed him to grow regardless of the slow intellectual factors displayed in the United States at the time. Mr. Skilling had perseverance, change, resilience, effective communication, and responsibility. The first quality that the leader possessed while he transformed the environment of his time was perseverance. Mr. Skilling did not have much formal education in his childhood, but this did not deter him from starting his own printing business. He was resilient in anything that he firmly believed in, which ensured he professed to have diverse career paths. Mr. Skilling applied the perseverance quality even more since his ideas received positive outcomes from the public (Kılıç & Günsel, 2019). Thus, Enron Finance Corp was integrated to validate the market management process, especially since it was the dot com era. The second quality that the leader applied was a change for the existent environment, yet the following actions by Skilling and Kenneth Lay were contrary to the positive foundation they had developed.

Enron had progressed as an energy company since the trading and supply industry for energy had constantly grown in terms of benefits to the business environment. Skilling and Lay managed to influence the public using their quality of change since it was possible to provide the public with policies and tasks that were suitable to their needs. The third quality is resilience which the leader applies when taking risks (Curwen, 2022). This ensured the leader could propose changes and back them up using strong support and belief. The leader’s fourth quality was effective communication, which is applicable in his highly skilled writing. This was evident in the numerous public conferences that the leader engaged in to ensure the public would understand his convictions and the need to implement change. The fifth quality is a responsibility, yet this was not evident as the leader included did not include the public in the company’s financial issues.

Analysis reveals that during Skilling’s time, most industries had a low regulatory level of management. That was a limiting factor since it resulted in low proficiency skills in professional jobs. Regardless of this, Skilling was to learn by himself and later gained lots of clients in terms of the new internet stocks. Skilling discovered that being employed in the formal business sector would boost the economy and facilitate effective delivery of the growth expected in different employment sectors. The existence of issues is possible since it becomes difficult to provide the public with practical learning skills. The limited number of individuals with formal training limited the capability of the country to grow, but there was another suitable improvement in skills (Kılıç & Günsel, 2019). Improvement of skillful operations was one of Skilling’s core behaviors that validated the improvement of his leadership skills.

Crisis communication should have gotten done more frequently and precisely. For this reason, an organization should designate a team to deal with crises. This team would be familiar with persons affiliated with the organization at all times. In the event of an emergency, the public would apply mediated communication techniques to receive information from any location. Crises can get averted if a company decides to use modules from this information age in their daily activities. Critical company information should get stored in a database available to all departments. However, in the case of Enron, there was a limitation of not finding out how to use the advanced mark-to-market structure (Segal, 2021). In this way, future crises would have gotten noticed early. The severity of a problem is vital to determine the s relevant action plan. A proactive would ensure crises do not mitigate all operations. However, this tactic should not get confused with a lack of empathy. Failure always leads to the innovation of various recovery tactics that any organization can apply.

According to, Skilling was a virtuous leader who was always involved in offering proper external factors’ assessment based on the existence of knowledge on how social events occur in society and to determine the expanse of better work engagement. It is evident that the integration of a vast expanse in dealing with societal factors is an imperative method of generating beneficial outcomes for society. Observation of different events in society is possible in terms of dealing with the critical approach for better social improvement and finding areas that need improvement. Skilling was able to display inventions using the mark-to-market accounting method, but the business environment was not ready for such a structure. He attempted to generate accurate business development as a method for increasing resilience for diverse outcomes in the societal component.

Skilling integrated diverse professional expertise and was able to propel himself into the professional field, but the speed at which Enron grew caused him to overlook critical work operational issues. Mr. Skilling’s vast influence resulted in an unethical method of generating change after the public viewed Enron’s business report and trusted in its success, yet this was not the case for three years before the company’s downfall. Skilling’s qualities can be assessed by other individuals who aim to be relevant in the current advanced world to avoid inevitable mistakes (Zakia Benzoubeier, 2019). Influence of leadership skills is possible using the qualities discussed as they all integrate known methods of generating improvement of the society. It is possible for leadership impact to get discovered in different areas once the concept of taking control, applied by Skilling, gets integrated into daily operations.

Chapter III. Analysis

Skilling’s business management process integrated the accounting method that used the value of business security to assess a current market value instead of an accurate book value. An imperative guideline that Skilling overlooked is to act as an excellent corporate, yet this was not the case. As the company’s spokesperson, he should have been honest about the company’s book value and collaborated with all of Enron’s departments since the crisis affected the company. It was challenging to establish a multi-department engagement, yet it is very critical since employee information would get analyzed to ascertain the victims’ tasks’ location. In Enron’s case, it could have come in handy when employees were missing, and the spokesperson was under pressure to conform to the appropriate communication rule. Skilling’s ideas were not consistent with a leader who adopts proper organizational management, thus preventing opportunities to address issues that limit adverse effects on the economy. Skilling was cunning to be developing new projects and announced success, yet the actual asset had not attained the reported profit.

These concepts discussed are not as required since they were expected to support business improvement and display Jeffrey’s proper output as a strong leader. Skilling analyzed the environment at his time and was able to discover issues whereby it is not easy to connect with all persons in society. It was clear that some persons can lack knowledge of issues affecting various professional areas members. It can also be challenging to connect the issues of various adults with the capabilities that the country would have in terms of ideas, capabilities, and advanced operations. The leadership style displayed by Skilling is involved in providing a benchmark for managing business personnel and political operations (Zakia Benzoubeier, 2019). Since Skilling possessed much research in social development, Enron was able to display non-factual profits and somehow got away with it while gaining new clients. Adoption of Skilling’s technique is appropriate for displaying a suitable increase in proper public development.

Skilling’s vast integration in the business field is an indication that a leader’s involvement is mandatory since it provides an effective method of dealing with organizational issues. The influence that Skilling displayed as he has issues whereby it is not easy to adhere to community guidelines. This limits development as the center may not be suitable for all expected participants. The center would be constructed in the local environment, and as such, it is imperative to engage with persons familiar with the geographical location’s procedures. The behaviors of Skilling as a diplomat progressed more as he got involved in America’s foreign affairs to facilitate peace and readiness for war.

Without proper integration of external assessment, the American community had issues maintaining collaboration among members of the existent environment. It is mandatory to promote effective management and adherence to the organization’s expectations. All stakeholders must be connected to enable all professional tasks to perform in the expected capacities. Comparison of the business environment while Enron was operational and now is possible based on observation of issues that can get discovered as new relationships get formed to facilitate required growth. There can be issues whereby the workforce may lack knowledge of improving adult education. There are many persons in the community who lack an effective method of applying their skills in the diverse economic environment. Handling such issues using a diplomatic method like the one adopted by Skilling is effective in increasing accurate improvement for all persons in society.

The lack of financial education in various professional fields is a detrimental factor that causes limited opportunities for businesses. It is difficult for the formal employment sector to employ all adults since the lack of professional training reduces suitability. There can be issues whereby different persons in the community find it hard to connect with intellectually developed persons who do not have high levels of literacy. The less advanced persons would not get motivated to get an education since they emulate the adults whom they consider to be living well regardless of lack of formal training. This trend can get avoided, as in the case of Skilling, who used his free time to engage inappropriate financial techniques. Working with a plan has an effective connection to the inception stage since it is possible to determine all stakeholders and their capabilities. The area where professionalism would get developed can get determined and would enable connection with the different intellectuals for collaboration.

The concept of diversity in different professional areas is critical since it promotes collaboration among individuals regardless of any underlying factors. In the case of Skilling, he found it hard to establish a diplomatic work process, and this gets connected to social improvement using the subjects of comprehension of individual behaviors, leadership, and communication. Communication using a diplomatic perspective is required for all professional persons since it ensures the connection between all employees and the achievement of set objectives (Lemus, 2014). Individual behaviors are the basis of diversity since they are usually sourced from varying educational, cultural, economic, and personal backgrounds. There were weaknesses in Enron’s handling of the financial downfall aftermath. Management should have taken full responsibility for the company’s issues since reports indicated that the CEOs were already aware of the company’s inaccurate projections. The scandal affected the company’s reputation even after it started getting assessed by SEC (Segal, 2021). The organization did not adequately conduct the plant’s safety checks, a clear violation of the chemical industry’s regulatory rules.

Comparison to Skilling is evident since he did not find it possible to move beyond the lack of in-depth accounting practices. The use of unique purpose entities was the technique adopted by Enron to hide the accounting in the effort to remain operational. Lack of an effective organizational structure that seeks talent and a workforce that limits productivity for the company’s entire operational environment. Skilling operated lacked the proper skill as a decision-maker whose impact was discovered in more areas related to finding the proper method of facilitating better peace management procedures (Pham, 2018). The concept of leadership could have been considered since it promotes workplace inclusion as leaders are able to influence employees to participate in specific initiatives. However, the work area at Enron involved is limited. Diversity involves inclusion since it promotes unbiased views of different societal members’ capabilities.

Before various leaders decide to integrate public comments, there can be an overestimating of the needs and market base requirements for profitability among different persons. Research is imperative to facilitate growth among different persons for their full benefit. The news of Skilling representing Enron could have attained positive outcomes, yet the lack of proper communication created a limited outcome. Communication to the public is vital, but the company’s news should have been delivered only by the CEOs, yet they were involved in inaccurate accounting methods. The police did an accurate job of investigating the company, and giving out information to the public was the method adopted. The court case involving Skilling resulted in him getting jailed for insider trading, conspiracy, and fraud (Ventura, 2019). All these are indicators that leaders who do not understand the vast expanse of influence need to get regulated for proper business development.

Chapter IV. Summary

The application of Skilling’s leadership method is appropriate for employment, political, and social environment since it offers a proper structure for change in all areas adopting the technique. Diverse environments require the careful assessment of all persons to determine whether it would be possible to achieve objectives set up by main stakeholders. Transformational leadership is applicable here and is connected to business development since the style inspires all affected persons to perform beyond expectations (Pham, 2018). In the case of Skilling, he got influenced by activities in the business environment to develop more financial profits, yet the techniques he adopted were unethical. Adoption of an accurate accounting method can get used and assessed to ensure the persons involved share a shared vision. It was possible for Skilling to go beyond the country and develop a resilient method of validating professionalism in terms of dealing with advanced and relatively new operational methods.

During such processes, the diverse social environment can put aside factors limiting their effectiveness so that it is possible for them to perform required tasks. Diversity is connected to the analysis of Skilling’s behavioral factors. The fact that he hid Enron’s accurate accounting illustrates that the lack of diverse employees results in a limited judgment of the entire business environment. Improper communication is dangerous since it reduces the process of engaging well with the business environment (Lemus, 2014). To practice better work engagement, management can ensure the selected CEO is available during all recovery operations. Community engagement is further upheld when management visits victims in their homes and participates in any team activities to promote a positive perception of the public’s mentality when dealing with a new case of fraud.

Using a strategic approach for research is imperative for any involved parties to be provided with development. In the case of Skilling, his capability to leverage the needs of the professional environment was integral in offering better business acceptability for Enron, even though there were accounting mishaps. The strategy was effective since it provided a larger market for the company to pick from and generated better work engagement factors. A proper lesson is learned from the case of Skilling since the years he was provided to serve in jail are a crucial indication that a lack of accurate communication with the public is dangerous (Ventura, 2019). Integration of a structured method for dealing with current environmental factors is imperative since this shall facilitate the accuracy of all management components. Skilling’s leadership method allowed him to be connected to the public affairs of the American colonies in terms of generating accurate social environment management.

Strategic handling of the business sector was not accurate for Skilling as he accepted, and thus such a more organized structure can get adopted in the current business environment development process (Connell, 2017). There are appropriate outcomes of validating educational processes for every citizen’s civic duty to generate high standards of dealing with professional improvement needs. The process of developing public policies and crisis communication requires a vast assessment of the social scene to determine a chance of getting engaged with management areas known to social handling requirements. Ensuring the balance of all environmental aspects in a country creates processes that validate the balancing of public work requirements. It is crucial to ensure proper handling of all political, economic, and social components since there shall be a reliable method to ensure the macroeconomic sector gets provided with a reliable method of increasing profitability. Skilling’s vast expertise in all the components mentioned establishes his outlook as a resilient leader.

Chapter V. Conclusion

In conclusion, the life of Skilling as a leader integrates a lot of beneficial outcomes for a person that wants to live a life that is ethical and provided with business development. The life of Skilling displays essential strategies that diverse persons can use to take advantage of external factors in terms of generating development. While improving different professional areas’ competency, the professional sector can operate as a unit for proper leadership outcomes. Working with professionals who integrate extensive research, innovation or invention, better work operability, and diplomacy are all concepts that offer better social management. There can be the promotion of better operational outcomes since the entire work environment shall involve more businesses, professionalism, political improvement, and diplomacy all as one bundle. The development of beneficial work outcomes is possible based on the existence of Skilling’s leadership style as a benchmark for success. As one of the significant CEO in the United States, Jeffrey Skilling’s outcome as a convicted criminal can get used to learning about proper business development. Providing different persons with professional improvement factors and an increase in beneficial outcomes known by the entire world is the proper direction.

References

Connell, M. (2017). The Fall of Enron and the Creation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. (2017). HON499 projects. 19. http://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/honors_projects/19

Curwen, L. (2022). The collapse of Enron and the dark side of the business. Retrieved 5 June 2022 from https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58026162.

Kılıç, M., & Günsel, A. (2019). The Dark Side of the Leadership: The Effects of Toxic Leaders on Employees. European Journal of Social Sciences, 2(2), 51-56. Retrieved from http://journals.euser.org/index.php/ejss/article/view/4252

Lemus, E. (2014). The Financial Collapse of the Enron Corporation and Its Impact in the United States Capital Market. Global Journal of Management and Business Research: D Accounting and Auditing, 14, (4). https://globaljournals.org/GJMBR_Volume14/3-The-Financial-Collapse-of-the-Enron.pdf

Pham, L. T. M. (2018). Qualitative Approach to Research A Review Of Advantages and Disadvantages Of Three Paradigms: Positivism, Interpretivism, And Critical Inquiry. The University of Adelaide. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lan_Pham33/publication/324486854_A_Review_of_key_paradigms_positivism_interpretivism_and_critical_inquiry/links/5acffa880f7e9b18965cd52f/A-Review-of-key-paradigms-positivism-interpretivism-and-critical-inquiry.pdf

Segal, T. (2021). Enron Scandal: The Fall of a Wall Street Darling. Retrieved 5 June 2022 from https://www.investopedia.com/updates/enron-scandal-summary/

Ventura, M. J. (2019). Prosecutor v. Al-Bashir. American Journal of International Law, 111(4), 1007-1013. Retrieved from https://www.icc-cpi.int/darfur/albashir

Zakia Benzoubeier, (2019). How Toxic Leadership Brought Down The Enron Empire. Retrieved from https://sites.psu.edu/psy816mastroianni/2019/11/24/how-toxic-leadership-brought-down-the-enron-empire/

Zaman, U., Florez-Perez, L., Anjam, M., Khwaja, M. G., & Ul-Huda, N. (2022). At the end of the world, turn left: examining toxic leadership, team silence and success in mega construction projects. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management.