Situational Leadership
An entrepreneur is defined as “a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, esp. a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk. ” This definition best describes the work and characteristics of Jeanne Lewis, former President of Staples.com. After six years with Staple, Inc, Jeanne Lewis was promoted to the position of Senior Vice President of marketing. Her case study begins after she had been in her position within the marketing department for nine months. The company, Staples, had just recently come out of an antitrust lawsuit with the Federal Trade Commission regarding an attempted merger/acquisition of Office Depot, Inc. The image of Staples due to publicity had been damaged within the eye of the public and it was in the hands of Jeanne Lewis to revitalize the company’s image within the public. Her many ideas and innovative techniques have created great success within her professional career and has paved the way for the success of other companies who followed in her footsteps.
Situational leadership theories in organizational studies are “a type of leadership theory, leadership style, and leadership model that presumes that different leadership styles are better in different situations, and that leaders must be flexible enough to adapt their style to the situation they are in. ” In order to be an effective leader and to lead positive change, one must be able to adapt their leadership style to the current circumstances and situations. In the case of Jeanne Lewis and Staples, the situation that was present at the time of her takeover was grim in the company’s image. However, as time would progress the position of the company would evolve within the eyes of the pub ...