06/02/2021 MBA Assignment - Leadership Dynamics

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Leadership Dynamics
MBA Assignment

Master of Business Administration Assignment 5:

Leadership

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By Stephen Ashworth, September 2016

 

Executive summary
This report reviews an organisation experiencing rapid growth with its leader struggling to lead
the team that was not coping with business expansion. The crisis was not identi ed early
enough and the situation deteriorated without a plan to address the problematic expansion.
Engaging a leadership consultant, even 18 months earlier, would have allowed the leader to
develop skills to keep pace with the growth and expansion of the organisation.

Upon re ection, different decisions would have been made and the outcome much different.
The Leader’s leadership skills de ciency would have been identi ed and plan developed, this
would have extended to key people within the group and the structure of the team would have
been addressed with a positive outcome.

Introduction

Peter Cox is the founder and director of Leadership Dynamics Pty Ltd, a leadership consultancy
business for CEOs company directors corporations businesses and sporting organisations
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06/02/2021 MBA Assignment - Leadership Dynamics
business for CEOs, company directors, corporations, businesses and sporting organisations.
Peter’s aim is to empower people to reach their leadership potential through a structured
program, offering one-on-one coaching, leadership development and facilitation for executive
teams as well as leadership seminars. The audiences that Peter Cox has presented to have
been as large as 45,000 and his clients have included high pro le sporting gures such as
Michael Maguire, South Sydney Rabbitohs coach. The launch of Leadership Dynamics Pty Ltd in
2002, coincided with the publication of his rst book “The Dream Is Everything”, which sold
12,000 copies on its release. Peter Cox grew up in one of the toughest areas of Western Sydney.
After leaving school, Peter completed his Bachelor of Business majoring in
Marketing/Economics at the NSWIT graduating in 1984. In 1988 Peter Cox and his wife Debbie
started their own sales & marketing business and over the last 26 years have used key
leadership principles to continually expand their business. In 2013 Peter was engaged by Buel
to lead the business through a crisis period. The Chief Operating O cer was unable to in uence
his direct reports, to keep up with the rapid expansion the company was experiencing. In
hindsight the business owner had misjudged the COO’s leadership ability. His leader behaviour
was closer in alignment to transactional as opposed too transformational, discussed in (Hargis,
2011, p. 54), this in turn put the COO in opposition to the business owner and the business
owner’s leadership skills under the microscope. Peter Cox was engaged by the business owner
to develop leadership potential and clarity and achieve the business’ vision.

The purpose of this assignment is to analyse Leadership coaching, in the context of Peter Cox’
and Leadership Dynamics methods, within the framework of the theories studied in the
Leadership learning material and to determine the effectiveness of these methods in the
workplace situation presented. In the rst part of the main body of the assignment Peter Cox’
key leadership attributes are evaluated within the context of principles chosen from the learning
material, following on with the introduction of a workplace situation experienced rst-hand,
including events leading up to Peter’s involvement as leader and how his strategy in uenced the
situation during and after this period. This involved an assessment of the skills of the Senior
management team (including the owner), identify any de ciencies, understand whether it was
possible to address the skill de ciencies before changing out the personnel. If addressing the
skills de ciencies was possible in the time frame, facilitate the development of leadership skills
with in the Management team.

As with any experience which relates to your chosen eld, It’s useful to re ect on the challenges
experienced, understand the outcome of decisions made while relating to the event. Where
relevant, apply the lessons learnt as identi ed in the action-observation-re ection (A-O-R) model
(Hughes, 2015, p. 45). The spiral of experience depicted in gure 2.1 (Hughes, 2015, p. 46)
acknowledges all three phases of leadership development required for successful leadership
development.

Evaluation 
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06/02/2021 MBA Assignment - Leadership Dynamics

Peter Cox calls himself a ‘leadership consultant’, in practice he leads leaders. Once engaged,
Peter builds a relationship with his client over a series of formal one-on-one meetings. Over a
period of three months, meeting once a month, a level of trust is established and his leadership
guidance process begins to unfold.

Peter’s leadership style aligns closely with three of the leadership attributes identi ed in the
learning material (Hughes, 2015, p. 222). His initial 3-month consulting period correlates with
the attributes: self-awareness; self-regulation and motivation. Table 6.4 (Hughes, 2015, p. 222)
compares Ability and Mixed Models of Emotional Intelligence in further detail.

During the 3-month period the rst leadership attribute that Peter’s clients explore is self-
discovery. The acknowledgement of self-awareness enables the client to identify the areas
requiring change, then identi es ways to affect change. Peter refers to self-awareness as “the
biggest gift you can get” (Cox, 2016). Before you can undertake any transformation and begin to
learn, you need self-awareness. As a result of self-awareness, the second leadership attribute of
self-regulation becomes possible, allowing the third attribute of motivation to drive the client to
modify behaviours. (Hughes, 2015, p. 241) These changes in behaviour begin with interpersonal
skills, enabling the client to focus on communication and building relationships with others.
Figure 7.1 (Hughes, 2015, pp. 243, 244) identi es leadership behaviours, inclusive of skills and
competencies and illustrates, overtime leaders can learn which behaviours are more effective
and appropriate dependent on the situation. This relates to Peter’s earlier statement about the
value of self-awareness.

The Path-Goal theory in Table 13.2 (Hughes, 2015, p. 547,) discusses the four leader behaviours.
Peter describes his personal leader behaviour as directive. Peter nds this style effective as it
allows him to maintain an arm’s length relationship with his client, a successful aspect of his
approach in leading as it maintains a respectful space between the leader and the leadership
consultant. When asked about the background development of his leadership style, Peter
re ects to an earlier time in his career and the in uence of his original leader/coach Jim
Dornan. Jim described Peter’s style at that time to be stimulating and agitating. Peter’s style has
enabled him to help leaders lead better with great results. Such is the case of Michael Maguire,
(Maguire, 2015) Head coach of the South Sydney Rabbitohs Rugby League Club. The club
engaged Peter to develop the leadership skills within the club and team. Within 12 months the
Rabbitohs won their rst grand nal in 43 years. The Path-Goal theory considers variables
including leader behaviour. The same theory suggests that leaders can in fact increase effective
performance of the followers by applying different leader behaviours. This in affect is what
occurred at South Sydney, with the Rabbitohs.

In the text book the authors introduce the idea of ‘ ve bases of power: Expert, Referent, 
Legitimate Reward and Coercive (Hughes 2015 p 123) Within this framework Peter
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Legitimate, Reward and Coercive. (Hughes, 2015, p. 123). Within this framework, Peter
considers himself as Expert and Legitimate. He states: “The number one characteristic of a
leader is in uence.” (Cox, 2016). The learning material relates power to in uence stating that
power is the key to in uence. This being the case it is then important to consider which base of
power is best used to in uence followers in order to get the desired result. Peter continues: “To
lead you need great in uence.  You cannot lead if no one is following you.” (Cox, 2016). He
believes that being challenged by another leader nurtures the development of your leadership
potential and clarity in your thinking about what you must do to lead and not follow. 

Peter’s response to the core proposition ‘Leadership is a process, not a position’ is total
agreement. Peter believes to be a great leader (Cox, 2016) “you have to live and breathe
leadership” and to understand that it is a continuous process of learning.

Peter’s response to the text books de nition of leadership ‘the process of in uencing an
organised group toward accomplishing its goals’ is: “the number one characteristic of a leader
is in uence, if you cannot in uence your team you cannot be an effective leader.” (Cox, 2016)

A leader’s values are an important part of determining a leader’s behaviour. In his article
Yukl (Yukl, 2012, p. 77) covers this effectively by concluding that values such as honesty,
compassion, fairness, courage and humility will be a more effective leader. Peter’s values are
the foundation for his life. Peter demonstrates his commitment by having them tattooed on his
arm. He refers to his values in the acronym of FLITU which stands for: Family, Loyalty, Integrity,
Trust and Unity. If values are important then commitment to upholding the values is critical.
Peter adds: “Leadership is a responsibility; people look up to you.” (Cox, 2016). Peter’s traits are
second only to his values in importance and are closely aligned to his values. During the
interview he listed them as, Loyalty, Integrity, Trust, Empowerment, Love, Respect and Vision.

Peter believes that Leadership is inherent and believes that leaders are born, not made, he also
believes that certain skills can be learnt.

Learning from experience: This is an important skill not just for Leadership but for life. Peter’s
view is “Leadership is about learning from lessons” (Cox, 2016)

Communication: Peter: “more than a skill, an imperative tool to have as a leader to be able

communicate your vision and to in uence.” (Cox, 2016). And a skill that can be easily developed
and improved on.

Listening: Peter believes the success of his one on one process is due to the importance of the
leader listening and being listened to. He agrees its di cult to learn while you are talking.

Assertiveness: this is what Peter refers to as posture and presence and leading at arms length
(maintaining a professional relationship) as it is di cult to Lead effectively when you are too
close to your team.

Stress management: The Organization Development Journal (Darling, 2011, p. 16) discusses
twelve stress reducing guidelines ‘that can help the leader effectivley reduce or even eliminate
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06/02/2021 MBA Assignment - Leadership Dynamics
twelve stress reducing guidelines, that can help the leader effectivley reduce or even eliminate
stress.’ The topic highlights the fact that successful Leaders can manage stress effectively.
Peter acknowledges this and believes that activities that address stress management need to
be part of your routine and this starts with balance in life outside of work. Peters regimen is
xed and non-negotiable and includes: 4-5 gym sessions per week; 2 games of golf; and daily
walking the dog. Every successful leader has a personal routine – without it they can’t achieve
the results they do.

Although the learning material discusses coaching in the context of the leader coaching the
team, the aim of this assignment is to discuss the situation in which the leader is coached.
Topic 1 (Understanding leadership and ways to develop leadership, Part 2: Leader development
through experience and education, page 5,) refers to ‘the practice of leadership as a continual
learning process’. In the text book (Hughes, 2015, p. 44) Morgan McCall, in his summary
describes in the last of his seven general points ‘Learning to be a better leader is a lifelong
pursuit with many twists and turns.’ This is where Peter provides ongoing support for leaders
through leadership consultancy.

 
 
How would you lead differently?
As previously described Peter builds his leadership process over a 3-month period which had
the company not been in a critical situation would have worked satisfactorily. But the company
needed to fast track this process. We commenced the process without enough time to see it
through. I also believe that Peter did not have enough information about the business to assess
the actual state of play in the business, e.g. its nancial position and team structure, in order to
see the full picture and the urgency of the situation.

In order for the process to be effective I would lead differently by condensing of the 3-month
period into 1-month and increasing the frequency of meetings. I would focus more on the
leadership of the organisation by focusing on the leaders within the organisation. I would take
time to understand the issues associated with leaders and leadership behaviours and the
effects they have on the rest of the organisation. I would furnish Peter with the appropriate
information to enable Peter to have a clear understanding of the situation. I would initiate a plan
for growth and development for the leaders, allowing them to develop and initiate a similar plan
for the growth and development for the key people in the executive team

In summary a fast tracked consultancy and a detailed business report could have motivated
leadership decisions that would have left the business in a healthier position.
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Conclusion
The business owner was rst introduced to Peter in 2013 through a friend and colleague. Peter
came highly recommended and challenged the business owner’s thoughts and views from the
very start. It was the business owners rst experience with a leadership coach. The process
was straight forward and gave the business owner an opportunity to step back from the
business and look at his own skills. After the rst session the business owner decided to extend
the leadership coaching to the key members of the team. The process identi ed areas of
improvement not just for himself but for the member of the team who coached. The business
owner was the only person, besides Peter who was privy to this information. It would have been
unsettling as it no doubt con rmed some of the concerns the business owner had.

Recommendations
The assignment topic is both interesting and informative. It challenges myths and identi es
principles that are an imperative part of any leader’s journey. All that said, the topic and text
book appear to assume leaders are, in most cases well equipped to carry out the duties. It
doesn’t take into account leaders that may nd themselves in positions of power and in uence
and need to develop quickly. In reality, for many organisations, business leaders nd themselves
experiencing leadership at this senior level for the rst time and undergo ‘a baptism of re’. In
these situations, it takes an extraordinary amount of focus, tolerance and patience to navigate
through.

Successful leaders don’t lead alone, they draw from their own experience, experience within the
team and empower people around them to lead, and some of them do this with the help of a
Leadership coach.

References
Cox, P., 2016. [Interview] (9th September 2016).

Darling, J. &. H., 2011. ‘The key for effective stress management: importance of responsive
leadership in organizational development’. Organization Development Journal, vol. 29(no. 1), p.
pp. 9–26. File.


Hargis, M. W. J. &. P. C., 2011. ‘Developing leaders: examining the role of transactional and
transformational leadership across contexts business’ Organisation Development Journal vol
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06/02/2021 MBA Assignment - Leadership Dynamics
transformational leadership across contexts business . Organisation Development Journal,, vol.
29 (no. 3), p. pp. 51–66. File.

Hughes, R. G. R. &. C., 2015. Leadership: enhancing the lessons of experience. 8th ed. New York:
McGraw-Hill Education.

Maguire, M., 2015. Testimonial about Peter Cox at Leadership dynamics, Sydney: Peter Cox
Leadership Dynamics.

Tost, L. F. G. &. L., RP 2013. ‘When power makes others speechless: the negative impact of
leader power on team performance’. Academy of Management Journal, vol. 56(no. 5), p. pp.
1465–1486.

Yukl, G., 2012. ‘Effective leadership behavior: what we know and what questions need more
attention?’. Academy of Management Perspectives, , vol. 26, (no. 4,), p. pp. 66–85. File. 

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