Report on Leadership Styles of Anthem INC United

• Fundamentals of Leadership, Including Traits and Leadership Styles of Anthem INC United States

According to Lewis, (2004), “Leadership is, above all else, an influence process. A leader is able to get people want to do things he or she wants to be done” (p. 25) in any organization and the leader play a main part in either making or breaking the business. A good leadership not only helps to makes effective goals, decisions and strategies but it also inspires the employees to get motivated to work. In case of Anthem INC. it attracts experienced and talented managers to leads the decision making of corporate, fulfill goals and drive innovation in health care transformation with caring and trusted solutions. The Board of Directors of the Anthem INC is controlled by Chair Elizabeth E. Tallett. The joint experience and talents of the Board supports in guiding the company to work as a valued health partner of the America. Anthem INC is leading to help in improving their system of health care, making the health care more convenient for the consumers to use and improve, and access the people’s health(Lewis, 2004).

It is stated in Lussier & Achua, (2012), “Leadership has been conceptualized as a function of personality traits.” (p. 33) a good leader is always the one who inspires his employees and makes them motivates to work effectives towards the goals of the organization. The democratic leaders are more effective in the longer run. Some of the major traits of the effective leaders are Emotional Stability, Enthusiasm, Social Boldness, Dominance, Conscientiousness, Tough-Mindedness, Compulsiveness, and Self-Assurance. The leaders in the Anthem INC believe in the rational and relationship leadership.  In the Anthem INC, the leaders very well know about the strengths and talent of their people that make them more effective and increasing the performance and overall quality(Lussier & Achua, 2012).

According to Lewis, (2004),“ Leaders pay close attention to people’s talents, leaning on their strengths and managing around their weaknesses.” (P. 130) The innovations and effective goals of the leaders help the company in handle their business effectively and provide the best services to the customers in healthcare market. The Anthem Inc use the Situational Leadership model to build relationship between followers and leaders and helps as a basis to examine each situation depending on the readiness level of the performance that a follower displays in doing a particular task, objective or function. The Situational Leadership model also helps the company to elevate the performance level of employees.

Communication and Leadership of Anthem INC United States

According to the Newtown Square, (2017), in the organization the communication is effective when the managers and leaders are accessible to the employees most of time. In the Anthem Inc, the communication between the employees and managers is very effective, and all of the managers in the upper level make sure that the employees not have any problems and in case any of the problem exist they listen to the employees and try to solve their problem whether it is related to their work or comfort in the organization. In the organization as far as the effective communication is concert it is very important for the managers to listen to the employees. Most of the problems in the organizations happen when the executives are not aware of the issues of their employees.

It is stated in Lussier & Achua, (2012), “Communication is a process of conveying information and meaning. True communication takes place only when all parties understand the message (information) from the same perspective (meaning).”(p.192) In the Anthem Inc, the communication among the employees and manager is effective because the executives listen to the employees and it is possible by using the digital portal for the feedback and complaints for the employees. It allows the employees to convey all of their problems and issues to the upper management. In any organization, the feedback is very important because it not only makes the managers aware of the issues of the employees but also let them know about the organizational performance the future expectations. For the Anthem Inc, the feedback is a good tool for solving the problem of employees, so that their job satisfaction can be increased that eventually results in improved productivity and quality of services. Accepting criticism means opening take all criticism and appreciate it. In the organization, accepting the criticism is very important if, someone wants to grow and stay positive. In Anthem Inc, the criticism is balanced by doing positive reinforcement.

Organizational Culture and Climate of Anthem INC United States

It is stated in Lussier & Achua, (2012), “Organizational culture, and more specifically perceptions of fairness, trust, and respect for people, plays a key role in protecting the cycle and strengthening the relationship.” (p.249) Organizational culture is the fundamental assumptions, values, beliefs, and ways of interrelating that contribute to the exclusive psychological and social organizational environment. In the Anthem Inc, the communication patterns are very effective, where the managers listen to the problems of the managers and try to solve them. The good organizational culture of the Anthem Inc helps the employees to improve their performance and be more satisfied with their job. The values and norms of the organization are the priorities and ideologies of the company that drives the behaviors and actions of the employees and managers. The core values of Anthem Inc are community, agility, leadership, integrity and diversity and these are managed by the executives by setting the standards and directing the behavior and ideologies of their employees(Lussier & Achua, 2012)

According to the Lussier & Achua, (2012), “A work climate of trust, respect, and openness may provide a setting for positive LMX relationships to develop. A fifth situational factor would be one’s social identity.” (p.248). the leadership climate is said to be the emotional climate or tone set formed by leaders in the workplace. An effective leadership climate can help the organization improve the performance and wellbeing of the employees. The leadership climate also help the Anthem Inc. to have a better organizational culture and keep the employees inspired and motivated to work. The Anthem Inc, always believe in a good leadership climate to direct the behavior and actions of the employees to encourage quality performance that eventually results in more productivity and quality services. It is important for Anthem to understand the fact that when leadership is ready to develop a good organizational culture, which helps employees to feel comfortable, then things can turn into favor of the organization. The better organizational culture will develop a better organizational climate, which means that most of employees will feel comfortable, happy, motivated and satisfied from their organization, and will show utmost loyalty and commitment to work hard.

Problem Management and Decision Making of Anthem INC United States

It is stated in Lussier & Achua, (2012), “The leader holds a group meeting and acts as a facilitator to define the problem and the limits within which a decision must be made.” (p.128) In the organization the management of problems is concern with the resolving of issues and dealing with the risk and on the other side making decision in the organization is essential for the accomplishment of goals and service quality.  In the Anthem Inc, the managers make sure that their employees not have any problems in the organization by make a good communication and listening to the issues of the employees. On the other side, the executives of the organization also make sure that their decision aligns with the goals of the organization, so the success of the company can be ensured(Businessjargons.com;, 2018).

According to Lussier & Achua, (2012),“ The leader includes employee input into decision making.” (p.125) In the participative decision making model the employer let the employees participate in the decision making that always result is more practical and realistic decisions. The participative decision making model reduce the chances of failure of any decision. The Anthem Inc, always take the opinion from their employees while making any decision that helps them to increase the reliability of their decisions. For the organizations, the incremental decision making model is very effective when it comes to solve any organizational problem. In case of incremental decision making model, the process of decision making is spilt into small tasks.

The Anthem Inc. can use the incremental decision making model, to effectively manage their tasks in the process of decision making. The major role of the leader is to inspire and motivates employees, solving problems, making decision, setting goals etc. The leadership of the Anthem Inc is very effective because they always been very concern not just about their customers but also employees that help them to maintain the quality. According to Tushman & Anderson (2004), the congruence model is important for leaders and managers to apply, when they are looking to solve various kinds of problems (p. 203). If they handle problems with this model, then they can develop better understanding of every problem, and develop new ways to deal with problems. Such insights are important for leaders and managers of Anthem to find relevant solutions for each problem.

Ethics and Professional Codes of Conduct of Anthem INC United States

According to McDowell, (2006), “Values and ethics should be reinforced in all gfoirmal meetings, and leaders should work consistentlky  to foster an emotional commitment with their e,ployees because increased commitment can enhance the indentification with the company’s culture.” (P.7)The ethical are the code of conduct in the organization that contains various guidelines, principle and rules of working in a particular organization. For the Anthem Inc. it is important to structure a stronger company and to bring quality service. Anthem Inc. is dedicated to promote a culture based on accountability and trust though helping the business in achieving its objectives and strategic goals.

Some of the principles of ethics are confidentiality and truthfulness, autonomy, beneficence, informed consent, justice and no malfeasance. The leadership of the Anthem Inc., is democratic that also allow the managers to have a good relationship with the employees and eventually implement principles of confidentiality, truthfulness, autonomy, beneficence and justice.

According to McDowell, (2006), “If ethics are not part of the DNA of the ledareship team (and therefore the entire company), the market will respond usually negatively.” (p.7) financial stability is a financial system property that disperses financial inequities that rise endogenously in economic markets or results in the significant unforeseeable and adverse events. The Anthem Inc use the strategies like control impulse spending, make savings auto magical, evaluate expenses, Invest in future, Keep your family secure, live frugally, avoid debt and eliminate etc to maintain the financial stability.

The accountability is the condition of being responsible and accountable. The Anthem Inc. uses the employees monitoring system to ensure the accountability. The sustainability means making the services and problem of the company good for the environment and society. Being the health insurance company Anthem is very much concern with their social responsibility and also ensure that their products are environment friendly. It is important for Anthem to understand that sustainability in business has become an important business strategy as companies who do show responsible attitude towards sustainability and help communities to remain sustainable, they are enjoying more success. On the other hand, accountability is crucial to keep things in right direction. Anthem has developed polices and rules to define accountability at every step of business so that people working in the organization know their actual responsibilities, and work well to fulfill those responsibilities, otherwise they will be held accountable for any failure or issue faced by the organization.

Managing Conflict of Anthem INC United States

According to Lussier & Achua, (2012),”If you cannot get along with your manager and are in conflict, avoid going to his or her manager to resolve the conflict.” (P.164) some of the strategies to handle the conflicts are such as focus on events and behavior, not on personalities, recognize points of disagreement and agreement, develop a strategy to work on every conflict, talk with person, listen carefully and rank the conflicting areas. The Anthem Inc, the conflicts are managed by listening to the problem to the employees and make them listen to each other. The problems solving is the process of resolving the issues in the organization. In the Anthem Inc. the problems are resolved by recognizing the root of any problems and they make some effective action to eliminate it.

In the conflicts management the compromising is a middle way for both of the parties involves in a conflict. In the Anthem Inc, compromising solve the problem in when conflicting parties are agreed on a decision. The accommodating problem is the opposite of the competition, when a person tries to sacrifices something for the sake of peace. In the Anthem Inc, the employees and staff have compassion towards each other and they are accommodating on problems. These are certainly positive signs for a company as when employees are ready to cooperate with each other, and they are all determined to find solutions for any problem, then conflicts may not arise, and if they do, then they can be managed effectively.

According to a survey report issues by CIPD (2008), the role of leadership is crucial in managing conflicts. The findings of the reports explained that role of managers is very critical while managing conflicts at a workplace. If they interact well and intercept in such situations, the conflicts can be managed more efficiently (p 2). It means that managers cannot ignore situations, when conflict is arising or it has actually happened. They have to react well and within time, otherwise it can be too late. The survey revealed the fact that mangers have to focus on causes of conflicts as well, because when they will find the root cause of the conflict, they can handle it more effectively. The process can be difficult to resolve conflicts and accommodate problems for Anthem, but if they take the lead from survey findings, and apply these guidelines in their processes, then they may face less number of conflicts, and if they do happen, then they can manage them accordingly.

Strategic Planning of Anthem INC United States

According to Lewis, (2004), “The proper way to reduce variability of behavior is to have a clear vision and mission.” The mission, vision and values of the organization are part of its philosophy. Anthem mission, vision and values are as follow(Jensen, 2013): Mission: Improving Lives and Communities. Simplifying Healthcare. Expecting More. Vision: To be the most innovative, valuable and inclusive partner. Values are Community, Agility, Leadership, Integrity, and Diversity. The ideology of the company is so strong that help it to be more successful. The SWOT analysis helps to have a micro analysis and insides of any organization. The Anthem Inc, uses SWOT analysis to evaluate its worth and shortcomings in the market.

According to Lewis, (2004), “Marketing developed specifications and threw them over the wall to engineering, which then developed the product and threw drawings over the wall to manufacturing, who then threw the product over the wall to the customer”. (p.131) The SWOT analysis helped the Anthem Inc to know about its opportunities to invest in right place. The organizational objectives and goals help is accomplishing the vision and mission of the organization. It was really important for Anthem to understand every core aspects mentioned in its SWOT analysis, because it elaborates elements relevant to both internal and external factors of success for a company. When a company analyze SWOT analysis and look to elaborate it by looking at its overall strategic goals, then they can work to mitigate their weaknesses and explore new opportunities to find better solutions for their problem. The other good thing about SWOT analysis is that Anthem knows about its strengths, which allows them to work more on these strength areas. The threats are always there for a company, and they have to take a proactive approach to deal with these threats. Otherwise, threats can turn into dangerous factors affecting different parts of an organization.

In the Anthem Inc,  for example the goal of the company is to provide the best healthcare services in the market and they are actually making their goals successful their the effective management of people and resources. The mid-level leaders are the one, who act as a roadway between executives and employees. The of midlevel leadership play a main role in the execution of the Strategic Planning. The Anthem Inc. uses the midlevel leadership to manage the performances of the employees to effective executes the strategic planning. It is important for the company to define its strategic goals and look for better outcomes by following those strategic goals and objectives with its true sense. If strategy and goals are not aligned well, then it is hard for the company to achieve its real purpose of existence which it stated in its mission and vision statements. The role of leadership at every level is crucial for Anthem to align its strategy with its strategic direction. In this regard, the midlevel leadership’s role will always remain a crucial one, because they are the ones, who take the strategic guidelines from upper tier leadership, and then convey this strategic direction to their subordinates and interpret each goal so that employees can work accordingly.

Power and Politics of Anthem INC United States

According to Lewis, (2004), “So they pass all sorts of rules and regulations about what people cannot do. These are called company policy, and policy manuals are often several inches thick or even several volumes in size.” (p. 91) The Company uses the Legitimate Sources by assigning the responsibilities to the people on different positions. There are five sources of power that are Legitimate Power, Coercive Power, Reward Power, Expert Power, Referent power. The company uses the rewards power to motivate the employees who are capable and talented to do exceptional work. The company to handle a complex job hires an expert whom capacity of work is more than other employees.

The Consequences of Power is believed that the person who has power can change the consequences. The company handles it by making the people accountable for their responsibilities. The organizational policies are the principles and values that are the guidelines for the company and should be followed by the employees. It means that when companies do have proper policy to handle power and its relevant elements, then things can go in right direction by managing power. It is important to mention here that handling power is very essential for any company. The consequences of power can have different effects on different people, who are actually recipients of those powers. So, it is important for Anthem to handle power with all its consequences.

According to Pfeffer (2004), the organizations are political entities like governments. So, when there is need to understand the politics of organizations, it is important to understand the politics of governments with all its aspects (p. 252). It is important for Anthem to understand the fact that things are not easy to be managed, if power is having politics in different ways. The power in an organization needs to be free of any negative politics and biasness; otherwise power can become a tool, which creates problems in an organization, rather working for its betterment. The organization of power is indispensable for the company to properly organize every aspects of an organization.

Conclusion on Anthem INC United States

Summing up the discussion it can be said that many of the tactics and strategies that Anthem INC is using to make their business exceptional from other healthcare organizations.  Anthem INC is leading to help in improving their system of health care, making the health care more convenient for the consumers to use and improve, and access the people’s health. In the Anthem INC the leaders very well know about the strengths and talent of their people that make them more effective and increasing the performance and overall quality. In case any of the problems exist they listen to the employees and try to solve their problem whether it is related to their work or comfort in the organization. It allows the employees to convey all of their problems and issues to the upper management. The job satisfaction can be increased that eventually result in improved productivity and quality of services.

The good organizational culture of the Anthem Inc helps the employees to improve their performance and be more satisfied with their job. The leadership climate also help the Anthem Inc. to have a better organizational culture and keep the employees inspired and motivated to work. On the other side, the executives of the organization also make sure that their decision aligns with the goals of the organization, so the success of the company can be ensured. The Anthem Inc. can use the incremental decision making model, to effectively manage their tasks in the process of decision making. The leadership of the Anthem Inc is very effective because they always been very concern not just about their customers but also employees that help them to maintain the quality. The leadership of the Anthem Inc., is democratic that also allow the managers to have a good relationship with the employees and eventually implement principles of confidentiality, truthfulness, autonomy, beneficence and justice. In the Anthem Inc, compromising solve the problem in when conflicting parties are agreed on a decision

References of Anthem INC United

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 Businessjargons.com;. (2018, November 14). Participative Decision Making. Retrieved from https://businessjargons.com/participative-decision-making.htm

  CIPD. (2008). Leadership and the management of conflict at work. CIPD.

 Jarrett, M. (2017, April 24). The 4 Types of Organizational Politics. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2017/04/the-4-types-of-organizational-politics

 Jensen, D. D. (2013, September 12). EXECUTING THE STRATEGIC PLAN: A MID-LEVEL LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITY. Retrieved from https://trainingmag.com/content/executing-strategic-plan-mid-level-leadership-responsibility/

 Lewis. (2004). Project Leadership. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education,.

Lussier, R. N., & Achua, C. F. (2012). Leadership: Theory, Application, & Skill Development. Cengage Learning.

 McDowell, T. (2006). Deloitte's three ways to instill ethical guidelines. Strategic HR Review , 6-18.

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 Pfeffer, J. (2004). Undersanding Power in Organizations. In Managing Strategic Innovation and Change (pp. 252-266). Oxford University Press.

 Tushman, M., & Anderson, P. (2004). Managing Strategic Innovation and Change: A Collection of Readings (illustrated Edition ed.). Oxford University Press.