5 c's of leadership indra nooyi

Running head: LEADERSHIP IN ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR 1

LEADERSHIP IN ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR 2

Leadership in Organizational Behavior

Victoria Cordero

Professor Guillory

Leadership In An Organization

Southern New Hampshire University

October 21, 2017

Leadership in Organizational Behavior

Problem Solving and Conflict Management

Introduction

Problem solving, and conflict management is a critical element of leadership in an organizational structure. Leaders in all capacities in an organization are faced with moments of dilemma where they must choose one direction over another and sometimes challenges among employees. These require not only a broadened approach but also a deep evaluation of the issues at hand that will ensure a long-term solution. The best conflict managers and problem solvers are normally considered the best leaders. This is because of their ability to have the patience to view the problem through a broadened vision. This kind of circular vision allows them to see beyond, beneath and around the problem and as such are able to rather view the problem as an opportunity. Indra Nooyi is one of such leaders (Fitzsimmons, Miska, Stahl, 2011).

Indra Nooyi

Indra Nooyi is the CEO of PepsiCo, the largest food and beverage company in North America. With an employee base of about 300,000, Indra Nooyi is one of the most valued and influential leaders in the corporate world. This respect stems from her unique leadership ability where she insists of 5C’s of leadership. These are competency, confidence, courage, communication skills and compass (Ng, 2011). As CEO of a billion-dollar company, Indra has once mentioned that some large companies PepsiCo included, are larger than small countries. This therefore calls or effective problem solving and conflict resolution skills and abilities that are not only timely but sufficient to ensure that the occurrence of such is minimalized as much as possible. Indra Nooyi is also a mother and as such she even has more conflict that comes from balancing her organizational duties and motherhood roles (Ng, 2011).

Analysis of Indra Nooyi’s (Pepsi Company) Problem Solving and Conflict Management Skills

Indra Nooyi employs four major skills of problem solving and conflict resolution. These skills are, transparent communication, breaking down silos, a moral campus and building of relationship. These skills combine conflict resolution strategies such as collaboration, compromise, competing, accommodating and avoiding conflicts (Toegel, Barsoux, 2012).

1) Transparent Communication:

Indra believes that one cannot over invest in effective communication. As a leader she maintains an open and transparent communication structure within her organization. she maintains that effective communication aids in problem solving since a leader can facilitate an open dialogue between individuals who trust her intentions and feel in a safe environment where they can share the reasons why the problem occurred and the best solutions out of it (Agrawal, 2012). Indra has a weekly blog where in addition to her 5 C’s style, she communicates with her staff on various issues within the organization (Agrawal, 2012).

2) Breaking Down Silos:

Indra believes in inductive thinking. This enables her to view the problem/conflict in micro terms while also zooming out and positioning it in the context of its broader environment and finding out its most effective and efficient solutions. With the aid of transparent communication, breaking down silos enables the creation of a boundary less organizational culture that contributes to effective cross-functional collaboration and problem solving.

3) Moral Campus:

Indra believes that every corporation owes the society care. Many livelihoods depend on the decisions the organizations make, and the burden grows even larger when the corporation is as big as PepsiCo. Indra therefore exercises very strong emotional intelligence bound by a moral campus to finding solutions to various problems as well as manage conflicts (Fitzsimmons, Miska, Stahl, 2011). This moral compass acts as a solid foundational strategy that ensures solutions to problems are not just substitutions but evolution processes that are long-lasting.

4) Building Relationships:

Indra Nooyi has a built a great relationship with her employees. Besides writing weekly blogs for them, she also writes letters to their parents thanking them for their children (Agrawal, 2012). She also maintains excellent company relation to the customers by being in tune with their needs for healthy drink and snack options. She believes that such great relationships help in effective problem solving and conflict management as they provide an environment of trust and communication. They also help establish adequate knowledge on each concerned party and this goes a long way in aiding the problem-solving process (Fitzsimmons, Miska, Stahl, 2011).

Problem Solving and Conflict Management Skills Applicable to Me

All the four-considered problem solving, and conflict resolution skills are important in equal measure. Even then, I regard transparent communication and a moral compass as very fundamental to any organization. This is because transparent communication ensures that trust is created, and environment of safety exist where employees can openly share their perspectives of different situations without fear of victimization. This encourages honesty within the organization and as such it will be easier to not only identify conflicts and problems but also easier to find their solutions. In addition, having a moral compass as an organization is very key to determining critical decisions the organization makes. These decisions are at the center of conflict resolutions and problem solving. When the road is clearly defined, it makes it easy to choose which conflict resolution technique and problem-solving skill is more appropriate over the other (Ng, 2011).

Transparent communication is a great instrument that I use in my daily engagements. From dealing with colleagues (seniors and juniors) both at school and at work, and even with family. During one time my parents were having a difficult time and even contemplated divorce. This affected me so much that my grades got bad and I couldn’t keep up the pace at work. Colleagues couldn’t take it kindly as this reduced the overall productivity of our chain. When I became open and explained my situation, their understanding was unmatched, and they soon gave me support that helped improve on my productivity both at work and school.

Conclusion

Conflict resolution and problem solving presents a key tool for growth and opportunity in any organization. As learnt from Indra Nooyi, to solve problems and conflicts in any organization fundamental techniques such as transparent communication, building relationships, breaking down silos and having a moral campus are a necessity. Besides, a leader should also embrace the 5C’s, competency, confidence, courage, communication skills and compass. Upon application of these, a leader can become an excellent conflict and problem solver and will position his/her organization on the path of great opportunity and growth. “We have to be hopeful. We need enthusiasm. We have to encourage ourselves to the point of self-confidence to succeed” (DuBrin, 2015).

Reference

Agrawal, V. (2012). Managing the diversified team: challenges and strategies for improving performance. Team Performance Management: An International Journal, 18(7/8), 384-400.

DuBrin, A. (2015). Leadership: Research findings, practice, and skills (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Fitzsimmons, S. R., Miska, C., & Stahl, G. K. (2011). Multicultural employees: Global business’ untapped resource.

Ng, L. C. (2011). Best management practices. Journal of Management Development, 30(1), 93-105.

Toegel, G., & Barsoux, J. L. (2012). How to become a better leader. MIT Sloan Management Review, 53(3), 51.