Joan Salmon set to take over the leadership of the company her father, Garret Salmon,
established 40 years ago. Her father has effectively been grooming her for this responsibility for
several years and she will be charged with steering the company towards new opportunities for
growth while also imposing her leadership style to effectively remain on course in her
leadership. A leadership plan is therefore essential towards this end, and it will enable the Joan
Salmon gain the support of the employees of the company who will have a clear idea of what is
expected of them by Joan towards the achievement of the objectives set forth.
In developing the leadership plan, a systematic array of elements is to be used to clearly
point out the system under application. It mainly focuses on the effective roles of Joan Salmon as
the new leader in the company and the role of Garret Salmon as the founder of the company and
his influence once he relinquishes his leadership responsibility to his daughter.
1. Leadership role
While the management of the company by Garret Salmon over the forty years has remained
the same, albeit relatively, the company has been earning a considerable level of revenues which
have been stagnant over the last two years. This is an indication that the company needs a new
direction to grow its revenues and no one is better suited to achieve this than Joan Salmon.
Having studied at UMUC in Business Management, Joan Salmon has a wide array of knowledge
on new business trends on matters pertaining to marketing, product development, consumer
insight, use of technology, among many other features which would greatly enhance the position
of the company.
Of particular importance are the yet to be exploited opportunities at hand, that is the proposed
venture between Invitations Inc. and the Singapore firm. Such a partnership would enable the
firm gain new markets for their products hence achieving growth in sales. But this will entail that
the company restructures how it does its business from solely focusing on selling the
merchandise to card stores or stationers to directly selling to customers through online platforms.
The advent of the information age has effectively enhanced the capacity of firms in directly
engaging with millions of potential customers through online platforms. This has greatly
increased the scope of the market which any firm can access and provides an opportunity for
growth unmatched in any other era.
Therefore, Joan’s key responsibilities as the leader of the company will be to steer the
company towards mainly exploiting this opportunity while also engaging the employees of the
company towards the new development, S Schaltegger (2012). She should effectively engage the
company in the restructuring process of shifting the firm’s main sales base from card stores and
stationers to online selling which will enable the firm effectively cooperate with the Singapore
firm and many other potential engagements towards achieving a global market for its products.
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Garret Salmon should assume the responsibility of adviser to Joan. He understands the values
and the culture of the company which has enabled the firm remain operational for 40 years and
his influence in the company and other stakeholders in the business will remain essential in the
running of the business.
2. Leader as Individual
It cannot be over emphasized that the apple does not fall far from the tree in the sense that the
success Garret Salmon achieved with the business is to be enhanced by the leadership of the
company by his daughter, Joan Salmon. Joan Salmon will have to invoke a new leadership style
that is relevant to the direction the business intends to follow. The adoption and use of
technology to enhance the sales of the company will require a different organizational structure
that requires that decisions are made while considering the input of the employees of the
company. An online platform is poised to significantly increase the number of sales for the
company. Its development will have to point out the most important aspects of the products
which endear to the customers, and no one is better placed to help in the determination of this
than the company employees.
Joan Salmon will have to put in place a sought of parallel organization structure where all
members of the organization, especially the employees most concerned with product
development, marketing, among others, to share information on new aspects they deem fit
towards the realization of the goals of the company. To delve into an online platform, Joan
Salmon will have to employ the following:
Motivate the company’s staff to achieve the set goals.
Encourage the employees to share their views.
Empower the employees by enabling them get greater autonomy in the organization
in various aspects such as decision making.
Ensure that all relevant information is widely shared with all the stakeholders of the
company.
Deal with issues that may hamper team work.
Encourage staff to be more engaged in the decision making process.
Assist and encourage the employees and other stakeholders of the company to
develop people networks. This can be done through social media.
Encourage innovation in the company.
3. Social architect
Social architecture is the development and design of an environment that defines the attitudes
and culture of an organization, Goh Keng Swee (1999). Leadership entails social architecture
because directing efforts of all stakeholders of an organization to achieve a desired end requires a
Leadership plan 4
predetermined set of values and attitudes by all so that there can be coherence in achievement of
the set objectives. Joan Salmon should set the pace in leading the company towards new frontiers
of growth by instilling in the employees a new mindset so that they can focus on the achievement
of the goals of the company. This requires that the company’s code of conduct is reviewed while
also ensuring that every member of the organization is fully aware of his role in the company so
that they are able to focus on their responsibilities and effectively achieve the goals of the
organization.
4. Change agent
In this case the principle change agent to Invitations Inc. shall be Joan Salmon. Her role up
until her imminent taking over of the leadership of the company was not clearly defined. She was
just the boss’ daughter. She is young and should therefore instill an element of technological
edge for the company through the development of an online platform over which the company
can sell its products to its customers hence achieving greater growth in revenues. She should
focus on product improvement, organizational effectiveness, customer service, employee
satisfaction, among many other essential elements that will enhance the position of the company.
AS a change agent, Joan Salmon will have to enhance the following competencies, J Battilana
(2012):
She should have broad knowledge in many disciplines as well as operational and
relational knowledge.
She should exhibit sensitivity to others while also portraying a high level of maturity.
She should be authentic. This means that she should act and behave in accordance
with the values she seeks to promote.
5. Relationship builder
All successful business are built on relationships, J Yao (2011). Relationships within and outside
of an organization determine the level of success of a business. To this end, Joan Salmon will
have to develop a healthy relationship with the employees of the company, who are very
skeptical of her role as leader of the company ever since her divorce. She should consider
adopting the following principles to enhance her relationship with the employees and other
stakeholders:
She should treat every relationship like it matters.
She should be persistent.
She should build relationships with as many different types of people as she can.
She should never miss an opportunity to widen her circles.
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6. Application of the concept of the moral compass
A moral compass refers to an invoke sense of morality. It is a system that provides for what is
right and wrong and enables an individual make decisions based on what is right or wrong. A
moral compass can be envisaged in a company such as Invitations Inc. through a code of
conduct. A code of conduct governs that relations between an organization’s employees among
themselves and with other stakeholders of the organization. Consumers are more likely to relate
more with companies that have a good moral track record in terms of its leadership and is
therefore essential for any organization.
Leadership plan 6
References