Ingvar Kamprad: Manager of IKEA

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Table of Contents

Leadership and management
Fellowship nature encouraged at IKEA
Leadership Grid
Leadership of Ingvar Kamprad
Key leadership lessons in the case study
Leadership skills
References

Leadership and management

Ingvar Kamprad portrays the qualities of a manager in many ways. He puts his focus on the attention of the company effectiveness and efficiency in order to ensure that the company services are carried out in time. The role played by Ingvar as the manager of IKEA involves preparation of performance goals in conjunction with the staff members, evaluation of company programs, preparation of budgets, and developing action strategies of the company. Ingvar is involved in the company cash review which is also an important role. Kamprad Ingvar does different and numerous tasks that need focus and logic for the betterment of the company.

As a leader, Ingvar plans, raises ideas and then inspires his staff members to make up the great IKEA (Nelson & Quick, 2011). He developed entrepreneurial idea of initiating a mobile shop right from the humble beginning of the company. For instance he came up with the idea of starting a furniture shop after he witnessed a removal of table leg incident by one of his employees. While trying to solve this problem, he developed and designed new programs and strategies that brought more profit to the company. Ingvar practices the role of a leader by sharing his vision about IKEA through involving his family members and other employees.

Through Ingvar’s accomplishment, the company staff members are motivated and enthused because he is their role model. It is due to his success that the staff members cooperate and therefore they enhance the developments in the company. Ingvar is involved in building the community and also has created a significant environment which can be used by non-staff members to learn entrepreneurial skills.

Fellowship nature encouraged at IKEA

Ingvar is one of the entrepreneurs who use their instinct to create ideas that are beneficial to a company. This makes the followers more devoted and loyal to both the company and their seniors. Despite the methods used by the seniors to run the company, their subordinates follow its policies to the letter. This is portrayed in the case study where Kamprad comes up with a rule that all employees should use the same hotel rooms in order to reduce the expense cost. His followers have been encouraged that they should always find ways to expand the company.

Employees follow their employer orders when they are well motivated such that they even desire to be like their seniors (Inqlish, 2009). Ingvar ensures that his family members and other employees do their tasks thoroughly. He also encourages the spirit of conserving the resources. Kamprad spends most of his time in the company where he strengthens the employees’ skills, reduce company expenditures and find ways of making more profits.

This is done through communication which is the key factor to success and is used on the employees in order to achieve the goals made in the company. Through communication, the employees get a chance to voice their ideas and in the end they make wise decisions. Communication enables people to conduct businesses at any place. Ingvar at first uses his bike to transport his goods to meet potential customers.

Kamprad make his followers to understand that a successful company requires a lot of sacrifices right from the seniors to junior staffs. He does everything possible so that he can save money. His home is located in Switzerland where there are reduced taxes and he can easily run his company. He encourages his employees or rather the followers that, at all costs to avoid uncertain cost. For instance, he became the CEO in order to cope with the Dutch retirement laws. He encourages his follower to devote themselves in what they are doing as he loves his company just like he would love his children.

Leadership Grid

Ingvar Kamprad shows controlled leadership behavior and understands the ways to utilize his employees’ understanding for better performance. He behaves in a confidential manner with high esteem and without arrogance. According to Ingvar, good leadership is demonstrated by respectful leaders who do not have egoism characteristic. Good leaders are compassionate and passionate about the success of their companies. They behave in a manner that they mentor the staff members that results to a well-functioning team. This team is likely to solve most of its problems appropriately.

Just like Ingvar, leaders behave in an exemplary way in order to give delegations and authorize the team members (Helms, 2006). They should be keen in the selection of development staffs in order to have positive effects in the company. This is the major responsibility of effective leadership.

Leadership of Ingvar Kamprad

Leadership is normally made effective by leaders’ charisma. Ingvar demonstrates transformational characteristics in different ways in attempts to accomplish unusual effects against all the odds. Authentic leaders work to turn a failing company into a successful one through achieving all the success against odds. Kamprad has put emphasis on the importance of inspiring the staff members through dedication and practicing loyalty that would result into fascinating vision (Nelson & Quick, 2011).

Transactional leadership as has been shown by Ingvar emphasizes on the required tasks, and it utilizes the rewards that are liable to the performance. Transformational leadership on the other hand, concentrates on the development of mutual trust which fosters leadership abilities to other people. As it is demonstrated by Kamprad, this leadership theory is used to set objectives that include both short and long term requirements of the team in the company.

Transformational leadership in the case study brings out four major aspects that result to effective leadership. They include inspiration, charisma, consideration of others and logical stimulations of the team members. Ingvar is a leader who influences his employees and his family members because he exhibits such qualities. He further motivates them because he considers the long term interests of his company and the short term ones come later.

Key leadership lessons in the case study

Ingvar Kamprad has experienced so much trying to make his dream come true. Leaders have great lessons to learn from the case study. Leaders should control their ego and fear. In most cases, such leaders’ ego is sensitive of their confidence or pride. A successful leader should not fear to lose control since it normally inhibits them from serving their team members appropriately. Leadership is about being involved in all the activities of the company as it is quiet and humble.

Leaders should ensure transparent communication because it is one of the important factors for the company to progress (Nelson & Quick, 2011). Ingvar presents a clear form of communication right from the start when he used to communicate with his villagers as he sold his goods. However, communication should not be abused. Leaders should practice effective communication and should do it to the fellow team members whenever it is necessary.

A good leader is able to create and distribute company products (Johnson, 2007). Kamprad arose with the idea of starting a small business which he made it reach to his people. After expansion, his business can be found in many countries in the world. A simple message can make great differences to the company. Good leadership finds ways of spreading every message of the company such as use of mass communication to reach the customers.

Leaders should conduct their duties in moderate manner. Ingvar moderately talked with the village milk car so that he could distribute his products. Leaders should develop a sense of competition because as the leaders struggle to compete, they become stronger and powerful. This enables them to gain courage thus helping them to face any kind of frustrations in the business. Despite being a successful business man, Ingvar was able to overcome the challenges of alcoholism and the allegations. They gave him strength such that he was not deflected from his routine work in the company.

Leadership skills

Anyone can master leadership skills because they are not meant for particular people. As a leader, I would personally like to develop leadership skills such as being boundless and with persistent passion. I would like to organize strategies which can be used to evaluate the performance and all activities in the company. Leaders should develop ways that they should use to obtain and give information. This would ensure transparent communication in and out of the company. A good leader should develop ways in which he or she understands the requirement of the team members including personal needs.

A respective leader also acts as the counselor in the company. This means he/she should offers guidance to the staffs so that the company can make profits and minimize the expenditure (Ziegler, 2007). A leader should be sociable because it is through talking with the seniors that the juniors can express their feelings for the success of the company. This also helps leaders to identify their mistakes and they consequently correct them. A good leader should be a good learner. Such a leader is able to identify new business opportunities and from that he or she innovates a business opportunity.

Leaders should develop respective ways of controlling the team members. They should not mistreat other members just because they are senior persons in the company. A leader should at all times understanding the expressions of their juniors. They should also develop proper ways that they will use to patrol the company developmental programs. That is, the leader should have the best way of managing the company.

A leader should be the best task master. He or she should have a passion for his job because it would push him into doing the right thing. This leader has to believe in success for everything he or she does for the company. A perfect leader should be the best person in organization. A disorganized leader leads the company in a disorganized manner and these results to poor performance of the company, that is, the company is likely to make losses.

A respectful leader is brave and honest. Brave leaders are not scared by any situation be it in or out of the company. A shy leader would fear challenges especially the daily challenges in a company. Honesty should be practiced in all companies. A leader should present situations in their real and a balanced manner.

References

Helms, M. M. (2006). Leadership Theories and studies. eNotes.com. Web.

Inqlish, P. (2009). The Difference: Leader or Manager? How to Develop the Top Best Qualities of Leadership. HubPages. Web.

Johnson, R. (2007). The Difference Between a Leader and a Manager. 4Hoteliers. Web.

Nelson, D. L. & Quick, J.C. (2011). Organizational Behavior: Science, the Real World, and You. New York: Cengage Learning.

Ziegler, C. (2007). 10 Essential Business Leadership Skills. Instigator blog. Web.

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