Leadership Style of the American Red Cross Essay examples

Words: 1134
Pages: 5

The American Red Cross is one of the oldest and most successful charitable organizations in America today. Since its founding in 1881, the Red Cross has helped millions of people around the globe. Recently, the Red Cross has dedicated some of its vast resources with the guidance of a new CEO refocusing the leadership and mission of this respectable company. This company in recent past was floundering under a leadership and management style that had become bloated and unproductive. The board of directors had swelled to more than 50 members with no clear lines of communication between the board, the CEO, and management. This created a void as directives and tasks became poorly understood and remained unfinished. The goals of …show more content…
Possessing knowledge or expertise in a particular area creates a source of power within a group known as expert power. An organization like the Red Cross spans the globe, so a key goal to retain highly valued workers who specialize in problem-solving or international language and procedural skills had to be a priority. The organization relies on this asset both here and abroad. People who have expert power perform critical tasks and are always deemed indispensable. The opinions, ideas, and decisions of people with expert power held in high regard by other employees can sway greatly the actions of others. This organization also makes good use of the talents of other associations and other businesses to realize their goals. Knowing the strengths of the organization and knowing when to ask for outside help is another type of expert skill that the Red Cross depends on, especially overseas. Cultivating interpersonal relationships within a group is known as referent power. People possess referent power when others respect and like them. This source of power arises from charisma, respect, and trust others have for a particular member of the group or team. Referent power is also derived from personal connections that a person has with key people in the organization's hierarchy, such as the CEO. It is the perception of the personal relationships that generates power over others. Because the Red