Starbucks is a worldwide famous brand for its premium quality coffee and snacks services. Starbucks doesn’t only sell coffee. It sells experiences also. But it wasn’t very successful at the beginning until the ultimate leader of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, took the company’s responsibility when it had only six stores in 1987. But now Starbucks is a global brand with more than 25,000 stores over 75 countries. Schultz wasn’t like other leaders; his leadership qualities and styles were different and most underrated. But even with those qualities, he became the reason for the success of Starbucks.
Leadership Qualities – Style, Skills, and Traits of Howard Schultz
The Starbucks’ leader has a great number of leadership traits and skills. The study the powerful lessons we can learn from Howard Schultz.
Leadership Qualities of Howard Schultz
Putting the right people in the right place: Schultz was always focused on hiring the right people. He believed that choosing the right people who can adopt the company culture and know-how to do a specific job is the most crucial step toward success. He makes sure that each employee gets chosen based on the skills and intuition the company actually needs.
Thinking the welfare of the employees: Howard Schultz wasn’t just focused on hiring the right employee; he ensured the employees got motivated and inspired all the time. Each of the workers from the higher to the lower hierarchy admitted that Howard took good care of them and made them believe in themselves. He made sure his employees get health-insurance and an option to own stocks, even to the part-time workers. Also, he always maintained a good relationship with each of the workers.
Focusing on Outcomes: Howard always made decisions based on what will happen in the future, not on what the situation is at present. He had an impressive analyzing power and long-term vision. He knew what he’s doing. Such as, there was a time when Starbucks wasn’t doing well. He temporarily closed all the outlets to train his employees to get a good result in the future.
Standing By Values: Howard Schultz is a man of strong values, and he always maintained that. He knew every people deserves to respect no matter where they work. Also, a leader needs to be honest and dedicate toward his work unless his fellow members won’t be interested in doing the same thing.
Admit & Learn from Mistakes: A true leader is the one who never hesitates to admit his mistakes publicly and tries to heal the damages. Howard Schultz is the perfect example of that. Starbucks had to face many difficulties due to some wrong decisions. But Howard always took responsibility for his action. In 2007, Starbucks was struggling due to some issues, and Howard made it clear in front of the public that he accepts the blame and now focusing on how to change the situation they were facing then.
Leadership Style of Howard Schultz
If you ask about which leadership style Howard Schultz followed, the answer is the Transformational Leadership style. Transformational Leaders are those who change their way of doing work, depending on the changes in the environment so that the company gets benefited in every situation. Before Schultz, Starbucks was only a coffee selling business to people. But he came and positioned the company that sells experiences as well. He never hesitated to change the core strategies of Starbucks to win the competition. Although this kind of leadership commonly isn’t practiced by others, but Howard definitely nailed it.
Leadership Traits of Howard Schultz
Traits of a leader define a person’s characteristics, which reflects the worthiness of a true and successful leader. Here are some of the attributes of Howard Schultz.
Flexibility: Howard believed that no matter what value or company codes you set, you’ve to show flexibility to keep pace with the changing scenario. He learned from the customer’s changing needs. He didn’t want to lose a single customer from Starbucks’s outlet. For example, initially, Starbucks used to sell coffees made with only whole milk. But the growing number of health-conscious people has made Howard add non-fat milk to the menu as well.
Passion: Howard was passionate about his duties as a leader. He believed that passion could bring self-motivation toward something, and without it, you can never be focused on your work. And he tried his best to bring this passion into his employees as well. So that the employees think of Starbucks as their own and relentlessly work for it. And there’s no doubt that he was absolutely correct.
Boldness: A leader has to make a decision and grab opportunities no matter how much the risk is. And Howard always believed that success won’t come if you continuously focus on playing safe. For example, in 1996, United Airlines wanted to have a contract with Starbucks to serve coffee on the flight. But the airline had a bad reputation, and no stakeholders of Starbucks wanted to make the contract. But it was an opportunity to serve twenty-million people a year. Howard made a bold move here, and he later showed how right he was.
Others traits of Howard Schultz are:
- Intelligence
- Self-confidence
- Determination
- Integrity
- Sociability
- Contingent reward
- Perseverance
Leadership Skills of Howard Schultz
A leader has some skill which makes him/her different and superior to the fellow members. Here’re some leadership skills of Howard Schultz.
Team Work: Howard always made every member of the organization included in the strategies and decision making. He loved to think everyone as a part of one united team. Howard believed it’s the people who are behind the success of an organization. And together we can turn impossible to possible,
Good Communication: As a leader, Howard was a good listener. He always managed some time from his schedule to listen to his customers and employees. He also made sure all the people within the organization get a clear message about any changes, new goals, or any directions. He did both formal and casual meetings with fellow workers.
Intellectual Stimulation: Howard had an excellent imagination capability. And as a practitioner of Transformational leadership, he always believed in intellectual stimulation. He was never afraid to go opposite the flow. When he proposed to launch the concept of “third place positioning” no one had much hope from the idea, as the corporate culture at that time was different. But his bold imagination had made everyone to admire his thinking power.
Bottom Line
Howard Schultz changed the way people do business in the coffee industry. And still now, no other similar companies have been able to overcome the success and strategies of Starbucks. Howard is known as the pioneer of the second wave of the coffee revolution. Though he’s not actively connected with Starbucks anymore, there’s more to see from this charismatic leader on different platforms.
Related:
- PESTLE Analysis of Starbucks
- Marketing Mix of Starbucks
- Competitive Advantages of Starbucks
- Differentiated Marketing Strategy – Definition, Explanation, Advantages, and Examples
References:
- https://sites.psu.edu/leaderfoundationsdobbs/2016/02/12/howard-schultz-blending-leadership-approaches-at-starbucks/
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/vickyvalet/2019/01/24/howard-schultz-teaches-you-how-to-be-a-leader-in-a-crisis/#751e52343da7
- https://leadersbehindthebrand.wordpress.com/howard-schultz/
- https://tbf-sa.co.za/leadership-qualites-of-howard-schultz/
- http://www.leadershipgeeks.com/howard-schultz-leadership-style/
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