In the world of popular automobile manufacturing brands, Ford Motor is definitely considered as one of the best. Since 1903, this company has revolutionized the automobile industry and presented the world with some amazing vehicles. His Model T car had changed the scenario of automobiles at that time in America and later on worldwide. Henry Ford is the founder of Ford motors and his innovative nature, and leadership skills had made him sell millions of vehicles before he died. He was the one who invented the assembly line technique for mass production. The strong personality and thinking power still make Henry ford as one of the world-famous business leaders.
Leadership Qualities of Henry Ford
Leadership types and qualities identify which ways a leader followed to lead his fellow members. Here’re some leadership qualities of Henry Ford.
He Always Wanted More
Henry Ford was kind of a person who was never satisfied with what he had. He was always looking for more. And this thirst for more was actually the main reason behind his success. He wanted to invent and explore everything whenever he achieved something, the very next moment, he was found to be engaged in another project.
A Viewer of the Large Picture
Henry was a man full of vision. He always thought about the future and how to get more benefit. When Henry decided to increase the salary of his worker, his investors didn’t agree with him. But he did that so that best engineers and mechanics get attracted to work with them. Also, more salary means more purchasing power and workers started to buy the companies vehicle; thus, the profit of Ford Motor’s increased.
He valued human capital: Although Ford was involved in the machine and machinery invention, he never underestimated the importance of human capital. Back then, employees and workers were not considered as an essential part of a company. But Ford valued his workforce and tried to do everything possible no matter how many times he had to go against investors and other members.
He Believed in Equality
Herd Ford never did any discrimination. At that time in America, racism and bigotry were acute. But even in the middle of that chaos, Ford created an example by maintaining equality in the workplace. There he appointed African Americans, Women, disabled individual etc. In his companies, there were people of almost 62 nationalities, and nearly 900 physically disabled workers worked there.
Leadership Style of Henry Ford
Henry had a strong and bold personality. He liked to do what he wanted to do, sometimes even without discussing with others. His behaviours as a leader reflect The Autocratic Leadership Style. He was very demanding from his employees. He also used to monitor their activities outside the workplace. Ford had his opinion on every decision for the company, and most of the time, he was in the controlling power. But that doesn’t mean he was unfair. Henry Ford is the man who is still known for making revolution by setting up new standards in the workplace. And his way of leading is the main reason behind the legacy of Ford Motors.
Leadership Traits of Henry Ford
Leadership traits are an attribute that is most of the time build-up on a person by born, and sometimes people practices to develop the features because this is what represents a leadership personality. Here’re some leadership traits of Henry Ford.
Self-Believer
Ford had a very strong self-believe. He knew his capabilities and believed that he can do way better than he is now. For him, self-believe is infectious. If one person of a group believes in himself and does everything based on that, other in the groups gets infected with the vibe and works together to make impossible into possible. That was the motto of Ford.
Assessor
Henry was the ultimate assessor of his work and business. But his assessment was not only bound to monetary gain. He used to assess market growth, future possibilities, issues etc. against the money his company was making. His every move was based on his assessment results. He once said that if your business is making nothing but only cash than it’s a weak business.
High-Expectation
We’ve already got the idea of how much ambitious Henry Ford was. And that’s why he had high expectations as well. Ford always busy in doing something beyond people’s imaginations, and he chose his employees who were capable of matching his expectations. But he also knew a person couldn’t be at his best all the time. He gave them time and space his employees needed but pushed them to meet his expectations at the same time.
Persistent
No man has ever succeeded without failure. But after all those failures, what made them successful is persistency. Ford was persistent to the core. He had to work with his father which he despised, but still, he continued to gather experience. He had to face shutdowns of his companies. But he never gave up and the rest we all know.
Other leadership traits of Henry ford are:
- Curious
- Confident
- Visionary
- Criticizer
- Virtuous
- Efficient
- Motivator
- Challenge-taker
- Observer
- Strategist
Leadership Skills of Henry Ford
Skills are what helps a leader to carry out his duties effectively and efficiently. Here’re some of the leadership skills of Henry Ford.
Emotional Intelligence
Although at that time, emotional intelligence wasn’t known or acknowledged among people, Henry had it in himself. He used this skill of him to influence others. He knew getting more money for investors means more partnership opportunities. He knew providing customers based on their financial ability means more sale. All these things, he did so tactically because of his emotional intelligence.
Team-Builder
Henry was an effective team builder. He knew how to create a balance and consistency among the fellow members. He made sure everyone feels included and work towards one goal and at the same time, help each other. He never focused on individual praise or work or judged anyone based on the past.
Self-Management
As a leader, Henry utilized his productivity at best. He never let others do a thing which he can do by himself. For that reason, Henry never appointed any accountant to audit and keep the record of transaction of the company. He managed everything by himself.
Bottom Line
Among all these analyses of Henry Ford, if you want to describe him in short, then it can be said that he was a man of powerful imagination and bold personality. He knew what he is going to do, and no matter what he made that work. But it doesn’t mean he did things randomly. He assessed and observed and showed the world what he’s capable of doing.
References
https://www.inc.com/linkedin/vivek-wadhwa/democracy-great-thing-except-workplace-vivek-wadhwa.html
https://www.inc.com/30years/articles/henry-ford.html
https://www.forbes.com/sites/luisromero/2017/08/01/5-powerful-entrepreneurship-lessons-from-henry-ford/#50d89513fa46
https://www.biography.com/business-figure/henry-ford
“Fahmina has been actively contributing here with her writing skills. Fahmina has always had a way with her words, and now she is focused on channelling that knack for writing towards a more professional line of work. She is currently an undergrad, majoring in Marketing from the University of Dhaka. Her interests include writing engaging and insightful pieces related to Business Strategy Formulation, Business Analysis, Strategy Ideation, Market Analysis as well as Market Research.”