LEADERSHIP STYLE OF LATE MR.

DHIRUBHAI AMBANI
 Leader and Leadership
• Leader and Leadership have been part of our history and we have seen many
examples and heard many stories about such leaders. Jesus Christ is the perfect
example of a great leader in The BIBLE. When we were in school we read about
Charismatic leaders like Alexander the Great; Augustus-the first Roman emperor;
Charlemagne the Great; William the Conqueror, Genghis Kahn-Emperor of all
Mongols, Napoleon Bonaparte, Knights and Kings who lead their armies to
victories in battlefields. They were normal people who inspired others for a
common cause and who are remembered even today for their courage to take
decisions, for their ability to influence people. They are remembered for how they
motivated everyone around them and how they created followers. In recent
times we have read about leaders like Hitler, Mahatma Gandhi, Roosevelt, John F.
Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Dalai Lama etc.

In sports we have great leaders of their game who influence other athletes around
them and who play for their countries and who lead their teams to victory. Sports
stars like Lance Armstrong, Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh, Michael Schumacher,
David Beckham, Tiger Woods etc. They create such fan following that big
commercial giants hire them to market their products, and these players become
an iconic figures. They are admired for their innate ability and knowledge that
they posses about the game and for their leadership ability.
 Leader and Leadership
• Leadership and leaders are everywhere and in every field. Even in our houses. Our
mother and father can be great leaders to each one of us. Let’s see leaders and
leadership from the business perspective.

Definition: According to Brian O'Nail, "Leadership is influencing people to get things

done to a standard and quality above their norm. And doing it willingly.”
Leadership is the ability to influence people toward the attainment of organizational
goals. There are three aspects of Leadership – people, influence and goals.
Leadership occurs among people, it involves people being influenced and this
influence is used to achieve the goals of the organizations. In general, Leadership is
a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and
directs the organization in a way that makes it more unified and coherent.
Leadership involves creating a change and not maintaining a status quo.
• Leadership Traits –

Leadership’s success is highly dependent on the personal traits of the leaders.

Some traits are god gifted and leaders are born with it, while other traits can be
learned over time. Like knowledge and communication can be learnt in
schools/universities or by experience. Few traits of successful leaders are self-
confidence, alertness, energy, decisiveness, knowledge, communication,
personality, popularity, integrity, goal driven, ethical conduct, honesty, humble.
 Leadership Approaches
Transactional Leaders – He/she is a leader who clarifies the roles and
responsibilities of his subordinates, clarifies their task requirements, initiates
structures for them, provides rewards to his subordinates, and
displays/shows consideration for his subordinates. They believe in
organization norms and values.

Charismatic Leaders – He/she is a type of leader who has the ability to

motivate their subordinates to do more than what is normally expected.
They excite, stimulate and drive employees to work harder. Charismatic
leaders include Hitler, Martin Luther king jr etc.

Transformational Leaders- He/she is a type of leader who is a charismatic

leader but has the special ability to bring about innovation and changes in
the organization. They have the ability to change the organizations
mission, structure, operation, rules etc.

Interactive Leaders- He/she is a type of leader who is concerned about

consensus building, and wants everyone to participate in the decision
making, and is very caring for their subordinates. They like interacting with
subordinates before decision making and they like free flow of ideas
between the subordinates.
 Leadership Approaches
Contd.
Servant Leaders- He/she is a leader who works to fulfil the subordinate’s
needs and requirements, who works to fulfil their subordinate’s goals and
as well as achieve the organizational goals. They provide their
subordinates with whatever they need to serve the customer.

Autocratic Leaders- He/she is a type of leader who wants to centralize

power and authority with themselves. They make the decisions for their
subordinates and their followers have to follow it. They rely on carrot and
stick approach to reward and punish their subordinates. They are the kind
of leaders who do not delegate authority.

Democratic Leaders- He/she is a type of leader who delegates authority to

their subordinates; they encourage participation of employees in decision
making process. They consult with others to solve problems and they
empower their subordinates if necessary.
 INTRODUCTION
• A man far ahead of his times, he epitomized the
dauntless entrepreneurial spirit
• His life and achievements prove that backed by
confidence, courage and conviction, man can
achieve the impossible.
• He has voyaged through a journey of rags to
riches.He had been an opportunist right from his
childhood. Due to financial problem he left his
education after matriculation and went to Aden
and had worked there at a petrol pump station for
8 years and then came back to India with a vision
of starting his own business.
 CHRONOLOGY
• 1932 Dhirubhai Ambani was born.
• 1949 At the age of 17, he went to Aden, and worked for
A. Besse & Co., the sole selling distributor of Shell
products.
• 1958 Dhirubhai Ambani returned to India and Started
his first company in Mumbai, Reliance Commercial
Corporation,a commodity trading and export house.
• 1966 Set up a textile mill in Naroda, Ahmedabad - the
first step in Reliance's road to success.
• 1988 Fiber intermediates and chemical production
starts.
• 1995 becomes the first Indian company to report a net
profit of rs-10 billion.
LEADERSHIP QUALITIES OF MR. AMBANI

High on
EQ and
IQ

Influential

Highly
Internally Intelligent
Driven

Inter
Task
Dependen
Oriented
ce

Strong
Got the
Risk focus on
right
Taker area of
talent
control
 LEADERSHIP QUALITIES
EXPLANATION
• HIGH ON EQ AND IQ :Dhirubhai ambani as a
person was not very expressive. His feet was
always grounded. He was often unfazed by the
allegations put on him

• PROMPT DESCISION MAKER: Reliance textile

industry was hit by a selling hysteria using a
technique of short term selling .Reliance brokers
were however quick to respond by buying
Reliance shares forcing scrip to rise giddily.Ambani
knew sellers couldn’t possibly have the shares they
sold. The crisis created a legend out of Ambani.
 LEADERSHIP QUALITIES
EXPLANATION CONTINUED
• THINK BIG THINK FAST THINK AHEAD : Ambani was not
an MBA, nor an economist. But yet he took traditional
market theory and stood it on its head. And
succeeded. When everyone in India would build
capacities only after a careful study of market, he
went full steam ahead and created giants of
manufacturing plants with unbelievable capacities. He
created capacity ahead of actual demand and on
the basis of latent demand

• INTER DEPENDENCE :Dhirubhai Ambani depended on

Reliance Family’ professionals and technocrats drawn
by him from may quarters who were able to convert his
expectations into fruitful results. By depending on them
and looking after them simultaneously he achieved
superlative results
 LEADERSHIP QUALITIES
EXPLANATION CONTINUED
• INTELLIGENCE: Dhirubhai Ambani was a shrewd
businessman . He had a knack of getting right
information appropriate to the situation and used it to
his advantage wherever necessary . He had the ability
to deal with problems at right time and in right
perspective
• PICKED BEST TALENT: The habit of plucking talent from
wherever available would become a classis Reliance
management strategy . The Amban is wouldn’t rely on
paper qualifications. On the contrary whoever showed
initiative got the job.
• INFLUENCE : Dhirubhai Ambani was known for his
influence in political circles and his ability to acquire
the most difficult licenses during the license raj
 LEADERSHIP QUALITIES
EXPLANATION CONTINUED
• RISK TAKER: Dhirubhai Ambani took calculated risks
based on expected future trends. He invested his entire
earnings to purchase a huge stock of polyster yarn
which was felt as wrong decision as cotton fabric was
predominant at that time. But he proved right and
made him a billionaire as polyester caught the fancy of
people for better value and longer wear and tear.
• STRONG AREA OF CONTROL: Dhirubhai Ambani was
never rattled by what people used to say or talk about
him . There were a number of questions raised on his
integrity . He was very clear about what he did and
would say if people are talking about him that means
he is getting famous. He was least perturbed by what
others thought
 Lessons

Roll up your
sleeves and help
(Team player)
Risk Taker (He Be a safety net
was decisive, for your team
courageous and (He empowered
non conformist) his managers)

Believe in being
Be a silent
the best, success
benefactor (He
and money will
LESSONS was humble,
follow (He
caring, generous
believed in
and kind)
Quality)

Dream with
Always stay
open eyes (His
ahead of times
visions were
(Foresight)
real)
His arm around
the shoulder (His
motivation
technique)
 Analysis
• Mr. Dhirubhai never took leadership lessons in school or college, nor did
he learn any leadership skills. He developed his own style. Mr. Dhirubhai
Ambani never followed the textbook style of management. Instead, he
evolved a unique style, which combined the American style of
entrepreneurship, with the Japanese focus on the latest technology. And
to this, he added the innate shrewdness of a Gujarati businessman. He
learnt leadership from practice and hands on experience, as well inter-
personal exploration and development. His leadership was an Art and he
practiced this art with perfection.
People have written books on his management style and he is looked
upon as a GURU of Management in India. He created his own style of
leadership and management, which other follow even today; this clearly
establishes the relationship between Leaders and followers. He was a
transformational leader and influenced everyone who worked with him.
He has provided many budding entrepreneurs hope and inspiration. We
have learned from Mr. Dhirubhai that if we have a goal and the will
power to achieve it, then nothing is impossible.
 Reference
•
Internet:-
Dhirubhai Ambani : Indian Legends @
muraleedharan.com
Dhirubhai Ambani - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Great lessons from Dhirubhai Ambani [Archive] -
ManagementParadise.com : Your Gateway to Online
MBA Degree . Management Students Forum for
MBA,BMS, MMS, BMM, BBA, students and aspirants.
Dhirubhai Ambani – Real Story from Rags to Riches |
Stock Market India | Stock Market News | Stock
Recommendations - paisacontrol.com
Books:-
The Leadership Experience – Richard L. Daft