Richard Branson Shoots for the Moon:
1. Would you classify Richard Branson as a manager or a leader? What qualities
distinguish him as one or the other?
Richard Branson is definitely a leader. He inspired creativity in his company and made
his employees feel as if they could come to him with their ideas. He is also a leader because he
has visions to innovate and change his company for the better. If he were a manager and only a
manager, he would’ve only had a small student magazine subscription. He would be maintaining
what they were doing to this day, maybe increasing sales and having to adapt to keep up with
that. He would not have adapted or branched off to another product. He is a leader because he
saw something more than just keeping up with the orders. He saw an opportunity to bring new
ideas to the table and prosper off of them as well, and to branch out and build a brand that was in
many areas.
2. As mentioned earlier in this chapter, followers are part of the leadership process.
Describe the relationship between Branson and his followers.
Branson is very open with his followers. He doesn’t just direct them on what to do and
how to do. He encourages his followers to let themselves branch into other areas and be creative.
That is how he built his brand. He expressed to his followers what he envisioned, and positioned
them to be able to help him achieve it. Not many companies these days make it easy to bring
forth new ideas, and the cultures in some companies can even make thinking in a different way
seem taboo or completely unacceptable. So by being open to listening and encouraging of his
team, he demonstrated what a great relationship with followers looks like.
3. Identify the myths of leadership development that Richard Branson’s success helps to
disprove.
One of the myths of leadership Branson’s success disproves is that all leaders are perfect.
He was dyslexic and struggled through school, but became a huge success. Another myth he
disproved is that leaders have all the answers. He recognized that his followers had something to
offer as well and listened to what they had to say about how things were going. He realized that
he was only as great as his team and so cultivated them to be independent thinkers that would be
able to contribute something of substance. This made him a very effective leader and completely
disproves that myth.
This study source was downloaded by 100000898182462 from CourseHero.com on 04-24-2025 15:26:20 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/43373365/Case-Study-Richard-Branson-Shoots-for-the-Moon-docx/
1. Would you classify Richard Branson as a manager or a leader? What qualities
distinguish him as one or the other?
Richard Branson is definitely a leader. He inspired creativity in his company and made
his employees feel as if they could come to him with their ideas. He is also a leader because he
has visions to innovate and change his company for the better. If he were a manager and only a
manager, he would’ve only had a small student magazine subscription. He would be maintaining
what they were doing to this day, maybe increasing sales and having to adapt to keep up with
that. He would not have adapted or branched off to another product. He is a leader because he
saw something more than just keeping up with the orders. He saw an opportunity to bring new
ideas to the table and prosper off of them as well, and to branch out and build a brand that was in
many areas.
2. As mentioned earlier in this chapter, followers are part of the leadership process.
Describe the relationship between Branson and his followers.
Branson is very open with his followers. He doesn’t just direct them on what to do and
how to do. He encourages his followers to let themselves branch into other areas and be creative.
That is how he built his brand. He expressed to his followers what he envisioned, and positioned
them to be able to help him achieve it. Not many companies these days make it easy to bring
forth new ideas, and the cultures in some companies can even make thinking in a different way
seem taboo or completely unacceptable. So by being open to listening and encouraging of his
team, he demonstrated what a great relationship with followers looks like.
3. Identify the myths of leadership development that Richard Branson’s success helps to
disprove.
One of the myths of leadership Branson’s success disproves is that all leaders are perfect.
He was dyslexic and struggled through school, but became a huge success. Another myth he
disproved is that leaders have all the answers. He recognized that his followers had something to
offer as well and listened to what they had to say about how things were going. He realized that
he was only as great as his team and so cultivated them to be independent thinkers that would be
able to contribute something of substance. This made him a very effective leader and completely
disproves that myth.
This study source was downloaded by 100000898182462 from CourseHero.com on 04-24-2025 15:26:20 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/43373365/Case-Study-Richard-Branson-Shoots-for-the-Moon-docx/
