Julian Letizia

Journalism 405
March 22, 16
Leadership Essay
Bob Iger
CEO of Disney

Biography

Robert A. Iger is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Walt

Disney Company. As Chairman and CEO, Iger is the steward of the
worlds largest media company and some of the most respected and
beloved brands around the globe. Since acting as CEO of Disney, Iger
has made Disney an industry leader through its creative content
offerings across new and multiple platforms. Prior to his current role
he began his career as a weatherman for a local television station. He
joined ABC in 1974 and gradually rose though its ranks. In 1989, Iger
was named head of ABC Entertainment and served as president of the
ABC Network in 1993. Six years later Disney named Iger president of
Walt Disney International, and soon after in 2000 Iger was president
and chief operating officer making him the companys number two
executive chairman and CEO under Michael Eisner. Under Igers
leadership: stock is up 38% over the last 12 months, valuable brands
like Pixar, Marvel and LucasFilm are now part of Disney fold, and the
company is innovating on all fronts with the new Disney Infinity video
game and a magic bracelet idea coming soon to Disney Parks that will
make visits easier and more memorable. (1)
There is no questioning that Bob Iger is an excellent leader.
Through his long line of success he has been able to adapt to change
and motivate his team to move forward. He does this by having strong
Leader traits and behaviors. These are important because without
them he would be unable to have a productive leadership style. He

uses transformational leadership and continues to develop new

ventures for the Walt Disney Company. Iger has done this by
establishing direction and creating a vision, aligning people and
communications goals, and finally motivating and inspiring people to
their full potential.
Leadership Style Analysis
Transformational Leadership is a style of leadership where the
leader works with employees to identify the need for a chance and
create a guide to that vision through inspiration. It serves to enhance
and motivate moral job performance of followers through connecting
the followers sense of identity and self worth to the project. Being a
role model for followers in order to inspire them to raise their interest
in the project through challenging followers to take ownership for their
work. By doing this, it allows leaders to align followers with tasks that
enhance their performance for the greater good of the project.
Igers transformational leadership can been seen through making both
himself and his team advance to a higher level of motivation and
success. Iger has constructed Disneys organization of leaders into a
management team called the C-suite. The members listed in the Csuite position at Disney consist of high-ranking officers of both male
and female employees. The goal of this design is to communicate what
the Walt Disney Companys goal is by ensuring that Walt Disneys, the
founder, mission is communicated to every single employee. The

whole idea here is that the organization, whatever needs

accomplished, belongs to the entire group by working together to
accomplish objectives as a team. A formal organizational
communication style from the top-down provides the organization to
continuously communicate this vision. Leaders have set up their
organization and teams in such a way that employees see that
management is listening turning any potential communication
weaknesses into opportunities to voice opinions or concerns. Iger has
done an excellent job of listening to employees by creating open
channels of communication within all divisions of the organization. This
style of communication has allowed Disney to continuously motivate
and encourage their employees creativity through autonomy.
The Walt Disney Company thrives on creative minds and
innovative thoughts. The use of a transformational style of leadership
in the organization started with Walt Disney himself. Iger has
implemented The Bass Handbook of Leadership that has four
elements necessary to accomplish his transformational leadership
style. They are individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation,
inspirational motivation, and idealized influence. (2) Iger refers to
individualized consideration for employees as The stars are the
people we actually put on the playing field that have created so much
value for the company over the years. (3) Iger intellectually
stimulates his followers by empowering them to challenge themselves

to chase their dreams. He has implemented a supportive learning

environment for his employees that allow them to take risks, which
also helps them learn from their mistakes. Through his three major
investments in Pixar, Marvel, and LucasFilms, he has provided
inspirational motivation for his staff. Finally, an idealized influence
provides a strong model for ethical behavior by encouraging pride,
respect, and trust in his staff members in all departments of the
organization.

Leader Traits
After a thorough analysis of reviewing Bob Igers Leadership style
it is important to understand his leadership traits and behaviors. Before
you are able to understand why he is able to productively use his
leadership style it is important to acknowledge his leadership traits.
The five major leadership traits that he possesses allow this to happen.
Intelligence is positively related to leadership through a strong verbal
ability to communicate, and a perceptual ability to be able to deal with
and give meaning to sensory stimuli. Self-Confidence gives a leader
belief that one can make a difference. The Determination and desire to
get the job done includes initiative, persistence, and drive. The
Integrity to be honest and trustworthy allows you take responsibility for
actions. Lastly, Sociability is the capability to seek out pleasant social
relationship by being friendly, outgoing, and courteous. As you can see

though his productive transformational leadership Iger possesses all

five of these major traits. His intelligence is shown through the ability
to set a structured top-down communication that motivates staff
members and employees to share thoughts and ideas. Having the
belief that he can make a difference by investing in three major
companies relates to his self-confidence. By motivating employees to
take initiative and have an ambitious drive he thrives in determination
to get the job done. Empowering employees to try new ideas shows
integrity to be honest and take responsibility for ones actions and
mistakes. And finally establishing a positive and friendly work
environment inquires a sense of sociability.

Leader Behaviors
The central purpose of these style approaches to leader
behaviors is to identify how leaders combine these two kinds of
behaviors to influence employees in their efforts to reach a goal. The
two general kinds of behaviors leaders use are task and relationship.
Leaders who use task behaviors facilitate goal accomplishments
helping group members achieve their objects. Leaders who use this
behavior focus on getting the job accomplished rather than nurturing
team members. Leaders who use relationship behaviors help
subordinates feel comfortable with themselves, with each other, and
with the situation in which they find themselves. Instead of main focus

being on accomplishing the task at hand these leaders nurture

employees caring more about their wellbeing. The way Iger combines
these behaviors best supports the Team Management style. He places
both a task and interpersonal relationship behavior that promotes a
high degree of participation and teamwork. By doing this he is able to
motivate and inspire employees to perform at a high level while having
a sense of understanding of ones wellbeing and self worth to the task.

Conclusion
In conclusion to this essay I support why Robert A. Iger Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer of the Walt Disney Company is a perfect
example of a leader. He possesses both leadership traits and behaviors
that allow his to be an effective transformational leader. Through
successfully implementing a structured and organized management
team Iger has been able to motivate and inspire his employees to work
to their full potential.

Bibliography
1,

Block, Alex Ben. "Disney CEO Bob Iger Shares His Approach to Leadership
at UCLA Awards Gala." The Hollywood Reporter. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar.

2016. <http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disney-ceo-bob-igershares-659053>.

2,

Gates, Corey. "Leadership Analysis: The Walt Disney

Company."Linkedin.com. N.p., n.d. Web.
<https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/leadership-analysis-walt-disneycompany-r-cory-gates-mba-candidate>.

3,

"Robert A. Iger - The Walt Disney Company." The Walt Disney Company.
N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2016.
<https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/leaders/robert-a-iger/>.

4,

Pomerantz, Dorthory. Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2016.

<http://www.forbes.com/sites/dorothypomerantz/2013/01/23/five-lessonsin-success-from-disneys-40-million-ceo/2/#2788cff64097>.