Executives’ jobs can shift dramatically depending on the challenges they face. Here’s one CEO’s account of how they progressed throught three different styles of management
Havard Business Review

February10, 1986 Leonard D.Schaeffer became chief executive of California Blue Cross Company. The company was at the time the worst performing of 77 Blue Cross plans across the country. Sixteen years after, Blue Cross of California became a strong public company called Well Point Health Network. It is the largest health insurance organization in the United State of America.

Leonard explained the different types of leadership.

An autocratic is the least enjoyable style of management. It has place especially in a turnaround situation and when a business needs to change relatively quickly.

For example Leonard Schaeffer used an autocratic management when he cut a budget in accordance with the governors. That time, many states and municipalities had lost their credit ratings. He had again an act autocratically when he moved physically 4600 people from Washington DC to Baltimore. States and federal government was autocracy boot camp.

In mid 1980, millions of customers fled to alternative health plans and the organization was losing 1 million per day. The company was at brink of financial death. Quickly, he decided to lay out 6000 employees. It was unpleasant to see good people lose their jobs because of management mistakes. When a company started making benefits and become stabilised Leonard changed the management style.

He had adopted a participative leadership. The developments of goals, budget and strategies is controlled from the top and the staff is free to realise the goals.

In that way, each manager must take some responsibility for meeting the goals. Each division president would be required to develop innovative new product.

Mark Weinberg and Deborah Lachman teams developed a primary plan of attack (Plan A). They set a series of milestones for each. Information about what they were doing was logged into our company Intranet. Mark, Deborah both senior leaders and Leonard could quickly check the progress against the milestone at any time.

With this participative management, people are able to do their works, given the amount of scenarios planning and the time required.

However being a participative leader is not easy. It requires letting go. You have to trust all people who work for making decisions. For him, the participative leadership is better for companies geographically dispersed.

Being a reformer is gratifying, but it has its challenges too. Robert Seidman, Well Point’s Chief pharmacy Officer looked at the medicines treating allergy symptoms He noted that a drug available by prescription like Claritin costs 165$, Refills cots 65$. The alternative and the most popular drug is Benadryl. It cots 4.50$ because is a drug available over a counter and it’s unsafe to take it while driving or operating on machinery.

Robert began scrutinizing the FDA rules for converting a drug from being available only by prescription to being available on over the counter.

Leonard spends 30% of his time for meeting people, discussing with government representatives, health care practices and policies. He has learned that by paying attention to processes and aligning teams, they are able to realise goals.

Over 30 years of career, Schaeffer said that an autocratic leader sometimes has to be participative and a reformer leader needs sometimes to act like an autocrat.