CEO and founder of Virgin Group

Background:
  • Struggled in school and dropped out at age 16, a decision that ultimately leads to the creation of Virgin Records.
  • Entrepreneurial projects started in the music industry and expanded into other sectors making Branson a billionaire.
  • Virgin Group holds more than 200 companies, comprising of Virgin Blue, Virgin Mobile, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Finances, Virgin Brides, Virgin Cars, Virgin Trains and most recently, Virgin Galactic.
Achievements:
  • With an estimated net worth of approximately £2.58 billion (US$4.2 billion), Branson ranks 254 in the global list of billionaires and the 5th richest person in the United Kingdom.
  • Branson’s first successful business venture was at a young age of 16 in the form of a magazine named Student.
  • In 1987, his hot air balloon “Virgin Atlantic Flyer” crossed the Atlantic, thus, becoming the first and the largest hot-air balloon to cross the Atlantic. He broke his own record in 1991 by crossing the Pacific from Japan to Arctic Canada, 10,800 km, in a balloon of 2,600,000 cubic feet (74,000 m3) with a speed of 245 miles per hour.
Leadership Style:
  • Democractic
Richard Branson is a leader that seeks opinions and views from other people that are working around him. His core value is always to listen what other people have to say. He demonstrates this leadership style by carrying a pocket book for times when he hears something interesting from people he interacts with on any level.  However, Branson will still make the final decision and particularly loves to take high risk decisions if he feels it is worthwhile. His democratic leadership style also stretches to a point where he focuses on the importance of being humble and making his employees feel that they are important to the organization. This Virgin founder believes that praise goes further than criticism.

 Top 3 Leadership Traits:

1. Visionary

Branson has always believed that there are industries out there that can be ‘Virginized’, which he means by revitalizing and making it more attractive. Branson’s vision of embarking on novel and stimulating future prospects has led him to expand the Virgin name so vastly and yet has kept its high standards. 

Being a visionary, especially in a hospitality industry, is vital to being successful. In this fast paced era, everyone is striving to create something outstanding to be ahead of its competitors. Having vision is to be able to anticipate changes and seizing opportunities, without this quality, one will have difficulty in leading his/her company to success. 

2. Team Builder

A successful leader is nothing without its followers. Being able to create unity in his team has made Branson more successful than ever. He has flown to great heights to create a fun working environment for his employees. He believes that people who work for him should not have the concept of just coming to work for that paycheck; instead, he wants his team to enjoy being a part of the Virgin family. As a team leader, one has to create a harmonious working atmosphere with little conflict or issues amongst its people. The most important part of being a good leader is not only to lead its followers, but to foster a relationship and showing interests in their needs.

Being in the hospitality business, there is no doubt that one has to work with other people. Not just colleagues, but also other players such as industry partners, guests etc. A leader simply cannot run a successful hotel just by being the best. The success of the hotel depends on how the collection of employees functions it.  By creating a team of employees that is happy to be working for the hotel, it would be more likely that they project their happiness towards the hotel guests.

3. Confident, Determined and Persistent

Outstanding leaders must first and foremost, believe strongly in what they want to achieve. This unrelenting belief has to be portrayed through the leader’s confidence and unrelenting spirit to never give up even when met with numerous obstacles. The leader must not only have faith in him/her-self, but also in the people he/she is leading. Branson had to jump over many hurdles to be where he is now. Branson suffered from Dyslexia, which prohibited him from being able to read by the age of 8. But that did not stop him; he fought with the disease and ultimately overcome it. This incident has given him the confidence he needed to become a great leader, a sense that he can accomplish anything. When he was older, and his business matured, he still met with failures like Virgin Cola and Virgin Vodka. His Virgin Airlines was sold because it was not making money. All these did not stopped him from exploring other possibilities, all he did was bounce back after disappointment and pressured forward.

Being able to lead is closely tied to the leader’s personality and spirit. The set of qualities like confidence, determination and persistence is fundamental to strive in a competitive hospitality industry. These qualities must also be projected onto the leader’s followers, to never give up when met with a set-back. Ultimately, in the hotel business, it is impossible to satisfy everyone, there is bound to be incidents where the hotel’s name is dragged through the mud, be it because of financial crisis, reputation or competition. The key lesson to learn from Branson is never give up trying.

"You don't learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over."

– Richard Branson