Page 40 - MS Year in Review 2020

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show to link to financial performance. The results indicated that companies
where a leadership molecule exists has superior financial performance
than those where it did not exist.

THE BOTTOM LINE

A Leadership Molecule™ is an asset that hidden in plain sight, recognized by all
inside the company but not susceptible to copying by competitors. It results

in superior financial performance than in companies where it did not exist,
as for example in companies where the leader is a “one-man (or woman)
show!

I believe that the ultimate test of the value of a leadership molecule occurs

when an organization is in crisis. During a crisis the single person leader will be
stressed and stretched it his or her limit. However, a leadership molecule
functions as a team, and provides not only better decisions but also social

and psychological support for each other.

Note: Developing A Leadership Molecule

Where a leadership molecule does not exist, it can be developed with the proper

ingredients and process, as shown in the example of Starbucks during its early
15
days described above .

14 Eric Flamholtz, “The Leadership Molecule: Implications for Entrepreneurial Firms,” International
Review of Entrepreneurship, 2011; and Eric Flamholtz and Rangapriya Kannan-Narasimhan,
(2013) “Examining the Leadership Molecule: An Empirical Study of Key Leadership Roles in Rapidly
Growing Entrepreneurial Businesses,” International Review of Entrepreneurship. Volume11, Issue
no. 2, pp. 1-22.
15 For further information about the leadership molecule and how it can be created, see
www.mgtsystems.com/team-building and www.mgtsystems.com/leadershipmolecule as well as the
above referenced articles.

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