A.G Lafley, who just recently retired as the chief executive officer (CEO) in Procter and Gamble had a remarkable leadership style that led the company to regain its power and profits. He took up the leadership of the company when its stocks were doing badly and many of its employees were leaving the company. Lafley's leadership qualities included the fact that he was able to listen to what his employees wanted and what their views were, he also was respectful; he respected people and he did not see himself as superior to others. The other quality that Lafley had was that he saw himself and other executives at the same level with other employees (Maruca, 2009). This was evident in the way he demolished the executive offices that were furnished with expensive furniture and art and instead established cubicles for the managers and himself.
The characteristics that make a Lafley an effective leader are that he is charismatic, enthusiastic about the employees bringing the brand back to its former position; also, he is a great motivator, showing the employees that they can achieve what they are aiming at. The other characteristic of Lafley is that he is a good listener, who takes time to listen to what managers and employees have to say. In fact, he was known for not preparing speeches instead he would go into a meeting and prefer to listen to people rather than them listening to him. The other characteristic that sets him apart as an effective leader is that he is a down to earth person, who is not out to show others who is in charge or who has the say.
An effective leader is one who is able to motivate people, help them learn and become self reliant in a way that they can perform even without the leader being around to supervise (Baldridge, 2007). A good leader should also be able to bring out the best in the employees so that they can achieve their maximum potential. He should therefore aim at creating an atmosphere where the workers are able to work well and enable the company achieve its goals. A good leader also should ensure that there is good flow of information up and down to the employees' level and that there is no barrier to the flow of such information. Lafley, certainly as a leader tried to do these for the company's employees and this led to increased profit, increase in stock prices, and restored Procter and Gamble as one of the most admirable companies in the world.