Jimmy Pattison, a man who has been dubbed, “Canada’s Warren Buffett” exemplifies the qualities needed to be a successful achievement-oriented leader. In the article, “On the road with Jimmy Pattison, “Canada’s Warren Buffett”, Jimmy Pattison’s strong work ethic, connection to his company, and very strong leadership style is cemented. I think Colleen Sharen sums up Jimmy Pattison’s mindset perfectly in her blog post “Leading: My way or the highway”, she states that good leaders (such as Jimmy Pattison) firm in your values, convictions and vision for your organization.
Having grown up with my dad being apart of the Jim Pattison group and working along side him for 17 years, I have been able to personally analyse and figure out what makes him such an incredible leader. The first thing that comes to mind when I think about what has taken him from one car dealership 54 years ago to an empire of “Save-On-Foods stores that blanket Western Canada to Toronto’s Ripley’s Aquarium and a large share of the billboards and car dealerships” as well as other businesses that would fit into a miscellaneous category is the trust that every single has in Jimmy’s ability to lead the company. Without failure, ask any member of management under Mr. Pattison whether he is fit to lead such an empire they will say yes. The second reason that Jimmy Pattison has been such a successful leader is his “grow or die” mentality, which leads him into being an achievement-oriented leader.
Mr. Pattison has a very rigid set of goals that push everyone under the Jim Pattison group umbrella to preform at the highest level with little room for deviation. Jimmy Pattison, although kind hearted and very people oriented, has no problem laying an employee off if he believes he is not contributing to the growth he has envisioned for his company, not matter how long the tenure of that employee. Through his “my way or the highway” leadership Mr. Pattison has created an empire helping him lead a very successful life.
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References:
McMahon, T. (2012, February 16). Jim Pattison, the Warren Buffett of B.C. Retrieved March 31, 2017, from http://www.macleans.ca/economy/business/the-warren-buffett-of-b-c/
Sharen, C. (2013, August 05). #Leading: My way or the highway. Retrieved March 31, 2017, from https://colleensharen.wordpress.com/2013/07/31/leading-my-way-or-the-highway/
