The Boeing Corporation was founded in 1916 in Puget Sound, Washington (2008, Boeing.com). Boeing is the worlds leading aerospace company and the largest manufacturer of commercial jet liners and military aircraft combined. Additionally, Boeing designs and manufactures rotorcraft, electronic and defense systems, missiles, satellites, launch vehicles and advanced information and communication systems (2008, boeing.com). The Boeing Corporation defines leadership as empowering everybody to make the decisions required to execute the business (June 28, 2001, Jim Albaugh).
Jim Albaugh, President and Chief Executive Officer of Boeing's Integrated Defense Systems once stated "good leaders find ways to empower their teams and maximize people's talents" (June 28, 2001, Jim Albaugh). "I'd like to share a few of my own thoughts on what leadership means at Boeing ... some of the things I value in people on my team, and the kinds of things I look for in potential leaders. It means insisting on excellence at all levels and in everything we do ...
TRAC Hearing - June 2001
James Albaugh is president and chief executive off...from quality to safety to customer satisfaction. It means encouraging innovation and embracing change. It means allowing people to fail. It means driving continuous improvement in productivity, efficiency, reliability and cost-reduction. It means creating a culture that rewards these values" (June 28, 2001, Jim Albaugh).
The difference between managers and leaders are that managers tend to train people to do the same thing every day as they did the day before, which creates an environment that prevents the opportunity for real progress. Most managers operate within the existing system or culture instead of trying to change it. Leaders on the other hand create an environment that supports risk-taking and embraces accomplishments. Leaders articulate a vision, sense of mission and strategic direction for change. Rather than clinging to "that's the way we've always done it," leaders ask:...