Leadership

"Is a leader born or made?" I bet this is a really familiar question to everyone. However, what is the actual answer? In my opinion, leaders are born AND made. There are many born leaders who succeed by putting in efforts. If born leaders don't put in effort, they will not be a good leader. People say that everyone is born equally, so, leaders are made by their own efforts. I think that no matter a leader is born or not, you can always succeed by making it.  

Melvin Elias, the Chief Executive Officer of the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, plays another role in the company. He is also the president and part of family that owns the company. He is a big contributor to the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, as he leads the company's growth. From 60 stores, Melvin Elias was able to turn it into 835 stores worldwide, since 1997. 

He has been in the company for more than 15 years. Do you know that he is the one who bring the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf into Malaysia? Yes, Melvin Elias, opened the first store in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, held a variety of positions in franchise. After his family bought the company, he moved to LA　because of the Camarillo-based concern. 

"I’ve done practically every job there is to do at this company over the last 12 years, and about three years ago, I became CEO."

Said Melvin, in an interview back in 2011. He worked really hard for the company before he's a CEO. Although he's now the CEO and president of the company, but it doesn't make him to be more relax in his work. There are over 2500 workers working under him, he always shows good example to lead them well. 

Mel Elias applies the democratic style of leading in his company. Well, sometimes autocratic. Melvin Elias always ensure that everyone has the opportunity to contribute their ideas. Let's talk about the sales of single-serve coffee system. Before doing the marketing, Melvin Elias gathered some employees and formed a leadership team. They had a meeting, and everyone gave opinions on this product. 

"They understood the task at hand. They were given real empowerment and real ownership and they made these decisions. There was no time for everything to come back up to a central decision-making authority.”

Melvin Elias gave the leadership team to make decisions. Autocratic style of leading applies in this issue because there were not much time left before marketing. I would like to say that it's a autocratic leadership style in a team. 

Bibliography

           Image- "Leader born or made" <https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSeA7CN_GdnbVhKXooeguSSf53uiTKINjci0b46pkmKg_-wQgkj>

            "Melvin Elias" <https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRGIOwuzetz2c95cd4zd-QOa0dbOpgCvIAoDobPYTISxSKCC_35>

"Enterprise Award." Singapore Business Award. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2013. <http://www.sph.com.sg/pradmin/upload/rwqybEeB_SBA%202012%20-%20Enterprise%20Award%20-%20Coffee%20Bean%20and%20Tea%20Leaf.pdf>.

"How Mel Elias Helped Coffee Bean Adapt Quickly to Tap New Customer Demand." How Mel Elias Helped Coffee Bean Adapt Quickly to Tap New Customer Demand. N.p., 31 July 2011. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. <http://www.sbnonline.com/component/k2/12-los-angeles-editions/20904>.

"Senior Management." The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Official Store. Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Official Website, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. <http://www.coffeebean.com/about_us.html?ICID=cfbn_senior_management_fall13>.