Reference no: EM133243465

Marissa Mayer has set herself some tough goals as the new president and CEO of Yahoo. But tough is part of Mayer's DNA. Mayer is known for being incredibly energetic and ambitious. She loves hard work and challenge. Mayer has demonstrated that she has almost superhuman stamina and a strong drive to succeed. In the early years at Google, she routinely worked 100-hour weeks and occasionally pulled all-nighters. Soon after joining Yahoo as CEO, Mayer had her first baby and returned to work two weeks after the delivery.

Even in high school, Mayer was known as an overachiever who refused to settle for less than the best from herself or others. As captain of the pom-pom squad, she scheduled practices that lasted for hours to make sure everyone was synchronized. It was during her first management job at Google that she incorporated the idea of pushing beyond her comfort zone into her career philosophy. She isn't afraid to take risks in the interest of helping the team and organization succeed. Mayer created a firestorm of criticism when she issued a policy early in her tenure at Yahoo that employees can no longer work from home, but she stuck by her decision without regrets or apologies. She believes Yahoo is in a crisis situation and to succeed needs the creative energy that comes from people working face to face and side by side. Some people believe she will eventually relax the tough "all hands in the office" policy, since flexibility is another of her characteristics. However, she won't relax her high standards or the requirement that employees be as dedicated to Yahoo's success as she is.

Questions

What traits and behaviours did Marissa Mayer have that made her a successful leader?

What decision(s) did Marissa Mayer make that would be difficult to implement nowadays?

Describe at least 3 of your leadership strengths. In what leadership situations are your leadership traits most effective?