Walt Disney Leadership Style

Few people have had as much influence over American and global culture as Walt Disney. Millions of people love the characters he created. The American entrepreneur also had enormous foresight within the entertainment industry. Not satisfied with making short cartoons and movies, he created large theme parks unlike anything the world had seen before.

As one of the world’s most successful businessmen, what was it about the Walt Disney leadership style that inspired others to follow him and build today’s empire? Before exploring how he worked as a leader, let’s see how he got started and what might have driven him to such extraordinary levels of success.

How Walt Disney Got Started

Walt Disney became interested in drawing at a very young age. Born in Chicago’s Hermosa neighborhood in 1901, his family relocated to a Missouri farm when he was four years old. A local veterinarian paid Disney to draw a picture of a horse. From that moment, Walt committed himself to learning how to draw. He would often copy the pictures he found in newspapers.

The Disney family moved to Kansas City, Missouri when Walt was about 10 years old. During this time, he and a friend had a newspaper route that forced them to get up very early in the morning. Walt’s grades suffered, but he chose to focus on his education as an artist by enrolling in a correspondence course through the Kansas City Art Institute.

As a teenager, he attended high school, took night classes at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, drew patriotic images in support of World War I, and worked as his high school newspaper’s cartoonist.

Walt Disney Goes To War

The teenage Walt Disney was desperate to join the war effort, but the military would not accept him because of his age. Disney responded by forging a birth certificate and becoming an ambulance driver in France for the Red Cross. During his downtime, he would draw cartoons that he hung on the outside of his ambulance.

Disney Partner Creates Mickey Mouse

After returning to the United States, Disney apprenticed as an artist, committed himself to improving his skills, and formed friendship with other artists, including Ub Iwerks, who would later develop the characters Mickey Mouse and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

At 18, Disney lost his job because his employer’s revenues had fallen. Disney and Iwerks decided to form their own business, which they named Iwerks-Disney Commercial Artists. The company folded quickly and Disney and Iwerks found jobs working at the Kansas City Film Ad Company.

The job at Kansas City Film Ad Company introduced Disney to cutout animation. After careful study, Disney adopted cel animation techniques that he found more promising.

Disney Brothers Studio Is Created

Walt took a few jobs over the next couple of years, but he never found a position that would let him pursue his growing interest in cel animation. Walt and his brother, Roy, formed the Disney Brothers Studio after relocating to Los Angeles. The company received a few orders to get it started. Eventually, Walt convinced Iwerks to join him in California.

Walt and Roy’s company soon became the Walt Disney Company because his brother’s struggling health prevented him from working. The next few years proved very successful for Walt and his colleagues. They managed to distribute animation through Universal Studios and created Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

Disney’s First Animated Short

When the Walt Disney Company stopped doing business with Universal over a disagreement, Walt learned that Universal owned the rights to Oswald. This seemed like a terrible stroke of luck, but it led to the creation of Mickey Mouse.

In 1927, the Walt Disney Company released Steamboat Willie, the first animated short with post-produced sound. It was the second short film that featured Mickey Mouse.

From this point, Disney’s artistic and business aspirations started to grow into the empire it represents today.

Was Walt Disney Born A Leader?

Few people in Walt Disney’s personal life would refer to him as a “born leader.” For the most part, he was a quiet, shy man.

He recognized the importance of leadership in business matters, though. He learned to act like a leader so he could reach his goals. While Disney was introverted and quiet in his personal life, he had a much more aggressive, commanding style in public.

While Disney was not born a leader, he was likely born an artist. He also had a keen business sense that he continued to develop throughout his life.

What Was Walt Disney’s Personality Type?

Walt Disney’s personality type would change according to his environment and needs. As a business and artistic leader, many describe him as a Campaigner or ENFP (Extroverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Prospecting).

Disney also had a demanding personality. He had an extraordinary work ethic, and he expected others to share his passion for work. This could make him difficult to collaborate with. It also made him very successful as he and his closest collaborators were never satisfied with a project until they exceeded their own expectations.

What Leadership Traits Did Walt Disney Have?

Walt Disney had a complex leadership style with diverse traits. Many people found his enthusiasm motivating. They enjoyed working with someone who had such a clear vision and knew how to reach goals.

Disney didn’t always motivate through charisma, though. He could also become angry when projects didn’t progress as quickly or perfectly as he wanted.

This combination of traits makes it difficult to put Disney’s leadership style into a specific category.

How Is Walt Disney A Transformational Leader?

To some extent, it’s possible to describe Walt Disney as a transformational leader because he created an art school for his employees.

The school helped artists develop their skills. It was also a self-serving program for Disney, though, because he realized that he needed all of his artists to follow the same style for consistent results.

Working on a movie requires thousands of drawings. Even small changes to the style could make a movie look amateurish.

Was Walt Disney A Bad Leader?

In today’s business environment, many people would consider Walt Disney a “bad leader” because he had such an autocratic style. Most modern experts believe that leaders are more effective when they listen to their employees and help others evolve.

Open-door policies likely work better in today’s business environment because jobs require niche skills. CEOs and managers must rely on the expertise of their employees.

In Disney’s time, a leader could have considerably more control over business processes and outcomes. It probably made sense for Disney to bark orders at his employees. He knew what he wanted and how to get that result. He just needed his employees to follow his instructions and act as extensions of himself.

While many would say that Disney’s approach makes him a bad leader in the modern context, it’s easy to see similarities between him and other successful business leaders like Steve Jobs.

Was Walt Disney A Charismatic Leader?

Disney’s enthusiasm for art and emerging technologies certainly motivated many people at the Walt Disney Company. Although he wasn’t particularly charismatic in his personal life, he knew how to get others excited about his plans.

Not everyone found him charismatic, of course. Those who did, however, could feel inspired and pushed to do their very best.

Was Walt Disney Autocratic?

It’s nearly impossible to deny that Walt Disney had an autocratic leadership style. While he was open to collaborating with a small number of people, including his good friend Ub Iwerks, he did not want feedback from most of his employees.

Disney knew what he wanted. He had a creative mind, but he was also a strategic thinker. This combination meant that he could turn spectacular ideas into reality.

At the same time, one person cannot do all of the work needed to produce an animated film. Even a very short film takes hundreds or thousands of hours. He expected most of his employees to follow directions so they could contribute to a larger goal.

Perhaps it’s a little unfair to say that Disney was an autocratic leader. After all, he worked closely with some people to create Disney’s most beloved characters. If you were not a member of his inner circle, though, he was unlikely to tolerate any feedback.

What Was Walt Disney’s Creative Strategy?

Walt Disney’s creative strategy has been carefully studied by many experts. In 1994, Robert Filts described what he called “the Disney Method.” This method aptly summarizes how Disney developed ideas, decided which projects he wanted to pursue, and identified potential obstacles to meeting goals.

The Disney Method involves four thinking styles:

• Outsiders
• Dreamers
• Realizers
• Critics

Outsiders use analytical thinking to view potential projects from the outside. Instead of becoming emotionally involved in the process, they use logic and trends to understand what ideas have the potential for success.

Dreamers spend their time thinking about the big picture. When in this mode of thinking, Disney might imagine various scenes in a movie. It does not involve any practical thinking. Instead, it’s completely free creativity without concern for the rest of the process.

Realizers use realistic thinking to eliminate impossible ideas. This is a critical part of honing in on concepts that have real-world potential.

Critics look for problems in ideas and processes. From this perspective, Disney would look for barriers that might prevent his company from finishing a project.

What Made Disney Successful?

Disney was a wildly creative person who surrounded himself with a small group of artistic people. Many do this, though, without becoming successful.

Disney’s secret lies in turning ideas into reality. He was eager to try new technologies that would make his stories and characters more appealing to audiences.

He also never felt satisfied with anything less than perfect. The combination of talent and expectations contributed to the success of the Walt Disney Company.

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