Steve Jobs Leadership Approach - Coursework Example

? STEVE JOBS Task Steve Jobs Leadership refers to processes of communal influence where an individual can influence the society towards the achievement of a goal or objective. Through leadership capabilities, an individual can enlist the support and aid of other people, in the society, towards the accomplishment of an objective. It is vital to note that leadership has the capabilities of organizing groups of people towards the achievement of common goals. Leadership does not matter whether the leader has formal or informal authority (Kurian 2012 p. 1). Leaders have traits, situational interactions, standards, apparition, function, behavior, and power. They also possess intelligence and charisma, which enables them to navigate the difficult operational environments (Kurian 2012 p. 2). The sole purpose of a leader is to provide leadership, direction and dependence. The leader should also have the capabilities to encourage and stimulate people. Different qualities distinguish leaders from other people. There is an early recognition of leaders and their importance in society. According to the trait theory, the early assumptions and recognitions of leadership were based on personal characteristics known as individual attributes. Alternative theories of leadership introduced different strategies for approaching leadership (Kurian 2012 p. 2). These had their basis on the notions of the driving force of leadership. These theories showed that an individual who excelled in one leadership position might not shine, in other leadership positions. These theories led to the realization that leadership cannot be characterized as enduring individual traits. This means that people may posit, in certain situations (Kurian 2012 p. 3). However, the trait theory is a crucial leadership theory that helps, in the comprehension of people’s capabilities in different situations that require leadership. This is because individual traits such as adjustment, astuteness, extraversion, carefulness, self-efficacy and directness to different experiences support an individual, in different situations. Steve Jobs Leadership Approach Steve Jobs can be characterized as an unconventional leader. His leadership styles and approaches were successful, in his environment. Steve Jobs’ leadership and management styles and approaches were not based on textbook materials (Kurian 2012 p. 3). For instance, he was not keen on consensus building approaches or consultations. He exhibited the characteristics of a high maintenance co-worker who demanded excellence and consistency from his staff. He used criticism as a tool for leadership and instilling discipline among his workers (Kurian 2012 p. 6). His abilities to articulate his vision and motivate his staff towards the achievement of his ideas endeared him to his staff and business society. He also combined this ability with his sheer genius to articulate his vision. These were crucial in pulling his customers to purchase his products. A turning point in his career was the lessons learnt, in his career setbacks. This created the elements of visionary leader that were a characteristic of his ideas and innovations. His relations to his firm, Apple, have often been described as visionary. Decision-making and strategizing were crucial approaches used by Steve Jobs in his marketing and management approaches (Kurian 8). The trait theory is a prominent theory with the case of Steve Jobs. For instance, Steve Jobs was a stickler to discipline and excellence. Other people such as his former CEO found it difficult to work with him, in the same environment. In 1985, John Sculley, his former CEO stripped Jobs off his responsibilities and powers at the firm (Kurian 9). He also had the characteristics of taking new challenges and transforming previously underperforming firms into multinationals. For instance, he bought Pixar and changed it to a global animation company. According to Walter Isaacson, the theory of transformational leadership applies to the case of Steve Jobs. Steve jobs operated in a garage before cofounding Apple with a close friend. However, he was stripped off his roles at the firm, but he returned to save the firm from bankruptcy (Isaacson 2012 p. 2). Along the way, he assisted in transforming seven other companies in animated movies and personal computing (Isaacson 2012 p. 2). Therefore, his transformative capabilities place him among great American innovators because all his products were innovations. Though Steve Jobs was transformative, his personality traits were crucial determinants of the outcomes of his business. He acted in manners that suggested that normal rules did not apply to him (Isaacson 2012 p. 2). For instance, he fell out with Sculley because Sculley did not like his management style that was demanding. Steve Jobs had a rough personality. His personality was integral to his approaches of business and management. He had intensity, intelligence, demands, passion and extreme emotionalism. Focus Upon his come back to Apple, Job found a firm that was deep in confusion regarding the products they should make. He made a decision to, only, focus on two aspects, portable and desktop (Isaacson 4). He canceled other productions projects that were occurring, in the firm. In order to achieve his agenda, Jobs knew the importance of transforming his top staff. He began taking his top 100 employees on retreats (Isaacson 2012 p. 5). He ingrained focus in his group of staff and he removed what he considered as distractions. During a meeting with the co-founder of Google, Jobs told Larry Page that he should ensure that he focused on the main objectives and cancel out other functions because they dragged the company (Isaacson 2012 p. 6). This shows his tendencies to transform his colleagues and peers. Page returned to Google and asked his workers to focus on Google+ and Android. Jobs disliked lack of control and focus. He disliked Microsoft’s way of doing business. He considered Microsoft’s products as adequate, but they lacked greatness. Simplicity Jobs used his abilities to support simplicity. He could easily simplify things by zeroing on the essence of things and eliminating the redundant components. For instance, Apple’s software had a characteristic simplicity that was not found in other software such as Microsoft. Microsoft’s software was cluttered and it had non-intuitive and intrusive features (Isaacson 2012 p. 9). His leadership approach aimed for simplicity that conquered complexity instead of ignoring the complexities. The achievement of this simplicity would help Jobs to manufacture machines and products that were user friendly instead of challenging. Responsibility Responsibility is a crucial element of a transformational leader. Steve jobs took the responsibility of ensuring that his products were seamlessly integrated. This would lead to the creation of an Apple ecosystem that allowed the devices in the system to be simpler, smoother and glitch free (Isaacson 4). These show Jobs’ responsibility of ensuring that the user had a smooth and desirable experience with his products. Jobs tendencies of taking responsibility came from his personality. He had a controlling personality that demanded excellence. He was driven by the passion for perfection and elegance (Isaacson 2012 p. 5). He did not maximize on short term profits, but targeted long-term opportunities. Product before Profit During his early years at Apple, Steve Jobs did not speak about cost trade-off or profit enhancement. He was not worried about the price of his product, but his main concern was the specificity of the computer and its abilities. John Sculley’s approach of profit maximization did not auger well with the approaches taken by Jobs (Isaacson 2012 p. 10). As a result, Sculley fired Jobs and entrenched profit maximization. However, upon his return, Jobs returned to his old maxim of computer abilities. Steve Jobs’ Trait and Transformational Leadership and Their Role in Understanding Leadership Steve Jobs had trait leadership where he used integrated patterns of personal characteristics to lead. These characteristics reflect different ranges of individual differences and they foster consistency (Kurian 2012 p.7). Leaders such as Steve Jobs with trait leadership have effectiveness across different organizational situations and groups within the organization. For instance, even after being fired, he returned and saved the company from bankruptcy. Trait leadership enables the leader to create immense influence to the subjects. The successes of Steve Jobs, in leadership, point to the notion that leadership is inherent and unique to different sets of people (Kurian 2012 p. 5). This also shows that leaders have traits that are immutable and not developed. The successes of Steve jobs also illustrate that successful leadership differs from other leadership styles because these people posses certain personality traits that contribute to their leadership successes (Kurian 2012 p. 7). This helps in understanding the core personalities of Steve Jobs, and predicts his usefulness, in leadership. This also helps in predicting the organization’s selection of staff, development practices and training. Using the transformation theory, Steve Jobs facilitated Leader-Member interactions through personal meetings and retreats. For instance, Steve Jobs would take his staff to retreats and instill focus and simplicity. He would ask his employees to list areas of focus for his firm. However, he would cut these areas to only two areas and ask them to focus on the two. This was crucial in transforming his members and instilling focus and simplicity (Kurian 2012 p. 7). Steve jobs exhibit management factors using the transformation theory. This is based on his approaches of using focus, simplicity, responsibility, and placing the product before profits. Steve Jobs would focus on a list of specific product and make them the best products, in the market (Kurian 2012, p. 9). This is opposed to the approach of production where people make numerous products in order to flood the market with their brand. He used simplicity to ensure that customer enjoyed his products. These management approaches had immense impacts on the performance of Apple and other firms associated with Steve Jobs, such as Pixar and Next (Kurian 2012 p. 9). He bought Pixar and transformed the firm from a tiny animations house to a global leader, in animations. The success and failures of his firms were his responsibilities. Conclusion Leadership theories of transformational and trait leadership are applicable, in the case of Steve Jobs. He used his personality to guarantee that his people and products excelled. Additionally, Steve Jobs used transformational leadership using his personality traits. For instance, he used simplicity, responsibility and focus to ensure that his staff was motivated and focused to the objectives of his firm. He exerted control over every aspect of his enterprises. He entrenched a culture of strict accountability, in all levels of the organization. Reference List Isaacson, W 2012, the Real Leadership Lessons of Steve Jobs, Harvard Business Review, 1-11. Kurian, S 2012, Steve Jobs: A Leader Who Defied the Rule Book, Institute Of Finance And International Management. Page 1-14. Read More