The Concept of Leadership - Essay Example

The concept of leadership has ever been recognized as the notion of competence which tends to influence a group towards the accomplishment of organizational objectives. The leadership functions and style of Steven Paul “Steve” Jobs, the Chief Executive Officer of Apple Incorporation remarkably supported the company to be recognized as the most successful and dominant brand in the global technology market (McGraw-Hill Education, n.d.)
The report intends to bring clear insight into the leadership function and style possessed by Jobs to be (the) best leader of the decade by Fortune Magazine. The report further focuses on identifying the leadership style of Jobs and analyzing the fulfillment of the functions during his tenure.
Discussion
According to the critical observation of the cases i.e. “Steve Jobs' Magic Kingdom” and “Commentary: The Last Pitchman”, it has been clearly observed that the leadership style and functions of Jobs were unconventional that cannot be theoretically justified. The leadership functions and styles of Jobs reflected during his tenure revealed in the cases have been demonstrated in the following discussion.
Leadership Functions
Vision: During his tenure, Jobs formulated an unblemished vision for the leaders to effectively control and manage organizational functions. Jobs was likely to educate his followers to maintain collaborative and innovative culture to encourage and promote creativity within the organization (Bloomberg L.P, 2006).
Communication: The communication skill of a leader plays a pivotal role for the organization to provide a competitive environment that leads to the accomplishment of the desired business goals (Wooten, 2010). In relation to the communication skills of Jobs, it is often observed that the leader used to build an effective interpersonal skill that encompassed each individual having different roles within the organization (Bloomberg L.P, 2006).
Motivation: The motivational skill of a leader in an organization depicts the capability of cropping adequate insights to each individual and enables them to render significant effort for achieving shared goals of the organization. With respect to the motivational skill of Jobs, it has been recognized from the cases that the unconventional vision of the leader was incorporated within the collaborative and effective communication process. The practice had enabled each employee of the organization to transform their innate capabilities and achieve predetermined business objectives (McGraw-Hill Education, n.d.).
Being a Change Agent:
The practice of conventional business processes often limits the organizational capabilities to achieve or strengthen its sustainable position (McGraw-Hill Education, n.d.). In relation to the present competitive environment, the acceptance of changes is also an important practice for leaders to build long-term sustainability. With regard to the leadership functions of Jobs, it was often observed frequent changes in the organizational process in accordance with the changing trend of the global business markets (Bloomberg L.P, 2010).
Leadership Style
Visionary: Visionary leadership is one of the most essential factors for a successful entrepreneur. A clear vision along with a strong commitment towards the organizational objectives can enable a leader to develop competitive strategies and implement effective business practices. In relation to the observation of the cases, it has been found that the leadership style of Jobs was highly focused on visionary aspects. The visionary leadership of jobs can be characterized by various factors. Few of the major visionary aspects in Jobs’ leadership style were included defining a clear vision, charismatic quality, good communicator along with risk-taker, and strategic planner (Garcia-Tunon, 2013; Bloomberg L.P, 2010).
Transformational: Transformational leadership is duly regarded as one of the promising aspects of leadership style which enables business leaders to transform their capabilities of developing the organizational processes. During the leadership tenure of Jobs, it has been recognized a radical augmentation of transformational aspects in his leadership style. The cases have revealed that the revolution of advanced technological products such as iPod, iMac, iPhone, and iPad has experienced groundbreaking performance in the technology market after the leader was incorporated as CEO of Apple in the year 1997. Whereas, the company has faced flounder condition during the period while Jobs was overlooked by the CEO of Apple in the year 1985. The transformational changes in the organizational performance clearly define the transformational leadership style of Jobs (Garcia-Tunon, 2013; Bloomberg L.P, 2010).
Therefore, it can be stated that the leadership style and functions of Jobs have been identified to incorporate transactional leadership approach which enabled the former CEO of Apple to build a strong relationship with his followed transactional leadership approach focuses on a common advantage that originated from a type of convention during the performance of the followers and delivering the compensation or acknowledgment in return for the dedication (Gardiner, 2006).
It is a set of skills and competencies possessed by a leader which enable the followers to put their ultimate effort into the respective goals or objectives of the organization.
In relation to the overall discussion of Jobs’ leadership revealed by the cases, it can be recognized that the leadership style and functions that followed by the leader in his tenure were notably characterized into a few major aspects. Read More