The Most Important Qualities of a Leader - Research Proposal Example

Leadership in management essay on Steve Jobs – Apple (Focus on leadership) Table of Contents A brief biography of the leader – Steve Jobs 3 Background 4 Leadership style  5 Leadership type  6 Leadership Skills 8 Influence and impact of the leader  9 Exercise of power by the leader  10 References 11 A brief biography of the leader – Steve Jobs We have often heard a very famous saying that leaders are born and not made. Though nowadays, even this statement can be proved false. I say this because the world, in which we are living, has become so advanced that we can even say that leaders can be made. But we will focus our study on a born leader. He is also known as a synonym for Apple Inc. He is Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs was born in 24th February 1955 in San Francisco. He stayed with his adopted parents since he was born because his own parents never accepted him. So since child hood he had a feeling of abundance, which created the fire within him to become a famous leader one day. Jobs co-founded Apple in his parent’s garage in the year 1976. Though he lost the tussle with the board of director in Apple and had to leave, he did not give up (Northouse, 2009, p. 2-4). He decided to start NeXT computers in 1985, which was acquired by Apple Inc. He had a unique quality from childhood to fight with his situations. So in this case also he never sat back to repent on the bitter experiences that he had in his life. One of the most important qualities of a leader is to face defeat with a smile on face. Apple computer was in a very difficult position when Steve Jobs joined apple as the interim CEO. In the mean while he also bought Pixar, a computer graphics company in1986. Later Walt Disney bought it from him and Jobs became the highest individual shareholder and one of the board members of Walt Disney. This shows that he was a visionary. He was very well aware of the steps that he took and the results of his decisions. He had an excellent team of employees who gave shape to his dreams. He was a very harsh with his words. At many times he spoke harshly with his employees. But they never left him to go for another job. The employees of Apple Inc. would be welcomed at any big company. But the aura of Jobs was such that 80% of his harsh words were accepted to be true. He was considered to be a charismatic leader (New Charter University, 2012). Steve Jobs introduced a series of new products like the Mac OS X, iTunes, iPod, iPads, and iPhone. He was a perfectionist and he was very clear with his product ideas and their performances in the market. So he always wanted that the best technology offered to the world market should a product from Apple. A true leader not only wants to stay ahead of his group but also ahead of everyone. He has earned a lot of recognition, awards and for his achievements. But the more important fact than this is that he has great leadership qualities which made him stand out from the rest. He entered Apple computers when it was on the verge of closure. He not only revived the company but made it a market leader. A far sighted leader can only perform such miracle. Background Leadership means influencing people. It signifies creating a change in the society and in the minds of people and directs them towards achieving a goal. The person possessing these qualities is considered a leader. A good leader is one who follows his followers as followers are those who appreciates the quality of a person and considers him their leader. Leaders do not accept the norms of the society as they are they go against the flow, to set their own path. A leader has certain important leadership traits such integrity, self-confidence, intelligence and determination. Steve Jobs possessed all these qualities. Not only did he possessed them but also utilized them to integrate others too. He was always confident about his innovations, determined that they would do well in the market and he was intelligent enough to shape them also in products. Moreover, he always followed an ethical style. I say this because unfair means can give recognition or profit but it cannot change times, it cannot big about a revolution. So it is well understood that Steve Jobs was very much into ethical business and practiced it too. He had the capability to turn adverse situations into his favor. As in case of Apple Computers, we see that not only did he save it from closure but pulled it to the top. This is the qualities of a contingency leadership skill that Steve Jobs possessed. He not only created a teams of excellent people under his mentorship, but created self made teams who can act as individual leaders at times of crisis and work on a common objective. He was the second name for change. He did not follow, he made people follow him. He changed the entire management system of Apple Computers to Apple Inc. These were his capabilities. Leadership style  Style in leadership signifies the behavior of the leader. The style of leadership focuses mainly on the activities and the ways of approaching them. It includes not only the nature like the traits but also the actions of the leaders and their followers. Researchers have studied that there are various styles of leadership. Task oriented style relates to the accomplishment of goals, also known as task behaviors and second style deals with the interpersonal relationship of the leader with his followers and among the followers. In the task oriented style, the leader is not really interested in the opinion of the subordinates. In the situation of crisis, leaders like this are often preferred because the subordinates get a leader whom they can follow without much thinking. Steve jobs had a Task oriented approach. He was precise in his words and had an excellent six sense to decide each plan without any loop in it. He was determined and harsh. Success was the only thing that mattered most for him (Scheerens, 2012, p. 6-8). On the other hand, a participative leader would ask for opinions from his employees regarding major discussions. He would be approachable and humble towards his followers. It is difficult to determine as to which style is the most appropriate. All situations demand different solution. Moreover, the style of leadership is also depended on the personality traits of the leader. Steve Jobs revived Apple computers to a successful Apple Inc. for his task oriented style and his powerful approach towards being a world leader (DuBrin, 2008, p. 348-349). Leadership type  Each human being has different behavioral pattern and different approach towards any problem. Visionary leaders are good planners because they aim at long-term goals and they are really good at forecasting situations in future. Transactional Leaders are those motivate employees through pay promotion and job satisfaction. There are leaders who believe in setting short term objectives. They believe in quick result oriented tasks. So these types of leaders are usually more interested in delivering results on time. They are also called fulfillment leaders. They continuously try to bring out potentials from individuals and believe in optimum utilization of available resources. Integration leaders follow the middle path. In this type of leadership the leaders have complete knowledge of the organization and they are very much capable of introducing new process in the systems of the organization. They are problem solvers, so they can easily solve conflicts in the organization. They are innovative in creating a very strong culture in their organization. This is their signature style. All these types of leadership are kind of individualistic in nature. But transformational leadership involves moving towards attaining a common goal along with a team or group of employees. They know the art of inserting the values of the organization for a team effort into the subordinates, so that they can even work as a team and individual leaders. For this kind of leadership, the leader has to be a role model or have an idealizing influence on the subordinates. They must be intellectual and inspiring for the followers. There are charismatic leaders too, who have such a personality that people get drawn towards them. There is an aura, which pulls people towards them (NIOS, n.d., p. 184-185) The most classic style of leadership style or type is Autocratic and democratic leadership style. The autocratic leader is one who is the decision maker. So in this the subordinates are only in the position to receive orders and make no amendments to it. While democratic leaders are the one who takes the option of everyone irrespective of the position of the follower. They are lenient and usually friendly in nature. They always receive the affection of their subordinates due to their style of leadership (Daft & Lane, 2008, p. 44). Depending on the nature and behavioral pattern of the person, there are several categories of leadership. Steve Jobs was far-sighted and planned for long-term success. He had perfect knowledge of the market and his competitors. He can be considered a visionary leader for his master piece products, extremely brilliant planning and amazing innovations. He was innovative and he always wanted to give the market such innovative product through Apple Inc., which none of his competitors could offer. Not only do we see visionary leadership qualities in him but also transformational leadership qualities too. He totally transformed the image of Apple from a blacklisted company to a Market Leader. He injected his values into his employees in such a manner that today when he is there no more, his team is still performing in the same manner as they used to during his presence. He even had charismatic qualities because of which not only his employees but the whole world remembers Steve Jobs (Healy, 2011). Leadership Skills Leaders are nothing without their skills. Leadership skills are very important for proper administration of the organization and the team. Mainly we focus on three types of leadership skills that can be seen in leaders generally. Technical or analytical skills, man power or relational skills and conceptual skills. (Sperry, 2002, p. 43-47) Technical skill involves knowledge about the work that the leader is involved into, also known as the area of expertise of the author. Steve Jobs was excellent in the technical field. He walked ahead of time. He not only understood the technology of the present times but also predicted the future technology and innovated iPhone for example. He was analytical in nature and did spend hours on planning and designing those products which he considered to be lucrative. He had excellent knowledge and ability to control the human resource of his company. He was a perfectionist and his employees had to enhance this quality within them to survive in his company and work with him. People tried hard to work with this charismatic leader and keep pace with his steps. Conceptual skills involve ability to generate new ideas and giving shape to it through proper management of teams and other available resources. It’s a top-management level activity. It also includes sensing the pulse of the business. Steve Jobs was the master of innovation in the field of technology. People commented on him but they could never deny the fact that he was the best (ICMR, 2011). Achievements  The achievements of the golden man Steve Jobs are beyond the count of any human being. He was a power house of innovation and achievements. Apple Inc. celebrated 2011 as a mark of their immense profit and success. Steve Jobs became the highest individual shareholder of Walt Disney. He became one of the board members of Walt Disney and gave new dimension to the cinematic arts. He was the catalyst which brought in a new generation of products into the market. He was an era of change. If we take about his achievements we can say that his achievements are products like iTunes, iPhone, iPods, iPads and thousands of Apple stores round the world (iPhone Stuff, 2011). Influence and impact of the leader  Not many leaders have such characteristics like Steve Jobs. He did not follow the trends of the other CEOs or leaders to influence people. He was unique and that was his USP. He had many followers as well as many non-followers but no one ever had the courage to stand up deny his talent. Jobs not only influenced the market with his products and innovative ideas, but he is a leader and a role model for students too. All the users of Apple’s products can very well assume that what the world would have been without his innovations. He made the world a better place to live (The Case Foundation, 2011). Exercise of power by the leader  Steve Jobs was a perfectionist. He was powerful in his approach. Leaders like Steve Jobs are not so lenient in nature. They are ruthless and harsh. They never compromise with the quality of their dreams. For Steve Jobs his innovations were his dreams and he made very sure that his innovations are exact in terms of performance, quality, style and color. There was so much authority and energy in his voice that an impossible idea could also seem achievable to his team (Sociological Images, 2011). References Daft, R. L., & Lane, P. G. (2008). The Leadership Experience. USA: Cengage Learning. DuBrin, A. J. (2008). Essentials of Management. USA: Cengage Learning. Healy, K. (2011). [Online]. Available at: http://kieranhealy.org/blog/archives/2011/10/10/a-sociology-of-steve-jobs/. [Accessed on May 2, 2012]. ICMR. (2011). [Online]. Available at: http://www.icmrindia.org/casestudies/catalogue/Leadership%20and%20Entrepreneurship/LDEN080.htm. [Accessed on May 2, 2012]. iPhone Stuff. (2011). [Online]. Available at: http://www.iphone-stuff.org/inside-apples-2011-steve-jobs-achievements-battles-and-crises. [Accessed on May 2, 2012]. New Charter University. (2012). [Online]. Available at: https://new.edu/resources/introduction--6. [Accessed on May 1, 2012]. NIOS. (no date). [Online]. Available at: http://www.nios.ac.in/secpsycour/unit-17.pdf. [Accessed on May 1, 2012]. Northouse, P. G. (2009). Leadership: Theory and Practice. USA: SAGE. Scheerens, J. (2012). School Leadership Effects Revisited: Review and Meta-Analysis of Empirical Studies. USA: Springer. Sociological Images. (2011). [Online]. Available at: http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2011/10/08/steve-jobs-and-the-routinization-of-charisma/. [Accessed on May 2, 2012]. Sperry, L. (2002). Effective Leadership: Strategies for Maximizing Executive Productivity and Health. USA: Psychology Press. The Case Foundation. (2011). [Online]. Available at: http://www.casefoundation.org/blog/steve-jobs-life-innovation-and-inspiration. [Accessed on May 2, 2012]. . Read More