The Leadership Styles of Gates and Jobs - Essay Example

Winkler de s that management and leadership are closely related concepts but have different definitions or meanings. In the perspective of Winkler (2010), leadership concerns itself with the future visions of the company. Winkler (2010) further goes on to denote that management involves itself with supervising the daily tasks of the business organization. This paper analyzes the leadership styles of Steve Jobs, and Bill Gates. Mr. Jobs was one of the founders of Apples, and the CEO of the company, until the day of his death. Mr. Gates on the other hand is also one of the founders of Microsoft Company, and its chairman. This paper will evaluate the leadership styles of these leaders through the use of relevant management, organizational, and leadership theories. According to the traits approach, Mr. Gates and Mr. Jobs are born leaders. The traits of these two leaders always determine the manner in which they lead their employees, and hence achieving effectiveness and success in their work (Adair, 2006). Steve Jobs had an authoritarian leadership style, and he believed that whatever he does is right. Mr. Jobs was a very over-confident fellow, believing that he had the capability of changing through the computers that he made. Mr. Jobs was also a high risk taker, and very innovative (Petri and Govern, 2013). Mr. Jobs placed so much demand on his employees, and he could hire and fire these employees at the slightest mistake or provocation emanating from these employees. On this basis, Mr. Jobs sought to maintain a complete control and authority over the people working for him (Devinney, Pedersen and Tihanyi, 2010). It is important to understand that in the current times, there are laws and regulations that protect an employee of an organization from unnecessary dismissals, and harsh treatment at the work place. For instance, the UK equality act of 2010, establishes a procedure whereby an employer should follow when he or she wants to sack an employee (Öner, 2012). The employer must act in a reasonable manner, follow a fair procedure, and the employer must have a good reason for dismissing his employee (Devinney, Pedersen and Tihanyi, 2010). In contrast to Mr. Jobs, is Bill Gates, and he is described as a very flexible person, who is energizing and strong. The leadership style of Mr. Gates is participative, and a decentralized type of management. That is Mr. Gates allowed people to have their own thoughts and hence provide suggestions regarding certain issues that affected the company. Mr. Gates was a persuader, and a motivational leader, who clearly understood the various needs of his employees (Lüsted, 2012). Due to his democratic/ participative type of leadership, Mr. Gates was able to delegate some of his responsibilities to his employees. It is important to understand that the traits approach is very useful in identifying the weaknesses and strengths of the leaders under consideration. Lusted (2012) denote that any contradictory characters that are not depicted by the traits approach would mean that there is inconsistency in the leadership styles of these two people. Lusted (2012) argue that traits are normally fixed, and on this note, the personality traits of these leaders is only a portion of measuring and rating the leadership styles of Mr. Gates and Mr. Jobs. Adair (2006) denotes that the authoritarian and the participative leadership styles of these two leaders is neither wrong, nor correct. This is because the two leaders were both successful in their leadership styles and the companies that they were leading (Adair, 2006). On this basis, the leadership style that a leader adopts should only be based on the kind of employees an organization has. Scholars denote that the leadership style of Mr. Jobs places him as a manager, as opposed to a leader. This is because of his close supervision of the employees working for him (Adair, 2006). As denoted earlier, Mr. Jobs will quickly punish his members of staff, in case they try to interfere with his leadership style (Brown, 2000). This is an aspect referred to as position power. This aspect refers to a situation whereby an individual in authority would like his or her subordinates to feel that he is in the position of authority (Ncube and Wasburn, 2006). Mr. Bill Gates on the other hand embraces the concept referred to as leader-member relationship. This is because Mr. Bill Gates valued his employees, and initiated a series of programs aimed at satisfying the personal and professional needs of his employees (Moritz, 2009). These programs include training of the organizations employees, having a continuous appraisal system, whereby the organization recognizes the most efficient employee, a good pay structure, and opportunities for advancing within the company (Morrison, 2003). On this basis, the leadership approach that Bill Gates initiates can be referred to as the team management approach. This is whereby the leader encourages members of the organization to work as a team (Zuckerman, 2002). Bill Gates was also involved in personally communicating with his employees through emails and letters. This was for the main purpose of communicating the policies of the organization, its aims and objectives. Writing to his employees was also a way of motivating them to work hard (Moritz, 2009). The leadership style of Bill Gates helped in developing a mutual relationship between him and his employees. This made his employees to trust him, and this helped to depict Bill Gates as a leader, as opposed to a manager (Adair, 2006). It is important to understand that the situational approach to leadership would require Steve Jobs to change his leadership style, once the company achieves its objectives. However, this is not practical, and it is because there is no need of changing the management and leadership once a situation changes (Beahm, 2011). Under the leadership of Mr. Gates, the organizational culture of Microsoft was uncertain. This uncertain organizational culture was also seen in Apples, during the leadership of Mr. Steve Jobs (Beahm, 2011). These two leaders insisted on innovation, and on this basis, there was a constant change on the quality of products that these organizations made. The authoritarian leadership style of Mr. Jobs led to a culture of bureaucracy. This is because before any decision is made, junior employees had to consult Mr. Jobs for approval. The leadership style of Mr. Gates on the other hand helped to create an environment of respect and trust amongst the employees of the organization (Gates and Rogak, 2012). This is because he used to delegate various roles to employees. It is important to understand that in certain cases, delegating of duties to employees is not appropriate. However, Bill Gates used this aspect to make his employees highly innovative, and hence achieving efficiency in the manner in which these people carried their duties (Karabenick and Urdan, 2010). This innovation helped the company to develop computer software programs such as Ms Office with features that made it possible for customers to easily use it. On this note, trust is an important aspect of the organizational culture of Microsoft. It is important to understand that the manner in which employees of an organization are motivated depends highly on the type of leadership exhibited. Mr. Gates uses the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory to satisfy the various needs of his employees (Heinrichs, 2013). For instance, every employee within the organization is given a chance to improve on his skills through the various training programs that the organization initiates (Lindgren, 2012). This is aimed at making these employees efficient in their duties and work, and it will also give them an opportunity to advance within the company, playing a role in satisfying their self actualization needs (Heinrichs, 2013). However, Deacon (2003) denotes that different employees have different self-actualization needs, and they cannot merely be satisfied by promotions and career advancements. Mr. Jobs on the other hand believed on the process theories of motivation. Under this model, the decision maker is responsible for making all the decision, and it is assumed that he or she acts on a point of knowledge (Cameron, 2011). The decision maker balances on the inputs of his organization, and the outputs of his employees. If they balance, then the decision maker will continue with the policy. Mr. Jobs uses money for purposes of motivating his members of staff (Abyad, 2011). This is because he was of the opinion that the amount of money paid to his employees, was a reflection of their output. In fact, Adair (2006) reveals that employees of Apples are amongst the best paid in the world. However, according to the two factor theory developed by Herzberg, money is not a motivator ((Heinrichs, 2013). Factors that make an employee to be motivated are potential for growth, job satisfaction, responsibility, and the nature of work. However, it is important to understand that Herzberg denotes that in as much as money is not a motivator, lack of it can be a demotivating factor (Heinrichs, 2013). On this basis, Mr. Gates is a more efficient leader as compared to Mr. Jobs. In conclusion, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates have personality traits that are contrasting. However, these personality traits play a major role in influencing their leadership styles and behavior. Mr. Jobs is an autocratic leader, who does not tolerate any challenge to his leadership and authority. On this basis, it is prudent to refer to Mr. Jobs as a manager, as opposed to a leader. In as much as his authoritarian leadership style was effective, this style might have an impact on the relationship between him and his employees. It may make the organizations employees to leave the organization, and look for other opportunities of work. On this basis, this leadership style cannot effectively work in the current century, which is full of trade unions, and laws that guide the employer-employee relations. Mr. Gates on the other hand is a democratic leader, who values the inputs of each and every employee. 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