Leadership is a tough role yet one that inspires motivation among the followers. Indeed, the success of leadership is significant in improving an organization’s net performance. While there are many different styles of leadership, each with considerable success, leaders must identify the best style depending on the needs of the organization. In this essay, Steve Jobs, a book written by Walter Isaacson is reviewed with regard to the success of the leadership practices in application. In the book, the success of Steve Jobs in his capacity as the CEO of Apple is tracked from his childhood to his ultimate death. The author is critical of the leadership practices in use and delves on the success of their application within the organization. Ultimately, the success of the company, Apple, is highly attributed to the successful implementation of sound leadership practices by Steve Jobs.

The author acknowledges the difficulty in tracing a single leadership style in Steve Jobs’ management. However, drawing from the nature of his management, it is clear that the style of transformational leadership was widely practiced. In addition, the book addresses the role of authoritative leadership in increasing organizational performance. In fact, although the writer is critical of Jobs’ arrogance in leadership, the book also appreciates the impact on performance. In fact, Isaacson (2013) assert that Jobs managed to instill loyalty among his followers leading to improved performance. According to Steve Jobs, a leader needed to have a vision and ensure that all the employees are part of the vision. In so doing, every member of staff will work towards the realization of the vision thus translating into improved performance.

The book portrays the character as someone who is far from being perfect but thorough in his output. The book goes further to portray Steve Jobs as a leader with dictatorial tendencies. Despite this tag, the Apple Company continued to flourish under his watch because of the style he employed. It is important to understand that a leadership style is situational and subject to change from time to time. That notwithstanding, the character’s inclination towards the style of transformational leadership was effective in initiating change in the organization. His style motivated his followers to attain more than they even thought possible of themselves. In the process, most of the organizational goals were exceeded in part due to his style of leadership. The style of setting more challenging tasks for the employees motivates them to work harder to achieve the desired results.

The increasing loyalty among employees is also seen as arising from the character’s leadership style. The efforts that Jobs initiated in ensuring that employees could identify with the company’s vision helped in this regard. Consequently, Jobs was presiding over a highly motivated staff with an ability to surpass challenging expectations. The desire to achieve a goal that one identifies with is highly influential in the attainment of organizational performance. Another attribute of Jobs’ leadership style is the ability to empower the employees through active involvement in decision making. Transformational leaders involve the ides of their followers but make the final decision after due considerations. This is a fact that Job was conversant with as evidenced by the strategic decisions made during his reign. Ultimately, the transformational style of leadership employed by Steve Jobs significantly motivated employees to improve performance.

References

Isaacson, W. (2013). Steve Jobs. New York: Simon & Schuster.