Leadership Capabilities and Career Track of Steve Jobs as a Leader

Task:

This paper aims to discuss the leadership capabilities of the self and how much this relates to the accepted global business leadership framework. This paper will be analyzing the self-assessment results on the basis of the tests like Clifton’s Strengths factors that will help in understanding the personal strengths and weakness, team building qualities and how the weaknesses are to be transformed into strengths. Based on the self-assessment process, the abilities, tendencies and skills will be discussed. In the second art of the paper, the career track of Steve Jobs as a leader will be discussed. In this segment, the leadership qualities, management roles and functions of Steve Jobs as the founder of Apple Inc. will be discussed. The skills of this particular leader has improved the organizational structure, communication and operation of Apple Inc. and thus Jobs’ capabilities has made Apple to become one of the largest international organization in the world.

Self-Assessment:

From the analysis of the skill test, I have pointed out some very important actors that I possess and those I do not. My abilities and tendencies include effective communication and team-building style. There is a potential leader within me whose qualities include team building and creativity.  I am a team leader who considers the power of teamwork. I prefer to work collaboratively so that the diversity in the teamwork increases. I prefer to create such a team environment in which the promotion of consultation, partnership, and collaboration get promoted. I, along with my team members, aim to face any challenge and solve any problem.

My strengths are exposed through Clifton’s strength test from which I have found out that I possess the qualities of consistency, performing deliberative, and executing abilities. In addition to this, I am a strategic thinker who tries to focus on the relationship-building through empathizing with the team members. I am capable of influencing others through my communication and create a positive outlook about the challenges which are inevitable in the business scenario (Hunt & Fitzgerald, 2018). I try to understand the individual needs of the subordinates and bring everyone under the same rule. I somehow convince the team members to identify their skills and include them in action. I am capable of identifying problems and solving them by understanding the results. The cognitive factors are also very prominent in me because I possess insight into the people and farsightedness and conceptual thinking. I am an open-minded person who has needed intellectual ability to understand the need of the situation and strategies accordingly. I am capable of disclosing the importance of honesty to perform the rule and regulations to solve the problems ethically.

However, the weaknesses in me are also very prominent as it is very much visible to the others. S because I don’t have the confidence in communicating before the crowd. The public speaking capability in me is low; that is why I do not feel confident in sharing my thoughts to the others (Krapfl & Kruja, 2015). The confidence of public speaking has to be attained by me because this is one of the most essential and primary criteria of being a leader. I am a person with empathy, truthfulness, honesty, transparency, and accountability that leaders must possess in this competitive world of business.

Self-Assessment: Compare and Contrast

There are various common factors between my chosen leader, which are very much expected in the world of business nowadays and me. Among all, I possess sufficient team-building skill, and my elected leader also possess effective team building and managing skill. Both he and I can motivate the team members by understanding their individual needs.

All the qualities mentioned above are of successful leaders and ideally get aligned with the conditions in me. I have almost every capabilities and skill of the leaders except few. Among those, I have pointed out the need for the risk-taking mentality that most of the international leaders possess. I do not dare to face some challenges which go beyond my limitations. My chose leader is Steve Jobs, who is known for his innovation capability (Strielkowski & Chigisheva, 2018). This ability I do not possess and never tried in the past. I try to find a creative solution to the problems, but those are not very innovative somewhat similar to the ways followed by other managers. In addition to this, my chosen leader has outstanding foresightedness that I do see in myself. I cannot judge the expectations of the stakeholders who will be benefitted by my projects. This is the reason why I cannot make effective strategies for team growth.

Leadership and Management:

The legendary leader named Steve Jobs was the most inspirational and skilled leaders of all time concerning business management. He happened to be an inspiration for many followers and leadership aspires who want to leave their mark in any business industry. His skills of leadership contributed to turning Apple Inc. into one of the biggest tech giants in the world within a few years. The adopted child of a Mountain View Caliph showed his early interest in the gadgetry and electronics. While in school, he asked for parts from the president and co-founder of Hewlett –Packard, William Hewlett, for his school project. This incident changed his life when he was offered to work as an intern in the HP Company as a summer internship. The first step of founding the company was his friendship with Steve Wozniak, who was ten trying to develop a small computer. Together with him, Jobs started to sell blue box which was used to make free calls across the country. After this, these two innovated Apple I which only need a PC and keyboard to do anything. The success of this product led the Steves to found the company named Apple. After its foundation in 1978, the company did not have to think for economic support.

His management roles and function were innovative in which the people were at the center of power — the style of Jobs incorporated recognition of the rational, cultural, emotional, and creative dimensions. The management skills of Steve Jobs gives the employees to develop their passion through the contribution to the growth of the company. The style of Jobs encourage the employees to be self-confident to show their innovative skills openly for which the creating of the flat structure of the organization has been seen allowing the idea flow from the bottom to top (Ghasabeh, Soosay & Reaiche, 2015). This gives the evidence of the vertical and top-down approach of leadership by Steve Jobs, and his aim creates new meaning for every stakeholder associated with the company.

This leadership style of Steve Jobs has not only manipulated the employees but also convince the customers to buy Apple’s products. Apple’s customers do not purchase the products because of functionality or utility. They are also capable of forgiving the technical limitation of Apple in exchange for the great design and its focus on the identity.
Usually, the leaders are expected to have excellent knowledge about the business, and they share these to their followers for making the human resource to be more efficient. In the case of Steve Jobs, the efficiency level is so pressing for the employees that the objectives are not set below perfection. He never compromised on realization which often led to the loss of the company, unlike other managers or leaders; Steve Jobs was not afraid of taking risks. He trusted his judgment and understood the actual need of the people. Unlike other famous leaders, Stave Jobs found out the actual capabilities of the employee, and he used to challenge their limits. Unlike other leaders, he encouraged the employees to test their limits without ordering what to do all the time.

Leadership and Management: Leadership:

The leadership skills of Steve Jobs have a significant impact on improving organizational structure, operations, and communication within Apple Inc. Steve Jobs’ leadership skills were unique and simplified. For creating the organizational structure, the leaders only wanted the communication scope to be smooth for which he chose the flat structure of the organization (Heracleous & Papachroni, 2016). The operation of the company mark by the controlling of the experience where the employees are held responsible for taking care of the products and services from end to end. The aim focus was on innovation as this is a technological company and paved the ways for the other brands to follow the unique innovations for their products. The leadership skills of Steve Jobs ignored reality as he believed that innovation could change dreams to reality. This leadership skills of Steve Jobs support the collaboration process of the employees with the vision which the leader has seen.

Leadership and Management: Management

It is the process of rethinking the designs which made the operations of the company more efficient in the transaction. The management capabilities of Steve Jobs has guided the development, maintained, and allocated the resources for attaining the organizational goals. The manager here is responsible for the growth and dynamic by nature. It is the process of Jobs’ anticipation of the potential problems, opportunities, and designing plans to deal with the situation. Secondly, the coordination and the allocation of the resources to implement the plan and guiding the persons through implementation process (Northouse, 2017). Finally, the managerial skill of Steve Jobs had the vision for the future that enabled him to think of the future operations and demands of the markets faster than his competitors even know it.

Therefore it can be concluded that I possess the leadership skills needed for running a business in this competitive world of business but lack many more qualities. The leadership style of Steve Jobs not only effectively manipulate the employees but also convince the customers to buy Apple’s products, so is the capability of this leader. However, I do not dare to face some challenges which go beyond my limitations. This type of weakness a negatively affect me; therefore, I, was a manager, must be responsible for the growth of the company I shall be working in hence be dynamic by nature. Unlike the style of Jobs, I must incorporate the rational, cultural, emotional, and creative dimensions of my team members.