- Will you consider Steve Jobs as a manager, leader, or both?
Steve Jobs was both a leader and a manager. He is a man of great personalities who has piloted his company to prosperity. He was one of the most passionate and goal-oriented leaders of all time. His autocratic and innovative leadership helped in transforming the entire technological industry.
Steve Jobs as a leader
Steve was born as a leader in terms of technological innovations. He was a passionate, perfectionist, highly intuitive, and charismatic leader. It was these qualities that made his company prosper. Although his traits towards employees may be unethical, his intelligence, determination, and confidence distinctly matched with his amoral approach of leadership. Jobs was not a relationship-oriented leader but rather a focused and determined leader who demands the best from his employees. One may argue that Steve was temperamental, aggressive, intimidating, and very demanding; while this is true, it was also through his traits that his employees were able to offer the best they could. What makes him an incredible leader is that Steve Jobs rewarded his employees who performed to his expectations; this is an essential leadership skill to encourage his employees. Even those employees who feared him still admired and had great respect for him. His continuous innovation, enthusiasm, and high level of performance-inspired them greatly.
Steve Jobs as a manager
Steve Jobs was a great entrepreneur. Throughout his career, the company of Apple was able to come up with successful innovations and achievements. The company was also able to reach the peak of its market expectations. Steve Jobs’ managerial skills made this possible. He made his employees believe in his goals and accept his outstanding acts. His act of being-impatient and perfectionism brought exceptional results of the Apple Company. Another skill that made him a great manager is that he was intelligent and dearly understood his goals.
- Would you consider Tim Cook, a leader, manager, or both?
Just like his predecessor, Tim Cook was also a leader and a manager. Throughout his career as a CEO of the Company, he has shown not only great leadership skills but also spectacular managerial skills.
Tim Cook as a leader
In contrast to Steve Job’s highly autocratic leadership, Tim Cook’s leadership style can be described as democratic. According to him, it was essential to build consensus among his senior employees regarding the strategic decision for the company. Some define his leadership as “quiet.” His leadership style was quiet yet effective. Tim was able to establish a good relationship with his employees, unlike his predecessor. Being presented with a position to lead while he was only an employee was a difficult task, yet Tim turned out successful. He used constant questioning to keep his employees on toes. The technique is highly effective at keeping the employees motivated and innovative. He gets the best out of them by merely slicing them with questions.
Tim Cook as a manager
Just like his leadership style, his managerial style was democratic. He adopted some of the Job’s practices and uniquely blended. Many accused him of lacking boldness like Steve Jobs. However, Tim has strengths of his own. He much focused on moving the existing product. His managerial style was also highly indicative. He proved his pundits wrong with six years of success in the company. Thanks to him, the company was able to hit an all-time goal.
- Which basic leadership style – autocratic, democratic, or laissez-faire – would Job’s critics say he used what style.
Steve Jobs employed autocratic leadership. He made all the choices on his own and collected little input from his employees. He was in charge of making all the decisions in the company. It was through this authoritative leadership that he was able to build one of the biggest companies in the world. His administration was termed by many as not transformational. Steve Jobs’ focus was only on the company and not his employees; this made his employees fear him. On the contrary, Tim Cook’s leadership style was democratic; he encouraged teamwork. He motivated his employees and inspired innovation by questioning them regularly.
- Was Steve Jobs a charismatic leader
Steve Job was considered Steve strongly charismatic. He was gifted in technological industries. Charismatic leaders are known for their commanding vision, pushy character, and hard to convince. Steve Jobs had all these traits. He is known for treating his employees harshly and always demanded the best from them. However, he rewarded those who met his requirements.
- Was Job considered a transformational or transactional leader
Steve Jobs was a transformational leader. He pressured his team to come up with ways to bring change in the company. His career as a CEO was marked with innovations that significantly contributed to the technological industry. He also inspired his employees. Those who feared him secretly admired his enthusiasm and determination.
- Which contingency leadership style, Task-oriented or relationship-oriented, would Jobs’ and Cook’s critics say they use?
Their leadership style criticized both leaders. Steve Jobs’ critics suggest that he uses a relationship-oriented leadership style while Cook’s critics suggest that he applies Task-oriented skills. Overall, they all lie in Steve Jobs’ autocratic/ task-oriented style as it is more productive and innovative.
- Did leadership play a role in charge of in performance at Apple with or without Steve Job
Yes. Steve Jobs was more focused on innovation and changing the world. With Steve as a CEO, there was a lot of innovation and improvements in Apple products. Steve also pushed his employees to give the best they could. He believed that Apple products would revolutionize the world.
- Would you have liked to work for Steve Jobs? Why or why not?
Yes, because Steve jobs create a competitive but also innovative working environment that would have kept me on my toes.
- Would you like to work for Tim Cook? Why or why not?
Yes, because he is known for his transformational leadership that encouraged everyone’s contribution. Tim creates a pleasant working environment by promoting teamwork.