Was Steve Jobs conventional or unconventional? And why?
It is understood that Steve Jobs demonstrated the most unique leadership style while at the helm of various performing companies. His style in management was fabulous since he never emulated any of the known leadership styles. In all decisions that he made, Steve Jobs opted to stand out from the crowd because he avoided approaching issues from the ordinary point of view.
One of the areas that Steve Jobs did so well was in the design of Apple Inc.’s electronic products. It did not matter whether he had any knowledge in design. He perfected the art of producing the most appealing electronic products from Apple Inc. As a matter of fact, the element of the design has remained as one of the reasons why electronic products from Apple have a large market share. Secondly, software development as witnessed in the various applications used in Apple products is clear proof that Steve Jobs did not follow the common path in software development. In other words, he was unconventional in several endeavors that he pursued while at the helm of various top-notch companies.
Steve Jobs did not follow the conventional management styles while managing employees and company operations at various levels. For instance, he believed in being perfect and completely shrewd when managing people and organizations.
He also created room for creativity among employees. This explains why the coding techniques and design capabilities of products manufactured from Apple Inc. were superb. Additionally, he exercised a high level of honesty between the company and other trading partners. There was even a time when he cut off a trading deal between Apple Inc. and John Wiley & Sons Publishers. Although the trading practice of this publisher had nothing to do with Apple Inc., Steve Jobs opted to maintain his personal belief system.
As a leader what are the things that you will work on to achieve your goals and objectives and do you believe that being different than others do any better?
Achieving my goals and objectives as a leader requires effective leadership ability. For example, I ought to be transparent and accountable while in a leadership position. Transparency refers to the quality of being open and trustworthy with people and even with the assigned duties and responsibilities. As a leader who is accountable, I will be in a position to take charge of my personal roles without pointing an accusing finger to other employees or senior members of staff who are working with me.
In order to attain specific goals and objectives in an organization, it demands leadership that is capable of handling emerging issues in the most effective manner. Moreover, accountability assists in fast-tracking the broad mission and vision of an organization bearing in mind that all the goals and objectives are usually enshrined within the vision and mission of an organization.
Being different from others may not necessarily yield positive results. However, it is vital to understand that effective leadership can only be realized when leaders take the right direction in management. For instance, the initiatives taken should be surveyed well in terms of uniqueness and ability to produce positive growth in an organization. It is not just enough to be different in our style of management or leadership. The outcomes of such differences should propel an organization to a different level altogether. In the case of Steve Jobs, his difference from other company managers led to an impressive performance at Apple Inc. because the strategies adopted were viable. This should be the case with any other leadership position.