Chris's Musings On Leadership And Other Stuff

Steve Jobs has always intrigued me as an individual. How come people follow and love this man who is known to have a demanding style of management and was once named the Fortune’s list of America’s Toughest Bosses in regard to his leadership? What’s up with this? Let’s look at the leadership qualities of the man who runs Apple, the company who was responsible for the the Mac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad. In all the articles I read, two leadership qualities continued to stand out of all the others: his charisma and his passion.

Charisma

Webster’s defines charisma as “a personal magic of leadership arousing special popular loyalty or enthusiasm for a public figure.” Jobs has a uncanny ability to give customers a great product. The iPhone is a beautiful phone that is easy to use. The design is sleek and well built. He always gets his customers excited about the products coming out in the future by not revealing the new product until it is released to the public. His ability to surprise his customers with something new and unexpected only helps his “Larger then Life” persona. Because of his charisma, he whips up excitement for his customers and makes his employees enthusiastic to want to make something new and exciting. When he is presenting, he always includes the team that helped build the product. Because he “shares the stage,” he gives his employees the feeling of ownership.

Passion

Steve Jobs is very passionate about what he does and the products he sells. He always strives to create new experiences for the customers he sells to. His passion feeds his ability to communicate with his audience about the products and how they will transform their lives. His passion for Apple and the products it sells helped him to overcome the disappointments of early setbacks in the company’s past. He was passionate about building a product that would transform the way customers listened to music: Enter the iPod. He wanted to make a phone that was multi-functional and easy to use, but also look looks great, and the iPhone was the answer. His passion is also contagious and encourages his team to be more creative.

Love him, or hate him, Steve Jobs’ charisma and passion about his company and products are two great qualities of a great leader. His passion for the company and products energizes his team to make the best products and makes them want to be a part of something big. His charisma helps him to communicate his vision well because his team wants to listen and follow him.