Steve Jobs Leadership Model Won’t Make You a Success
Avoid the Steve Jobs leadership style and instead strike a balance between what you emphasize and how you go about it.
Darren Overfield of Kaplan DeVries and Rob Kaiser of Kaiser Leadership Solutions write in HBR Blog Network that Steve Jobs leadership isn’t necessarily replicable by copying his methods, but the debate about him rages on regardless.
Instead of arguing about whether you love or hate Jobs, Overfield and Kaiser suggest that we focus more on “how a leader influences others within an organization,” as well as “what a leader emphasizes” while in control. Citing a Google study that found that its most effective leaders were those who took time for interpersonal relationships and led with a steady demeanor instead of a dictatorial one, and a Deloitte Consulting study that pointed to “clarity of the strategy” and “ability to execute” as the most important leadership qualities, Overfield and Kaiser suggest striking a balance between the “how” and “what” qualities. Adopting Steve Jobs leadership isn’t as effective as simply balancing how you influence others with what you emphasize.
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