A635.5.3.RB – Video Debrief of Team MA
Steve Jobs,
Co-founder of Apple Computer and founder of NeXT
is one of the effective leaders that I
believe that inspired me to aspire to develop my leadership traits, skills, and ability. Jobs is what can be described as the epitome
of an excellent leader who was a company builder and motivator. He was the type of a leader who thinks, acts and
communicates from the outside in. Jobs believed in the “why” behind they were doing, and they put those “whys” into not just
words but actions, in short, they led by example and lived it. He believed in building a company like Apple and NeXT from the heart and not just to gain revenues.
Based on the result of my management
assessment profile, like Jobs, I am highly motivated by challenges as well as
highly motivated to exceed in reaching goals may it be personal or in my profession.
I will be an excellent addition in a large dynamic business environment like
Apple or NeXT. Steve Jobs value consensus
from his team and just like NeXT’s 11 employees, I will have no problem of
voicing out my innovative thinking and express my goal focused character to grow
and thrive with the company.
Ryan (2009) argued that a leader with compelling vision can indisputably
make a difference in the world even though at times, it would be very
challenging to achieve. Earnhardt (2008)
defined vision as the concept of a leader that
looks forward and identifies an individual as a viable and invaluable person;
believing in each’s future state, and strive to assist each individual in
accomplishing that state (p. 3).
According to Ryan (2009), a leader’s vision should and can be a
challenge to launch to take into effect.
For a leader to attain his or her vision, it will take persistence in
setting realistic and demanding goals and with the constant support and
assistance of talented individuals who are equally engaged and committed.
During the brainstorming
retreat of NeXT in December 1985, Jobs’ team members have no fear, nor second thought
in challenging Jobs’ persistence of launching their new products in 18 months. Members of the team openly communicated their
issues or concerns with honesty and respect. Everyone was transparent. The brainstorming session brought out the critical
thinking skills of the team discussing ideas or problems that may occur in launching
the products in a limited time. One team
member was bold enough to call Jobs idea of the 18-month launching as reality
distortion while Jobs rebutted that if the product launching does not occur in 18-months,
there will be a psychological and market effect to NeXT. NeXT may lose its credibility to the consumers,
their vendors, and future employees.
Jobs’ high persistence realized his vision of making a
difference in a simulated learning environment by following his passion and
instincts. Job’s dream of providing simulated
learning students and professors an affordable computer that is 10x powerful
than a regular personal computer seemed impossible to accomplish back in the
late 1980s. Like Jobs, when faced with
significant challenges, I never let go of my personal and professional vision
and dream that easy. It is the more that
I tighten my belt and get focused to assess every angle of my current situation.
I compare my leadership style not only with Steve Jobs but
I can also say that I have the attribute of Gary Kelly’s leadership style too. Kelly refers his
SWA workforce not as employees but as his teammates. He believes in and trusts in the professionalism, belief, and skills of his
teammates. That is where I am with my
current organization. Adventist Health System’s
mission of Extending the Healing Ministry of Christ
coincides withs with SWA’s mission of dedication to the highest quality of Customer
Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company
Spirit.
Kelly embodies Yukl (2012) definition of leadership as the ability to influence,
motivate, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success
of the organization and capacity to step outside the culture to start
evolutionary change processes that are more adaptive. This characteristic is very evident
highlighting every positive behavior of its employees by a variety of
recognition program and rewards. The
workforce of SWA does not come to work for just plain “paycheck.” They love and enjoy coming to work because
they all share what Kelly characterizes, a team player. Every teammate of SWA from its executives,
pilots, and workforce to work collectively for a consequential collaborative purpose.
Steve
Jobs’ passion for excellence of a product was beyond compare. He leads from the heart. Yes, I would admit that Jobs has its
imperfections like being unreasonable at times, overbearing, impatient, perhaps
arrogant or rude in some instances, he recognized his distinctive strengths,
skills, and abilities and found means to amplify them and became an excellent
leader of NeXT and Apple. Although I can
say that Jobs did try his very best to manage in minimizing his negative
behaviors to lead NeXT and Apple efficiently.
Jobs’ main strength was a great influencer, motivator, and innovator
that draws down to every single employee of NeXT. Today, whoever leads Apple, its mission and
vision are always correlated to the original mission and vision of Job’s
leadership which was to continue to motivate the company’s employees to support
and contribute to innovation for competitive advantage.
My
management assessment profile from the NextSteps Research was to the point. I am an introverted logistical leader who
will work perfectly well as a leader or team member at NeXT. NeXT’s employees work toward a common concrete
goal, accomplishing specific tasks and are very comfortable in initiating determined
actions that are based on data. Like Jobs,
I can establish good lines of communication with my staff, colleagues, peers,
and supervisors through developing principles, ground rules, values, and infrastructure. As figureheads of their organization, Kelly
and Jobs have the respect of every member of its workforce or team due to the
effectiveness and success of their leadership and managerial approaches. Both leaders disseminate factual information
to its stakeholders, workforce, members of the board, and to the public
regardless if they are organizational issues or opportunities for the
organization’s advancement. As what
Sinek (2010) said, excellent leaders, communicate from inside out.
As
a leader like Jobs, I have an allegiance to my team and also have a desire to be
regarded as the role model in leading early stages of business ventures. I am in agreement with Jobs statement that there
should be a keeper and a reiterator of the organization’s vision. Yukl, Gary (2012) described recognizing as encompassing giving
compliments whenever necessary and showing gratitudes to others or your followers
for excellent performance and significant contributions to the
organization. The primary focus of recognizing is to strengthen behaviors
that are desirable and a commitment to excellence in the attainment of task
objectives (Yukl, 2012, p. 72).
Recognizing our employees for excellent performance is one way of
demonstrating respect to our workforce.
Whenever our workforce feels valued and respected, it provides them the motivation
to perform at the highest level with greater attention to protocol and
etiquette in the workplace. For me, when
someone recognizes the full force effort that I put into anything I do, that recognition
is an excellent motivational force. It
is letting me know, that I am embodying a beautiful, meaningful work.
References:
Brown,
D.R. (2011). An experiential approach to organization development (8th
ed.). Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Earnhardt, M. (2008).
Testing a Servant Leadership Theory Among United
States Military
Members. Emerging Leadership
Journeys, Vol. 1 Iss. 2,
2008, pp. 14-24 ©
Петренко,
C. (2012, January 19). Steve Jobs Brainstorms with NeXT Team [Video File].
Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=loQhufxiorM.
Ryan, J. (2009). Leadership
Success Always Starts With Vision. Retrieved from:
Sinek, Simon (2010). Start
with why – how great leaders inspire action. TEDxPugetSound.
Yukl, Gary (2012). Leadership
in the organization (8th ed.).
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice
Hall
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