A the status quo of the way
A great leader is someone who influences and motivates by vision.
What makes a great leader is someone who understands their followers ultimately are responsible for the success or failure of their goals. A great leader surrounds themselves with great people or followers who can’t be cultivated in the type of team need it one competent persons who will all work together well. Great leaders make hard choices much of the time self-sacrificing in order to enhance the lives of others. A great leader pushes their people to be the best versions of themselves because it is not good enough for them to have a vision they want to inspire others to also have a vision of their own. Within organizations a leaders role is to inspire and articulate a clear vision to push their people to be the best and to make hard choices(Gleeson, 2016). Leaders should have some critical qualities such as integrity; vision; toughness; decisive; trust; commitment; selflessness, creativity; risk taking; toughness; communication ability, and visibility (Capowski, 1994) all of which are qualities possessed by Steve Jobs.
An individual who exemplifies great leadership would be Apple founder, Steve Jobs. He exemplifies all of the qualities people associate with a great leader, characteristics such as charisma. He was a great speaker who was thought provoking and engaging who motivated and inspired people. He created passion that made people follow his vision.
Steve Jobs took many risk when it came to innovating technology, many of his ideas he created were revolutionary and had not been seen or heard of before, but his ability to take risks paid off and thrust him further into the leadership sphere. Under his leadership Apple was the most successful to this date.He changed the status quo of the way that we thought about technology. He was a radical, which is a quality that many leaders have. Steve job also kept an eye on his followers/consumers making sure they benefit it from his vision and leadership as well, which in turn increase their loyalty to him.
in my opinion Steve Jobs is a great example of an exemplary leader. He surrounded himself by people that will keep his vision going even though he is no longer around his legacy will live on forever. He was a true example that leader ship is by choice. I do agree with Dr. Convey, leadership is a choice it is not a position. Management on the other hand is a position with the title such as supervisor, executive, or director. But leadership is a choice made when a person has inspirational vision for change.
When we think of great leaders of the world they aren’t always defined by their titled positions but by a choice they made to embark upon a journey to make a change. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is an example of a great leader who didn’t have title position or even was apart of a fortune 500 company but he did have a vision. He had an idea for a change. He surround himself with exemplary people articulated his vision and carved out his plans until his assassination. He like Steve Jobs was charismatic, determined, and made hard choices. He was at time self sacrificing for the greater good of his followers.
He was a great leader but he also managed as well. He planned his protest and demonstration so that they were organized and smoothly ran. Dr. Martin Luther King was not only an Leader but he displayed managerial responsibilities as well. Great manager provides direction for the group they make sure everyone is on task and meeting deadlines.
According to Convey, A good manager has a set of objectives that are achieved through efficient use of resources(Zaleznik, 2015). Therefore, a good manager duty is to achieves organizational goals. A good manager tries to focus on directing and controlling their personal resources structures and systems and sets a positive tone in the organization(Zaleznik, 2015). This positivity creates a more relaxed environment, which increases productivity. Managers and leaders roles can differ with an organization. A manager’s goal rises out of necessity and is embedded in the organizations history and culture. A leader’s goals rise out of a desire or inspiration for change. The founder and creator of Facebook, Mark Zuckerburg in another good example of a transformational leader.
He had the passion to create something different. His passion was to make the world more open. One key factor for great leaders is passion.
Passion creates perseverance, which is a key ingredient in success. Zuckerburg had a purpose, which kept his focus to his vision. Great leaders create movements and not just products. His leadership allowed his company to grow worldwide. His leadership style should not be confused a managerial style because Facebook allows employees freedom to choose products to work on instead of assigning work that needs to be done. This motivates employees to do their best and keeps morale high. Mark Zuckerburg was never a manager but I would argue that he does manage his company by controlling and directing resources to where they need to go. However he primarily is a leader.
In conclusion, both mangers and leaders are necessary figures for an organization to be successful. Leadership and management are two distinctive and complementary activities(Zaleznik, 2015). Two examples of great leaders in organizations are Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerburg. They both had visions that inspired generations.
A great leader creates a movement and not just a product. A great manager creates atmosphere of efficiency without sacrificing morale. Organizations need leaders to transform the organization and to cope with new challenges. They need managers to maintain well-oiled workplace that utilizes resources effectively. In the end successful organization should have a balanced mix of both leaders and managers in order to succeed.
