Ironically yesterday I watched the movie Jobs and today I am being
asked to reflect on what it takes to become a successful leader and how
successful leaders unlearn some of the habits that got them to the top so they
can succeed in their leadership roles.
If you have not watched Jobs, then I can tell you that it is the story
of Steve Jobs, one of the greatest entrepreneurs of our time and founder of the
company Apple. Jobs was well known for
being a jerk, neurotic, arrogant, cruel and a little bit insane; all qualities
that propelled him into technological stardom.
The movie moves us through the many stages of his life from college, to
his early endeavors and then to the formation of Apple. There is one scene in the movie that really
stood out. The scene takes place in his
early days when his boss tells him, “You’re good – you’re damn good—but you are
an asshole” (as cited by Garber,
2013). The boss goes on to tell
him that he needs to learn to work with other people. Later on in the movie, we see Jobs speaking
with a friend and admitting that he cannot work with other people, At this
point I think the switch turns off in Job’s mind, the switch that subdues us
into conformity. From then on he decides
he will stop trying to mold himself to society and instead make a new mold. Jobs is a great case study that represents great
leaders who lack in many of the elements that make for a great leader such as
interpersonal skills, communication, loyalty, trust, and still went on to
become one of the great men of history.
The one great leadership trait that Jobs did embrace purely, and in all
its totality, is the passion and vision to change the world. And he did this with Apple.
This raises the question, how far should a leader go to reach to
achieve their vision or the vision of the company? Good leaders learn to maintain their balance
and drive towards the “vision” while never losing focus of the road that takes
them there. That means awareness of the
people who you interact with on that path.
It is about the bridges you create on your road to success, not the
loyalty you accumulate. Loyalty comes
from building bridges.
One important characteristic about a good leader is to understand
that failure opens doors to opportunities. It is easy to run a well-oiled machine, but
the challenge comes when we have to run a machine in need of repairs or broken.
A leader learns to profit from their
mistakes. Problems are viewed with
multiple solutions. We can take Walt
Disney for instance. He was fired once
because "he lacked imagination and had no original idea.” (Truong, 2011). Disney’s first company went bankrupt. Every experience is another stepping stone. A wise leader sees in all directions, past,
present and future and anticipates change.
References
Truong, L.
(2011). 13 business leaders who failed before they succeeded. Retrieved from
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/13-business-leaders-who-failed-before-they-succeeded/
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