Most would agree that the earlier success of Apple can be attributed to Steve Jobs. This cannot be denied. He not only cofounded the company in 1976 with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne but also stirred it towards profitability as he spearheaded the development of iconic products like the Mac line of desktop and laptop computers and the iPod portable media player. Apple owes its earlier accomplishments to the leadership and management style of Steve Jobs.
Founding and Expanding Apple: Exploring the Leadership and Management Style of Steve Jobs
An understanding of how Jobs ran Apple during his tenure as its chief executive and chairperson provides a wealth of insights on how to build and expand a disruptive business organization. Both his leadership style and management style serve as a framework for how a company operating in a competitive environment differentiates itself from the rest.
Nevertheless, in understanding how he led and managed Apple, it is important to underscore the fact that he employed a combination of various established leadership styles and management principles while also introducing refined and unique approaches. The following are the different approaches Steve Jobs utilized to drive Apple to unprecedented success:
1. Autocratic and Charismatic
Walter Isaacson, an American historian and journalist wrote one of the more popular biographies of Steve Jobs. His books “Steve Jobs,” published in 2011, and “The Innovators,” which was published in 2014, mentioned the autocratic tendencies of Jobs. This leadership style was prominent during the earlier years of Apple. English business magnate and Virginia Group cofounder Richard Branson also mentioned in The Telegraph that Jobs had an autocratic approach to leading his people and running his company.
An autocratic leadership style involves a leader making all decisions with minimal or no input from his or her subordinates. The leader has complete control over the entire organization or team and his or her decisions are final. Hence, considering this definition, the management style of Steve Jobs also leaned more toward a top-down approach. He specifically had a reputation for being a demanding leader and having high expectations from his subordinates.
There were several examples of how Jobs demonstrated autocracy during his time with Apple. The most notable one concerned product development. He had a very meticulous attention to detail and often made the final decisions on product design. Jobs even oversaw and approved the smallest details like color and font choices. Note that he personally saw the design and development of the first Macintosh and products like the iPod and the iPhone. All marketing campaigns and materials also went through him first for final approval.
However, while an autocracy has damning disadvantages, Jobs also demonstrated a prime example of charismatic leadership. This was evident from the fact that he was admired and followed by the executive leadership at Apple with minimal conflict. Furthermore, aside from his influence over his people, his charisma was evident from the product launches of the company where he took center stage and introduced some of the most groundbreaking products in history.
2. Visionary Leadership
Steve Jobs was also a visionary leader. Those who followed his career and the growth of Apple would agree that he demonstrated all the notable characteristics of visionary leadership. These include a clear and long-term vision for the future, strong forward-thinking adherence, a belief in the importance of creativity and innovation, an understanding significance of differentiation, and an ability to articulate a path that others may not initially see.
Both the iPod and iTunes marked how Jobs saw the future of music listening and the entire music industry in the digital age. He knew digital records would redefine how people purchase and listen to music. Hence, beginning in 2001, Apple became instrumental in creating and expanding the market for digital music with the introduction of the iPod and iTunes. The company became the standard for portable media players and digital music distribution.
The iPhone also showcased how the former Apple chief executive saw the future of mobile devices and personal communication. Smartphones were awkward before the iPhone was introduced in 2007. These devices were also business-oriented. Jobs wanted a device that was more accessible and had multiple functionalities. The iPhone later ushered in the era of modern smartphones and had a lasting impact on the relationship between people and technology.
Jobs essentially had the ability to see trends before they became popular. He was not simply responding to consumer demands. He was creating them. The visionary leadership style of Steve Jobs was also exhibited in how he spearheaded the development of products that people did not even know they needed yet. His keynote presentations were critical aspects of the marketing strategy of Apple because they helped create excitement toward his envisioned future.
3. Selective Micromanagement
There are conflicting accounts on the management style of Steve Jobs. American journalist Randal Stross and Irish change management professional Siobhán McHale noted in their separate works that the former Apple chief executive used to be a notorious micromanager who was incapable of delegating tasks. His strong penchant for micromanagement was too dreadful that the company he founded after temporarily exiting Apple in 1985 flopped and he had to attend a micromanagement rehab to reframe his leadership and management styles.
However, on several accounts, Jobs was also considered a transformational leader who once said that micromanagement makes people quit. Furthermore, according to Jay Elliot, a former senior vice president of Apple who oversaw all facets of corporate operations, his former boss had a knack for finding people who understand his objectives, commit to making relevant contributions, and maintain a strong allegiance toward his leadership and vision.
It would appear that Jobs overcame his leaning toward micromanaging over the years. He also became less autocratic. An article by Walter Isaacson that was published in the Harvard Business Review also described him as someone who hated formal presentations but loved freewheeling and engaging face-to-face meetings in which he gathered his executive team and marketing and advertising team each week to work on ideas without a formal agenda. This demonstrated a leaning toward transformational and democratic leadership approaches.
Nevertheless, he was still a micromanager to a certain extent. Jobs was involved in certain aspects of product development and executive management but not necessarily across every facet of his company. This was evident in his involvement in the design of products like the iPod and the iPhone in which he made very specific inputs ranging from the user interface and user experience to the shape of the device and materials used.
4. Proactive and Reactive
Apple is known for taking cues from existing products and integrating significant improvements to introduce new and disruptive products. The company did not invent the first digital music player or the first smartphone. It was also not the first to introduce personal computing and a graphical operating system. The company is still credited for revolutionizing the music industry and popularizing smartphones. It also remains a key player in the PC market.
The aforementioned underscored a proactive and reactive approach to product development. This has its origins in the proactive and reactive leadership style of Steve Jobs. His proactive side was evident from how he was able to anticipate trends, shape the future, and drive creativity and innovation. His reactive side was demonstrated through his responsiveness to existing market realities, market feedback, intense competition, and unforeseen challenges.
His vision for the iPod and iTunes was both proactive and reactive. He knew digital music was already a thing and he wanted Apple to capitalize on the fact that there was an established market for CDs and emerging markets for both digital media players and digital music downloads. Both the iPod and iTunes created a single market that appealed to people who wanted to keep copies of purchased music and listen to them on the go whenever and wherever.
The same was true for the Mac line of personal computers. He left Apple in 1985 and went back in 1997. However, when he came back, the PC business of his company was underperforming. He exhibited reactivity when he streamlined the product line by retiring older ones and introducing the iMac G3 in 1998. He also showcased proactivity by improving the user-friendliness of the operating system and adapting a sleeker and more premium-looking physical design.
Appreciating How Steve Jobs Lead and Managed Apple: Leadership and Management Lessons
There is no single style when it comes to leading and managing a company as dynamic and relevant as Apple. It remains true that at the core of the leadership and management style of Steve Jobs were the principles of autocratic leadership and micromanagement. This was rooted in his strong sense of perfectionism which was essential in shaping and meeting his vision for the role of Apple and its products in the future of technology.
However, Jobs was not strictly an autocratic leader and micromanager. He was also a visionary leader who dabbled between charismatic leadership and transformational leadership to attract top talents, ensure strong allegiance, and drive them to follow his vision. The technical aspect of his visionary leadership was defined by his proactive and reactive approach to both leading Apple and managing how the company develops its products.
The nuanced leadership and management style of Steve Jobs made him a complex leader. His methods varied depending on the situation, the product, and the people involved. His ability to balance and shift between different made him both effective and controversial. Nonetheless, seeing how he stirred Apple to success, understanding his role as its chief executive provides insights into leading and managing a game-changing organization.
FURTHER READINGS AND REFERENCES
- Branson, R. 2011. “Virgin’s Richard Branson: Apple Boss Steve Jobs Was the Entrepreneur I Most Admired.” The Telegraph. Available online
- Elliot, J. 2012. Leading Apple With Steve Jobs: Management Lessons From a Controversial Genius. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN: 1118379527
- Isaacson, W. 2011. Steve Jobs. Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 1-4516-4853-7
- Isaacson, W. 2012. The Real Leadership Lessons of Steve Jobs. Harvard Business Review. Available online
- Isaacson, W. 2014. The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution. Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 1-4767-0869-X
- McHale, S. 2024. The Hive Mind at Work: Harnessing the Power of Group Intelligence to Create Meaningful and Lasting Change. HarperCollins Leadership. ISBN: 1400253705
- Stross, R. 2010. What Apple’s Steve Jobs Learned in the Wilderness. The New York Times. Available online
Photo credit: Tom Coates/Steve Jobs Demos The MacBook Air/2008/Adapted/CC 2.0