Let’s first discuss Steve Job’s personality and how it helps him be a leader. His MBTI type is probably an ENFP. This type of personality is shared by many energetic and enthusiastic leaders. The benefit to this personality is that they can inspire employees. This trait is apparent in his public appearances. It’s challenging to get people working with enthusiasm unless their leader is just as excited and lets everyone know that. His magnetism has helped him as a leader in negotiations, as seen in his business agreements with record labels and phone carriers. His charm, charisma and ability to captivate a crowd have allowed him and his company to attract followers. This also leads him to produce great product introductions, which have often been characterized as a mix between theater and infomercials.
Now I'm not saying he was a perfect leader. He did have his flaws. He was an elitist and narcissist. It’s been said that he thought others were bozos and is why he made his products so easy to use. This arrogant way often turned his followers against him and lead to resentment and conflicts in the organization. However, it’s this confidence which translates to a belief in his ideas and products. This is convincing to employees and also creates confidence in consumers of their products.
He was also characterized as being obsessive, controlling and a perfectionist. His obsession might have lead him to lose site of the big picture and the importance of picking the right battles. It could have become exhausting for his staff to live up to such high expectations which may have lead to turnover or low morale. This was apparent in his ongoing pursuit of excellence and has led him to create a seamless, end-to-end user experience in his Apple products. He controlled every detail and aspect of the customers’ experiences. He wouldn't settle for second best and created a good standard for his company so that they did not put out products that were below expectations.
Steve Jobs was also known for being aggressive, his bad temper and little patience or people skills. Many high achievers often lack social skills, politeness or being tactful. It’s funny that he was a control freak yet was uncontrollable. It was this fact in the end that led to him to being kicked out of Apple. However, he mentioned in a commencement speech at Stanford that it was the best thing that had happened to him and led him to become more human when he returned to the company 15 years later.
His most impressive leadership role, was that of innovator. He had a passion for improvement and an obsession that is “product perfection”. If it’s wasn't perfect, he changed it. He changed society by following his own passions and personal experiences. He hated the heavy and hard to use phones that were available at the time so he invented the iPhone. He had playfulness, curiosity and imagination that made him question how things were and envisioned a better way. He trusted his intuition. This led him to follow ideas that others consider unconventional.
In conclusion, Steve Jobs had many great personality traits that helped him as a leader, especially his enthusiasm, persistence, charisma and magnetism. He changed the world with his visions. My goal is to learn from the best!
RIP Steve Jobs
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