As a recent class assignment in my Organizational Behavior class, we had to read a Harvard Business Review article (I found a typo in it BTW and was ecstatic) and write about whether Bill Gates or Steve Jobs was a better leader.
From all of the hype about these two leaders, and videos like the one below, I really want to side with Jobs. He’s a transformational leader, meaning he is vision-based, charismatic, and attains an emotional commitment from those who follow him. These characteristics make him important to the everyday decisions at Apple, because the employees and investors value the man more than the company.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PwiljBN5-8&NR=1]
But what makes me end up picking Gates in the end, is his ability to be an empowering leader.He shares power with his employees, and is able to extend the life of the company beyond himself.
Gates has retired from Microsoft and transitioned his work and leadership to Ballmer. His empowering leadership style enabled him to give other people responsibility while still feeling connected to the brand. First, he put Ballmer as President and CEO, and repositioned himself as Chairman of the Board and Chief Software Architect. Here, he was able to co-govern, have influence, but ultimately give the management decisions to Ballmer. When Gates retired to work with his wife at their Foundation, Ballmer was able to continue without him in confidence because he had already been doing so.
Jobs, on the other hand, has not been able to assure customers that Apple will succeed past Jobs’ tenure. Each time he becomes ill and has to leave the company for a period of time, investor confidence plummets, and people are unsure of what will happen with the company. When he returns, looking well, stock price improves, and things at Apple appear to be completed more efficiently. Jobs represents so much of the brand as a transformational leader, that the employees and the technical community believe that he has had so much to do with Apple’s success.
I hope that Jobs realizes (as I’m sure he does) the problems that could arise later on from his representation of the Apple brand, but I don’t know if he will be able to do anything about it. I think he is a transformational leader because that’s how he leads- and it will be difficult, maybe even impossible, for him to personally separate himself from his company. IF he does, and is able to ensure the success of his company past his years, then I just might change my mind!
What do you think? Gates or Jobs?