iLeadership: The leadership style of Steve Jobs

Abstract

In a technology-driven society, the global hunger for innovative products has put increased pressure on organizations to think differently. The pressure from shareholders on management to drive innovation and deliver financial results has forced leaders to adapt and look for new solutions to meet this demand. The solutions for which organizations are searching may reside in a new form of leadership required to achieve this expectation of performance.

The purpose of this dissertation was to discover what leadership characteristics are required to achieve a high-performance technology organization. The primary goal was to review and decode archival scholarly and contemporary literature to understand the key elements of effective leadership in modern leadership theory. After establishing a general understanding of leadership, the next goal was to learn the main characteristics that comprise transformational leadership. The next focus was to review a variety of secondary sources to provide insight into the leadership of Steve Jobs: a leader with a proven track record for driving profitable technology innovation. This dissertation then looked to discover the main components of Jobs' leadership style. After an extensive leadership theory review to create a baseline of understanding of effective leader concepts, the study examined the leadership style of a dynamic and influential leader in history, Steve Jobs. This study then explored the significance of a new leadership model for other technology based organizations to develop their leaders to stimulate profitable growth and innovation.