Contrasting Leadership Styles

This report examines the leadership styles of Tim Cook and Jeff Bezos, two influential leaders in the world of technology and innovation. It discusses their effective leadership qualities, how they influenced the lives of others, and how they will be remembered in history. The report also explores the concept of servant leadership. Overall, it highlights the contrasting leadership styles of Cook and Bezos.

Running Head: CONTRASTING LEADERSHIP STYLES 1
CONTRASTING LEADERSHIP STYLES

CONTRASTING LEADERSHIP STYLES 2
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Effective leaders...........................................................................................................................3
How They Influenced the Lives of Others...................................................................................3
Will be remembered in History....................................................................................................4
Servant Leaders............................................................................................................................5
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................7

CONTRASTING LEADERSHIP STYLES 3
Introduction
Leadership style is the manner and the approach through which the individuals can be
motivated with the help of the direction and the implementation of the leadership styles. As
observed by the employees the total pattern of the implicit and the explicit nature of the leaders
will decide the style of the leadership they will follow. In general there are three major
leadership styles namely autocratic, democratic and delegative. The success of whether a small
business or giant enterprise, the leadership plays a vital role in the success of the business. This
report will address the leadership styles of two famous leaders who changed the world in terms
of technology and innovation. Tim cook and Jeff Bezos are the two leaders who will be in focus
for the entire report (Nawaz & Khan, 2016).
Effective leaders
Leadership requires the skills as one makes a progress in his/her career and so have been
the leadership of Tim cook and Jeff Bezos. In terms of effective leaders both leaders have one
thing in common are both the leaders are willing to take the risks and focus is the key driver that
drives in the veins of the leaders. Both the leader; Tim Cook and Jeff Bezos understands the
importance of taking risk and bearing the rewards after that. At times the leaders need to take the
most difficult decisions and at the same time the trust factor shall not be detained. Hence, the
most common style that can be seen in the two leaders is the ability to take the risk to grow
(Rubens, Leah & Schoenfeld, 2016).
Tim Cook: Admit when you are wrong. This is what the Tim cook has taught as a leader
and strongly believes that admitting when you are wrong; its acceptance is a talent. He is one of
the democratic leaders (Lifehack, 2017).
Jeff Bezos: Have Perseverance and Resilience is what Jeff Bezos has taught as a leader.
This not only inspires us to become one of the most influential leaders but also shows a path that
can lead to the growth of the individual personality. He follows the delegative leadership’s style
(Chris, 2019).

CONTRASTING LEADERSHIP STYLES 4
How They Influenced the Lives of Others
The common thing that both the leaders have to influence the lives of the others is to
work with sheer dedication and honesty. Without honesty the growth is inevitable.
Jeff Bezos: Everyone has the role model and idol that motivates and inspires the person.
Jeff Bezos had been role models for many and represents himself undeniably as the biggest
motivation for the businessman and the entrepreneurs. The biggest way in which he influences
the people is with the creative leadership style of not following anyone but becoming the leader
itself. According to Bezos one must not follow the idea of setting up the fashionable start up;
rather the creation should be of such nature that it remains at the intersection of the interests.
Also he taught the people of how to be bold and embrace the failure with dignity and power. He
himself has made billions of dollars’ worth losses at Amazon. The leadership of Jeff Bezos is
grounded on the basis of the creative leadership, and to accept the failures of life as the stepping
stones of success (Beghetto & Kaufman, 2013).
Tim Cook: On the contrary TIM Cook the leadership style that he followed to influence
the people is the diversity. For him diversity is the key for the growth and the future
sustainability with respect to time. Tim Cook as a leader of the company founded on innovation
and need the people who are creative thinkers and are willing to provide a different perspective
and insight. The people shall be so diversified in their nature that they can adapt themselves to
any situation and can curtail any hurdle. Most importantly Tim Cook influences the people to be
themselves. If one intends to become a leader, he must follow the leadership style of Tim Cook
“The old adage goes, you have two ears and one mouth; shall be in the proper proportion (Rao,
2016).

CONTRASTING LEADERSHIP STYLES 5
Will be remembered in History
Both the leaders will be remembered for the building of community and having a
commitment for the overall growth of the company as well as individuals however there are
certain aspects for which the leaders will be known and remembered (Mishra, 2016).
Jeff Bezos: Jeff Bezos will be remembered as thick skin, in terms of the innovation and
always as an experimental investor who kept on investing the billions of dollar in figuring out the
right fit. He is total opposite of the what Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple who offers few product
and Amazon is exactly the opposite of Apple as the owner Jeff Bezos thinks to be resourceful
and encourages his team to invest at the same time with intelligence, determination and integrity.
For the delegative leadership style where the employees are allowed to take the decisions is what
keeps him as one of the strong leaders and the flexible leader to work with (Logan &
Halverstadt, 2002).
Tim Cook: While on the other side of the coin, Tim cook will be remembered more in
terms of the non-friendly yet not a bossy leader. A blend of both is what Tim Cook followed.
Instead of simply following the legacy of autocratic leadership style, Cook has played over the
strengths and kept emphasis on enhancing cooperation among Apple's arsenal of talent. He will
be remembered for doing the few things great rather than shifting to grab a large amount of the
products. His idea basically reflects too few things with perfection. Therefore he will be
remembered for focusing over the quality (De Schaveling, Ciulla & Nijhof, 2018).
Servant Leaders
There are different characteristics to be a servant leader either for the country or for the
organization. The servant leaders are basically those who possess the traits of thee perseverance
and conceptualization.
Jeff Bezos: The leaders like Jeff Bezos have this quality and inherent trait of listening to
the opinions and the ideas of the employees and having the stewardship for the resources of the
organization. Jeff Bezos have perseverance and resilience and this style though considered as the
hard-headed yet flexible. For the Amazon to be one of the top leaders it is important to have the
constant motivation and the mindset to not to give up easily. Jeff Bezos had taught to be stubborn
enough to deal with the situations and find the solutions at each and every step. He added that it

CONTRASTING LEADERSHIP STYLES 6
is best to have the ability to combine this two and the key here is to when to use one over the
other (Mishra, 2016).
Tim Cook: On the other hand Tim Cook can be called as the servant leader though he
follows the democratic style yet he lacks the perseverance and the ability to persuade the people
at the time of the complex situation (Umar, 2015). While in traditional leadership styles there is a
great accumulation of power at the extreme level and at the top rungs, servant leadership is
created to put other people’s need first and shares power with them which Tim Cook lacks
(Rubin, 2013).
Conclusion
From the above analysis it can be concluded that though both the leaders are apt on their
respective terms yet Jeff Bezos takes over in case of the leadership styles and he influences the
people to develop and grow in not only the professional lives but also at the personal level.
Further what are more important, are the traits of the servant leader which Jeff Bezos has
inculcated in him in comparison to Tim cook.

CONTRASTING LEADERSHIP STYLES 7
References
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Leadership, 70(5), 10-15.
Chris, J. (2019). 8 Jeff Bezos Leadership Style Secrets - Joseph Chris Partners. Retrieved from
http://www.josephchris.com/8-jeff-bezos-leadership-style-secrets
De Ruiter, M., Schaveling, J., Ciulla, J. B., & Nijhof, A. (2018). Leadership and the Creation of
Corporate Social Responsibility: An Introduction to the Special Issue.
Lifehack (2017). 11 Leadership Lessons We Can Learn From Tim Cook. Retrieved from
https://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/11-leadership-lessons-can-learn-from-tim-
cook.html
Logan, R., & Halverstadt, J. (2002). 100 Most Popular Business Leaders for Young Adults:
Biographical Sketches and Professional Paths. Profiles and Pathways Series. Libraries
Unlimited, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881.
Matthews, B. L., Harbin, J., & Daigle, J. (2018). The New York Times Versus Amazon: Is Jeff
Bezos' head still in the clouds?. Journal of Organizational Psychology, 18(3).
Mishra, A. S. (2016). The Role of Corporate Leadership in Business Growth. Effective
Executive, 19(2), 5.
Nawaz, Z. A. K. D. A., & Khan_ PhD, I. (2016). Leadership theories and styles: A literature
review. Leadership, 16, 1-7.
Rao, M. S. (2016). Hard versus soft leadership? Examples and illustrations. Strategic HR
Review, 15(4), 174-179.
Rubens, A., Leah, J., & Schoenfeld, J. (2016). Using Biographies to Teach Leadership Skills: A
Classroom Example. Journal of the Academy of Business Education, 17.
Rubin, E. N. (2013). Assessing your leadership style to achieve organizational objectives. Global
Business and Organizational Excellence, 32(6), 55-66.
Umar, A. M. (2015). LEADERSHIP AND CHANGE. LEADERSHIP.