Reflective Essay: Analyzing Jeff Bezos's Transformational Leadership

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Jeff Bezos's transformational leadership style, focusing on his approach to leading Amazon. The report utilizes Gibbs' reflective cycle to examine the author's own leadership development, drawing parallels between Bezos's strategies and personal growth. It delves into the key skills required for effective leadership, including communication, time management, and decision-making, while also considering the importance of vision and market awareness. The report concludes with an action plan designed to cultivate these leadership qualities, aligning personal objectives with Bezos's leadership principles. The analysis covers self-awareness, task orientation, and the ability to adapt to changing environments, offering practical steps for aspiring leaders. The report emphasizes the importance of self-promotion and the ability to motivate others, drawing on interviews and observations of Bezos's leadership style. This study is perfect for students seeking to understand and develop their own leadership potential, and similar resources are available on Desklib.

Amazon

Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Main Body..................................................................................................................................3
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
References..................................................................................................................................9

Introduction
A leader refers to a person who is successful in motivating and encouraging others in
order to move towards a certain vision or mission. It is the duty of a leader to make sure that
everyone is working towards making a vision into reality and putting their best feet forward.
The following report consist of a reflective essay along with action plan of leader Jeff Bezos
who have been using transformational leadership style is to run Amazon (Silva, 2016). It is
based upon the observation and voluntary work conducted in order to understand the ways in
which leaders are working and following all the roles and responsibilities. Gibbs reflective
cycle which was developed by Graham Gibbs in 1988 is used in the following reflective
essay. The framework consist of different experiences and is described with the help of a
cycling nature that is particularly repeated experiences and also lying to learn and plan
different things from these experiences.
Main Body
Gibbs reflective cycle was formulated by Graham Gibbs in 1988. It was necessary to
structure one’s own learning experiences and I have successfully used Gibbs reflective cycle
in order to bring forward the reflection of leadership. The following cycle is successfully
offering to work through different experiences. It is a great way for examining all the
repeated situations and ways in which the experiences which I have been experienced can be
effectively made efficient enough. It is necessary to understand different stages of this cycle
which are helping in individual to successfully denote their experience. There are various
steps included in Gibbs reflective cycle. Below mentioned are six different steps of Gibbs
reflective cycle:
Description: When I was successfully analysing Jeff Bezos and the leadership style
on which he is working it was necessary to make sure that I am researching each and every
individual element of his leadership style. It was expected that I could complete my
assignment on time and list down all the leadership skills which would help me in being a
good leader like he was. I clearly divided my work into different skills and objectives which
would help me in future to make sure that I am aware about areas I need to work upon. It was
seen that there are a number of different skills required by leaders (Khan, 2016). Some of
those killed were listed down by me which included enhancement of my personal skills,
communication skills, time management skills, workload management, adaptability and

decision making skills. These were some of the major skills which I decided to work upon
seeing the leadership style of Jeff Bezos. This is how I successfully started to work.
Feelings: While I was successfully working on analysing different leaders it was
necessary for me to make sure that I am satisfied with my research. It was a great way for me
to learn about different leaders and how can I develop myself into a leader. I have realised
that I had a number of works to do and there were a number of thought that came into my
mind. It was necessary for me to make sure that I am dividing all the work smartly along with
the time zone which is required to complete them in (Crosby and Bryson, 2018). However it
was necessary for me to be motivated throughout this research and make sure that I am
developing all the leadership skills that are required to complete my leadership objectives.
After this I came into contact with the number of people including my fellow employees as
well as my family members who helped me in a number of ways to make sure that I am
developing all the required leadership skills. When I look back at my experience of
developing all these leadership skills I feel satisfied enough as I have put a lot of work in the
research.
Evaluation: There were a number of different experiences both good and bad which I
have realized while completing this work. It was necessary for me to decide on the objectives
which would be the first task. The first task was very tough to be honest as there are a number
of leaders and when successfully looking at the leadership style that Jeff Bezos is using for
Amazon it is necessary for Miss me to make sure that I am self-aware. Self-awareness was
the first requirement and along with this the transformational leadership style was majorly
task oriented. Due to this I required to work on the task orientation skills and also learn ways
to be innovative enough. Innovative and creativeness have successfully held a number of
leaders in order to make sure that they are bringing different ways to motivate and bring
forward the best of efforts from their employees. My valuation of the leadership style of Jeff
Bezos have successfully delivered the fact that vision is something that matters the most for a
leader. It is necessary that the leader is setting a vision for all of the organisation which will
be followed by their followers (Rudolph, Murphy and Zacher,, 2020). Along with setting up
the vision the communication of vision to all the employees in the organisation is one of the
major task which is to be completed by a leader. In order to successfully complete this task I
need to develop my communication skills as well.
Analysis: The analysis of my research which was conducted on Jeff Bezos have
successfully denoted various skills which I need to develop in myself if I have to follow his
footsteps. There are a number of strengths which I developed in myself such as good research

skills as well as presentation skill. I had discovered that I can successfully work on projects
and make sure that I am completing my work in the best quality possible. Self-analysis was
necessary for me which also helps me to draw out all the weaknesses in my persona. The
persona of a leader is very necessary for them as they need to be presentable enough which
would help in making others follow them (Cheong and et. al., 2019). Learning from Jeff
Bezos I came to know that it is necessary for one to improve their own thinking. Improving
one’s own thinking will successfully help them in simplifying the message they want to
deliver to the public. When an individual is capable of understanding their own thinking they
can draw out a vision for others and also communicate their vision successfully. Along with
this it is also required for me to make sure that I am committed to my work as Jeff Bezos was
towards Amazon.
Conclusion: I have learned a number of skills while understanding the ways in which
Jeff Bezos have led Amazon towards success. I can now ensure to make a solid plan and
make sure that I am wavering any sign of trouble. It is necessary for me to evaluate external
environment while taking any decision and also thinking of the critics and how would they
react to my decision making. It is necessary for me to take some of the points from Jeff Bezos
such as knowing the market in which we are working (Oc, 2018). Jeff Bezos is successfully
looking towards all the external factors that can help his business and even the threats that
can lead the business towards losses. All these skills were necessary to be understood and
make sure that I am taking all the opportunities coming in my way for my favor. Just like Jeff
Bezos did with Amazon and he made sure that he’s self-promoting himself as a leader which
is helping him to encourage others in the organisation as well. There are a number of
interviews conducted on Jeff Bezos in which he is successfully displaying the great skills of
leaders he have and the ways in which he can use the occasion to self-promote himself. All
these qualities of Jeff Bezos have help me to conclude that I can develop the skills and work
in corporate sector successfully.
Action plan: An action plan was done developed by me in order to make sure that I
am successfully cultivating all the required qualities and skills through my experience. All of
these skills which are mentioned in the action plan are taken from the leadership style which
are followed by Jeff Bezos and ways in which I can follow him and attain all my leadership
objectives. Below mentioned is the action plan consisting of objectives required to be
achieved, ways in which this would be achieved and the place along with time for achieving
this objective:
Objectives for Activities required to undertake to Place at which this Target date

leadership
development
achieve objectives. leadership
objectives will be
developed.
by which
these
leadership
objectives
will be
achieved.
To enhance my
interpersonal
skills.
In order to enhance my
interpersonal skills it was necessary
to observe the leader that I have
chosen from the organisation and
critically analyse the way in which
they communicate. It is necessary
to work on communication skill so
that good qualities of leader can be
addressed by me.
Enhancement of
interpersonal skill
can be successfully
done at workplace
as well as at
educational
institution.
3 months
To be more
productive and
adaptable
In order to be more productive and
make sure that all the changes are
undertaken by me it is necessary to
analyse the market from time to
time and learn research skills which
will help in developing the qualities
required to adapt to changing
environment.
In order to be more
productive and
adaptable I can use
my workplace and
experience.
6 months
To manage
workload
In order to manage the workload it
is necessary to observe the
behaviour of all the employees in
the organisation and what are the
skills required in order to motivate
and increase them. Motivating and
encouraging them will effectively
help to distribute roles and
responsibilities between employees
and manage the workload.
Managing of
workload can be
successfully done at
my educational
institution as well
as my workplace.
2 months

To enhance
decision-
making skills
In order to enhance decision-
making skills it is required by me to
understand various steps which are
undertaken to take a decision. It is
necessary to analyse all the
alternatives that are available and
also measure benefits and
drawbacks of all these alternatives
to make the best decision possible.
In order to enhance
decision-making
power it is
necessary to work
in organisation and
take decisions
regarding different
objectives.
8 months
To improve
time
management
skills
In order to enhance time
management skill it is required by
me to understand the priority of
task and rank them according to
their priority. It is also necessary to
understand the time which is
allotted to complete a task and
make a proper schedule keeping
track of time for every task
undertaken.
Time management
skill can be
successfully
developed while
working in an
organisation or also
completing
academic projects
and researches.
1.5 months
Conclusion
With the help of the above report it can be clearly concluded that there are a number
of ways in which an individual needs to develop different skills to be a better leader. It is
necessary for them to understand the ways in which leaders in big organisations are working
and also follow their steps in order to encourage and motivate employees. It is necessary that
leaders are successfully having a vision and mission towards which they would be moving
and also making others more. There are a number of skills like time management, workload
management, decision making, negotiation, interpersonal skills which are necessary for a
leader to assess. These skills will successfully enable individual as well as leaders to fulfil all
their roles and responsibilities at the workplace. Along with this the action plan which is
mentioned in the report helps an individual to create all the objectives of leadership and list
down the steps required for them to achieve them. The time which will be required in order to

achieve all these objectives should also mentioned in an action plan which are to be followed
by an individual.

References
Books and Journals
Oc, B., 2018. Contextual leadership: A systematic review of how contextual factors shape
leadership and its outcomes. The Leadership Quarterly, 29(1), pp.218-235.
Silva, A., 2016. What is leadership?. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 8(1), p.1.
Khan, S., 2016. Leadership in the digital age: A study on the effects of digitalisation on top
management leadership.
Crosby, B.C. and Bryson, J.M., 2018. Why leadership of public leadership research matters:
and what to do about it. Public Management Review, 20(9), pp.1265-1286.
Rudolph, C.W., Murphy, L.D. and Zacher, H., 2020. A systematic review and critique of
research on “healthy leadership”. The Leadership Quarterly, 31(1), p.101335.
Cheong, M. and et. al., 2019. A review of the effectiveness of empowering leadership. The
Leadership Quarterly, 30(1), pp.34-58.