Leadership Essay: Leadership Styles of Gandhi, Jobs, and Thatcher

This essay examines the leadership styles of Mahatma Gandhi, Steve Jobs, and Margaret Thatcher, highlighting their transformational and charismatic qualities. Gandhi is presented as a transformational leader, inspiring followers through example and humility. Steve Jobs is recognized for his charismatic leadership, particularly in navigating Apple through crises. Margaret Thatcher's leadership is discussed, noting her assertive and pragmatic approach. The essay concludes that Steve Jobs' leadership style is best suited for the current economic climate, emphasizing the need for charismatic leaders capable of effective action. The essay references several academic sources to support its analysis. This assignment is available on Desklib, a platform providing study resources.

Running head: LEADERSHIP
Leadership
Name of Student:
Name of University:
Author’s Note:

1LEADERSHIP
Conclusion:
The three leaders chosen in the context of leadership are Mahatma Gandhi, Steve Jobs
and Margaret Thatcher. Mahatma Gandhi was a transformational leader in the true sense of the
term. He possessed all the qualities of transformational leaders that are of being inspirational,
trustworthy and charismatic. These leaders inspire other people to do their best, which motivates
them immensely and increases their chances of succeeding. They also have a very strong vision,
which guides them in the procedure of making a change. Mahatma Gandhi led his followers
immensely by example and taught them the importance of humanity. The importance of humility
was also carefully explained by relating the poor conditions of living, which millions of people
have to experience (Baxter 2015). Like a true transformational leader, other people gain
confidence and power, which seemed impossible under the British rule. It was due to the
powerful influence of Gandhi that people felt empowered even under the British Rule.
The next leader chosen was Steve Jobs. The famous CEO of Apple Inc. is widely
recognized as an immensely strong charismatic leader. The quality of being charismatic is a gift,
which is bestowed on few people and Jobs, was one of the very few charismatic leaders to relate
with. He possessed a magical quality of making the crowd spellbound. The leadership quality of
Steve Jobs helped his company come out of crisis at a time when usually all the leaders fall short
of leadership and management ideas. Integration to the system of the company was also
seamlessly possible due to Steve Jobs. In Jobs there was an ability to establish and maintain a
powerful image being a combination of salesman’s enthusiasm for the product, an immense
passion, a singularity for purpose, the determination to make the business a success in any way
possible (Amanchukwu et al. 2015).

2LEADERSHIP
The third chosen leader was Margaret Thatcher. She was known as the Iron lady and
exhibited certain personality traits in her political persona such as the aggressiveness, self-
confidence, dominance, pragmatism, ambition and a strong moral belief of the way things should
be (Hodges 2016). In certain instances there have been a variety of arguments as to what sort of a
leader she was. She has been considered as an autocratic leader as they want their followers to
implement their targets as they wish to do.
According to the contingency approach, the styles of a leader can be explained in several
ways. The leadership is understood from a mix of the relation between the leaders and followers
(Baxter 2015).
Keeping the present state of the economy in mind, the leadership style of Steve Jobs is
the best suited for the economy. The economy of the world needs a charismatic leader who can
act effectively in times of crisis and thus help his or her company and employees to work
towards the goals of the company (Kim et al. 2015). It is necessary for a leader to be receptive to
any negative situation, which might be encountered in the organisation.

3LEADERSHIP
References list:
Amanchukwu, R.N., Stanley, G.J. and Ololube, N.P., 2015. A review of leadership theories,
principles and styles and their relevance to educational management. Management, 5(1), pp.6-14.
Baxter, J.A., 2015. Book Review: Leading and Managing People in Education. Management in
Education, 29(3), pp.140-141.
Hodges, J., 2016. Managing and leading people through organizational change: the theory and
practice of sustaining change through people. Kogan Page Publishers.
Kim, T.Y., Liden, R.C., Kim, S.P. and Lee, D.R., 2015. The interplay between follower core
self-evaluation and transformational leadership: Effects on employee outcomes. Journal of
Business and Psychology, 30(2), pp.345-355.