Analysis of Leadership Styles in Steve Jobs (2015) Film: A Case Study

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Developing Leadership and Management - Management
Report Based On A Case Study Analysis
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................3
Introduction -...................................................................................................................................4
A critical evaluation of the styles of leadership and management within the organisation (main
and sub characters), underpinned with appropriate theoretical perspectives theories.....................5
Evaluation of whether the leadership styles exhibited were relevant within the organization......10
A proposal of an appropriate leadership development intervention which could be implemented
to drive change and continue to improve and develop leadership (main and sub characters).......13
Conclusion -...................................................................................................................................16
References......................................................................................................................................17
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Executive Summary
Apple Inc. was a spearheading factor in the innovation and technological advancement of the
modern day information system that we use, and Steve Jobs, the founder, was a major
contributing force in this context. The report includes his approaches to the business decisions
and leadership styles within Apple, and how changes were implemented along with an extensive
and in-depth analysis of the same. It focuses on the 2015 movie of the same name rather than the
organization in reality, and depicts the several inter relating factors that were portrayed within
the movie in this context. Apple Inc. in today’s context has become a multi-million dollar global
corporation whereby the approaches and business decisions are studied comprehensively by
organizations and governments worldwide. As a result, the approaches to leadership and
employee management were under the sight of the world as and when they were implemented,
along with their targeted results that could be ascertained as an impact of the business decision or
policy. Steve Jobs experimented with multiple styles of leadership, some of which were
acknowledged while the others received strong voices of opposition, as has been portrayed in the
movie of the same name. The report provides a comprehensive overview of all the business
policies and decisions and takes into consideration the various factors that were estimated and
studied before the implementation, along with a thorough comparison and evaluative study.
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Introduction
The report essentially is an extensive study on the critically acclaimed film ‘Steve Jobs’ based on
the life and works of Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple Inc. Released in 2015, the cinematic
feature is fundamentally a biographical drama directed by Danny Boyle and written by Aaron
Sorkin. Steve Jobs in his real life was a dynamic leader and has largely contributed to the success
of the Apple Inc. and what it stands for today. The report looks into the various styles of
leadership adopted by Steve Jobs in the movie and subsequently within the organization as well.
Rangive over a spectrum, Apple initially experience the Laissez-faire form of leadership style,
whereby Jobs maintained a non-authoritarian method in order to gain the most out of his
employees. During those times, this style of leadership was rather unconventional and not
feasible, and eventually with the increase in competition and the rise of Google and Microsoft,
Jobs adopted a democratic style where there was increase participation and shared form of
leadership style. Most businesses applied this method back then and even till date, as it ensures a
general sense of transparency and a steady flow of command. Following this, Jobs even shifted
to an autocratic style, whereby he tried to maintain a large degree of control of all the actions and
operations within Apple Inc. This move was strongly objected by the board of directors, who
even went on to ask Jobs to resign from his position.
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A critical evaluation of the styles of leadership and management within the organisation
(main and sub characters), underpinned with appropriate theoretical perspectives theories
Leadership can be simply defined as the art and aesthetic of motivating and influencing a group
of people towards sharing a mutual objective and achieving a common goal and mission. In other
words leadership also refers to guiding a group or team of followers. Management on the other
hand, includes a series of activities which is to forecast, organize, command, plan, control and
coordinate with people to smoothly run all sorts of activities.
Democratic Leadership, Laissez-Faire Leadership Style -
The main character of the film Steve Jobs (2015), directed by Danny Boyle can be considered as
Steve Jobs itself which way played by Michael Fassbender, on the other side the other two sub
characters of the film can be regarded as Joanna Hoffman which was played by Kate Winslet and
Chrisann Brennan which role was acted by Katherine Waterston.
At the very first stage of the Steve Jobs Film (2015), Michael wanted to imply the Laissez-Faire
Leadership where he wanted to embrace and gift all the authority to his employees, although he
understood that it is the most concave form of leadership style still he wanted to project the idea
of ‘let them do’ (Steve Jobs, 2015). Afterwards, It was most commonly found that the attraction
of all the characters were quite mutual towards their choice of leadership styles, while Michael
Fassbender (As Steve Jobs) was quite confident and obstinate about Democratic leadership style
and he really didn't care about any other leadership and wanted to implement that wholeheartedly
in his organization in the mid stage (Terzi and Derin, 2016). Contrary to that, Kate Winslet (As
Joanna Hoffman) and Katherine Waterston (As Chrisann Brennan) were quite open to their
leadership choices even they agreed Michael’s approach and choice of Democratic Leadership,
but they wanted to at least glint on various other leadership styles even if not apply it.
Transformational, Transactional and Autocratic Leadership -
Joanna and Chrisann were very much interested in the transformational and transactional
leadership. They understood that these are efficient for sometimes that too in certain cases but for
transformational leadership, the idea of transforming and improving company’s inventions and
for transactional leadership, the idea of establishing roles and responsibilities separately for each
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employee along with the custom of rewarding employees and marketing team have especially
attracted Chrisann and Joanna (Deichmann and Stam, 2015).
From a several distance, after Chrisann and Joanna proposed their ideas Michael encountered
that transactional and transformational leadership will be suitable in the long run and as he
wanted to establish the particular organization which will run for many years, he convinced
Joanna and Chrisann to concentrate upon democratic leadership style only. But however
afterwards Joanna personally suggested Michael to go through once over the autocratic
leadership style. Michael found out that autocratic leadership will make him the supreme
commander of the organization’s main operation and its growth opportunities. Besides the
employees will neither be entertained nor consulted prior to a direction which is going to happen
inside the organization. They are just expected to adhere to the concluded decisions in a specified
time and pace which is made by Michael (De Hoogh et al., 2015).
However, in a close group meeting amongst Joanna, Michael and Chrisann and it was decided
that they will put a significant amount of effort for co-establishing the strategic leadership style
‘Great Man’ Theory -
According to the ‘Great Man’ theory it is been assumed that the capabilities of a leader is
implicit, in other words constitutional.The great leaders of all time are generally born with
certain internal characteristics such as confidence, intelligence, interactive skills, attractiveness
and charisma. It is often portrayed by this theory that elegant leaders are heroic, and destined to
rise to leadership whenever necessary. In ancient times this theory was specially applied in
terms of military leadership but afterwards it was developed and evolved to enforce it into
democratic leadership style (Hamilton, 2017).
In the particular case of Steve Jobs (2015) [Film] directed by Danny Boyle, Michael Fassbender
adapted the Great Man theory for the enhancement and betterment of his organizational
performance (Steve Jobs, 2015).
Trait Theories -
Trait theory is quite similar to Great Man theory in certain aspects and mainly based on the
assumption that over time people inherit certain qualities, characteristics and traits which will
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make their growth optimistic in context to the leadership. This theory often refers to some
particular personal qualities, attitudes or behavioral characteristics shared by the top leaders.
Some certain traits are extraversion, courage, self motivation, self confidence which are potential
towards any leadership (Fleeson and Jayawickreme, 2015).
This theory became influential and beneficial for Michael in the last stage of his period of
leadership. As he effectively could understood that which factors will be essential for him to
transfer the organization into a completely autocratic leadership.
Situational Theory -
The situational theory primarily focuses upon the course of actions of any leaders according to
the variability of the situations. Different styles of leadership become effective in different
spheres and scenarios for the purpose of certain types of decision making. Joanna and Chrisann
discovered that when the company will be needing certain sorts of re-innovation or new
invention to conduct transformational leadership, this situational theory can be adopted and
accordingly the employees will be made aware while on the other hand if the company is
focusing more upon assigning certain roles and responsibilities on the employees then they can
undergo through a transactional leadership (Thompson and Glasø, 2015).
Contingency Theory -
This theory primarily focuses upon the particular environmental variables which determine the
certain leadership style that can be applicable. But this theory also firmly dictates that no
leadership style is best suited in any situation. When a proper declaration was going on about this
theory, it was derived that leadership demands a right amount of balance between behaviors,
necessities and context. The leaders must meet the needs, ethical behavior of their followers and
staffs which are best expected from them (Alexander, 2017).
Michael synthesized this contingency theory to much simpler form in the very initial state of his
organizational experience. He wanted to promote Laissez-Faire leadership with support of this
contingency theory and moreover he lended complete authority towards his employers, because
he could sense that no leadership style is suitable for any situation under any circumstances.
Discounted Leadership Style -
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After a certain discussion with Joanna and Chrisann, Michael understood in the initial stage that
however compassionate and kind he remains Laissez-Faire Leadership cannot survive in his
organization. After the received proposal from Joanna and Chrisann about Transactional and
Transformational leadership, Michael understood the power and potential of these styles but that
left him with very less options to inaugurate something new as well as limited him. So
understanding the fact that it won’t sustain for long he discarded them and Chrisann agreed to his
decision. Over a period of continuous chats, discussions, meetings, finally they stuck to the
democratic leadership which ran for a very long period of time in their organization in context to
the Steve Jobs Film.
At the very end, Michael looked at the larger picture and wanted to implement Autocratic
leadership style, though he became successful to implement it but the style failed sooner than it
was expected.
There are basically four roles of leadership which can be very well justified with the modern
context. Those are as follows;
Inspiring Trust - A leadership with character and competence can be followed by many person
which can enable them to build and inspire trust among themselves and for the whole governing
body.
Creating Vision - A bold leader helps to define the vision and journey of the team along with
declaring the way and process for reaching their destination.
Executing Strategy - With adopting a disciplinary principle and strict action, the leader achieves
the desired result consistently and strategically (Nguyen et al., 2017).
Coaching Ability - The leadership board nurtures the talent and potential of all the staffs and
alongside unleashes and promotes coaching for them to expand their hidden skills.
The role of managers is considered to be a very crucial dimension inside the management body.
The management board governs on the ability, and targets the resources for achieving
predetermined goals. It has been further classified in three parts which are respectively;
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Interpersonal Role - These roles concern in the interaction with people both inside and outside
premises of the organization. It has also a few of its subparts which are; Figure head, Leader and
Liaison Role (Wong and Giessner, 2018).
Informational Role - This role involves receiving, overviewing and collection of information
and distributing it accordingly. These roles are further sub-classified in three parts which are
respectively; monitoring, disseminating and speaking.
Decisional Role - As the manager is expected to take decisions regularly that are why he
performs this duty in four ways which are respectively; as an entrepreneur, as a conflict handler
and resolver, as a resource allocator and as a negotiator also (Del Giudice et al., 2016).
So henceforth, it became a very clear and concise fact that in Steve Jobs (2015), directed by
Danny Boyle, Michael Fassbender went through the optional choice of many leadership styles,
he received certain recommendations from Kate Winslet and Katherine Waterston, but they
could only cohere to democratic leadership which was supported with certain leadership theories.
Rest of them became ineffective and failed to sustain in longer terms.
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Evaluation of whether the leadership styles exhibited were relevant within the organization
The various styles of leadership implemented within the organisation saw varying degrees of
acceptance and support, especially in the context of the two supporting characters, Joanna and
Chrisann. The initial laissez faire method saw a general sense of acceptance due to the reduced
control measures and overall employee freedom. However, this was not taken well by the board
and neither Joanna or Chrisann, and eventually Jobs moved onto the democratic style. The
company performance improved massively during this time and turnovers were at their peak.
The democratic style involved a lot of participation on the part of the employees and
individuality in ideas and concepts was steadily established and maintained. Following this, an
autocratic form was also implemented during the final years of Jobs, as portrayed in the movie,
and these witnessed strong oppositions and were voiced heavily by the Board of directors.
Contemporary literature regarding the leadership styles has been widely published and
researched on by various British agencies like Chartered Management Institute, Institute of
Directors, Institute of Leadership and Management and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and
Development.
Chartered Management Institute on generous leaders and workplace happiness
CMI in their recent reports and publications have emphasized on the need for generous
leadership policies and workplace satisfaction and how they have come be key factors in
productivity and performance. CMI has stressed on how such a work environment would bring
about a general sense of positivity with the implementation of active support systems and
guiding directions on the part of the leaders. Policies of sponsorship whereby leaders recognize
an employee’s performance and productivity and forward the same to others to further help the
employee’s success and productivity. All this translates into a happy and pleasant working
condition which is mutually beneficial for the organization as well as the employees
(www.managers.org.uk, 2019).
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Institute of Directors on good governance
IOD has stressed on several important factors in the context of good governance with special
emphasis upon the function and formation of the board along with the levels of remuneration.
The board has several important operational functions like regular meetings, appropriate scales
in line with the scale and nature of operations, management of risk, and efficient systems of
internal control and so on. The boards must also maintain a steady flow of communication with
the shareholders and employees at large and establish a notion of transparency. The skills and
knowhow of the organization at large must be refreshed and updated according to present needs
and must be updated regularly. Coordination, interpersonal understanding and mutual trust are
the key principles on which the foundations of good governance are based.
Institute of Leadership and Development on positive and contagious leadership
ILD has massively stressed on the importance and necessity of a positive and contagious
leadership approach within an organization to achieve sustainable growth and development.
Leaders with a well defined sense and perception of problems at every level is essential to the
functioning. Strong leaders can formulate and implement business decision much more
efficiently as compared to indecisive leaders. Training and guidance are also key factors, in the
context of which a survey showed about three-fifths of the UK’s workforce were not ‘well
equipped’ to perform their assigned jobs. Maintaining a steady amount of delegation as well
among lower officials also enhances the values of positivity and accountability and is also
essential to the steady growth of any organization (www.iod.com, 2019).
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development on trust in leadership
CIPD greatly stresses on the issue of trust in the context of leadership. Recent metrics have
shown that organizations operating within the UK have witnessed a steady decline in the
employees’ trust in the organizational leadership policies. Due to the very dynamic and fluid
nature of leadership, approaches must be regularly optimized to ensure maximum productivity
and profitability. The core concept and its implementation must be authentic and true to the
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founding ideals of the business. This level of transparency between the inter-organizational
structures is extremely important in order to maintain a level of trustworthiness in both among
the employees as well as the management. CIPD also stresses that there must be a clarity of
thought involved in the various delegations and assignments forwarded to employees in order to
avoid confusion and distress. A clear and concise overview helps to maintain employee
productivity along with self-interest, personal development and healthy competitive natures.
Future scopes must also be clearly established to ensure a steady flow of information and
confidence within the employees. Any disagreement and issues of distrust must be mitigated and
addressed as soon as possible to eradicate any possibility of future conflicts within the
organization at large.
Overview and evaluation
As inferred from the sections above and specifically in the context of Apple Inc. and Steve Jobs,
the laissez faire and the autocratic methods had severe oppositions with a strong voice. The main
peak of the company’s growth back in the 80’s can certainly be attributed to the implementation
of the participative or the democratic style that Jobs introduces and implemented from within the
organization. Even in today’s age, Apple strictly adheres to the key principles laid down during
those years and maintains a participative form of leadership whereby the employees hold
individual accountability and responsibility alongside a heavy degree of delegated tasks and
operations functionalities. The autocratic form of leadership had several disadvantages whereby
the major portion of the control system was held by the management with a very little amount of
employee participation. This caused a general sense of displeasure and employee agitation, as
opposed to the laissez faire methods, whereby employee laxity was observed generally saving a
few dedicated isolated individuals. The two supporting characters, Joanna and Chrisann, had
established their strong support toward the democratic style of leadership as well. It led to an
overall empowerment of the employees, and benefitted the group decisions massively. Creativity
was also enhanced and Apple began to see that translate into profits soon, and has exponentially
grown ever since. Although the policies are time consuming and bear a small degree of
uncertainty, many organizations have successfully implemented this policy and have seen
success at large, including Apple Inc.
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