STEVER JOBS self-assessment *Kim Woods

I. Self-assessment

A. My professional assessment on leadership

I am futuristic, and I have big dreams and visions. I engage myself in most of the activities so as to reach my goals. I do not only see what life has to offer in present day; I see what can be done to ensure that my future and the future of people around me is bright. I relate well with people, getting along with people has never been hard for me. That has helped me in leading people we have even never met before (Rossiter, 2004). My communication skills are unquestionable. Getting along with people and passing a message from a person to another has never been a challenge to me. I am achievements oriented; I am pushed by an inner drive to go to greater heights and achieve more than I already have. I am strategic; I always find myself getting through challenges. My point of improvement is tolerance, most of the time I find it difficult to work with nonperformers.

B. Comparing and contrasting my assessment and Steve Jobs

There are some leadership qualities that we have in common with Steve Jobs, and on the other hand, there are areas that we are completely different. One of the leadership qualities of Steve Jobs is that he is visionary (Sarah, 2011). The reason why he emerged to be one of the greatest men that this world has ever had is that he looked into the future. Steve Jobs and I are both visionary; we do not only see the present, but we also see the future. Steve Jobs had a problem in adapting and having empathy for people who he worked with and those who worked with him. That is one of the leadership qualities that are not common in both of us. Steve Jobs would rush to accomplish a goal; I believe in paying close attention to a situation and striking during the perfect time. Steve Jobs was focused; sometimes my attention is diverted when I have to sort out an issue.

II. Leadership and management

A. Analyze the leader’s professional career track and growth, focusing specifically on the leader’s management roles and functions.

When Steve Jobs started Apple computer, he was just 21 years old. His management skills of not tolerating nonperformers took him to greater heights. Jobs liked to be in control of everything (Vital, 2014). Some of the people he worked with narrated that he would take control of everything in the company; from the design of the phone to the food made in the cafeteria. As a result, nothing would happen without his knowledge, and that made him have full control of the company. As a result, his company emerged to be one of the most successful organizations in the world.

How are the leader’s leadership skills and abilities different from the management roles and functions he or she fulfilled?

Though one of the leadership qualities of Steve Jobs was to ignore the reality, it was not the case when it came to him managing his company. Decisions that he made in running the organization were reality based.

B. What impact did the leader’s leadership skills have on his or her ability to improve organizational structure, operations, and communication?

Steve Jobs was a visionary leader (Kallas, 2012). As a result, his legacy remains. Due to him being a visionary leader, he established an organization that is at the top of the world today. Steve Jobs was a leader who wanted to be in control of everything in the company and that made the employees perform. He was in control of every department and that promoted communication in the organization since he would take the initiative of telling every employee what they are expected to do.

C. What impact did the leader’s management roles and functions have on his or her ability to improve organizational structure, operations, and communication?

Steve Jobs believed in managing the big and the little. To him, there was no task too little for him to manage. That served as an example to leaders who came after him. He believed that the work of the manager is to control everything around him. Steve Jobs management style did not have room for errors. He was striving for perfection. He threw away two prototypes of iPhones during his tenure in just one year. However, he later accepted the third. He did so because the iPhones were not as perfect as he wanted.

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