This
Albert Einstein quote came at the end of World War II. A key challenge was facing leaders at that
time. Ideas such as nationalism,
imperialism, and militarism – having contributed to two world wars – had the
potential to lead to a third one, possibly threatening the survival of
humankind.
Today,
Albert Einstein’s quote is relevant to uncovering how leaders lead, because, despite
a plethora of leadership theories, focused on how leaders lead, the largest
number of corporate scandals in the history of American business marred the
years 2001 and 2002. In addition, a
financial crisis emerged in 2007, which, in 2009, destroyed $34.4 trillion of
the total market value of publicly traded companies—more than the combined 2008 annual
gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States, the European Union, and
Japan. Were the annual real GDP of the
United States, the European Union, and Japan to grow at mid-single digit rates,
this destruction of wealth would take at least a decade to replenish. In the United States, this lost wealth would
take over 10 years to replenish, were GDP to grow at a compounded annual growth
rate of 5%. Moreover, a November 13,
2013 Congressional Report stated that poverty in the United States increased
markedly from 2007 through 2010. In
2012, 46.5 million people were counted as poor in the United States—the largest
recorded number in this measure’s 54-year history.
Examining how universal
characteristics the GLOBE project identified apply to leadership—and specifically
the leadership of Steve Jobs—promises a level of thinking likely to uncover an
answer to how leaders lead. Two of the
six universal attributes of effective leadership the GLOBE project identified
are linked to charismatic leadership—vision and inspiration. Societies in such countries as Germany,
Mexico, Portugal, Spain, Iraq, and many of those in the former Soviet Union
where charismatic dictators dominated view charismatic leadership as undesirable. The distaste for charismatic leadership is
likely the result of historic association with despotic charismatic leaders to
whom these nations were subjected.
Therefore, this essay will focus on universal characteristics of
effective leadership without a link to charismatic leadership—integrity, including
a commitment to ethics and a connection to a spiritual foundation, diplomacy,
incorporating effective bargaining and win-win problem solving, an orientation
toward performance and excellence, focusing on self-development, and a
collaborative team integration, specifically a sensitivity to organizational
culture.
Steve Jobs’s leadership merits
study. As CEO of Apple, NeXT, and Pixar,
he made a significant impact on the computer, music, and film industries. On April 25, 2014, a CNBC panel recognized
him as a leader for transforming commerce, finance, markets, human behavior and
global culture over the past 25 years.
Source Notes
…in
2009, destroyed $34.4 trillion of the total market value of publicly traded companies: Liu,
H. CK (April 13, 2010). Global Post-Crisis Economic Outlook, Part 1: The crisis of Wealth destruction. Asia Times. Retrieved from http://atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/LD13Dj05.html
…a November 13, 2013
Congressional Report: Gabe, T. (2013).
Poverty in the United States: 2012.
Retrieved from http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL33069.pdf
…the GLOBE project
identified: Dorfman, P.W., Gupta, V.,
Hanges, P.J., House, R.J., and Mansour, J. (Eds). (2004). Culture, leadership, and organizations: The GLOBE study of 62 Societies.
Thousand Oaks, California: Sage
Publications, Inc.
…where charismatic dictators
dominated view autocratic leadership as undesirable: Dorfman, P.W., Gupta, V., Hanges, P.J.,
House, R.J., and Mansour, J. (Eds). (2004). Culture,
leadership, and organizations: The GLOBE study of 62 Societies. Thousand
Oaks, California: Sage Publications,
Inc.
…the result of historic
association: Dorfman, P.W., Gupta, V.,
Hanges, P.J., House, R.J., and Mansour, J. (Eds). (2004). Culture, leadership, and organizations: The GLOBE study of 62 Societies.
Thousand Oaks, California: Sage
Publications, Inc.
…a commitment to ethics: Fraser, M. (2008). Leading Beyond Self: An Interpretive Biographical Case Study of
Ethical and Integral Leadership (Doctoral dissertation, Fielding Graduate
University). Retrieved from Proquest (UMI
No. 3308628)
…a CNBC panel recognized: Stake, R.E. (2006). Multiple Case Study Analysis. New York, New York: The Guilford Press The List: CNBC First 25 Rebels, Icons and Leaders (2014) [online forum]. Retrieved from http://www.cnbc.com/id/101577066
Excerpt from: Universal Characteristics in The Leadership of Steve Jobs
Available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B081J113NT
