Leadership That Matters

Why have some businesses thrived while others stagnated and many ceased to exist? The answer lies in the vision and the leadership style of the individuals who are at the helm of affairs. It’s the leaders and their strategic thrust that make the difference to the business. Leadership styles depend upon a number of factors, including the environment within which they function, personality traits, background and exposure, values, skills and experience. Leaders adapt their leadership style to suit a given situation, and hence, every leader may possess multiple leadership styles. Their success underscores the importance of leaders identifying the leadership strengths they possess to cultivate them further. Developing the right strategy for their business and motivating the employees for success, therefore, hinges upon this approach to leadership.

Steve Jobs was one such leader who became a cult figure with a fan following among customers, employees and partners whom he inspired to favour high-quality, user-friendly products. He is credited with creating an environment of innovation and creativity at Apple, which has continued to flourish even after his departure. Although over-reliance on a charismatic leader can be a risk and it may be difficult to sustain the transformational changes if the leader leaves, in the case of Apple, under Tim Cook’s leadership, innovation has continued to thrive and Apple has managed to remain a dominant player in the technology field.

Elon Musk is another such leader who is revolutionising multiple industries, although he has been a controversial figure in recent times. He sowed the seeds of inspiration for people to think and act globally to find solutions for sustainability and interplanetary colonisation. Reed Hastings has led the transformation agenda of Netflix, transitioning from DVD rentals to streaming and now customised options for entertainment at one’s fingertips. Hastings has created a corporate culture that encourages employees to take risks and innovate, which has made Netflix a leading platform for global programme content. Such leaders possess the innate capability to foresee the future, take the right bets and get their teams to buy into their vision to go after lofty goals year after year.

The job of the leaders in technology companies is even harder than those who run domain businesses as they are in the driving seat of technology innovation and possess the power to reshape the future and sell this vision to the businesses and consumers of technology. They need to be mindful of the dangers of falling short of fulfilling the promises of the products and creating a harmful impact—to not only their shareholders and employees but also their customers and the society at large. Samsung Galaxy Note 7, released in 2016, had problems with its battery causing explosions and fires, which led to costly recalls and damage to Samsung’s reputation.48 Theranos, the health technology company, promised revolutionary blood testing technology, but it was later revealed that its technology was flawed and its results unreliable, leading to its collapse and legal consequences for its founder, Elizabeth Holmes.49 Then there are businesses that have collapsed due to technology deployed in their functional areas.

For example, Target Canada had to withdraw in 2015 from the Canadian market within two years of its entry due to major problems with IT and supply chain.50 India’s Aakash Tablet, launched in 2011 as an affordable tablet for students, failed due to its poor performance, delays in delivery and failure to meet its educational goals.51 The electric tricycle designed by Clive Sinclair’s inventions in the United Kingdom failed due to safety concerns, limited range and poor weather conditions.52 Even if the product or technology is superior, ultimately, the success lies in meticulous implementation. The larger the organisation, the more complex would be the alignment of all stakeholders to the vision and the mission of the organisation. In technology-driven companies, change management is a continuous process. In the context of an AI-driven era, conceptualising what AI means for the business and getting it integrated with the business calls for a special calibre of leadership. There are several dimensions of leadership that are going to be vastly different from the past generations of leaders. We are now fully immersed and engulfed in technology in our daily life as well as our business conduct. With the AI component added, we need to factor in the methods of engagement with this new dimension. Further, for every action, the counter-action or response would emerge in an AI-driven environment. Hence, leaders would be required to be bolder and smarter to deal with the fuzziness at every step.