Check out our essay sample on Mark Zuckerberg leadership style! Here, you can learn more about the roles and leadership strategies of Mark Zuckerberg and how he uses situational, charismatic, and democratic leadership styles.
Mark Zuckerberg is one of the most successful leaders despite the criticisms presented by many stakeholders against him. His efforts and attributes have made Facebook a revered brand across the globe. The company has been associated with the best values, strategies, and competitive advantages (Gio & Yazdanifard, 2015). Zuckerberg’s leadership style has played a critical role towards making Facebook a successful company. This essay gives a detailed analysis of Zuckerberg’s leadership strategies.
Zuckerberg’s Leadership Traits
The success of Zuckerberg has been attributed to a number of traits. To begin with, the leader is always passionate about the targeted objectives. Gio and Yazdanifard (2015) argue that many reputable and successful managers are usually passionate about their brands. The young leader has always been on the frontline to develop powerful systems that can transform the way people connect with one another. He embraces the use of technology to support the needs of more people across the world. Zuckerberg’s passion makes it easier for him to guide and empower his followers. The concept of lifelong learning is embraced at the company. This practice supports the needs of more workers in order to drive performance.
The second leadership attribute associated with the individual is hard work (Barine & Minja, 2010). The chief executive officer (CEO) of Facebook works tirelessly to ensure every goal is realized in a timely manner. He liaises with his employees, addresses their concerns, and supports different projects (Spears, 2010). He always encourages his followers to work hard in an attempt to record positive results. This attribute continues to support the company’s objectives.
Many analysts believe strongly that Zuckerberg is a strong communicator, decision-maker, and listener. These skill sets make it easier for him to interact with different stakeholders. The leader encourages people to present their ideas in an attempt to make the firm successful (Bailey & May, 2014). His communication skills support the best working environments in different departments. He uses these competencies to empower his followers and support their goals.
The leader is known to have “a sense of purpose” (Gio & Yazdanifard, 2015, p. 2). This trait makes it easier for him to attract the right partners, investors, customers, and employees. This skill has made it easier for the company to formulate new strategies that can deliver positive results. The trait explains why Zuckerberg finds it easier to connect with more people from different corners of the world. This strategy has made it easier for Facebook to deliver admirable products to more customers.
The other outstanding trait possessed by Zuckerberg is aggressiveness. As a leader, Zuckerberg mentors his workers to improve the targeted products and develop new competencies. The best strategy, according to the leader, is undertaking challenging roles and duties (Gio & Yazdanifard, 2015). By so doing, his followers use their competencies to ensure superior services are available to more customers in the market. Zuckerberg’s aggressiveness explains why he supports good ideas and innovations.
Mark Zuckerberg’s Leadership Style
Leaders should use the most describable styles in order to drive performance. Zuckerberg is a successful leader who embraces a wide range of approaches in an attempt to realize every targeted goal. After analyzing the competencies and approaches embraced by this CEO, it is evident that he combines three leadership styles. To begin with, Zuckerberg portrays his autocratic leadership strategy whenever he wants to achieve positive results. This is true because he commands his employees to complete their tasks in a timely manner. This leadership approach explains why “he does not tolerate laxity or inadequacy” (Gio & Yazdanifard, 2015, p. 4). The strategy forces the workers to remain focused and aware of the targeted business objectives.
Zuckerberg goes further to lead his employees from a democratic approach. This leadership style supports the goals and needs of the company’s workers. For instance, the leader encourages his employees to present their ideas and opinions. He uses such ideas to guide them in order to ensure every business objective is realized within the shortest time possible. He embraces the concept of teamwork in the organization. This practice explains why most of the employees collaborate, guide one another, and address the major issues affecting the company. As a democratic leader, Zuckerberg uses his skills to improve the features associated with Facebook. Such features are usually aimed at helping more people connect with their friends across the globe (Bailey & May, 2014). The leader supports different team members to undertake new roles that can make a difference in the firm.
The other leadership attribute portrayed by Mark Zuckerberg is delegation (or laissez-faire). The CEO allows different groups to make the most desirable decisions and focus on the best goals. More often than not, Zuckerberg allows his workers to make some changes to the layout of Facebook webpage (Gio & Yazdanifard, 2015). This approach shows clearly that he trusts his employees. The leader treats the workers as friends. By so doing, the employees are usually motivated and empowered to deliver the most desirable goals.
Positive and Negative Aspects of Zuckerberg’s Leadership Style and Traits
It is agreeable that Zuckerberg’s leadership style is characterized by both negative and positive traits. The good aspects of his leadership style include collaboration, passion, hard work, and communication. The negative attributes associated with his style include dictatorship and non-compromise (Bailey & May, 2014). Although such negative aspects might affect productivity, Zuckerberg’s positive traits have continued to support the company’s performance.
The employees are usually empowered and guided to support the mission of the organization. The leader communicates the firm’s vision to the employees and empowers them to work as teams (Spears, 2010). His autocratic approach plays a positive role towards ensuring that specific goals are realized. Zuckerberg’s aggressiveness continues to support Facebook’s current profitability. He embraces the best action plans and strategies that can add value to the customers. However, the autocratic strategy embraced by Zuckerberg can affect the morale of different workers. This malpractice might explain why the leader has been unable to increase the company’s stock price.
This analysis shows conclusively that Zuckerberg’s positive leadership traits outweigh the negative ones. The achievements and results recorded by Facebook can be used to support this fact. His democratic approach empowers and motivates the targeted workers. His passion and hard work supports the objectives of the company. Zuckerberg’s sense of purpose drives performance at the company. Although the leader is sometimes autocratic, the most agreeable fact is that he has managed to create a successful brand in the global market (Gio & Yazdanifard, 2015). He augments his positive traits with effective communication. These practices have continued to support the performance of Facebook. This fact shows clearly that Facebook will always support the emerging needs of more stakeholders and users across the globe.
References
Bailey, B., & May, P. (2014). Facebook at 10: Zuckerberg pushing for change. The Mercury News. Web.
Barine, K., & Minja, D. (2010). Transformational corporate leadership. Wake Forest, NC: Integrity Publishers.
Gio, T., & Yazdanifard, R. (2015). The unconventional leadership of corporate leaders in the 21st century. Global Journal of Management and Business Research: A Administration and Management, 15(4), 1-6.
Spears, L. (2010). Character and servant leadership: ten characteristics of effective, caring leaders. The Journal of Virtues & Leadership, 1(1), 25-30.