In case you missed it, Y Combinator’s Paul Graham recently penned a blog post that kicked off a firestorm of discussions throughout Silicon Valley on the relative virtues of “founder mode” vs. “manager mode.” Amidst all the talk of whether a business leader should be intimately involved in every detail of their business or empower their managers to carry out their vision, I got to thinking about a spring day back in 1995, when I was a technical director at Pixar.
We had just come from a big meeting with Intel, where we met with then-CEO Andy Grove to present a concept of how Pixar and Intel could launch games that showcased Intel’s chip prowess together. Our job was to show a demo with inspiring characters and great storyboards. The demo had gone poorly, and Steve Jobs, as only he could do, was making his unhappiness clear. Steve was quite famously known to sometimes yell at his employees, and that day he let loose with a greatly impassioned rant, even by his standards.
With Steve being upheld as the quintessential example of a “founder mode” leadership style, I want to focus on what happened after his tantrum. Steve looked all of us in the eyes and apologized. “I’m sorry,” he said. Not for yelling at us, but for not doing his part to make the demo more successful. “Let’s all do better next time,” he said. And then, he went into what today is being called “founder mode,” rolling up his sleeves and, true to his word, working more closely with all of us, at every level, to make sure that when we got our next opportunity, we hit it out of the park.
The thing about Steve was that he cared deeply about his people. Granted, he could be meticulous and demanding at times, even to the point of being called “tyrannical.” But above all else, he was a kind, respectful, and compassionate leader. It was these traits that made him great, not his lapses into screaming and obscenities.
For many of today’s leaders—not just in the tech industry but across the business world, politics, culture, and entertainment—Steve Jobs is a role model of leadership. And for good reason. He built not one but two iconic brands and launched groundbreaking products. He was also known, perhaps more than any other trait, for a fastidious pursuit of his singular vision. When it came to getting his way, he could be demanding, acerbic, and imperious, just as his reputation holds.
Looking at some of today’s leaders, I am concerned that many of them seem to have embraced the more dangerous traits of Steve Jobs without balancing them with his better qualities. They have adopted the Yin but disregarded the Yang, leading to a toxic style of leadership that often destroys morale, decreases productivity, and leads to a decline in stakeholder value.
So, what advice would Steve Jobs have for those leaders who seek to emulate his autocratic ways? Here are the lessons I took from working with him at Pixar and studying his leadership style.
In the aftermath of that disastrous demo and Steve’s apology, he made a point of listening to everybody involved. Even me. I was still relatively inexperienced at the time, but he sat with me patiently and listened with great interest as I explained what I was working on and what I felt we could do better. He asked smart, probing questions and sought my opinions on important matters. Whether he incorporated my views into his thinking or not, he at least gave them honest consideration, making me feel that my opinions mattered.
No single person can create anything of significance all by themself. It requires contributions from people throughout the organization—including some unexpected people. No matter how much a leader believes in their vision, they must motivate others to get on board with it and feel passionate about working toward it. It’s not enough to simply force a vision on your team—you’ve got to get them to believe in it as well. One thing that Steve Jobs was so good at was bringing people together to achieve collectively what they could never accomplish working in silos.
Steve Jobs understood that he alone did not have the talent, insight, or abilities to bring his vision(s) to market. In fact, at Pixar, he often deferred to John Lassiter and other creative and technical leads who knew more than he did in their respective areas of expertise. He would often make this explicitly clear in meetings by saying things like “I’m just here to support you” or “Let me know how I can help.” By not only deferring to but often holding up topical experts as the true leaders, he inspired confidence, autonomy, and courage throughout the company.
One lesson many people seem to have taken from Steve Jobs is that a good leader must have their hands on every aspect of their business, which is essentially the gist of Graham’s “founder mode” doctrine.
While it’s true that Jobs was intimately involved in many details of his companies, he also understood that it would be impossible to be involved in all of them. He knew when to outsource decisions and when another bite of the apple would be too much for him—or anyone—to swallow.
To those leaders who think they can do everything, he’d tell them to focus their attention on the issues and decisions they can truly influence and let the team handle what it’s better equipped to handle.
In a 1994 interview, Steve Jobs famously told Rolling Stone magazine, “Technology is nothing. What’s important is that you have faith in people, that they’re basically good and smart—and if you give them tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them.” This statement reflects Jobs’ belief in the better qualities of humankind, as well as his commitment to providing people with tools to help bring out their best. Jobs believed that only by concentrating on adding value to mankind—even over revenue and profits—can a company truly realize its potential.
Steve Jobs was far from perfect. Yes, he could be irascible and mean, but he could also be kind and caring. He was controlling and domineering, but also inspiring and empowering. For those leaders who emulate his autocratic ways, don’t forget to also follow the other lessons he taught us.
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