Essay Sample on Leaders: Society's Essential Guides and Decision Makers

Introduction

Leaders are significant people in society and organizations. They help people understand their roles and responsibilities by setting clear visions and effective communication-leaders shape organizations, communities, and governments globally. Society requires good leaders to help make essentials decisions and act as guides to keep the world moving in the right direction. Often, society tends to quickly identify corrupt leaders and assume good ones since it seems like their obligations. However, good leaders are rare to find. The few we have in the society should be recognized and appreciated for the excellent work. Jeff Bezos is an excellent example of a leader most people should aspire to be in this modern era.

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Jeff Bezos was born in twelfth January in 1964. At his younger age, he spent most of his summers repairing equipment and fixing windmills in his grandparents. He treasures these experiments, for they shaped the person he became. Jeff is now a well-known American engineer, investor, retail entrepreneur, philanthropist, technologist, chairman, CEO, and founder of Amazon. He officially began the Amazon business in 1998 when he sold the first shares to the public. The company started by selling books online. However, the company has expanded, and it is now selling different products and services globally.

Jeff uses different styles of leadership. He uses unique and unconventional leadership styles. Some of these styles include autocratic and strategic leadership. He monitors everything in business by himself and delivers unique strategies, which, in return, facilitates its success. In other words, Jeff is a transformational leader. The behavior is appropriate according to his situation in business. Businesses often put owners and leaders in a position where they have to monitor everything by themselves to ensure success. For instance, a company such as Amazon requires a leader who can conjure visions to lead it to new heights. According to Haixin and Guiquan (2018), a leader using a transformational style must have a committed relationship with his followers. Dealing with employees become more manageable as a leader can create a significant shift in both their thinking and behaviors. As a result, the organization achieves its goals quickly.

Jeff acts as the role model, which is a very appropriate behavior. Qualities of a transformational leader include leading by example, also known as charisma. Leaders are expected to have good practices that could influence others to want to emulate him or her. An ideal leader should be a risk-taker who leads through a set of ethical convictions. Jeff's behaviors work quite well since the idealized influence helps a leader earn the trust of both the followers and employees. Though the confidence he instills, people behind him easily make decisions that facilitate the success of the business.

One of the main reasons Jeff became successful and famous is through starting amazon. The reasons for this business success include innovation. Jeff innovated numerous technologies and practices; this consists of the Echo's impressive voice command device. The change produced remarkable results for the company. Conversely, the company is known globally due to their excellent customer services. The organization possesses a variety of helpful tools that track packages and ensure clients have a convenient and smooth experience throughout the online shopping. Jeff's primary mission was to create an organization with the best customer care. Somehow, he has achieved but still working around the clock to ensure they offer the best in the market.

Another reason for his success was diversification. Unlike many entrepreneurs of that era, Jeff decided to take a new route. When others were opening a physical book store, he opted for an online one. However, although the initial idea was about selling books, nowadays, we find a variety of goods there. Some of the product listings in Amazon include electronics, clothing, automotive, grocery, music, and beauty, among many others. The diversification has helped the organization to remain relevant continually. Selling new products has helped Amazon attract new opportunities for facilitating growth. Success business ventures equal to substantial income. The successful investment has made Jeff the richest man in the world, with a net worth of approximately one hundred and fifty billion dollars (Kroll and Dolan, 2017).

The greatest strengths of Jeff include his ability to think about the future and flexibility. The two are primary qualities that have helped to maintain his fame and wealth. The leader possesses the ability to think long-term, which allows him to create advanced programs. Through this quality, Jeff quickly identifies opportunities and takes advantage of either strategic partnerships or forming alliances. An excellent example is seen when he purchased an online retailer in 2001, known as Egghead.com. On the flexibility side, Jeff can efficiently run numerous businesses, some being an investor while others being a CEO. He believes that an individual must be stubborn on vision while at the same time flexible in detail. He is optimistic. Besides, before he could entirely focus on being an entrepreneur, he worked as an engineer. Jeff worked in a corporate while still figuring out ways of starting his business.

On the other hand, the weaknesses of Jeff Bezos include his brutality towards the employees. According to him, just like many businesses, owners' customers come first, and they are always right. However, at some point, it is essential to differ. It can be challenging to make all the consumers happy since some are naturally stubborn and difficult to satisfy. His obsession with customer care perfection blinded him to the extent of failing to realize that some of the demands cannot be met. Thus, at some point, he should sit and reason with the employees as a way of making the services better.

Moreover, Jeff is somehow greedy. He does not believe in defeat or fierce competition. The trait is seen by how his company treats the suppliers. He is greedy for success to the extent of going behind the suppliers back to purchase products and undercut the prices. Conversely, rich people in the world are often expected to give back to the local communities. Jeff had failed in this sector for years until recently when he tried to rectify this weakness. He established an education program that will benefit numerous people in America.

According to Shapiro and Stefkovich (2016), ethical leadership is an essential aspect of every organization. Leaders should lead with respect to values and ethics. Also, they should respect dignity for others. A leader should treat employees with fairness, trust, integrity, and honesty. Leaders such as Jeff has significant roles in society. People look upon them, especially when making business moves. Hence, they are obligated to demonstrate appropriate behaviors regardless of them being observed by employees. In everything, the leaders should always keep in mind the paramount importance of integrity on leadership.

On the positive side, Bezos has managed to adhere to the principles of ethical leadership. He has always been honest with his employees, which is why he easily earns their trust. Bezos respects them and conducts all the disciplinary acts in fairness. Also, he possesses excellent communication skills. Jeff has built a team based on integrity, trust, and honesty. Furthermore, before implementing any decision in his business, he ensures it accords with the values and mission of the organization. It is the reason Jeff does not tolerate ethical violations; that is the reason he fires employees when consumers complain. Being a moral leader is difficult, as sometimes one is forced to become unpleasant.

Conclusion

Conclusively, it is evident that Jeff has created a name for himself through ensuring continuous growth in Amazon. The company that officially began in 1998 has made a remarkable improvement to the extent of making the founder the richest man in the world. To achieve exceptional growth, the organization required effective leadership, and Jeff used different styles. The excellent leadership skills have helped him earn the trust of his followers and employees quickly. This made Jeff became successful and famous. Jeff's strengths facilitated organization growth while he learned to overcome his weaknesses by opening an education program. Bezos showed ways in which good leadership helps creates a sustainable and healthy organization. Although he might have failed at some point, he will be remembered due to his inventive and visionary leadership style. Thus, young entrepreneurs should follow Jeff's footsteps for them to enter the market and manage the stiff competition.

References

Haixin Liu and Guiquan Li, (2018). Linking Transformational Leadership and Knowledge Sharing: The Mediating Roles of Perceived Team Goal Commitment and Perceived Team Identification. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01331

Kroll, L., & Dolan, K. A. (2017). Forbes 2017 billionaires list: meet the richest people on the planet.

Shapiro, J. P., & Stefkovich, J. A. (2016). Ethical leadership and decision making in education: Applying theoretical perspectives to complex dilemmas. Routledge.