Jack Ma Leadership Style
Introduction
Jack Ma is a captivating illustration of an effective leader. Jack MA is a Chinese business entrepreneur who is the initiator and executive director of Alibaba Group. Alibaba Group is an international internet business with the Chinese origin. Jack Ma’s intentions were to utilize the general authority of the internet and his business to support more international business across nations beyond China and assist in the growth of SMEs globally (Alibaba Group, n.d.). in terms of global entrepreneurship, Jack Ma was categorized as the 30th most authoritative individual and has received several rewards for the same being the 2nd most authoritative leader in 2017 (Alibaba Group, n.d.). For Jack Ma, his power in entrepreneurship has not be driven by monetary value rather by his desire and commitment to bringing transformations. He is mainly objected at changing the manner in which business is conducted and supports China in being the most successful in e-business. For this reasons, Jack Ma is a leader that through experience owns exemption potentials, abilities and a differentiated leadership style which has made him an effective leader (Linshi, 2014). This paper will particularly address Jack Ma’s leadership styles including a relative evaluation of transactional, transformation characteristics and his tendency to utilize motivational and inspirational approaches.
Jack Ma is more of a transformational than a transactional leader because he is charismatic, holds an authoritative vision, communicates his vision effectively, capable of developing trust and holds an appealing self-interest (Linshi, 2014). Transactional leadership can best be described as the authority of a leader over his employees via the use of punishment and rewards in order to motivate them. On the other hand, a transformational leader is the primary motivator in the workplace and encourages high participation not in regard to the related value but commitment and satisfaction from their roles. Jack Ma is a particularly delightful and attractive leader who always focus on ensuring that his employees acquire a sense of comfort and happiness while working for the company (Avolio & Yammarino, 2013). In order to encourage the employees to work for transformation, he has developed an interesting working surrounding within the company through the organization of often training programs and events. As the company’s leader his worker has utmost admiration of his traits and in this context, he is perceived to be an authentic leader to the workers which has been essential in the acquisition of trust and loyalty (Avolio & Yammarino, 2013).
As an authentic leader Jack owns an influential character sense which has assisted him in creating a strong foundation for the corporation through trust (Linshi, 2014). Jack believes that effective leaders should not limit their humor character only because they are in control since those traits are needed in building long run relationships (Linshi, 2014). Jack utilizes motivational leadership in transforming thoughts and perception of the employees and all other stakeholders. This is because he acknowledges the fact that it is not possible to ensure that every individual believes in what he focuses on and in order to draw every individual in the same direction he is guided by having a strong mission and willingness to change. For him, a leader is that one individual who focuses on what the workers offers rather than the value to be achieved. All this cannot be achieved without the presence of a precise mission (Linshi, 2014). He does not rely on penalties and rewards but he states that those that sacrifice their personal motives for the wellness of the company deserves nothing less than recognition and rewards.
Leadership styles
Jack Ma has made several influential investments in diverse sectors globally with the use of several leadership styles. To begin with, Jack is a visionary leader (Kux, 2016). This is an individual who is not discouraged by the existing poor scenarios and focuses on the opportunities of transforming the existing environment into one that is characterized by desirable outcomes. Despite the fact that his tries have failed in several instances he has grown to be more authoritative and braver which ultimately turned into his extensive success today. In this, context, he is an effective visionary leader that normally focuses on creating well in the worst scenarios. Secondly, Jack utilizes coaching leadership (Kux, 2016). This leadership approach is mainly centered on personal development and demonstrating to individuals on how transformation can be created in reality. Jack Ma is guided by his philosophy which holds that an essential investment is the one that is made of young individuals since creativity and innovativeness in this segment is particularly high and cannot be destroyed at any cost (Linshi, 2014). For him, those that surround him in the workplace understand that he does not offer any bread because he trains them on how they can create their own production to feed their hunger and that of others. He is also an authoritative coach to all his workers and community which can best be derived from his advisory functions that he plays in different companies across the globe.
Further, Jack Ma is a pacesetter because he exploits opportunities and ensures that they grow to be the most influential investments. For Jack Ma is particularly focused on developing e-commerce in China thus setting a higher pace for all the contemporary businesses (Kux, 2016). In addition, he inspires for change. In that, he focuses on the issues that hinder the development of the contemporary business particularly from the internet which inspires most to transform in order for better performance and value to be acquired (Bertocci, 2009). He also utilizes perseverant leadership style. A perseverant lead involves the engagement of someone who does not fear to fail. In that, it is through failure that one acquires better experience and better means of escaping such failures in the future. Jack believes that being afraid is the most destructive failure that can ever occur (Kux, 2016). This means that the most effective perseverant is the one that will still attempt in repeated instances regardless of the number of instances that one is bound to fail. This is the normal Jack Ma who has been recognized globally for his repeated attempts despite the existing challenges and obstacles. For instance, Jack once attempted to be admitted to college on two distinct periods but failed but he later passed on his third attempt. On the other hand on countless instances, he has been denied some working roles following strict assessments. More so he has been rejected several times which accounts to ten or more by the Harvard institution in addition to his China pages exploration but has remained persistent (Kux, 2016). This makes him a perseverant leader.
Major leadership skills that Jack Ma has demonstrated as an effective leader today
Every effective leader is characterized by certain traits that make them different. This can be the manner in which an individual delivers their beliefs or the manner in which they respond to different scenarios. Some of these qualities can be obtained via different learning procedures while others grow with working experience (Kux, 2016). From the analysis, Jack Ma’s primary skill that makes him unique revolves around effective communication. In that, as a leader, he is inspirational, motivates and inordinate communicator of his bold and huge goals. Through his communication, he is able to unleash his perspectives and thoughts in thorough descriptions for all his audiences to adopt. This kind of communication has helped in throughout the leadership in acquiring unlimited success in the contemporary society (Kux, 2016).
In addition, Jack Ma is persistent and is not willing to quit. Regardless of the situation, he is committed to achieving the best (Bertocci, 2009). Despite the fails that he has experiences he has not given up at any given moment. Most people tend to quit due to the lack of perseverance. Jack Ma also holds great qualities regarding the potential to acquire better opportunities in regard to undesirable situations. In the initial attempts to create China page across the globe he failed and despite the increasing pressure from established companies such as Amazon, he continued to try. All these qualities differentiate Jack as a more differentiated leader based not only on his success but also influence globally (Bertocci, 2009).
Conclusion
Based on the above analysis of Jack Ma’s leadership styles it is apparent that premeditated leadership is needed for the general growth of a company. Jack Ma is a transformation leader who is focused on motivating his employees based on values rather than anticipation. He is a charismatic and highly motivated leader who is focused on motivating his employees to achieve greater heights through inspirations and motivations. Jack Ma’s persistency, effective communication and willingness to transform have made him successful and different from all other entrepreneurs across the globe.
ReferencesTop of FormBottom of Form
Avolio, B. J., & Yammarino, F. J. (2013). Transformational and charismatic leadership: The road ahead. Bingley, UK: Emerald.
Alibaba Group. (n.d.). Senior Management: Jack Ma, Executive Chairman Alibaba Group. Retrieved from Alibaba Group: http://www.alibabagroup.com/en/about/leadership
Bertocci, D. I. (2009). Leadership in organizations: There is a difference between leaders and managers. Lanham, Md: University Press of America. Lanham.
Kux, S. (2016). Success from Jack Ma, Self-Made Billionaire and CEO of Alibaba. Retrieved from http://www.lifehack.org/articles/work/8-keys-success-from-jack-self-made-billionaire-and-ceo-alibaba.html
Linshi, J. (2014). 5 Life Lessons From Alibaba Founder Jack Ma. Retrieved from Time: http://time.com/3423708/5-life-lessons-jack-ma-alibaba/
