Why Steve Jobs remains unmatched in technology leadership

Once upon a time there was a view that technology leaders were better leaders. The current group of technology leaders are poking holes into that view. One writer indicated that Steve Jobs was probably the last beloved tech leader the world has ever seen. I would add that Jobs is probably the last great leader to be produced by the tech world.

At some point some thought Elon Musk could replace Jobs as a great tech leader. Currently, Musk is at the top of leaders that have disappointed many who thought tech leaders could make great leaders. He started by contributing towards developing great products. He committed an error by taking matters too far by getting involved in politics. This move and his conduct has tarnished his brand and illustrated that there’s more to leadership than just creating great products. One needs to really care about human beings and Musk seems to lack this important quality. 

Another technology leader who has been a great disappointment is Mark Zuckerberg. He also started well as a young person who changed the media landscape. If revelations by Sarah Wynn-Williams, in her book and presentation to US lawmakers, are anything to go by, Zuckerberg is a very bad leader.

Wynn-Williams claims in her book that Zuckerberg has knowingly abused user data and lied about this fact. If her claims are true, anyone who is still on Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram should expect that anything can be done with their data. Based on the revelation about Zuckerberg, he’s not a trustworthy leader who should be a custodian of global user data. 

The assessment of these two leaders may seem trivial but when one considers their influence it becomes clear that  their conduct needs to be exposed for what it is. 

Many around the world are inspired by Musk and Zuckerberg even though they do terrible things. 

When Zuckerberg advocated for the “Move fast and Break Things” approach many in the tech startup world emulated this business approach across the world. 

When Musk adopted the hardcore working culture which involved sleeping less, many adopted the same approach. 

Even young people who aspire to be great leaders admire Musk and Zuckerberg. Sadly,  Zuckerberg and Musk are no longer great examples worthy to be imitated. 

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to find tech leaders who are honest, caring and those who genuinely care about society. Doing innovative and great work should never be a justification for doing terrible things behind the scenes. 

Jobs, on the other hand, was famous for creating beautiful things. His products were beautiful on the outside  and inside. He even encouraged his workers  to make beautiful even parts that would never be seen by consumers. He demanded that designers and developers sign on the inside of one of the products they worked on. Although Jobs was no saint, his leadership qualities are worth emulating. 

The manner in which he led inspired the need to develop leaders who would embrace Steve Jobs qualities. The Steve Jobs Fellowship was designed support promising young people in their creative, professional, and personal development. Through a yearlong, nonresidential program, SJA Fellows receive a stipend to pursue their ideas, a nationwide community of peers, individualized mentorship, and exposure to bold creative practitioners working across disciplines. 

In 2022, the Steve Jobs Archive was launched. It’s a curated exhibits and publications that draws from private historical collection as well as programs, publications, and curated exhibits and reflect Steve’s deep respect for the past. Their programs recognise his relentless focus on the future by bringing his commitment to excellence and his epic sense of possibility to new generations. Steve built companies and launched products that revolutionised industries and transformed lives. From Apple to Pixar, Macintosh to iPhone, his work provided all of us - artists, engineers, musicians, scientists, storytellers, and others new ways to create and connect.

Steve believed that if you give great tools to talented people, they will use them to make wonderful things. But tools are more than the devices in our hands: they’re the skills we develop, the lessons we learn, and the connections we cultivate. That’s the mission of the SJA Fellowship: to support promising young people in their creative, professional, and personal development.

Society needs tech leaders who can inspire even long after they have left us. It may be tempting to imitate the bad behaviour by Musk and Zuckerberg and justify it as part of being innovative. Jobs illustrated that it’s possible to be innovative without embracing bad value systems. 

Wesley Diphoko is a Technology Analyst and the Editor-In-Chief of FastCompany(SA) magazine. 

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