Bill Gates: Transformational Leader

The roots of the Great Man Theory (see Hughes 2009, Pg 188) can be traced to the early 1900s when many leaders’ researchers and the popular press maintained that leaders and followers were fundamentally different. William Howard Gates, Born 1954, in Seattle Washington is no different from the masses that choose to follow him. According to the text, even followers of leaders possessed the same characteristics of the people they follow therefore it is no surprise if they were just as smart, outgoing, and ambitious as the successful leader. Although positive characteristics such as intelligence, initiative, modesty, friendliness, and dominance are in correlation with Bill gates personality “having the right stuff” does not guarantee success but improved the odds of successfully influencing. It is also very easy to place Bill Gates in a many leadership positions because his early life experiences were guided by his mother and father who encouraged him to think freely. Bill Gates Parents were William & Mary Gates. William Gates Sr. was emotional & intelligent; Mary (Bill Gates mother) was equally smart but also strong willed. Her strong willed character may have also contributed to Bill Gates business personality. (Hughes 2009, page 189-207 On Personality & genetics).

His mother and father effectively supported his ideas. Through this lifelong process, William H. Gates Jr. would find appreciation for the abundance of wealth he was born into and; discover personal consideration for the people around the world that did not possess what he assumed to be basic which was health and education. His youth would be a foundation for personal successes in Philanthropy. The following SWOT analysis is a quick look at Bill Gates strengths and weaknesses in leadership throughout his life.

Strengths:

Expert Knowledge – He is regarded by his followers as an expert. One of the best traits of a leader.
Power & Influence: Influenced by his strong willed mother, and emotionally intelligent father, Bill Gates utilized his distinctive personality to influence business agenda.
Charismatic: in regards to truly wanting to help developing countries
Visionary: Visions of a healthier world by donating significant amount of his wealth not only for sake of donating but empowering under developed nations with the inevitable capability of ultimately being able to positively help others in the future.
Personal credibility & experience (transformational leadership). Bill Gates experiences in management are widely known throughout the world.
Social network – with Warren Buffet and Mark Zuckerberg, ability to communicate amongst peers with similar power and influence and generate ideas that are not overly similar but: rather gives him the ability to think outside of the box.
Socialized power- In Philanthropy, it is for the good of the organization, opposite of personalized power- for the good of self.

Weaknesses:

One of a kind, dominance - being a billionaire is rare which can make it complicated for followers to relate.
Past Managerial reputation as results driven leader - his management position at Microsoft is sometimes questionable due to his communicate style and results driven reputation.
Avoidance in conflict resolution (Hughes 2009 Pg. 664-666),

Opportunities:

Philanthropy - Developing others
Business ventures in the health industry
Image and trust building through the media and other networks.

Threats:

Billionaire – Billionaires are rare around the globe but with so much power brings his leadership style in the limelight. Even the slightest imperfectly conveyed utter of words may cause critics to rise.
The inevitable dark side of leadership – everyone has at least one bad trait among the many good ones.
Improper use of donations – Donating to trustworthy candidates is the key.
Technology rivals like Apple, Salvation Army, and Higher Education etc. who have foundations of their own that other follower might be more interested in.
Business negotiations ultimately straying away from Philanthropy
Government regulations that hinder the positive influence of Philanthropy

Bill Gates Transformational Leadership Process

It is widely known throughout the globe that Bill Gates was the youngest, wealthiest CEO of our time but this success was not achieved with luck. In fact many people still think that by Bill Gates became a successful billionaire by chance. Luck could not be further from the truth when it examining the life achievements of Bill Gates.

It was at a young age when Bill Gates spent 8 hours a day, 7 days a week on his hobby trying to figure out computer programs writing code and reading computer science text. He was greatly interested in computing but was not limited to it. Studying quantitative mathematical models would only be a fraction that attributed to his expertise (See Hughes 2009, Pg. 278-279 Technical Expertise) in software development. He also enjoyed early statistical games like poker and spend numerous hours studying it. His mother and father were also great influences on the young Bill Gates. They enrolled him study in a private school in Lakeside- Seattle, Washington after his psychologist determined he was too intelligent for his age and therefore needed to keep his growing brain from being bored.

Bill Gates enjoyed rare privileges even before becoming a billionaire because his family was already wealthy. There are moments of his youth having his mother introduce him to the great investor Warren Buffet at a dinner party. Nearly three decades later, Warren Buffet and Bill Gates would partner in business ventures and philanthropy. Studying computer science and actually playing with computers was a past time for Bill Gates and his friends at the private club. In fact, most children his age were hardly gained the same insight toward computer technology.

His experiences set him apart from other children that were born wealthy. He was an avid reader in the subjects that interest him. He was intelligent. “Intelligence is one’s all around effectiveness in activities directed by thought and is typically measured using standardized intelligence tests (sometimes referred to as, analytic intelligence)”.( See Hughes, Pg. 218). As Bill Gates teen years were ending, a lot more responsibility such as entering Harvard may have enhanced his creativity. Creativity is defined (See Hughes. Pg 189) The privileges such as education, not having to worry, having dreams come to reality lead a path to serve as a transformational leader.

Leadership Attributes.

It is evident that he had many leadership qualities and one of the most important attributes was his capability to analyze, interpret, and be competent. His analytic intelligence is mentioned in his biography that provides evidence of his abilities by scoring 1790 on an 1800 Harvard entrance exam. His freshman years at Harvard may have also developed intrinsic motivation for larger scale achievements with a creative imagination to “Rule the world” of which he and his friends were quoted to be saying.

Gates was eventually married on Jan. 1, 1994, to Melinda French Gates who was a former employee of Microsoft. The bond between Melinda and Bill Gates might have furthered his interest in helping others become successful.

“Philanthropy is very important to Gates. He and his wife, Melinda, started a foundation in 2000 to help reduce inequities in the United States and around the world. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation support philanthropic initiatives in the areas of global health and learning, with the hope that in the 21st century, advances in these critical areas will be available for all people”. (See www.Microsoft.com/chairman)

Failed Leadership with Followers

From Microsoft's founding in 1975 until 2006, Gates primary responsibility was in product strategy particularly in licensing software. There were other talents within his company who were able to acquire and merge other technologies such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook but it was Bill Gates who aggressively broadened the company's range of products. He gained a reputation for being distant to others; as early as 1981 an industry executive complained in public that "Gates is notorious for not being reachable by phone and for not returning phone calls. (Paul Freiberger, August, 1981 “How bad are they?”).

As an executive, Gates met regularly with Microsoft's senior managers and program managers. Firsthand accounts of these meetings describe him as verbally combative, berating managers for perceived holes in their business strategies or proposals that placed the company's long-term interests at risk. He often interrupted presentations with such comments as, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"And, "Why don't you just give up your optionsand join the Peace Corps? (Isaacson, Walter... Jan, 1997 “The Gates Operating System). At this time in his leadership role, Bill Gates was results driven (see Hughes... Pg. 625, 638), this lead to some of the Microsoft's top level managers to view him as someone who did not take great consideration for subordinates and other followers within his organization. Bill gates mentioned the Peace Corp at the meeting because he was competitive and the managerial decisions were made during his absence seemed to be a total disaster. A good leader would have effectively stayed in tune with corporate decisions but during these failed years as a CEO, communication with his organization slowed and provided little clarity. In addition to being absent during projects, he would defend his outburst and his project proposals until he was fully convinced that the corporate goals were going his way.

Another failure is when subordinates appeared to be procrastinating, he was known to remark sarcastically, "I'll do it over the weekend. The proper action to take was to not ignore or berate his workers but to instead approach the problem by either giving positive or negative feedback on project assignments or empower better candidates to work on the task.

After retiring as CEO of Microsoft Bill Gates decided for a second career in Philanthropy, Bill Gates was known to primarily be out of sight and firsthand accounts describe him to be verbally combative. Although gaining much success in regards to wealth, he was not charismatic enough to control the situation and this is where he failed earlier in some of his leadership roles. During these times, he would often think about Philanthropy with his wife Melinda.

Although the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was criticized because it invests assets that it has not yet distributed with the exclusive goal of maximizing return on investment. The foundation announced in 2007 a review of its investments, to assess social responsibility. It stood by its policy of investing for maximum return, while using voting rights to influence company practices.

Success with Followers in Philanthropy

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundationis currently the largest charitable foundation in the world. The foundation allows benefactors to access information regarding how its money is being spent. This form of organizational clarity is perhaps one of the reasons that they are successful. Every stakeholder is not left in the dark. The goals are clear, and everyone on-board understands the mission objectives (see Hughes, Pg 437 “Goal specificity) unlike other major charitable organizations.

There are other Philanthropist whose who have been credited with influencing the Bill & Melinda Gates. David Rockefeller and other family members focus on global problems and those who are ignored by governments around the world. The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation is the second-most generous philanthropists in America, having given over $28 billion to charity.Over the course of their lifetime, they plan to eventually give 95% of their wealth to charity

Communicating with Followers

Transformational leaders build trust in their leadership and attainability of their goals through an image of seemingly unshakable self-confidence, strength of moral conviction, personal example and self-sacrifice, and unconventional tactics or behavior. They are perceived to have unusual insight and ability to act in a manner consistent with their vision and values (see Hughes 2009, Pg 582). It is important for Bill Gates for his followers to share in his vision. Although his quest in Philanthropy began in the 1990’s, the globe has not recognized his efforts until retiring from Microsoft as CEO. Eventually Bill Gates would receive distinguished awards that would have to do more with his vision in helping developing nations.

In 2006, Mr. & Mrs. Bill Gates were awarded the “Order of the Aztec Eagle” for their philanthropic work around the world in the areas of health and education. The Order of the Aztec Eagle is usually awarded in Mexico for people who help humankind. By improving other businesses through his Philanthropic donations, he also received the 2010 Bower Award for Business Leadership and The Franklin Institute award for similar conducts. The Boy Scouts of America also honored Bill Gates in 2010 with the Silver Buffalo Award which is the highest award for adults who for their service to youth.

By 2011, Bill Gates was ranked as the fifth most powerful person in the world, according to rankings by Forbes magazine. This is not only because he is a billionaire but because a significant portion of his devotion to Philanthropy was being recognized throughout the globe.

Conclusion

The exemplary skills and mindset that Bill Gates has become places him with to be one of the most influential transformational leaders who inspire the masses of whom he shares his vision. Not all charismatic leaders can be transformational but he Possesses both; being transformational and charismatic. Success has already been established with more to follow in Philanthropy. Bill Gates is not the first to discover the future and present benefits helping others but he certainly has a large following from the emerging economy of Brazil, developing nations in Africa, and organizations in Asia. The other wealthy families and businesses share reciprocal values in providing the future generations with ability to take care of themselves properly without the hindrances of not being educated and: not being healthy. Perhaps Philanthropy is a win-win situation for Bill Gates and enhancing people’s lives can have a positive quantitative effect in the long run. The social network with Warren Buffet included in his meetings along with other notable Philanthropists will only aide in his successes. At 17 years old, Bill Gates was quoted as “wanting to rule the world”, Now that he does have significant leadership power, perhaps he wants to rule a world that is more like him. Intelligent, strong willed, charismatic, and transformational.