REPORT ON LEADERSHIP STYLE OF BILL GATES

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:DR. SWATI AGARWAL Dhananjay Kumar

Jaipuria institute of management, Noida

William (Bill) H. Gates III is co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft Corporation, the world's leading provider of software for personal computers. Bill Gates was born on October 28, 1955. He and his two sisters grew up in Seattle. Their father, William H. Gates II, is a Seattle attorney. Mary Gates, their late mother, was a schoolteacher, University of Washington regent and chairwoman of United Way International. Gates attended public elementary school before moving on to the private Lakeside School in North Seattle. It was at Lakeside that Gates began his career in personal computer software, programming computers at age 13. In 1973, Gates entered Harvard University as a freshman, where he lived down the hall from Steve Ballmer, who is now Microsoft's president. While at Harvard, Gates developed a version of the programming language BASIC for the first microcomputer - the MITS Altair. BASIC was first developed by John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz at Dartmouth College in the mid-1960s. In his junior year, Gates dropped out of Harvard to devote his energies full-time to Microsoft, a company he had started in 1975 with his boyhood friend Paul Allen. Guided by a belief that the personal computer would be a valuable tool on every office desktop and in every home, they began developing software for personal computers. Gates' foresight and vision regarding personal computing have been central to the success of Microsoft and the software industry. Gates is actively involved in key management and strategic decisions at Microsoft, and plays an important role in the technical development of new products. Much of his time is devoted to meeting with customers and staying in contact with Microsoft employees around the world through e-mail.

Facts about Bill Gates

1. Queen Elizabeth gave him the title of 'Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire'.

2. IBM contracted him for the development of their first Personal Computer.

3. He is the Co-Founder and the Chairperson of Microsoft.

4. He is the world's third richest person (As per the survey done in 2008)

5. He is an American Business Magnate.

6. Yes, it is Mr. Bill Gates, a living example of success.

7. Microsoft Windows is the world's most successful operating system. And the man behind its success is Bill Gates.

Bill Gates - A Successful Entrepreneur

Gates is one of the most successful entrepreneurs of the world. He is able to run a successful and a profitable entrepreneurship for many years and even today, we cannot survive in this competitive world without it. Vision and dedication are the key factors of being a successful entrepreneur and these skills were present in Bill Gates from the beginning. He has got the skills to identify the most suitable employee for recruitment. The success of Microsoft is the true example of the entrepreneurial skills of Bill Gates.The success story of Bill Gates is highly motivating for all the upcoming entrepreneurs. His hard work, dedication and self-confidence helped him to earn everything he has. He is a simple man and slightly conservative in regards of money although he is one of the richest people of the world. The youth can take inspirations from the life of Bill Gates. So it can be concluded that Bill Gates is one of the ideal personalities of the world who has honestly contributed towards the world's success.

Achievements as a successful entrepreneur

The list of achievements of Bill Gates is so long that a book can be written about it. Some of his achievements are mentioned below:

1. In 2005, Bill Gates knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution to the British economy. His title will be 'Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.’

2. Time Magazine included his name in '100 most influential people of 20th century'. His name was continuously there from 2004 till 2006.

3. He has received doctorates from various universities and institutes like Harvard University and The Royal Institute of Technology.

4. Bill Gates and his wife have done many generous works for the welfare of the society. For this, they have received the award of 'Order of

the Aztec Eagle' in Mexico.

5. Sunday Times included his name in its Power List in 1999.

6. Forbes Magazine listed his name in 'The World's Richest People' from the year 1995 to 2007.

7. Berkshire Hathaway, an investment company, approached him to be the Director of the company.In 2000 Gates resigns as CEO of Microsoft to spend more on software architecture and less with running the company

CHARACTERISTICS OF BILL GATES

INTELLIGENT

He believes that if you are intelligent and know how to apply your intelligence, you can achieve anything. From childhood Bill was ambitious, intelligent and competitive. These qualities helped him to attain top position in the profession he chose.

VISIONARY

Microsoft's vision is "A computer on every desk and Microsoft software on every computer he will continue to stomp out the competition until he dies. Every business and household must have a computer and must run Microsoft software”, was the basic guiding vision of Bill Gates.

PASSION

When as a student at the Harvard University, every single student would have wanted to be part of the great institute and graduate to be successful, Bill Gates decided to stop studying and pursue his dream of writing software’s for every computer in the world He was just passionate about software, coding and technology that incidentally also made him the richest man in the world

INNOVATION Gates and Allen were assisted by a staff of six, which included four programmers. In late 1977, Gates released a version of FORTRAN

language for microcomputers. In 1978, Gates and Allen introduced a version of COBOL. Around this time, Microsoft emerged as the market leader in microcomputer languages with sales exceeding $1 million. In 1979, Microsoft developed a new version of BASIC... He had an early interest in software and began programming computers at the age of thirteen. . RISK BEARER

In his junior year, Gates dropped out of Harvard to devote his energies full-time to Microsoft, a company he had started in 1975 with his boyhood friend Paul Allen development of new products.

CONTINOUS LEARNER

“Microsoft is not about greed. It’s about Innovation and Fairness.” – Bill Gates”

Never stop learning was the Mantra of Bill Gates which he follow till date. This empowers him to be a Great Leader of our times. He will always be remembers as an Icon and even without his presence in Microsoft he would still be regarded as a great inventor and a real genius in every regard of Business, Technology and Entrepreneurship.

ACCEPTING THE CRITICISMS

Its fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.There will be people who would want to make fun of your efforts, pull you down and so on. The stronger you stand the bolder you get the faster these negatives wither.When IBM pulled out of the contract for the operating system to be bundled with the IBM Clone PCs, Bill Gates stayed on and started focusing on the creating Windows amidst lots of hiccups that will hamper the company.

OTHER KEY LESSONS-BILL GATES

“If you show people the problems and you show them the solutions they will be moved to act.” – Bill Gates

This is one never mentioned secret of success. Action is the key word. When logic never drives us its emotions. We must have take action. Bill

Gates as a small young boy never had anything to lose which he kept telling his good friend Paul Allen. When he had several odds again him such as the American Law and several cases against him, he still consistently took action by developing more software which the people wanted. This made him a super star overnight.

“Whether it’s Google or Apple or free software, we’ve got some fantastic competitors and it keeps us on our toes” – Bill Gates

Bill Gates took up the responsibility of being the Chief Software Architect, Bill Gates was nurturing Microsoft by building a broad range of products. This was not just capitalizing on the knowledge but provide the best by understanding the need of the people.

Bill Gates' Secrets of Success

Hard work: Bill Gates is a hard worker since the beginning of his life. In his college days, he used to work all night long on his computer. When Microsoft was started, Bill Gates used to sleep only for 6 hours in a day without skipping a single day of office. For Bill Gates, hard work is one of the main keys of success.

Entrepreneurship:

Entrepreneurship is an integral part and is present in Bill Gates from the beginning. He knows how to manage his work, he always takes a keen interest in learning, he learns from his own mistakes, he is a creative person and, most of all, and he is focused towards his goals.

Confidence:

Bill Gates has always been a highly confident person. He was always confident about his dream of becoming successful.Managerial Skills: The great managerial skills of Bill Gates helped Microsoft to be a successful company. He efficiently managed all the areas of the company which required his focus.A Great Convincer: Bill Gates is gifted with great convincing skills. He has made lots of successful deals in his career. The deal with IBM was one of them.

Technical Mind:

Bill Gates is born with a highly technical bent of mind. It is a gift of god to him. Microsoft has earned lots of success through this technical mind.

He Had A Vision:

From day one, Gates dreamed of having a personal computer in every home, in every business and in every school. Throughout his career, he never once wavered from this dream. Focusing on software as the means to popularize the PC, Gates built his empire around this central vision and steered clear of all other distractions. And, the vision continues today. “We are not even close to finishing the basic dream of what the PC can be,” he says.

He Had a Solid Team:

“If we weren’t still hiring great people and pushing ahead at full speed, it would be easy to fall behind and become a mediocre company,” says Gates. From Microsoft’s inception, Gates prioritized his team, bringing in only trusted friends to help him get the company started. As the company grew, he insisted that they hire only the most capable young minds and strove to create a small and creative environment for them to thrive in. Microsoft succeeded not only because of Gates, but also because of the strong team that stood behind him.

He Took a Long-Term Approach:

“In the decade ahead I can predict that we will provide over twice the productivity improvement that we provided in the ‘90s,” said Gates. This bold statement captures Gates’ philosophy behind his entire business. Never one to chase after instant success or an immediate pay-off, Gates began coding software with a view to the next fifty years. He has constantly tried to keep his company at the forefront of new technological developments by funding new research initiatives. Gates’ long-term approach helped ensure Microsoft’s remarkable staying power.

He Learned From Failure:

In hindsight, Gates’ early failures seem so miniscule that they are almost laughable. But, as a struggling entrepreneur, he went through the same frustration, confusion and despair that others in his situation also face. What distinguishes Gates from the rest was his ability to rebound from his mistakes and take whatever lessons he could from them. He then became even more resolute and determined to see his vision realize.

He Never Stopped Asking Questions:

“I believe that through our natural inventiveness, creativity and willingness to solve tough problems, we’re going to make some amazing achievements,” said Gates speaking to the future possibilities for medicine, education and technology. When Gates faced a dilemma, he didn’t stop and give up. He asked questions about what could be done to solve the problem. From his business activities to his philanthropic efforts, Gates’ curiosity and desire to constantly be learning has been one of the key factors behind his success.

“If I'd had some set idea of a finish line, don't you think I would have crossed it years ago?” asks Gates. Showing no signs of slowing down, Gates continues to fuel his business, inspire his workers and make his contribution to the global village. “At Microsoft, there are lots of brilliant ideas but the image is that they all come from the top,” says Gates. “I’m afraid that’s not quite right.” While Gates has been the famous face of Microsoft for over thirty years, it took the help of numerous other trusted individuals to help realize the company’s success.

When Allen and Gates first met as students at Lakeside, they instantly formed a strong bond over their passion for computers. And, it was a bond that would last for the rest of their lives. Knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses, interests and passions and having a strong sense of trust enabled these two entrepreneurs to form one of the most successful working relationships of the 20th century.

Gates, recognizing the importance of a solid and trustworthy team, also brought on two former high school friends, Ric Weiland and Marc McDonald, to be part of the core Microsoft group. Gates knew that if Microsoft was going to get its feet off the ground, it was going to take the hard work and sweat that he trusted few others to put in. From day one,

he understood the importance of having a small team that could join together each person’s enthusiasm around a common goal.

When Gates moved the operation to Seattle in 1979, he had a staff of 16 people. As Microsoft grew, so too did the number of employees that the company required. Gates continued to bring in trusted friends of his whose characters he understood and who he knew he could trust, including his friend from college, Steve Ballmer, who was thereafter in charge of human resources. “Steve and I were kind of driving the business and Paul and I were driving the technology,” recalls Gates. “Our success has really been based on partnerships from the very beginning.”

The move to Seattle proved to be a boon for Microsoft in that it enabled the company to have a much wider range of skilled candidates to choose from. “In the world of software a lot of the brilliant ideas of Microsoft come from a broad set of great people we've been able to hire,” says Gates. In one particularly key move, Ballmer hired Charles Simonyi, one of the original founders of the Xerox Palo Alto research lab, whose knowledge about graphical interfaces made a significant contribution to Microsoft’s later graphical applications.

As their number of staff began increasing into the thousands, the company typically focused on hiring people right out of school. “Most of our developers, we decided that we wanted them to come with clear minds, not polluted by some other approach, to learn the way that we liked to develop software, and to put the kind of energy into it that we thought was key,” recalls Gates.

Microsoft continues to seek out only the best in order to help it stay ahead of its increasingly fierce competition. “They key for us, number one, has always been hiring very smart people,” says Gates. “There is no way of getting around, that in terms of IQ, you’ve got to be very elitist in picking people who deserve to write software. Ninety-five percent of the people shouldn’t write complex software.” By hiring the best and the brightest and carrying out work in small teams that stimulate free and creative thinking, Microsoft has managed to retain its competitive edge for over three decades.

“Though he never set out to be a millionaire, Gates not only became the world’s first cent billionaire in 1999, but also one of the world’s most respected entrepreneurs for having revolutionized the world of computers and setting new industry standards. “I really had a lot of dreams when I was a kid,” recalls Gates.”“Power is the engine that drives the ability toinfluence . To understand leadership effectivenesstherefore , an analysis of the complex web ofpower relationships and influence processes inorganizations is essential. We also need toexamine the sources of power and therelationship of different power sources toleadership effectiveness.”

SOURCES & TYPES OF POWER POSSESSED BY BILL GATES

Position Power

Legitimate Power: It is based on his position power given by the organization. It is also called the legitimization influencing tactic.Employees agree to comply with management authority in return for the benefit of members. The use of legitimate power is appropriate when asking a person to do something that is within the scope of their job.

Legitimate Use of Rational Persuasion

It is used by Bill Gates while dealing with higher-level managers. Rational Persuasion includes logical arguments with factual evidence to persuade others to implement your recommended action

Reward Power:

It is based on the leader’s ability to influence others with something of value to them. Microsoft is famous for giving huge remuneration packages to its employees. An important part of reward power is having control over resources, such as allocating expense & budget funds.Bill Gates has full control over evaluating employee’s performance determining their raises, promotions & other rewards.

Coercive Power:

The use of coercive power involves punishment & withholding of rewards to influence compliance. It is also called the pressure influencing tactics. Bill was a autocratic leader but he never made rash threats & used coercion to manipulate others or to gain personal benefits.

PERSONAL POWERS

Personal power is derived from the follower based on the leader’s behavior. It includes expertise, friendship or loyalty and charisma.

Expert Power: It is based on the user’s skill & knowledge. Being an expert makes other people dependent on the leader. People often respect an expert & fewer the people who possess an expertise, the more power the individual has. Bill Gates is a master of his subject & his knowledge, skills, expertise is never questioned, tagging him having the expert power.

Referent Power: It is based on leader’s personal relationships with others. It is also called the personal appeals influencing tactics based on loyalty & friendship. But with Bill Gates it is more of loyalty due to his autocratic behavior towards his employees. People stay at Microsoft for longer time period than most of the companies.

INFLUENCE TACTICS

RATIONAL PERSUASIONBill Gates extremely used this tactic by applying its functions in a very logical manner.Bill always explained why the objectives need to be met.He was very clear on the benefits which the followers would get & conveyed the same to others.He was very motivational regarding the set objectives & provided subtle evidences that the objectives can be met.He was very quick on explaining how problems & concerns will be handled.He always innovate newer technologies & was very clear on their strength over others.

PRESSURE

Bill Gates very frequently used the pressure influencing tactics from fear of reprimands, probation, to suspension or dismissal.

Bill gates style as Fiedler Model

"In Fiedler's model, leadership effectiveness is the result of interaction between the style of the leader and the characteristics of the environment in which the leader works"

"According to Fiedler, the effectiveness of a leader is determined by the degree of match between a dominant trait of the leader and the favorableness of the situation for the leader.... The dominant trait is a personality factor causing the leader to either relationship-oriented or task-orientated"

Relation-oriented leadership:Leaders who describe their preferred coworker in favorable terms, with a high LPC, are purported to derive major satisfaction from establishing close relationships with felow workers. High LPC leaders are said to be relationship-orientated. These leaders see that good interpersonal relations as a requirement for task accomplishment.

Task-oriented leadership:Leaders who describe their least preferred coworker unfavorable terms, with a low LPC, are derived major satisfaction by successfully completing a task. These leaders are said to be task-orientated. They are more concerned with successful task accomplishment and worry about interpersonal relations later

The second major factor in Fiedler's theory is known as situational favorableness or environmental variable. This basically is defined as the degree a situation enables a leader to exert influence over a group. Fiedler then extends his analysis by focusing on three key situational factors, which are leader-member, task structure and position power. Each factor is defined in the following.

1. Leader-member relations: the degree to which the employees accept the leader. 2. Task structure: the degree to which the subordinates’ jobs are described in detail. 3. Position power: the amount of formal authority the leader possesses by virtue of his or her position in the organization.

So in this case Bill Gates found most favorable place where positional power is high as he has most authorities in the firm, task structure is also defined as he gives the direction to subordinate/follower to fulfill his vision, and last leader-member relation is also good.That’s mean Bill Gates is more likely Task-oriented leader who want performance from his subordinate/follower and work has to be done to achieve the goal/objective of the company.

Level 5 hierarchy

Level 4 Leaders

Bill Gates has his own visions of what the business needs to do to succeed. He decides on direction and then gets people to implement his vision. This is what level 4 leader refer to as "first what, then who." Level 4 leaders are very much in the conventional mode. They may be effective when it is not too difficult to decide what to do. And Bill Gates is too confident what he wants to do in near future and pursue his vision through his expertise.

Level 5 Leaders

Contributing Team Member

Highly Capable Individual

Bill Gates

We not put Bill Gates as level five leader because level five leader require both professional will + humility in which definitely he has professional will but there is some doubt about humility, although he is philanthropist who endowed $28 billion dollar in his own Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and even promise to donate his 95% wealth as he will have aged but even after a lot of critics is there that he is doing all of it just because of status symbol, he is too centralize and blamed for curbing innovation.

Leadership style

1. Autocratic style

Control is basic to Gate's nature and his management practice. He has an obsession with detail and with checking up. Exp. Used to sign expenses for his right hand man – STEVE BALLMER.He is trying to monopolize the World Wide Web software market and has had legal problems with the department of justice. Microsoft restricted the ability of its internet partners to deal with its rivals. Also he dislikes complaints.

2. Delegate style

Brightest talent: Gates paid special attention to recruit and retain the best talent in the software industry. He believed that the recruitment of talented software engineers was one of the most critical elements in the software industry. Gates looked for a bundle of attributes in recruits. These included the capacity to grasp new knowledge quickly, the ability to ask probing questions, and deep familiarity with programming structures. Though a great number of potential recruits applied for jobs at Microsoft, Gates assumed that the best talent would never apply directly. Consequently, Microsoft's HR managers had to hunt for the best talent and offer them a job

Gives autonomy to his manager, he delegates authority to managers to run their independent departments.

Criticism

Curbing of Innovation: The critics argued that Microsoft was not an innovative company. They said that Gates reformed existing products to satisfy customer needs instead of inventing new ones. Analysts also argued that Microsoft's overwhelming market share was a major impediment to innovation in the software industry. Microsoft was not just the market leader, but also the standards provider for the industry.Impediment in development of smaller firms: Critics claimed that winning was so important to Gates that he would go to any extent to beat his opponent. James Wallace of Seattle Post-Intelligencer said, "Bill Gates not only wants to win, but he wants to kill the competition. He wants to bury the wounded" “Sometimes Gates took things so much to heart that his emotional feeling overshadowed his rational thinking. They said that Gates' intense rivalry with some of his competitors made him personalize every battle and obscured his judgment. ”With his ambitious and aggressive business philosophy, Gates or his Microsoft lawyers have been in and out of courtrooms fighting legal battles almost since Microsoft began.

Many of the largest technology co. have fought legally against the actions of Microsoft , including – APPLE COMPUTER, NETSCAPE, OPERA, WORD PERFECT , AND SUN MICROSYSTEME ETC.