Introduction
The practices implemented by senior leaders are of particular significance for a given organization’s growth. Managing and operating a business corporation requires a comprehensive understanding of the primary leadership aspects, which are valuable tools in the creation of a productive working atmosphere. Apart from establishing company goals and output expectations, a successful leader must efficiently fulfill their responsibilities, as well as motivate and inspire their employees to ensure a smooth flow of the working processes (Yang, 2016).
As such, many leaders choose to rely on specific leadership practices that enhance their authority and promote team relationships (Yang, 2016). A recently appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Twitter enterprise, Jack Dorsey, is an excellent example of a transformational leader who is invested in continuous development and aims to empower the workers. This paper discusses the leadership practices utilized by Dorsey, clarifying his responsibilities and arguing that Dorsey is especially interested in fulfilling his duties using a transformational leadership style.
Leading Transformation: Twitter’s Executive’s Leadership Approach
Twitter is one the most well-recognized social media platforms that allow numerous users throughout the world to freely communicate with each other. Co-founded Jack Dorsey in 2006, Twitter soon became a publicly-traded company and gained incredible popularity as a social network that promoted internet interaction and open discussions (Rodriguez, 2021). Although Dorsey was the co-founder of the company, he left his CEO position in 2008, returning to this post in 2021 after the changes in Twitter’s development strategy (Rodriguez, 2021). After the re-establishment, Dorsey created a unique management style and began implementing the practices that correspond with the transformational leadership approach.
As Dorsey encourages employee engagement, innovation, and independence, his approach to leadership can be defined as transformational. For instance, the CEO claimed that sustaining a high level of motivation is one of his leadership targets, and he seeks to empower the workers through appropriate workplace initiatives, open communication, and improvement possibilities (Miles, 2018). After that, Dorsey is especially interested in novel ideas that could promote the enterprise’s efficiency.
The CEO has been described as a person invested in change and growth, frequently developing approaches that restructure the current products in order to secure better performance (Tabaka, 2015). However, the CEO’s team members are also responsible for offering innovative solutions, and Dorsey considers their ideas when devising new expansion strategies (Miles, 2018). This evidence suggests that transformation and employee input are vital for Dorsey’s leadership style.
Furthermore, Twitter’s new CEO has been recognized as a leader who encourages independence and allows the workers to complete the necessary tasks using their own expertise. Nevertheless, it is essential to note that Dorsey upholds a balance between autonomy and control, advocating that employees should always be accountable for their mistakes to ensure quality performance (Miles, 2018). For example, feedback plays a crucial role in Dorsey’s leadership practices, as he reports to continuously provide evaluations based on employees’ input and engagement, outlining the aspects that require improvement (Miles, 2018). This method also allows the CEO to promote communication, a valuable part of a company’s productivity. Such principles of change, inspiration, and balanced self-governance are especially prominent in transformational leadership (Yang, (2016). Therefore, it is clear that Dorsey relies on the transformational leadership style in his leading practices.
Dorsey’s Roles and Responsibilities in Twitter’s Development
As the CEO of Twitter, Dorsey primarily oversees the company’s operations and ensures the success of the undertaken strategies. Any CEO’s most crucial role lies in leading the corporation through adopting necessary methods and making business decisions that could contribute to the organization’s growth (Jain & Yadav, 2017). After that, CEOs are also required to consider potential short-term and long-term strategies and the benefits resulting from their implementation (Jain & Yadav, 2017). From a broader perspective, a CEO is tasked with planning, organizing, and controlling a firm’s day-to-day and future operations, as well as interacting with the staff and delegating responsibility.
The function of planning comprises a significant part of a CEO’s duties. As such, Dorsey is required to outline how Twitter will develop in the future, introducing solutions to be implemented in the following months and years (Miles, 2018). In addition to recognizing the company’s current needs, the CEO must follow the enterprise’s mission and values while creating potential growth strategies (Jain & Yadav, 2017). Furthermore, an essential responsibility is to devise long-term organizational goals to be achieved as the business moves forward. Following these requirements, Dorsey is deeply involved in the operations of each working department and must incorporate their capabilities into the development plan.
The organization of the company’s activities is also critical for the CEO’s performance. Considering that Twitter is a large-scale organization, a smooth workflow is necessary for its overall productivity. As the CEO, Dorsey is responsible for coordinating the departments’ involvement in the ongoing tasks, as well as aligning the departmental objectives with the corporate goals (Miles, 2018). Furthermore, this function also entails the necessity to manage the allocation of the firm’s resources, ensuring that the enterprise’s processes are efficient in terms of available finances, materials, and other supplies.
Another pertinent leadership function of the CEO is the commanding duty. This activity is closely linked to organizing, with task delegation essential for both of these activities (Jain & Yadav, 2017). However, commanding also incorporates leading and inspiring the employees and is necessary for maintaining a high level of motivation among the workers (Jain & Yadav, 2017). Apart from ensuring the fluidity of the working processes, a successful leader is expected to provide the workforce with the needed motivational support. Therefore, to fulfill his responsibilities as a leader and a CEO, Dorsey continuously empowers his employees to perform according to the company standards (Rodriguez, 2021). However, although Twitter’s policy highly discourages harassment on the platform, it is unclear how such practices are handled in the workplace environment.
Choosing individuals whose contribution could be especially significant for Twitter’s development is another duty for Jack Dorsey. As human capital is an integral part of a firm’s projectivity, the CEO must oversee the hiring processes and make sure that personnel selection is conducted in accordance with the enterprise’s needs and goals (Tabaka, 2015). From this perspective, a successful leader should provide the human resources department with the relevant training and information regarding the corporation’s aims. Dorsey continuously organizes the staffing activities, allowing the hiring staff to be fully knowledgeable of the requirements and promoting the idea that the hired employees should be involved in the company decisions (Miles, 2018). Therefore, Dorsey fulfills the staffing function demanded from him as Twitter’s leader.
The final responsibility delegated to Dorsey is the controlling duty, which is essential for effective leadership. Following the establishment of the relevant goals, the CEO is also responsible for ensuring that these objectives are met, which is usually performed through the control over the working processes (Jain & Yadav, 2017). As such, Dorsey is entitled to correct the company strategy and the work of individual departments, ensuring cohesion throughout Twitter’s teams. In addition, this function allows for the analysis of the progress achieved, which is crucial for measuring the enterprise’s growth.
The Leader’s Aspirations
I believe that Dorsey is highly interested in the CEO position, inspired to lead the company forward through personal leadership. Developing novel solutions and addressing the emerging problems through innovation, typically conducted by the leader, appears to be especially appealing for Dorsey, who has been shown to take a personal interest in such tasks (Miles, 2018). The transformational leadership model, employed by Dorsey, requires the leader to be consistently initiating the change processes, as well as prompting the employees to deliver novel ideas. The recent accounts from the employees portray the CEO as a leader promoting change and insisting on his engagement in the processes (Rodriguez, 2021). Thus, it becomes evident that he is especially interested in remaining Twitter’s CEO.
Furthermore, Dorsey portrays an executive officer as a leader but not a decision-maker, stating that he purposefully avoids making choices in his work. From Dorsey’s viewpoint, vital choices should be made by the team members based on the collective discussions rather than one executive’s order (Tabaka, 2015). As such, insights from all of the group’s individuals are needed prior to making a selection. Although this approach to leadership might be considered non-conventional due to the importance of the leader’s decision-making, it is evident that he aspires to motivate the enterprise’s employees rather than focus on the executive functions. Such involvement in maintaining a high level of workforce engagement demonstrates that Dorsey is personally involved in being the organization’s leader.
In the recent interviews, Dorsey highlighted some of the roles and responsibilities he considers to be the most essential for his performance. According to the CEO, it is crucial for him to establish a working structure that does not require his continuous involvement, as other leaders will succeed him in the future (Miles, 2018). Although this is a challenging task, successfully fulfilling it can aid in supporting the enterprise’s longevity and increase its future potential.
In contrast, the most difficult aspect of a leader’s job might be the team-building element. Dorsey mentions that creating a strong team that successfully communicates and efficiently completes the necessary tasks is usually highly demanding, as employees need time and resources to establish a framework for successful cooperation (Miles, 2018). In addition, such practices require the leader to select the individuals that could productively collaborate based on their personal and professional qualities. Given such complications, it might indeed be strenuous to comprise an efficient team in a working environment.
Conclusion
To conclude, Jack Dorsey’s leadership practices and ideas have been discussed in detail in this paper, describing the significance of innovation and employee engagement for Twitter’s CEO. It is evident that Dorsey applies the transformational style, initiating continuous changes that promote company growth and allow the newest ideas to be integrated into the working processes. Furthermore, as the CEO especially values the workers’ involvement, he consistently offers feedback and maintains a high level of communication between the workforce. Considering that Dorsey is personally interested in being Twitter’s CEO, it is possible that he will be able to manifest an excellent level of performance during his occupation.
References
Jain, E., & Yadav, A. (2017). Making of a CEO: Study of the successful CEO’S globally who and what are CEO’S. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 19, 54–59. Web.
Miles, J. R. Bold leader spotlight: Jack Dorsey, founder & CEO of Twitter and Square. (2018). Bold Business. Web.
Rodriguez, S. (2021). Here’s who runs Twitter under Jack Dorsey. CNBC. Web.
Tabaka, M. (2015). 5 leadership lessons from Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Inc. Web.
Yang, Y.-F. (2016). Examining competing models of transformational leadership, leadership trust, change commitment, and job satisfaction. Psychological Reports, 119(1), 154–173. Web.