Leadership

Leadership Qualities, Skills and Style of Jack Ma Yun

by Sadnan Bin Sattar

Jack Ma is a fascinating example of a successful leader. His real name is Ma Yun who born September 10, 1964. He is a Chinese business magnate who is the founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group. Alibaba is a successful Internet based business. Ma intended to use the influence of internet and Alibaba to facilitate more globalized trades across the borders beyond China and to help SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) across the world. In 2014, he was ranked as the 30th most powerful person in the world in an annual ranking according to Forbes. Asian Award honored him with the Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2015. And in 2017, Fortune ranked Ma second on its World’s 50 Greatest Leaders list.

Jack Ma became the richest man in Asia at the age of 50 but he is not doing business just for the money. Rather he is on a mission to change the way business is done in China, gives the country its heart back, and take over the e-commerce world. For making this happen Jack Ma had to be a leader possessing great qualities, skills, and styles in him. His fascinating leadership qualities, skills, and styles made him possible to turn his dream true.

Leadership Qualities and Style of Jack Ma Yun

So, what makes jack a powerful leader? He possesses illustrious leadership qualities, skills, and styles, some of which are being discussed here.

Be an Authentic Leader

Ma possesses a strong sense of character which helps him build loyalty and strong foundation on which his business Alibaba grows. Ma states that leaders do not have to sacrifice our sense of humor just because they are in charge.

See through Customers’ Eyes

Ma runs e-commerce business and he got his success being not a “Tech Guy” rather he views his products through his customers’ eyes. This quality helps his business to provide best services.

Develop a Mission

Jack Ma possesses a prolong & grand mission. And his mission is to regenerate China’s sense of purpose and culture which were lost under Mao Zedong’s rule. Ma has given his employees generous equity shares so they get to benefit from Alibaba’s success too.

He Unites People under a Single Goal

Ma knew that it is not possible to convince every single employee, business partner and investor to trust him or to listen to him no matter how hard he tries. Accepting this and changing the approach is another quality and skill of his success. He unites them under a common goal rather than uniting them under his own supervision. This is a company goal rather than a leader’s goal.

He Hires People with Superior Skills

Hiring employees with super skills makes Ma’s company successful. When he was asked what separates a leader from an employee he said, “Your employee should have superior technical skills than you. If he doesn’t, it means you have hired the wrong person.”

He is Tenacious

Jack Ma is a leader with having a tenacity and clear vision. He says that leaders should be tenacious and have a clear vision. Ma knows what he wants to achieve and he knows how to chase it down. Ma believes this will bring him success and it will inspire people around him to work hard for achieving the goal.

He Defines Failure as Giving Up

This is one of his popular leadership quality and skill that defines him a successful leader. According to Ma, “giving up is the greatest failure. If you go out, try your best and fail to achieve your goal but see it through to the end you are a success.” Maa learns most from hardships and obstacles. Ma never gives up if he fails one thing repeatedly.

Other leadership Qualities, Traits, and Characteristics of Jack Ma Yun

  • Use your instinct
  • Focus on mission, not money
  • Know what your business is
  • Have a bold long-term vision
  • Breathless efforts for achievements
  • Expanding the Boundaries
  • Empowering Others
  • Bonding with Culture and Philanthropy
  • He Doesn’t Make Enemies

He follows leadership styles which also help him to run his business in a successful way. He is Democratic Leader since he gives importance of his employees’ ideas. He follows transformational Leadership style as well by empowering his employees and motivating them to do more to achieve success. He also follows Charismatic Leadership & Visionary Leadership styles.

Leadership Skills of Jack Ma Yun

Transformation Management Skills

Jack Ma has the skill to understand change management in order to lead his company to success. When he was creating a new business, he initiated changes in the process. According to him, change is the best plan and so that everyone should embrace changes. Creating Alibaba platform was a step to the change for Jack Ma which leads him to the success. While implementing the changes, Jack Ma understood that he has to understand the customer’s needs and he has to take help of technology to grow his business. He was well aware of facing difficulties while applying changes into his company. Alibaba was at first a business to business company and later Jack Ma tried to convert their company into business to consumer or even consumer to consumer with the help of transformation management skills.

A Man of Positivity

Jack Ma knows how to remain positive in any circumstances and this skill made him one of the successful leaders in the world. There were times when Jack Ma didn’t taste success even after putting in his best. He had to face a lot of rejections a lot in his early age. He was rejected to get KFC job and also, he got rejected from Harvard University when he applied for 10 times. But Jack Ma never lost his hope. He took these rejections with a positive mind and he worked harder for the next time. Alibaba was not an instant success and Jack Ma had faced a lot of difficulties while starting this business. With the help of his positivity skill, he expanded his business gradually to the position where it is today.

Bottom Line

As leaders, we must cultivate our goals and visions to improve our companies and to improve the lives of our employees. We should incorporate that mission into our cultures and implement it at every level to promote a better world. And this is what Jack Ma does as a leader and gets success at every stride of his business.

Related

REFERENCES

  • https://steemit.com/recommend/@cooper10510/jack-ma-s-leadership-style-with-8-keys-to-success-in-alibaba
  • http://www.lifehack.org/articles/work/8-keys-success-from-jack-self-made-billionaire-and-ceo-alibaba.html
  • http://www.investopedia.com/university/jack-ma-biography/jack-ma-success-story.asp