Running head: Jeff Weiner, Business Leader

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Jeff Weiner, a Masterful Business Leader

Arthur Copper Quist
LDS Business College
Business 101-04
Kent Gailey

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As time passes, we give greater respect to the leaders of influence than those of affluence.
We see them as people of great import and we aspire to be like them. Jeff Weiner, Chief
Executive Officer of LinkedIn is no exception. He has been regarded as the top business leader
of our day by a survey conducted by glassdoor.com (Vaccaro, 2014). His success placed him on
the list, but it was his Leadership skills that placed him on top. It is for this reason that I wish to
profile Mr. Weiner. I will share insights from how his role of leadership in business has helped to
create growth, cause innovation, and provide motivation.
As the leading CEO of LinkedIn, Wiener has helped to spur on great growth for his
company. He has shared 10 lessons on leadership with Forbes (Meister, 2012) and the first one in
is to Define leadership in your company. He explains the importance of a leader defining a
clear vision for the company to reach for (Feloni, 2015). He then talks about the importance of
determining the process and setting goals. Basically, he tells us that we have to have a purpose
and goals as leaders, if we want our organization to grow. We need to be planning for the future.
We have to start by thinking about it! He has followed this pattern most of his career as he has
moved from Yahoo! to Intuit, to LinkedIn. He has had a pattern of vision, goals, then growth. As
I thought about this, I realized that this is exactly what Charles Duhigg describes in his book
The Power of Habit when he shares the story of Michael Phelps and his coach reaching
success (p. 113). Phelps was taught to picture the success of winning in his head until he knew
exactly what it would be like. Our Vision and goals are the same way. Do we know exactly what
they will be like?
Then we get to how he uses his leadership position to cause innovation. In the
aforementioned list of 10 lessons Weiner shares, was the idea of having the employee think like

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an owner. He encourages creativity and a sense of ownership in his employees so that they can
give their best work. This also helps to empower his employees to find solutions to the needs of
the business and the customer. This then introduces the bigger point, Weiner causes innovation
the most when he encourages his employees to focus on the needs of the employees. He seems to
clearly understand the importance of solving problems, not just selling products or services. This
is something Clayton Christianson identified in some of his studies (MacFarquhar, 2012). He
said that people go looking not for a product but for a solution to a problem that have. I would
have a hard time understanding my leaders if they told me I was not selling a product. Without
the clear explanation and reinforcement given by Weiner, I am sure he would have many
confused employees. His clarity of thought and explanations give the needed sparks for his
employees to become not only innovative, but on the same page as the rest of the company.
Certainly an innovative thought, especially to be introduced to an entire business from the top
down.
Weiners leadership style has been seen as being both motivating and inspiring for his
employees. Intuit, also led by Wiener, has a profile page on LinkedIn which says youll discover
an award-winning culture and entrepreneurial atmosphere, as we strive to be a best employer
year-over-year. (LinkedIn.com, 2015). Here they admit to feeling inspired to be the best. I like
the idea of a leader who helps people to feel motivated, who helps me to be engaged. He says
himself I think the best leaders are always aware of the way they are being received. They
can course correct so they can ensure that what theyre saying is resonating and that its bringing
people together. (Feloni, 2015). He also has a sense of what his employees want, or would
value. When his company produced more than was expected, he gave all of his employees iPad
minis as a bonus (Mangalindan, 2013) This was an estimated cost of $1.5 million. This may even

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be a direct cause of the continued growth and success the company has seen since. Gifts like the
iPads Just make all the difference in the world, says Weiner. I would be inclined to agree, there
is certainly a lot of motivation in a move like that. If I was given an iPad by my employer, I
would know he cared about my contributions to the business and I would feel more inclined to
make more effort in my job.
It would seem apparent to me that the survey results were well founded. Jeff Weiner is
most definitely a magnificent business leader. His leadership skills have certainly helped to
create growth for LinkedIn, caused innovation in its workplace and provided motivation for his
employees. I find myself admiring his insight and skills. He has been involved in executive
administration of business since 1994. I suspect he would never have gotten where he is if it
were not for the experiences he has gained by observing the leaders around him. I loved the
powerful examples I have shared. I hope to one day improve upon my abilities as a leader and be
able to impact my business as good as he has. I am sure he would encourage me to try, especially
if I were working for him.

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References
Duhigg, Charles (2012). The Power of Habit. New York, New York: Random House
Feloni, Richard (2015). LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner describes 3 qualities that make a great leader
[Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/linkedin-ceo-jeff-weineron-being-a-great-leader-2015-7
http://www.inc.com/adam-vaccaro/most-loved-ceos.html
LinkedIn.com, Intuit profile page [Web log post]. Retrieved from
https://www.linkedin.com/company/1666?trk=prof-exp-company-name
MacFarquhar, Larissa (2012, May, 14). When Giants Fail. The New Yorker. 91-92
Mangalindan, JP (2013). LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner: Treat employees like adults, and you wont
have leaks [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://fortune.com/2013/02/14/linkedin-ceojeff-weiner-treat-employees-like-adults-and-you-wont-have-leaks/
Meister, Jeanne (2012). 10 leadership lessons from Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn [Web log post]
Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeannemeister/2012/09/10/10-leadershiplessons-from-jeff-weiner-ceo-of-linkedin/
Vaccaro, Adam (2014). The most loved CEOs in America [Web log post]. Retrieved from

Interview Questions

How has your view of leadership changed as you operate your business?
In your opinion, what is the most important thing to be a good leader?
What motive or value helps you the most as you face difficult situations?
Would you be willing to share an example of a lesson learned from a difficult leadership
experience?
How do you best come up with new ideas? Do you use your environment or others in
your search?
Do you have a role model or business hero? Who and Why?
Is there something you feel is critical for performing well in your role