5 Qualities of Mark Zuckerberg that has Made Him a True Leader

Mark Zuckerberg was termed as a teenage prodigy ever since he burst onto the IT scene with Facebook, and the rest is history. His empire has since increased substantially with Instagram and WhatsApp to his kitty, making him one of the most influential figures in the tech world.

Following are the 5 such qualities of him that has made him a true leader in the IT world.

1. A Clear Vision

The vision to come up with a social networking website now seems very clear to all of us. But the will to create such a website 15 years ago was nothing short of brilliance. At that time, Orkut and Myspace were huge, and to try to come up with a website that could give them a fierce competition was a distant reality. Even coming up with such a network that can be among one of the websites in the race wasn't a realistic thing at that time.

Mark Zuckerberg stuck to his idea Facebook for a couple of years until it became popular. The sad demise of the two other social media networks mentioned above also made it easier for Facebook to have an open field. But it all comes back to the vision of Zuckerberg that he stuck on in spite of many people against it. If your vision is clear, you will achieve your goal even if everyone around you is spreading negativity about you.

2. Out of his Comfort Zone

This is one aspect of Mark Zuckerberg's personality that has made him the IT guru he is. Apart from Facebook, his investment in Instagram and WhatsApp is one of the masterstrokes that has a huge effect on his overall success. Now we all know that the two apps mentioned above are humongous in terms of market share and revenue, but 8 to 10 years ago, not many people would bet that Zuckerberg was making a great move, let alone a fair one.

Mark Zuckerberg always tried to leave his comfort zone behind and made decisions that looked odd. But over the years, we have seen that those decisions that look odd actually turned out to be pretty well for him and his company. You need to play out of your comfort zone in order to make a mark for yourself. Taking calculated risks is one of the tactics so that you know you are on top of your game and without leaving any stone unturned.

3. Willing to Face the Criticism

Willing to face criticism and taking the blame in case of adverse situations is one aspect that isn’t the part of everyone’s personality. But Mark Zuckerberg is different as he always tried to lead his company from the front and make sure he was there when people started pointing fingers towards Facebook or any affiliated company. This happened when the Cambridge Analytica scandal hit the company hard.

The Cambridge Analytica scandal was all about Microsoft offering critical data regarding its customers to Cambridge, and it was using it or offering it to third parties. This was a serious allegation towards a company that was looked upon as a very reliable firm. And with the amount of data Facebook had, it was bound to act in a very responsible way, just like Google or LinkedIn. The situation could have been worse for Facebook if Zuckerberg didn’t step in.

Mark Zuckerberg didn’t only face the hearing in the Senate but also made sure that he represented his company, taking full responsibility for everything that happened. He led from the front and made sure even in the case that Facebook was fined for the scandal, the company didn’t get much harm and the reputation of it was intact even after such a big scandal.

4. Made Mistakes and Admit them Wholeheartedly

The styles of leadership or the traits of great leaders are not just that they make great strides I'm coming up with decisions that can help their companies get to new heights. They also made mistakes, and some of them can cost their company daily. But they have regards to admit them wholeheartedly and try to resolve the matter which they have to deal with after the mistake has happened.

While the role of Mike Zuckerberg in the Cambridge Analytica scandal may be relatively small, but being the owner and CEO of the company, he needs to make sure he admits the mistakes made by the company. Many people argued that Facebook did a lot by selling confidential data of its customers to Cambridge Analytica. Still, it is also a fact that the reputation of Facebook got a hit.

I am sure that a person like Zuckerberg would have committed such a mistake and just a few hundred million dollars by selling the data for his company to someone else. I mean, if he had to, he could have used many other ways to do that and earn billions of dollars as a result. Even said that it is not possible for companies such as Facebook to make such blunders and couldn’t get caught by the general public or security professionals who know how such companies operate.

5. Use of New Technology and Tools

Facebook dethroned my space and rocket to become the number one social media website. So, it knew very well that some other company could also take its position. That's why right from the beginning, it invested heavily in research and development of new products and services to enhance the experience of the users of Facebook.

Mark Zuckerberg didn’t shy away from using any software, or even it is a very basic type of tool to enhance the daily operations or the Facebook app. For example, he made sure that the trial for a web based task management tool or software relatively new in the market was done so that it can assess it. That's why Facebook always remained one step ahead of its competitors throughout the last decade.

The use of new technologies is a reason why Facebook is the number one social media networking site on the Internet. While there are few apps and their websites which deal with social networking, the position of Facebook has never been threatened really, even though the revenues fell somewhat.

Over to you

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