Facebook is one of the most widely used social media platforms in the world, and the creator Mark Zuckerberg is one of the most recognised names globally.

However, Mark Zuckerberg wasn’t always the leader that the public knows him as today. In the early days of Facebook, he was actually not a very good CEO.

It was after an employee approached him and told him to “take CEO lessons, or this isn’t going to work out for you” that Zuckerberg undertook a journey to leadership.

Here some of the key factors of Mark Zuckerberg’s journey to leadership.

Speed

A key advantage of a smaller company, compared to a big company, is that it can move quickly. It is common for a growing company to become more cautious during its growth, however Zuckerberg believes it is important to keep moving fast. By moving fast and making mistakes, you can learn quickly.

Don’t get stuck in politics

It is common to see CEOs and employees getting stuck in office politics, being more concerned about their egos, agendas and career paths. If they are not focused about business, it can be hard for a company to make any real progress.

Use data to your advantage

It is important to use data and trends to your advantage. Many CEOs will not look at data, and believe their business is doing well based on what they can see in front of them. Data can tell you the truth about your business, and that can influence whether or not changes need to be made in order for your business to succeed.

Mark Zuckerberg’s journey to leadership has numerous key factors that led up to how we see him now, as the strong leader of Facebook. He was not always a great CEO, but we all know now that he can lead Facebook now to success, and has proved this to the world.

The father of Apple and leader in technology was a highly revered figure in the tech and business industry. Bringing innovations that changed the world including the iPhone and iPod, Steve Jobs was no stranger to leadership, and had many qualities that solidified him as a leader. It is known that Jobs has a ‘no excuses’ theory on leadership. In instances when people were promoted to vice president, he would tell them that everything under their order was their responsibility, and any mishaps was their fault. No excuses.

The ‘no excuses’ theory is to do with taking responsibility till the end.

Many people believe that if something doesn’t succeed, then it is someone else’s fault, caused by external factors. If they failed, then someone let them down, or didn’t support them or help them. Jobs’ theory was that in the event of failure, contingencies should have been put into place to prevent it. He believed that successful people expected the worst but aimed for the best, and set clear expectations. They help those around them and support them through mentoring and training, but ultimately they will accept the final responsibility.

The thinking behind this is that if they accept full responsibility, then all they know is control. If you they succeed, then they did that. If they failed, then they caused that. Having this type of thinking will motivate them to ensure that the risk of failure is at a minimum, and all angles are observed in a situation before proceeding. This will ensure that all energy is put into making something happen rather than worrying about what might happen.

It is this ‘no excuses’ leadership theory that got Jobs to the top, and it’s one that he instilled into new vice presidents, and those that made decisions for Apple.

Google is one of the most widely used technologies in the world. By being a tool to search through the internet’s vast number of links and pages, Google filled a need in the technology age. The growth of Google was phenomenal, with many dubbing it as ‘the fastest growing company in the world’. But with such fast growth, its employees needed leaders in order to show them the direction the company should be going. Google has been largely successful at creating top leaders that could pursue Google’s vision and allow it to largely dominate the market. After Google, these leaders would go on to successfully lead other firms, as well as launch companies successfully.

Here are some things that Google leaders are taught.

Think really big

Those who were leaders at Google were taught that overdelivering wasn’t enough. Leaders have to be very ambitious, and aim for long term goals, called moonshots in Google lingo. They are taught to look at the long term vision, and aim for that, even if it seemed impossible at the time.

They used their words

Google is well-known for having its own acronyms and lingo. These include phrases such as “10Xer” and “moonshot”. The power of language is encouraged to create motivation catchphrases that would inspire, and turn big ideas and goals into simple sentences. Words can be motivational, and inspire those around you.

Google veterans have gone on from the company to lead and launch others into success. The fundamental things taught to these Google leaders is aiming for the impossible and using their words to inspire and motivate. The leaders that come out of Google have undeniable leadership traits and skills, and succeed wherever they go, thanks to Google’s unconventional but effective methods.